Dive Review of Dos Palmas in
Philippines/Puerto Princesa

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Dos Palmas: "Dos Palmas -- nice place to layover.", May, 2016, by Michael J. Millet, CA, US ( Top Contributor 96 reports with 59 Helpful votes). Report 8930.
No photos available at this time
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	I made my way to Dos Palmas, Palawan, Philippines from Koror, Palau via Yap, Guam and Manila. The travel was smooth until the Manila-Puerto Princessa leg. My flight on PAL was cancelled so I was put on a later flight that arrived too late to catch the last ferry to Dos Palmas. The Dos Palmas arranged a hotel room for me in Puerto Princessa (PP). I arrived in PP with my dive gear but no clothes bag. With the assistance of the Dos Palmas staff, my bag arrived 2 days later. Dos Palmas is an island resort in Honda Bay northeast of Puerto Princessa. It is accessed by a scheduled ferry; about an hour’s ride. I spent 5 nights here filling the hiatus before boarding the Azores for Tubbataha. The dive shop was under renovation so the dive operation was set up on the beach under tarpaulins. They were definitely making the best of a challenging situation. No nitrox is available. Since I was among only 3-4 divers there at this time, the operation was quite accommodating regarding scheduling dives. I did 10 dives over 4 days. The dive boat has a dive guide, driver and mate on board a Filipino-style out-rigger. The visibility was generally on the low side – about 30’. The bottom is quite silty. The reefs appear to be in pretty good shape. The marine life offered several different genus of nudibranchs including very large Hypselodoris; several very large anemones with clown fish; several juvenile harlequin sweetlips; blueribbon eels; shrimps; pipefish and thorny seahorses. Breakfast is included but lunch and dinner are extra. Since Dos Palmas is the only place to eat on the island, it would make sense to have all the meal included. All alcohol is extra. The food was “hit and miss”. There were several items on the menu that were not available. In fact, the bar did not have tonic water until my last evening. Breakfast offered an extensive buffet plus made-to-order eggs. Lunch menu included some sandwiches that can be best described as “sad”. The dinner menu included a number of items that were not available including sashimi, mud crabs and poki. The tuna steaks were quite good and cooked to order – quite raw. The wait staff at the restaurant was always helpful and friendly. The rooms are quite large and overlook the water with a large balcony. The rooms face west to enjoy some fantastic sunsets. The power shuts off from 10 AM – 11 AM and from 4 PM to 5 PM everyday. The rooms are clean; the AC is the old-styled window units that are not very efficient, barely keeping the room cool. The resort offers a very large pool and a spa. All in all, I had a generally pleasant experience. For me, Dos Palmas is not a destination in itself, but it makes for a good place to spend a few days while waiting for the next leg of trip.
Websites	Dos Palmas
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	All over the Caribbean; Galapagos, Socorro, Fiji, Solomons, GBR, Vanuatu, PNG, Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Yap, Kosrae
Closest Airport	Puerto Princesa	Getting There	thru Manila; must arrive by about 230 PM to make last ferry to island.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	87-90°F / 31-32°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	25-50 Ft/ 8-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	There is no camera room at the resort. The dive shop was under renovation so there was no camera rinse on shore; used a hose to wash down the camera. The dive boat did provide a camera rinse container. Dos Palmas reefs call for a macro camera set up. Lots of clownfish, jawfish and many large Hypselodoris nudibranchs.

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Dive Review of Dos Palmas in Philippines/Puerto Princesa

Dos Palmas: "Dos Palmas -- nice place to layover.", May, 2016,

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 Dos Palmas in
Philippines/Puerto Princesa