looking at first trip to The Philippines - atlantis resorts - advice?

[Scotttyd]

My LDS is putting together a trip to The Philippines - staying 7 nights at each of the Atlantis resorts (Puerto Galero and Dumaguete). They say an average of 5 boat dives a day + unlimited shore diving at Dumaguete- around $3900 (includes food and domestic transfers/flights) + the international flights from the US to MNL. Is this a decent deal? What is the diving like at these two locations? I am assuming some of them are at least long shallow dives if we are dong that many dives.

I have heard of "Muck Diving" in the Philippines, what is exactly meant by that? I google image searched, when I think of Muck diving here I think of poor viz, muddy bottoms, and not much to see. There it looks like it is creature searching, clear water, basically diving off the coral reef?

Any other advice?

thanks!!!

 

[TSandM]

For fourteen days, that is a reasonable price, especially since you have the expense of the inter-island flight as well. Atlantis is not cheap, but it is wonderful. We have been there twice, and are going back in October, because we've had such a wonderful time.

Puerto Galera was mostly drift diving on gorgeous reefs, although we did do some other dives, like going to see the giant clams. Dumaguete is mostly muck diving (more about that later), with Apo Island (and Siqijor, if you can get there) as reef diving alternatives. Both resorts are beautiful and the food is very good. The service is fantastic, and the dive op is professional and safety-conscious.

Muck diving is diving over a dark silt bottom and looking for the weird and the wonderful. You can find octopuses, sea moths, gurnards, a wide variety of nudibranchs, flamboyant cuttlefish, and a whole lot of other amazing creatures in what appears to be a pretty featureless environment. It's not "pretty" diving, and you have to have good buoyancy control and non-silting propulsion to get the most out of it, but it's treasure hunting and a lot of us find it great fun. EVERY bit of structure attracts life like a magnet, including concrete buoy blocks, rocks, tires, and bottles.

You will get all the diving you have a stomach for . . . Because I love night diving, I generally bagged the fourth daytime dive for some rest before going out again. We didn't bother to shore dive, because there was always a boat going somewhere when we wanted to be underwater.

Writing this has got me all excited, thinking about going back!

 

[WOODMAN]

Lot of variables here, so it's hard to make specific recommendations. As to the cost, you have to break it down and see what you are getting. What kind of air transfer are you letting yourself in for? Is this a fairly straight shot with minimal stops, or are you banging through 2 or 3 (or 4) air stops to finally get where you are going? What are the particulars of the flight like? Baggage allowance, for example? Boarding status? Where are you going first? What are the arrangements going to be like? Transfers? 5 boat dives a day??? (Whew! That's hard enough to do from a liveaboard where you just walk over to your gear, put it on and drop off the edge of the boat) Nitrox? Night dives? (I would assume night dives if you are gonna get 5 dives a day in...) Lots of questions.
As to the dive destinations themselves, Atlantis in both places is one of the premier resorts in either place, so you should have no worries there. I can only speak to PG/Sabang, as I have not been to Dumaguete (yet), but I can tell you that the diving at PG is varied and wonderful beyond anything you have seen in the Caribbean. Muck diving is not a real prominent feature at PG/Sabang, and it refers to diving where there is not much coral and mostly a mud or sand bottom, with usually lots of weird and strange little creatures inhabiting it. This is more prominent across the channel at Anilao, and Sabang has a tremendous mix of coral heads, a few nice wrecks, giant clams, canyons and walls, and the lure of Verde Island for the more adventurous. One thing you probably won't get here is large pelagics, or large fish of any kind. The Philippines are not really noted for this, with a few notable exceptions. All in all, however, a great place to start experiencing the Philippines. Please reference my exhaustive report on this area from last year.
Overall, the cost strikes me as rather high, but without breaking it all down it is hard to really compare. I am leaving for this area in a week, and I know we are paying a lot less overall, but then our trip is considerably different than yours. We are not going with a group, for one thing. I will post my usual insanely detailed trip report when we return. Do more research and see what you are getting. Good luck, and you will love the Philippines.
Woody

 

[ronski101]

4 of us are going to Atlantis Dumaguete and crystal blue in Analao for 2 wks for $6889 for 2 so you may be a bit high. this included everything but marine park fees.

 

[tursiops]

4 of us are going to Atlantis Dumaguete and crystal blue in Analao for 2 wks for $6889 for 2 so you may be a bit high. this included everything but marine park fees.

You're going from the west coast, he is going from the east coast. Substantial price difference.

 

[ronski101]

ours includes the cost of transferring back and forth to two resorts not just one.....

 

[Scotttyd]

4 of us are going to Atlantis Dumaguete and crystal blue in Analao for 2 wks for $6889 for 2 so you may be a bit high. this included everything but marine park fees.

that is 2k more than me - so how is mine high? (I must be missing something)

---------- Post added March 15th, 2015 at 09:15 AM ----------

This is with a local group that I have dove with before, their prices are usually less that would I pay normally (Ex Blackbeards in the bahamas is $50 less than the advertised price) - so I am not concerned that it isn't a fair price, just didn't know if it is 5star when all I really want is 3 star. The price includes everything from when I land in MNL to when I leave MNL (transfers, inter island flights, food, diving, room, etc)

 

[Atlantis Dive Resorts]

Hi Scotttyd,

We're so glad you are thinking of joining your local dive shop on a trip to vacation with us at Atlantis Puerto Galera and Dumaguete.

I am more than happy to leave the comments about the caliber of our dive resort and operation to others in this forum who have stayed with us.

What I can give you is the prices for the trip as described in 2015 if you were to put it together yourself:

- 7 nights at Atlantis Puerto Galera all inclusive (deluxe room, double occupancy) = $1770
- 7 night at Atlantis Dumaguete all inclusive (deluxe room, double occupancy), with 2 day trips to Apo Island included = $1928
- private transfer from Manila to Puerto Galera = $200 each way for one person
- domestic flight and transfer from Manila to Dumaguete with 30kg of checked luggage included = $165 each way for one person

Note: Transfer prices decrease based on the total number of guests traveling together in a group.
Example - 4 or more persons Manila to Puerto Galera = $50 each way, and 4 or more traveling to Dumaguete from Manila = $130 each way per person.
This is just one of the benefits you find traveling with a group. :cool2:

These prices can all be found on our website: Scuba Diving in the Philippines The Atlantis Dive Resorts and Liveaboards, The Best Dive Resort in the Island - Sabang, Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro and Lipayo, Dauin, Negros Oriental in Dumaguete under the "Check Rates & Availability" tab.

Sharon Connor
Marketing Manager
sharon.connor@atlantishotel.com

 

[Scotttyd]

Hi Scotttyd,

We're so glad you are thinking of joining your local dive shop on a trip to vacation with us at Atlantis Puerto Galera and Dumaguete.

I am more than happy to leave the comments about the caliber of our dive resort and operation to others in this forum who have stayed with us.

What I can give you is the prices for the trip as described in 2015 if you were to put it together yourself:

- 7 nights at Atlantis Puerto Galera all inclusive (deluxe room, double occupancy) = $1770
- 7 night at Atlantis Dumaguete all inclusive (deluxe room, double occupancy), with 2 day trips to Apo Island included = $1928
- private transfer from Manila to Puerto Galera = $200 each way for one person
- domestic flight and transfer from Manila to Dumaguete with 30kg of checked luggage included = $165 each way for one person

Note: Transfer prices decrease based on the total number of guests traveling together in a group.
Example - 4 or more persons Manila to Puerto Galera = $50 each way, and 4 or more traveling to Dumaguete from Manila = $130 each way per person.
This is just one of the benefits you find traveling with a group. :cool2:

These prices can all be found on our website: Scuba Diving in the Philippines The Atlantis Dive Resorts and Liveaboards, The Best Dive Resort in the Island - Sabang, Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro and Lipayo, Dauin, Negros Oriental in Dumaguete under the "Check Rates & Availability" tab.

Sharon Connor
Marketing Manager
sharon.connor@atlantishotel.com

hey thanks! - Like I said, I have no concerns that the price isn't fair - they always are

Just wondering about the types of diving, length of boat rides - are they two and three tank dives? (how do you get that many boat dives in unless they are really really short), etc

 

[phlegm]

holy crap $200 for an airport transfer? just take the bus and the ferry for like $20 it's really easy

---------- Post added March 17th, 2015 at 12:02 AM ----------

you don't actually have to make this decision btw, just rock up to PG, go check out a bunch of resorts and try to get a good deal out of one. This prices sound ludicrously high to me but then again I don't see the point in spending big on accommodation