Tubbataha Reef liveaboard

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
9
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
1
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
8
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
10
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
5
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
9
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
90 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
8th/454
Top 1%
continent
Asia
country
Philippines
Length of time
Around a week
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$590 ($2,000-$4,500 in 2024 prices)
Time of year visited
March
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Boat trip Isolation Scuba diving
All Tags
Adventure Beaches Islands Sailing Stargazing Sunsets UNESCO world heritage site Wildlife - Boobies Wildlife - Dolphins Wildlife - Sea Turtles Wildlife - Sharks Wildlife - Stingrays
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Tubbataha Reef is widely considered the best diving in the Philippines and is often compared to places like the Galapagos. It’s a remote UNESCO-listed reef system in the middle of the Sulu Sea, and the only way to visit is by liveaboard, typically over 5–7 days. This isn’t a place you just add onto a normal Philippines trip – it’s a trip specifically for diving.

What to expect – the diving here is all about big, healthy reefs and large marine life.  Expect reef sharks, giant marbled rays, turtles, huge schools of fish, excellent visibility and dramatic wall dives (give the videos above a minute to load). The reefs are in incredible condition, and because of how remote the area is and how tightly controlled visitor numbers are, everything feels very untouched and wild compared to most dive sites in Southeast Asia.

That said, this trip isn’t for everyone. It’s relatively expensive, it takes 12-15 hours to get there, only available mid-March to mid-June, and you have to be happy living on a boat with little sight of land for the duration of the trip. Conditions can also be a bit more challenging than easy resort diving, so it’s much better suited to intermediate or experienced divers rather than complete beginners.

Is it worth it? If you’re a diver and you want to experience one of the best dive sites in the world, then yes – this is absolutely worth considering and is the top diving experience in the Philippines. But it’s a serious trip in terms of both time and money, so it’s the kind of place you go because you specifically want to dive somewhere world-class, not just because you happen to be nearby.

In a nutshell:

  • Probably the best diving in the Philippines
  • Multi-day liveaboard only – you can’t day trip this
  • Famous for sharks, giant marbles rays, big schools of fish and pristine reefs
  • Better for intermediate/experienced divers than beginners
  • Expensive, but a genuinely world-class diving destination

 

Highlights

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#1 The sensational coral reefs

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#2 The giant schools of fish, in this case Jack Fish

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#3 The unusual experience of being in the middle of the Sulu Sea with nothing except the reef for miles and miles

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#4 The huge Marbled Rays that are prevalent here

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#5 The stars - as Tubbatahan is in the middle of the Sulu Sea, the light pollution is non existent … except if there is a full moon!

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#6 Boat life - spending the week on the beautiful Gypsy boat from Sea Explorers

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#7 Visiting some of stunning white sand beaches on the way back via Cagayan Island

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#8 The sunsets - hard to beat

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#9 All shapes and sizes of fish!

Travel Tips

Getting there can be rocky – there is a reason that the boats only visit is mid March to mid June as the weather is unpredictable.  So much so that even in late March we got smashed around on the sail out to the reef and sleeping was difficult.

The weather can mean the dive itinerary needs to change – perhaps it’s because you’re so far from land, but the changeability of the currents meant we had to switch up the dives quite a few times, which can mean missing things like in our case manta cleaning stations.

The reef itself is actually 3 reefs, quite a long way from eachother, and the island of Cagayan that you may pass on the way (especially from Negros).

Call out dive spots – a lot of the dives are quite similar (similar in the sense  of all being stunning shallow reef and / or giant reef walls that seem to go on forever!), but in particular I’d say the Delsan Wreck (early morning for the big rays and sharks) and Shark Airport / the Washing Machine for a wonderful drift dive are musts.

Which boat to go with – we went with Sea Explorers from Duain over in Negros, which is nice because it gives an alternative to the Puerta Princessa start/finish spot, the crew were fantastic and the boat top quality. USD3.5k, plus equipment etc. Would highly recommend it.

 

How does Tubbataha compare to the world’s best dive experiences

Tier: World’s Best

RAJA AMPAT 🇮🇩 – THE COMPLETE PACKAGE
Pristine reefs, huge fish life, manta rays, sharks, world-class macro and an incredible variety of dive sites, all set among some of the most beautiful tropical islands on earth. Raja Ampat is about as close as diving gets to the complete package. Raja Ampat by liveaboard / Raja Ampat at Misool Eco-resort/ Raja Ampat by guesthouse

THE GALAPAGOS 🇪🇨 – BIGGEST WOW DIVING ON EARTH
So many hammerhead sharks you genuinely get bored of them, plus whale sharks, sea lions and marine iguanas, all in one of the world’s most extraordinary wildlife environments. The trip out to Wolf and Darwin makes this the single biggest wow diving experience on the planet. Scuba diving at Wolf and Darwin Islands in the Galapagos

Tier: Elite

TUBBATAHA REEF 🇵🇭 – REMOTE DIVING WILDERNESS
UNESCO-listed reef system in the middle of the Sulu Sea, only accessible by liveaboard.  Huge healthy reefs, big marine life and almost no other divers – everything feels wild, remote and untouched.  The pride of the Philippines.

KOMODO ISLANDS 🇮🇩 – BIG FISH & WILD DRIFT DIVING
Strong currents, huge schools of fish, manta rays, sharks and some of the most exciting drift diving in the world.  Plus the Komodo Islands themselves are one of the most beautiful locations to dive.  Not always easy diving, but when Komodo is good, it’s elite. Sailing the Komodo Islands in November

THE RED SEA 🇪🇬 – BEST EASY WORLD-CLASS DIVING
Incredible coral reefs, warm clear water, huge walls, wrecks and reliable conditions, all with relatively easy access. The Red Sea is probably the easiest place in the world to do truly world-class diving. Scuba diving in the Red Sea from Hurghada

SIPADAN 🇲🇾 – TURTLES, BARRACUDA & SHEER WALLS
A tiny island with spectacular wall diving, huge schools of barracuda, lots of turtles and very healthy reefs. Small, focused and very special — Sipadan is one of Southeast Asia’s standout dive sites.

Tier: Specialist Dives

MALAPASCUA 🇵🇭 – THRESHER SHARKS
One of the only reliable places in the world to dive with thresher sharks, seen regularly at Monad Shoal. Not a huge variety of diving, but for thresher sharks this is the place. Diving with Thresher Sharks at Malapascua Island

TULUM 🇲🇽 – CENOTES
Freshwater cave diving through crystal clear water, stalactites and beams of light – completely different from ocean diving and one of the most unique dive experiences in the world. Scuba diving the Cenotes of Tulum

BEQA ISLAND 🇫🇯 – TIGER SHARKS
The most intense shark experience in the world and one of the only places you regularly dive outside of a cage with tiger and bull sharks.  Not for the faint-hearted. Diving with bull and tiger sharks by Beqa Island

CAPE TOWN 🇿🇦 – KELP FORESTS
Cold water diving through giant underwater kelp forests with seals, dramatic light and a very different feel to tropical diving — more like an underwater jungle. Kelp diving near Cape Town

CORON 🇵🇭 – WWII WRECK DIVING
A collection of Japanese WWII wrecks sitting in clear water, making this the best wreck diving destination in the world. Wreck diving in Coron

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Other World-class Diving Experiences

Scuba diving at Wolf and Darwin Islands in the Galapagos
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Diving with bull and tiger sharks by Beqa Island
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Scuba diving the Cenotes of Tulum
⭐⭐⭐⭐

A week diving at South Raja Ampat’s Misool Eco-resort
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Live-aboard diving through Central Raja Ampat
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Swimming with Humpback Whales and relaxing in paradise in Vava’u
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sailing the Komodo Islands in November
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Diving the Blue Hole
⭐⭐⭐

Scuba diving in Cozumel
⭐⭐⭐

Swimming with Whale Sharks in Donsol
⭐⭐⭐

Diving with Thresher Sharks at Malapascua Island
⭐⭐⭐

Scuba diving in the Red Sea from Hurghada
⭐⭐

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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