Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site covering 97 thousand hectares in the center of the Sulu sea in the heart of the coral triangle. Diving here is spectacular. Research shows that there are 600 fish species, 360 coral species, 11 shark species, 13 dolphin and whale species, and a nesting site for Hawksbill & Green sea turtles here.

Most dives are along walls covered with corals in very good condition. We went at the end of the season during the first week of June and saw lots of reef sharks, manta rays, eagle ray, lots of turtles, large bumphead parrot fish and napoleon wrasse, and even a hammerhead shark (albeit far – we were at about 40m and it was at abt 50) as well as variety of schooling fish.

We missed the whale shark and will be going back for sure. Tubbataha is only accessible by liveaboard and diving season is short between mid-March and mid-June. Visibility is superb about 30-50 meters. Only about a dozen boats operate diving trips and given the size of the reef you most likely will not have too many divers around you.

What to see

Logistics

Tubbataha reef is only accessible by liveaboard. The information on the park and liveaboards in the park is here. All liveaboards depart from Puerto Princessa in Palawan. There are regular flights to Puerto Princessa from Manila and Cebu. Most operators offer transition trip as the first and last trip of the season. Transition trip is a good opportunity to combine Apo Reef and Tubbataha reef in one trip. Transition trip in March departs from Batangas and ends in Puerto Princessa and the last trip of the season in June starts in Puerto Princessa and returns to Batangas. Puerto Princessa town has many hotels and expanding restaurant options. There is not much to do in Puerto Princessa itself.

Further ideas for combining Tubbataha trip include going to El Nido in the north of Palawan island – about 5 hour overland transfer or private plane transfer – or visiting Underground River and Honda Bay. If you do a transition trip in/out of Batangas then it can be combined with diving in Anilao or Puerto Galera. Tubbataha is definitely a world class destination and by far the best diving in the Philippines!

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