Dive Review of Submariner/N/A in
Philippines/El Nido, Palawan

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Submariner/N/A: "Nice operation, but some room for improvement", Mar, 2020, by Carol D Cox, FL, US ( Sr. Contributor 22 reports with 16 Helpful votes). Report 11475 has 4 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I wasn't planning on diving El Nido, but our group detoured there when our liveaboard to Tubbataha cancelled due to the coronavirus. We thought we might be locked down on Palawan for a month and thought El Nido would be a nice place to stay if we were trapped. From videos I had seen of El Nido diving, I had low expectations. But I am glad to say I was pleasantly surprised. It was fortunate we went there, because El Nido started allowing mercy flights about a week before Puerto Princessa. After booking a flight, we had a couple of days to kill, so decided to dive. Two of the locals, our Airbnb host and the tour company that booked us on the flight, recommended Submariner. Since they were a 5-star PADI resort, we decided to go with them. Their shop was right on the beach, and was a great place to hang out and have a snack from the restaurant. The boat was well outfitted, except for the lack of a rinse bin or place to stow camera gear. But otherwise, it was roomy for the number of divers and had both shade and sun areas to hang out. The food prepared onboard for our lunch was excellent. One day we had chicken cutlets, and the other day the largest chicken wings I have ever seen. Both were fried up perfectly with lots of veggies, some fish, and rice on the side. The boat rides were fairly short - about 20 minutes average with great scenery to enjoy along the way. The diving was surprisingly good, with healthy corals, good visibility, and a variety of topography to include walls, coral reefs, and a fascinating 90-ft tunnel with skylights along the way. It was so beautiful, we traversed it both ways. The fish life was also great. Lots of the usual tropicals like wrasses, parrotfish, and a number of different anemone fishes. But I also photographed several fish that had been on my wish list, such as a pair of gorgeous blueringed angelfish and several bluelined groupers. The groupers took advantage of our lights in the tunnel to hunt small shrimp and fish, making them easy to photograph. The issues came on the second day of diving. We had been provided tanks with the wrong fittings for our regulators. Our dive guide hurried to change them out, but apparently got into too much of a hurry. One of my buddies failed to check his gear before the first dive, and it nearly cost him. He had descended to 40' below the surface when he suddenly ran out of air. He was able to grab his wife's octopus, but inhaled a little water. We all made our way to the surface and he and his wife decided to skip the first dive. In his rush to change our tanks out, our guide had grabbed an empty one. Of course, the near-accident could have been avoided if my friend had checked out his gear before suiting up, and he realizes he had become too complacent. On our second dive, I checked out my gear and pointed out to my husband that the on/off knob on the tank was on the opposite side from where they are normally found. I told him that it had to be turned forward to turn the air on, instead of towards the back. Well, apparently when I was getting ready to do my giant stride into the water, the crew member who was helping me turned the air off and then backed off a quarter turn; all this without me realizing it. I started my descent and everything was fine, but as I went deeper, it began to get difficult to breath. I looked at my pressure gauge and watched as the needle went up and down with every breath. My husband was already about 20 feet below me, so I ascended and had a crew member turn my air all the way on. The shop did comp my friend and his wife for the dive they missed. And they did do their two other dives that day. For divers who go to Coron to explore the wrecks, or to Puerto Princessa to catch a liveaboard to Tubbataha, El Nido would be a worthwhile addition to their dive trip. The above-water scenery is some of the best in the Philippines, with tropical blue waters surrounded by tall, rugged cliffs. There are a number of good restaurants, and several nice beaches in the area. Transportation is easy via the trikes. We stayed in an AirBnb with two air conditioned bedrooms, and an open air kitchen and living room. It had a fenced in courtyard and a refreshing plunge pool surrounded by tropical vegetation. My husband's videos can be found here. The Dillimacad Tunnel and Miniloc dives were my favorites of the six dives we did out of El Nido. [youtube.com link]
Websites	Submariner
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida, Turkey, Palau, Truk, Mexico, Red Sea, Cypress, Guam, Indonesia, Revillagigedo, Costa Rica, Philippines
Closest Airport	El Nido	Getting There	Fly to Puerto Princessa and take a 6-hr van ride to El Nido, or fast ferry from Coron, or fly directly to El Nido from Manila on Swift Air.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	81-79°F / 27-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-70 Ft/ 15-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Back at the boat with 500 psi
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
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Was able to use some of the dish water to give the cameras a quick rinse. Had to beat the divemasters to it after our third dive because they used the fresh water to rinse their scuba gear. There are a couple of showers at the dive shop, but no rinse bins for cameras.

Report currently has 4 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Melissa Schlenker in TX, US at Feb 17, 2022 10:44 EST

Hi, Thanks for submitting a report, I found it helpful. We are hopefully going to Tubbatha as well next year and the resort that we wanted to stay at is not offering that week as available. Can you please give me the name of the Air B&B? Thank you

By report author: Carol D Cox in FL, US at Feb 20, 2022 11:04 EST

I'm not sure I would recommend it. The host was pretty unpleasant. It was at least a 20 minute trike ride from the dive shop. We found it on AirBnb. It was lovely inside our compound with a garden and small, natural plunge pool. It was not convenient to anything. Our host was supposed to provide breakfast but didn't because the restaurant it came from was closed. He could have at least provided some fruit and rolls. You probably need to search Airbnb or hotels for something that suits your needs.

By Melissa Schlenker in TX, US at Feb 22, 2022 09:16 EST

Good to know, thank you for your response. It was very helpful.

By Melissa Schlenker in TX, US at Feb 22, 2022 09:16 EST

Good to know, thank you for your response. It was very helpful.

By Melissa Schlenker in TX, US at Jun 07, 2022 17:30 EST

Hi Carol, I'm trying to arrange my final plans for our trip to El Nido in 2023. We'll be at the Puerto Princesa after our trip to Tubbataha and we need a ride to the El Nido jetty lounge. What van company did you hire for the 6hr ride? By any chance, do you remember where the live aboard docks, which port? Thank you

By report author: Carol D Cox in FL, US at Jun 07, 2022 19:16 EST

Sorry I can't help much here because we were there when the country was shutting down due to the pandemic. We took a ferry from Coron to El Nido, and then caught a Mercy flight out of El Nido to Clark Airport - so we never did the 6 hour van trip to Puerto Princessa. In addition, our Liveaboard was cancelled, so I don't know where it docks in Puerto Princessa. We plan to do our trip in 2024, so by then you'll be able to tell me anything I need to know. Good luck on your trip.

By Melissa Schlenker in TX, US at Jun 07, 2022 19:28 EST

Haha, yes, I can repay the favor. Thank you for replying back.

By Melissa Schlenker in TX, US at Jun 07, 2022 19:28 EST

Haha, yes, I can repay the favor. Thank you for replying back.

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Dive Review of Submariner/N/A in Philippines/El Nido, Palawan

Submariner/N/A: "Nice operation, but some room for improvement", Mar, 2020,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Submariner/N/A in
Philippines/El Nido, Palawan