Atlantis Dive Resort Puerto Galera

Dive resort · Philippines · Sabang Beach, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro · Official Website

Room balcony with flowers and a sea view

Booking by Tour Leader Club

5 room types · 39 dive sites

Atlantis Dive Resort Puerto Galera sits on Sabang Beach at the northern tip of Mindoro. The resort is built into the hillside: forty rooms and suites are spread across terraces among heavy vegetation, with the dive centre right on the water below, alongside the restaurant, the pool and the beach bar.

Puerto Galera is called the diving capital of the Philippines. It lies on the edge of the Verde Island Passage — the “centre of the centre” of marine biodiversity — and has been a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve since 1973. This is the heart of the Coral Triangle: reefs, walls, wrecks and black-sand muck sites lie side by side, minutes from the shore.

What matters most here is dive logistics. Departures at 8:30, 10:30, 14:00, 16:00 and 18:00, night dives every day, up to five dives in twenty-four hours, and nearly every site no more than ten minutes away by boat. The site is chosen by you, not by a schedule — before every departure. Groups are no larger than six, your gear is carried, washed and put away for you, and the dive shop has a hot shower.

The resort has catered to underwater photographers for years: a dedicated climate-controlled camera room of seventeen square metres with thirty cubbyholes, eight metres of work surface and eighteen sockets, critter presentations, dusk dives on mandarinfish under red light, fluorescent dives under UV, and blackwater — a drift over deep water after dark, where the plankton and everything that feeds on it rise towards the lights.

Toko’s kitchen is a reason to come in itself: the lunch and dinner menus are rewritten on a chalkboard every day, there is a Mongolian wok, and an à la carte menu runs from ten in the morning to ten at night. Lonely Planet calls it “world class cuisine”. The evening usually starts at the beachfront 50 Bar, which keeps one of the best single malt selections in the Philippines.

No markup

You pay exactly the rate the resort publishes. On top of that, only the actual bank costs of currency conversion and the international transfer — no commission of ours.

We run the deal

Correspondence with the resort, holding the room, the contract, booking confirmation and all paperwork are on our side. There is nothing for you to arrange yourself.

Card payment

We accept payment by card through Stripe and issue an invoice. The transfer to the resort is our job — you do not have to find a way to pay abroad.

Support all the way

We help you choose the room and dates, work out the dive package, answer questions about flights and gear, and stay in touch until you are home.

The exact amount is confirmed when we hold your booking: it includes the resort's rate at the day's exchange rate plus the actual transfer costs. No hidden fees.

About the resort

Country: Philippines
Location: Sabang Beach, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro
Nearest airport: Manila (MNL) — about 2 hours by van to Batangas, then an hour by boat
Transfer: Door-to-door on request, with meet-and-greet and private transport
Dive sites: 39
Dive centre: Its own, on the beach; SSI training from Try Diver to Dive Guide
Rooms: 40 rooms and suites
Languages: English, Filipino

At the resort

Freshwater pool with a shallow and a deep end

Toko's restaurant with a chalkboard menu

Mongolian wok

Beachfront "50 Bar" on Sabang

Spa with massage, wraps and treatments

Dive centre on the beach

17 m² climate-controlled camera room

Purpose-built training pool

Air-conditioned classroom seating six

Free wifi across most of the resort

Boutique with local gifts

Poolside service — drinks and snacks

Air conditioning and ceiling fan in every room

Safe and minibar in every room

Cable TV with free movie and sports channels

Solar-heated hot water

Diving

No house reef — every dive is from a boat

Up to five guided boat dives a day

Departures at 8:30, 10:30, 14:00, 16:00 and 18:00

Night dives every day

Nearly every site within ten minutes by boat

Groups of no more than six

You choose the site before every departure

Private dives on request

60 individual gear cubbies

Gear carried, washed and put away for you

Compressors for air, nitrox and trimix

Rebreathers and technical diving

Good quality rental equipment

Hot water shower in the dive shop

A fresh beach towel daily, snacks and drinking water

Training pool and air-conditioned classroom

SSI training from Try Diver to Dive Guide

Most SSI specialties, one-on-one instruction available

Critter presentations and underwater films

Day trips to Verde Island and Anilao

The resort map numbers thirty-nine sites, from Odie's Wall to East Side — easy sandy muck patches through to walls and drifts for experienced divers. Close to the resort are the Sabang wreck, Alma Jane, Canyons, Hole In The Wall, Giant Clam and Sinandigan Wall, which photographers call Nudi City for the sheer number of nudibranchs. Giant Clam turns up blue-ringed octopus, harlequin shrimp, seahorses and garden eels; the muck site at Montani has frogfish, pipefish, octopus and crustaceans. Mandarinfish are shot on a dusk dive around five in the afternoon under red light. The Verde Island day trip is a wide-angle day out: walls, schooling fish and huge barrel sponges.

Dining

Toko's restaurant — local produce, international standard

Full à la carte breakfast cooked to order

Lunch and dinner menus rewritten daily on a chalkboard

Soup, salad, four main courses to choose from and dessert

Mongolian wok — meat, seafood and vegetables stir fried to order

À la carte from 10:00 to 22:00 — pasta, pizza, sandwiches, salads

Vegetarian and lighter options every day

Theme nights

Italian coffee machine, fresh juices and shakes

Wines from around the world, local and imported beer

Beachfront "50 Bar" daily from 15:00

Lonely Planet calls the Atlantis kitchen "world class cuisine". Special diets are catered for with a separate menu, and birthdays and anniversaries get a meal of their own. Drinks bought elsewhere carry a corkage fee. The 50 Bar stands right on Sabang Beach, opens at three in the afternoon and closes whenever the last guest leaves; it holds one of the finest single malt and imported beer selections in the Philippines.

Beyond diving

Sunset cruise along the coast, roughly 16:00 to 19:00

Tamaraw Falls, 14 km away

Mangyan village in the mountains

Ponderosa golf — nine holes at 500 metres altitude

Kayaking along the coastline

Trekking and running on the "loop" and "light house" trails

Tukuran, also known as Hidden Paradise — 45 minutes by jeepney

White Beach 30 minutes away, empty Haligi and Bayanan beaches

Snorkelling in the coves

Spa and massage after diving

The resort is built on a mountainside and nothing here is flat — ask the staff for walking routes, and they will sometimes come along. The golf course at the foot of Mount Malasimbo rents clubs and balls, and the view from five hundred metres takes in the whole bay. Tukuran is a forty-five minute jeepney ride from town, then on foot or by ox-cart. The spa offers the Atlantis signature massage, shiatsu, Thai, hot stone, deep tissue and Swedish massage, facials, scrubs and wraps, hand and foot spa, manicure and pedicure, paraffin baths and ear candling; the sauna and jacuzzi are at the Dumaguete spa only.

Rooms

Deluxe

View: Garden

Beds: One double bed, or one double and one twin

The resort's base category. All bedrooms are on one level, with an ensuite shower, cable TV, air conditioning and a ceiling fan, a minibar with refrigerator and a safe.

One double bed, or one double and one twin Ensuite with shower Air conditioning and ceiling fan Cable TV In-room safe Minibar and refrigerator Solar-heated hot water Wifi

Deluxe Twin

View: Garden

Beds: A double bed and two twin beds in a bunk

Built for four: a double bed plus a bunk pair of twins. Ensuite with shower, air conditioning, ceiling fan, minibar with refrigerator and a safe.

A double bed and two twin beds in a bunk Ensuite with shower Air conditioning and ceiling fan In-room safe Minibar and refrigerator Solar-heated hot water Wifi

Premier Suite

View: Garden; sea view from Flintstone B and C

Beds: One king bed and two twin beds in a bunk

Roomier than the Deluxe: a king bed plus a bunk pair of twins, a DVD player and a flat screen with cable, and a coffee and tea maker. Flintstone B and C have a private balcony with a sea view.

One king bed and two twin beds in a bunk Ensuite with shower Air conditioning and ceiling fan Flat screen with cable and a DVD player Coffee and tea making facilities In-room safe Minibar and refrigerator Private sea-view balcony at Flintstone B and C

Terrace

View: Sea

Beds: Two double beds

Two double beds and a private balcony with a sea view. Ensuite with shower, cable TV, air conditioning and a ceiling fan, a minibar with refrigerator and a safe.

Two double beds Private balcony with a sea view Ensuite with shower Air conditioning and ceiling fan Cable TV In-room safe Minibar and refrigerator

Suite

View: Garden and sea

Beds: One king bed

The largest category: a king bed and a separate living area, a DVD player and a flat screen with cable, a coffee and tea maker and an ensuite with shower.

One king bed Separate living area Ensuite with shower Air conditioning and ceiling fan Flat screen with cable and a DVD player Coffee and tea making facilities In-room safe Minibar and refrigerator

When to go

Best time: Year round, the water stays warm; the dry season runs November to May

Puerto Galera lies in the tropics, the water is warm all year and the resort works without a break. The driest and calmest stretch is November to May; the rainy and typhoon season falls between June and October. Mandarinfish come out at dusk year round, and the macro life on the muck sites does not depend on the season. Verde Island day trips depend on the weather — the passage is exposed, and a strong wind cancels the crossing.

Getting there

Puerto Galera sits on the northern tip of Mindoro, roughly 110 km south of Manila. The route is straightforward: a van from Manila or anywhere on Luzon to the port of Batangas takes about two hours, then a boat to Puerto Galera takes about an hour.

The resort arranges door-to-door transfers: meet-and-greet at the airport and a private car and boat straight to Sabang. Public ferry times from Batangas change, and the current schedule comes with your booking. The same reservations team can book a hotel in Manila if your connection lands overnight.