Atlantis Adventurer, Atlantis Puerto Galera, the Philippines: Undercurrent 10/2025

Atlantis Adventurer, Atlantis Puerto Galera, the Philippines

like "Indonesia" but on a budget

from the October, 2025 issue of Undercurrent

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Dear Fellow Diver,

MY Atlantis Adventurer I floated over fields of stony corals that didn't stop; they were shades of tan and brown with pops of blue and purple, staghorn and table coral. Small colorful anthias darted in and out, as schools of jacks and barracudas cruised above. Twice, dogtooth tuna streaked past, silver bullets amidst the color. It was magical, easily the best dive of my trip, and a reminder of why the Tubbataha reef system is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a protected area.

My April trip to the Philippines combined a week on board the Atlantis Azores (it's since been renamed the Atlantis Adventurer, so I'll refer to it as the Adventurer) liveaboard diving in Tubbataha with a week at the Atlantis Puerto Galera dive resort. It was my first dive trip to the Philippines, and I had high expectations -- maybe too high. I had hoped for lush ocean life on the order of Raja Ampat, the Solomons, or Wakatobi; what I found was quite good, but not what I had hoped. Regardless, I am a big believer in appreciating a place for what it is, not what it isn't, and I could see why the Philippines is so popular. With a lot of hunting, I found all the species I might see in Indonesia at Lembeh; some reefs were so lush they would not be out of place at Wakatobi. And the Philippines is a great value.

For our first week on board the Adventurer, we embarked and disembarked in Puerto Princesa, a 70-minute flight from Manila. Since our flight arrived well before the boat was ready, the crew dropped us off at a shopping mall. Not in the mood to shop, my buddy and I found a spa, and I arrived at the boat with a supple lower back and tingling feet. Great, inexpensive massages are widely available; I managed to cram six into my two-plus weeks in the Philippines without dinging my wallet too hard.

The Atlantis Adventurer, once the Truk Aggressor, is 107 feet long and 16 feet wide. After boarding, we had a clear discussion of safety procedures (e.g., no charging devices in a cabin unless you're there and awake) and assurance that there would be a night watchman. Seven small cabins with double and single bunks and ensuite bathrooms were below decks; the owner's suite (where I stayed with my buddy) on the upper deck had both a double and a single bunk. It was reasonably comfortable but neither spacious nor deluxe....

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