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Dive Review of Atlantis Dive Resorts/Atlantis Dumaguete in
Philippines/Dauin

Atlantis Dive Resorts/Atlantis Dumaguete: "Nice friendly resort with relaxed and easy critter diving.", Mar, 2017,

by Michael Fritz, NJ, US (Reviewer Reviewer 4 reports with 10 Helpful votes). Report 9566 has 4 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Atlantis resort is very nice. It's not cheap by Philippine standards, but compared to other Asian destinations it's a bargain and much cheaper to fly there. Everyone speaks English, so it's easy to get around and interact with the (very friendly) locals. The Spa at the resort was a great deal and I got massages almost every day (even cost me a few dives!). We did 4 dives a day on average and had the same divemaster (Harnold) all week. Briefings were good and the dive sites were very close. He was a good critter spotter and pretty much let us do our thing which is how we like it. There were several groups (American, Brits, Brazil) there while we were and they had their own boat so no issue for us. We dove on our own boat with the few independent travelers and had as few as 2 or at most 6 on our boat for each dive. Most sites are so close you come back to the resort between dives. Day trip to Apo Island is a must! Some of the best hard and soft coral coverage there that I've seen anywhere and better vis than Dauin. Be aware though the best side (including Clownfish City) is off limits to diving for a few years to allow it to recover from Typhoon damage. Where we went was still good, but kind of crowded since it was every boat in a smaller area. The dive sites near the resort had great critters and most sites had both muck and coral on the same site for good variety and long interesting dives. I'm a casual photographer with a point and shoot, but Macro was great and I got lots of really nice images. Vis was often around 40 feet and several sites had strong current while others had none. We took a day off mid week and took a day trip to Oslob to snorkel with the Whale Sharks. It can a crowded adventure, but it's well run and we enjoyed it even though we've seen them at many other places (they never get old!) this was the first time I've seen them where they get fed. The bar, dining room and resort staff were all excellent and quickly knew you by name. The dive shop was well run and tank fills (we used nitrox) were consistently 3000psi. Very good facilities for storing gear and even with several groups staying there for the second half of our trip (the first half it was near empty) it never felt crowded. We did a bird watching tour for our last (dry off) day up in the mountains to the Twin Lakes. It was well run with a great guide. We hiked and boated around the lake where we got to see lots of Hornbills, Sunbirds, Eagles, Parrots and other cool stuff to add to our very extensive critter list for the trip.
Websites Atlantis Dive Resorts   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Hawaii, Caribbean, Mexico, Fiji, Palau, Solomons, Indonesia, GBR, Galapagos
Closest Airport Dumaguete Getting There Several flights daily from Manila. 30-40 minute drive from airport depending on traffic which can be epic.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy, cloudy, dry Seas calm, choppy, currents, no currents
Water Temp 80-81°F / 27-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Most dives were 1 hour max, We went over that several times by 5-10 min if we found something cool at the end of the dive. Always come back with 500psi.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks > 2
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments Camera room at the resort was as good as it gets. The boats didn't have dedicated camera tables which could be an issue on more crowded boats. We generally dove in a small group and they took good care of my camera stuff.
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 4 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Greg Bruce in WA, US at May 02, 2017 10:43 EST  
Nice report. Thanks for posting!
By Jeanne Reeder in MO, US at Aug 07, 2017 17:48 EST  
Thanks for the review. It helped to get a feel for their land based diving. Sounds as if Apo was your only relief from Muck.
By report author: Michael Fritz in NJ, US at Aug 09, 2017 12:38 EST  
Dauin is famous for it's muck diving and it sure didn't disappoint. The critters were great. Atlantis was pretty flexible on where they dive, so if muck isn't your thing they will take you to Apo, Siquijour or to sites close my with more coral. Almost every muck site also had coral areas and sites within the marine reserve had lots of healthy coral and were only a short boat ride.
By Jeanne Reeder in MO, US at Aug 09, 2017 15:52 EST  
Excellent to hear this about the mix! Thank you.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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