Dive Review of Tabanka Divers in
Philippines/El Nido

Other Philippines reports
Subscriber Content Preview
Active subscribers go here

Tabanka Divers: "Tabanka Divers and Buko Beach Resort--great combination!", May, 2024, by Marcia Pedersen, WA, US ( Contributor 16 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 12972.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Tabanka Divers is a great shop. They were easy to work with, boats were comfortable, and dives were excellent. The small shop is on the beach, and just a quick skiff ride took us to the outrigger mooring. The three-dive day with lunch was reasonably priced, and the crew was very helpful. They did a good job managing the variety of skill levels with a dive master for each. Advanced divers dove a tunnel on one dive that had a cool cavern in the middle; we could see both exits from the cavern. We also enjoyed the shallow "local" dive. Loved the clownfish, staghorn corals, sea squirts, and sweetlips. Divers can climb the steps with or without gear on. I was very comfortable in just a rash guard. Buko Beach Resort ([bukobeachresort.com link]) is just steps down the beach from Tabanka. Buko has beautiful grounds, pool by the beach, comfortable cottages, great restaurant, and amazing staff. This small resort is peaceful, is away from the chaos of town, and has amazing sunsets. The staff were always available to help us out with shuttles, scooter rental, laundry, and even medicine when I got sick.
Websites	Tabanka Divers
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, Vancouver Island, Hawaii, Thailand, Australia, Mexico, Honduras, Bonaire, Dominica, Turkey, Caymans, Bimini, Socorro, Belize, Philippines.
Closest Airport	El Nido	Getting There	We flew from Vancouver, Canada, to Manila. We then flew to Puerta Princesa and took a five-hour van ride to El Nido. There are direct flights from Manila to El Nido, but we realized it too late.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	85-88°F / 29-31°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	750 psi
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The crew handled cameras carefully. I don't recall seeing a rinse tank or dedicated camera area on the boat. There was a rinse tank at the shop.

Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here

Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 622 dive reviews of Philippines and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

All Philippines Dive Reviews and Reports
Diving Guide to Philippines
Diving Reviews for All Dive Destinations

Want to assemble your own collection of Philippines reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

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.

Undercurrent Home

Page computed and displayed in 0.26 seconds

Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email. And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent
Get a free monthly email and a sample issue!

Dive Review of Tabanka Divers in Philippines/El Nido

Tabanka Divers: "Tabanka Divers and Buko Beach Resort--great combination!", May, 2024,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Tabanka Divers in
Philippines/El Nido