LDA Travel

Tubbataha is located in the Sulu Sea, at the center of the Coral Triangle between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Rarely visited due to its location and its status as a marine preserve, Tubbataha is made up of two reefs, simply referred to as the North and South Reefs. The North and South Reefs both enclose a sandy lagoon. On the southern tip is an islet with a lighthouse. This is used as a rookery for birds and is frequented by turtles.
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to no less than 573 species of fish, 373 species of corals, 11 species of sharks, 12 species of dolphins and whales, nestling hawksbill and green sea turtles.

Dive Day Schedule
Day 1: NORTHERN TIP OF NORTH ATOLL
Day 2: SOUTHERN END OF NORTH ATOLL
Day 3: NORTHERN TIP OF SOUTH ATOLL
Day 4: SOUTHERN END OF SOUTH ATOLL
Day 5: SOUTHEAST OF NORTH ATOLL
Day 6: JESSIE BEAZLEY REEF

Northern Tip of North Atoll
Fissures and crevices lead into it where nurse and whitetip reef sharks can be found resting during the day. Small manta rays, stingrays and spotted eagle rays, together with numerous turtles have all been spotted. The wall has huge gorgonian fan corals, soft corals and barrel sponges. Blacktip, whitetip and grey reef sharks can normally be seen patrolling here in numbers.
Southern End of North Atoll
Malayan, Wallstreet and Amos Rock are the pick of the dive sites. Fans and macro will enjoy these sites with Denise pygmy seahorses clinging to the sea fans. See scorpion fish, moray eels and even ghost pipefish. Don’t worry pelagic fans, you can still see huge dogtooth tuna, sharks and spanish mackerel in the blue.
Northern Tip of South Atoll
Highlights include Black Rock, T Wreck and Eiger Wall. You will lose count of the number of green and hawksbill turtles in the area. Look out for marble stingrays in the sand. Eagle rays often cruise by and expect to see large grouper and giant trevally.
Southern End of South Atoll
This area is known for its lighthouse and is home to famous divesites Delsan Wreck and Black Rock. Hammerheads are the most prized sighting here as well as occasional whale sharks passing by. Look out for guitar sharks in the shallows.
Jessie Beazley Reef
The charter finishes with a couple of dives at Jessie Beazley Reef. You can see schools of bumphead parrotfish munching on the corals. Watch out for inquisitive napoleon wrasse. The shallow reefs are full of colorful tropical fish like the regal angelfish and titan triggerfish.
Southern End of North Atoll
The dive starts on a gentle slope that is covered in superb unmolested corals and ends with a wall covered with dramatic gorgonian fans where sharp eyed divers can often spot pygmy seahorses. If there’s current, you’ll come across a wide variety of large fish, including narrow-barred spanish mackerel, giant trevally, red snapper, napoleon wrasse and giant groupers.
You’re almost certain to see whitetip and grey reef sharks. Look out for manta rays, spotted eagle rays and both green and hawksbill turtles closer to the surface. Other fish that can be seen include rainbow runners, african pompano, angel fish, leaf scorpion fish, fire dart fish and down deeper, decorated dart fish

Atlantis Azores latest exciting itinerary is to the sunken World War II wrecks of Coron Bay via Apo Reef. A typical charter starts with two days of exploring the 34 mile long reef system of Apo Reef, often referred to by many as a “mini-Tubbataha”.
Twenty four Japanese ships were sunk in Coron Bay on September 24, 1944 by the US Navy; you will have an opportunity to dive the best of these during our time there taking in both the unique history of the area and the amazing amount of fish and coral life that now cover the wrecks.

Dive Day Schedule
Day 1 & 2 – Apo Reef
Day 3 & 4 – Coron Wrecks
Day 5 – Nanshin Maru & Dimipac Island
Day 6 – Kyokuszan Maru

Day 1 & 2 – Apo Reef and Tara Islands
The UNESCO heritage site of Apo Reef will be our destination for the first day. Shark Ridge is a great place to see white tip and black tip reef sharks. Manta rays are sometimes spotted here as well as hawksbill turtles and bumphead parrot fish. Binangaan Drop Off is another fantastic location with huge schools of snappers and tuna. Look out for spotted eagle rays in the blue as well as other pelagic species. On the end of our second day, we’ll offer an optional visit to Coron’s hot springs.
Day 3 & 4 – Coron Wrecks
Coron is a mecca for wreck divers. We begin to explore the Japanese ships wrecks from Second World War, including the Okikawa Maru, a 160 meter long ship which was sunk by a direct hit on the bow area. We also dive the Olympia Maru, a massive 120 meter vessel , the East Tangat Gunboat, a shallow dive on this 140 meter long submarine hunter that is ideal for exploration. The two main boilers are a big attraction where hard coral growth is extensive, and plenty scorpion fish on the decks. We also explore the Akitsusima, one of Coron’s most famous dives a wreck of the sea plane tender, and Irako, a refrigeration ship for the Japanese Imperial Navy.
Day 5 – Nanshin Maru Dimipac Island
Black Island Wreck, or Nanshin Maru, a small tanker which was coverter to take fuels (like diesel, etc.); she is approximately 50 meters long sitting upright on a sandy bottom. We then dive Dimipac Island, offering relaxed diving, with sandy slopes on which you may meet turtles, dendritic jawfish, leaf scorpionfish, ribbon eel and who knows, may be a dugong! The water around the island is relatively warm, with very little current, offering heavenly photo opportunities!
Day 6 – Kyokuszan Maru
We open our 6th day with two deep morning dives at Kyokuszan in Maricaban Bay off the island of Busuanga Island, Coron. Kyokuzan was an auxiliary supply ship of the Japanese Royal Navy sunken by a US carrier-based aircraft. She is approximately 140 meters long, with beautiful corals grown over car parts, tires and the body of the ship. We then cruise back to Puerto Galera.