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Dive Review of Atlantis Dive Resorts in
Philippines

Atlantis Dive Resorts, Feb, 2012,

by Steve Dussault, NH, US (Contributor Contributor 18 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 6443.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 3 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Atlantis Puerto Galera

The operation at Atlantis is amazing in helping you set up your trip. We corresponded with Atlantis via email and were able to set up our entire trip. They sent all of the required dive documents to be completed prior to our arrival which lessened the paperwork when we arrived. When we arrived in Manila at 11:00 PM in the evening there was a representative from Atlantis to greet us. The next morning another representative providing transportation for Puerto Galera met us at our hotel for the 2 hour van ride and 1 hour boat ride to the resort.

Upon arrival at Puerto Galera the staff from the Atlantis meets you the dock. After a few minutes’ walk to the resort you are greeted with a beverage and a massage while the manager provides a brief explanation of the resort’s facilities.

Good diving - short boat ride from shore to dive sites. Most boat rides are 10-15 minutes. If you are diving NITROX you analyze your cylinder and the crew takes care of the rest. There are unlimited NITROX packages for the week. Dive times are typically 50-60 minutes with a maximum depth of 100 feet. Good macro photography opportunities abound. There is a large equipment room where your equipment is stored and hung to dry. When you come back from your dive there is an outside shower with hot water to rinse and warm back up.

The Atlantis has a dedicated air conditioned room for cameras and charging. There are large dedicated camera rinse stations in the dive shop. There is 110V and 220V in the camera room. There are no buckets for the cameras on the boat but the rides are short.

The accommodations are nice and the food is good at the resort. The saying at the entrance is "You are arrive as guest and leave as a friend". Within a few hours all of the staff knows you by name. During your stay, all the staff is very friendly and helpful. Be sure to get an inexpensive massage at the end of a hard day of diving. Meals are served in an open air restaurant. The daily menus are written on the blackboard for each meal. You could also order off the a la carte menu but we always chose from the board.

On our second leg of our trip we returned to Manila via the same boat and van ride to the airport to travel to the Atlantis Resort in Dumagette. Again there was a representative from Atlantis waiting at the airport to guide us through the check in process. The domestic airlines are very strict on the weight for carry ons. The gate attendant wanted me to check my backpack of camera and computer equipment because it was too heavy but the Atlantis representative was able explain to the attendant that it couldn’t be checked and thankfully got me through with my backpack. Be sure to look into the purchasing in advance the over weight luggage pass.

The arrangements at Dumagette are similar to PG. We were met at the airport by Atlantis personnel who took care of gathering our luggage, and we had a 30 minute Jeepny ride to the resort. The resort is in a secluded and quiet area. Our dive package included two days of outer island diving. The first day we did an all day trip to Apo island for three dives. There are nice coral walls and dark volcanic sand. They served us a gourmet barbecue buffet lunch right on the boat. Another day we did an all day trip to Siquijor Island for three dives and another gourmet lunch on the boat. Dives from the resort are all within a 5-10 minute boat ride. Lots of nudibranchs and other small critters to photograph. One dive we saw three different octopuses. One night we did the Mandarin fish dive which was amazing.
Websites Atlantis Dive Resorts   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Caribbean, Mexico, Pacific, Canada, Alaska, New Zealand
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Max depth typically 70 - 90 feet 50 to 60 minutes dive time
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments A lot of macro to photograph in the Philippines. I purchased a 105mm lens for this trip and got some awesome photos. The camera rooms are very nice with lots of 110/220 power, air conditioning, and compressed air.
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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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