Dive Review of Atlantis Dive Resorts in
Philippines/Dumaguete

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Atlantis Dive Resorts, Sep, 2012, by Rose Mueller , FL, US ( Sr. Contributor 27 reports with 13 Helpful votes). Report 6701.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We'd stayed twice at Atlantis, Puerto Galera. The former manager urged us to go to Dumaguete as it's isolated from the town. The trip is very costly and long, also for us requiring an overnight in Manila. Cebu Airlines is difficult at best. Even after paying for additional luggage ($50.00 per person per way), as we carry our gear and photography equipment, we had problems getting them to allow our camera gear as checked luggage. There was NO consideration for hand carrying it. I thought the resort had undergone renovations. It is VERY Spartan. We opted for the "upgraded" ocean front room. It was barely possible to move around the bed. Cramped is an understatement. It is old, tired and moldy. The noise level is considerate if someone is in the room above. The resort is isolated from town so BYOB if you drink and watch that you have your amenities in hand. It is expensive to secure things at the resort. The food is carefully prepared and I didn't worry about eating it. The chef was amenible to changing anything to suit our tastes. The Philippine people are gracious and most eager to accommodate. I can't say the same about management. The dive facility itself is excellent. The boats are in pristine condition. The safety of the divers is taken seriously. The dive masters are competent. We were most impressed with Jess as he wasn't a clock watcher. He LOVES to dive. Marco is knowledgeable, but not passionate. I have an issue that they don't screen their divers. We had 1227 dives and were put with a diver that hadn't been in the water for 6 years and was obese and out of shape. It shouldn't have taken the SERIOUS complaining to rectify this situation. There are no reefs at Dumaguete. It is the day trip to Apo Island. There problem is that even the reefs there are severly compromised. There are crown of thorns in the reef, fishing line and fish traps in the sanctuary and a lot of garbage. There are precious few fish. It is ironic that I paid an environmental fee of $135.00 for these conditions. The government is not doing anything yet to clean up these waters. The lion fish compete with the photographers for the fish. I seriously had to push several away. There were no pygmy sea horses, few frog fish and wasp fish. The lion fish have no predators and little prey. I fear they are eating the juvenile fish. If you love octopus, the dive site Punta is for you. The dive masters went out of their way to help us find the blue ringed octopus. Most of our dives were there, hunting. On our last dive Paul found it! This was indeed a thrill. The return trip was difficult. We had to leave the resort at 10:30am to catch our flight to Manila. It left us with a 10 hour layover in Manila. Atlantis Resorts usually offer a discount for off season. I had asked before I booked the trip if it would be offered this year. The question wasn't addressed. A month after I booked the trip they offered 1/2 off for the second person. I'd suggest anyone going off season to book the airfare and then wait for the discounted price to be announced by the resort. There would be no problem in securing a room as there was only one other diver throughout most of our stay. There is also no incentive for return visits. This was our 3rd Atlantis experience and nothing was offered for being a "preferred" client. At PPR in Palau they are quite gracious about saying, thank you, to repeat guests. This holds true for our repeat visits to Cozumel with El Cantil, the resort and Scuba Du, the dive facility. Perhaps Atlanis has all of the business they need, but I find it curious. Even a thank you for our patronage would have been nice.
Websites	Atlantis Dive Resorts
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Papua New Guinea, Coral Sea, Solomon Islands, Palau, Galapagos, Puerto Galera- Phillipines, Florida, Caribbean, Red Sea
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	78-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	This was a serious bone of contention. They offer 5 dives. We'd rather dive 3 longer dives. After 3 dives with the dive master insisting we begin to ascend after 50 min. I complained. It did no good until my "husband" complained. I even heard the owner talk about the 50 up, 60 minute out rule.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	The Atlantis Resorts have the BEST rooms for photography I've encountered. This is perhaps their greatest positive.

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Dive Review of Atlantis Dive Resorts in Philippines/Dumaguete

Atlantis Dive Resorts, Sep, 2012,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Atlantis Dive Resorts in
Philippines/Dumaguete