Discovery Palawan offers trips to Tubbataha Reefs and to Malapascua / Cebu / Visayas … plus one or two December trips to Apo Reef. She is also available for private charters in the Philippines.

The final itinerary is, of course, always dependant upon weather, sea conditions and where the best animal sightings are at any particular time of year.

TUBBATAHA … generally 6-night trips March to June

Tubbataha Reefs park is under the strict protection of rangers all year round to ensure that the nations doesn’t lose the spectacular reefs and marine life in this region. You can expect to see sponges nearly as large as the passing whale sharks, giant sea fans and delicate soft corals.  The coral gardens attract schooling sweetlips, bumphead parrotfish. and batfish but you’ll also dive vertiginous walls with hanging gardens filled with critters.  There will be plenty of “the big stuff” as these waters offer ample interactions with manta rays, turtles, jacks, schools of barracuda, hammerheads, tiger shark and, yes, whale sharks. Exploring Shark Airport is one of the most exciting highlights of this cruise. This reef edge contains coral bommies and sandy patches where white tip sharks are usually found lying on the sand.  The reef’s name comes from someone’s idea that the sharks looks like planes parked at an airport !  Schools of snappers and surgeonfish can also be spotted in the reef top.

VISAYAS TO BATANGAS … INCLUDING MALAPASCUA / CEBU / CORON / APO REEF & MORE …  generally 6-night trips September to March

Comprised of several thousand islands and surrounded by nutrient-rich waters, the Visayas region is home some superb diving.  Discovery Palawan offers a variety changing itineraries in hte Visayas region based on the best time for diving each region & site.  You will see the islands / reefs to be visited on specific dates when you search for spaces. Below is an overview of the sites which may be included on your cruise:

Malapascua : known for critters & sharks, especially the elusive thresher sharks. This area has become particularly popular due to the ease of viewing thresher sharks – many up to 6 meters (nearly 20 feet).   You’re almost certain to dive the manta cleaning station, too.

Apo Reef: often considered one of the premier diving destinations in the Philippines, it is best known as a pelagics destination, although it is graced with a superb sea-fan covered wall which is filled with prolific marine life.

Coron / WWII wrecks :  For wreck-diving aficionados, Coron is considered one of the world’s top destinations. 24 Japanese vessels went down here during an American attack in 1944 and roughly half have been found, most of which lie at recreational diving depths.

Cebu : the area which is often referred to as Cebu is largely about corals (filled with pygmy seahorses and frogfish), sponges and reef fish …. with a smattering of pelagic dives and walls thrown into the mix.  Oh yes, and …. whale sharks !

Batangas :  one of those opportunities for everything from the minute to the massive …. but with an accent on macro creatures & muck … featuring frogfish, ghost pipefish, scorpionfish, lizardfish and countless varieties of nudibranchs.