Dive Review of Discovery Palawan in
Philippines/Tubbataha

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Discovery Palawan: "From Tubbataha to Quarantine Hell", Jul, 2022, by Lisa Annaheim, FL, US ( 2 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 11972 has 3 Helpful votes.
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	The diving was amazing in Tubbataha! Pristine reefs, huge schools of fish, mantas, sharks, Napolean Wrasse, baracuda! The boat was spacious and the staff were very attentive. The food was good and plentiful. Was it worth the horrible experience we had? NO WAY!!! We were not told about the potential consequences of a passenger testing positive for Covid while under sail. If we knew the outcome, we never would have gone on this trip! The Philippines requires a negative Covid test for non-boosted visitors. We had 3 tests prior to leaving the states (all negative). We were tested again when we arrived on the boat with a rapid test. One guest had a questionable test result, and they tested him a second time. The second test was negative. The guest was allowed on the boat. 3 days later that same guest tested himself and he tested positive. At that point, we were told the trip would continue as planned. The positive guest would stay in his room and we had the option to test ourselves if we had symptoms. The day before we were scheduled to arrive back in port, we were told all guests must take a rapid test. Those who were negative could leave without any problem, and the positive testers would need to be quarantined. At that point, there were 4 positives, and the remaining 17 were negative. When we arrived in Puerto Princesa, we were informed that we would be transported to a government facility for PCR testing. Upon arrival at the facility, we were told that we must isolate there for 2 days, and have a test at the government controlled lab after 2 days of isolation. We were placed in dirty rooms with poor plumbing. The conditions were beyond disgusting. After 2 days, we were taken to a facility for testing. All but 3 guests were asymptomatic. We received test results later that day, and 16 of 21 guests tested positive. We were required to stay in this facility for another 6 days. All 27 crew members were negative. We all took rapid tests- and they were negative. We asked to be retested, and were told there was only one place to be tested (the government facility). During our quarantine, we were treated like we had the plague. This was by far the worst travel experience I ever had. I would not have traveled 9000 miles to be stuck in a facility that did not really care about us or our wellbeing. The boat operator never told us that this could be an outcome during our trip. We would have stayed home if we knew the horrors we had to endure. Words of wisdom - find out about the CoVid protocols wherever you travel!
Websites	Discovery Palawan
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Thailand, Tahiti, Palau, Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Bonaire, Barbados, Turks, Dominica, Antigua, Florida, Bahamas
Closest Airport	Puerto Princesa	Getting There	40+ hours to travel from US.
Dive Conditions
Weather	cloudy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	84-85°F / 29-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-150 Ft/ 15-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	One hour maximum dive time.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 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	[None]

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Discovery Palawan in Philippines/Tubbataha

Discovery Palawan: "From Tubbataha to Quarantine Hell", Jul, 2022,

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 Discovery Palawan in
Philippines/Tubbataha