When can I dive Tubbataha?

Tubbataha is only open from mid-March to mid-June, and only by liveaboard. The rest of the year the Sulu Sea is too rough to reach the reef safely, and the park is closed to protect it. Plan your trip around those dates, because there is no flexibility on the season.

Do I need to be an experienced diver for Tubbataha?

It's strongly recommended. Many sites involve moderate to strong currents, deep walls, and blue-water conditions, so most operators ask for an Advanced Open Water certification and around 50 logged dives. A few sites like Shark Airport are relaxed enough for all levels, but the park as a whole suits confident, current-comfortable divers.

Is Tubbataha only accessible by liveaboard?

Yes. The reef is 150 km (93 mi) from the nearest land with no islands to stay on, so a liveaboard is the only way to dive it. Trips run as 6-night, 7-day expeditions out of Puerto Princesa.

Scuba Diving in Tubbataha: Best Sites, Marine Life & When to Go

Diving in Tubbataha

Diving in Tubbataha is the closest thing the Philippines has to diving a truly wild reef. This UNESCO World Heritage atoll sits alone in the middle of the Sulu Sea, 150 km (93 mi) from the nearest land, and you can only reach it by liveaboard for a few weeks a year. Inside the park are two coral atolls and the Jessie Beazley Reef, ringed by walls that drop from a sunlit 5 m (16 ft) plateau straight into deep blue water. The numbers tell the story: 360 species of hard coral, 11 species of shark, and 13 species of whale and dolphin recorded inside the park boundary.

This is big-animal diving. You'll hang on walls while grey reef and whitetip sharks patrol below, watch schooling jacks and barracuda ball up in the current, and scan the blue for manta rays and whale sharks that pass through in April and May. Visibility is regularly 30 to 40 m (100 to 130 ft), sometimes more. The trade-off is that Tubbataha is remote and current-swept, so it rewards divers who are comfortable in blue water and drift. Trips run as 6-night, 7-day expeditions departing Puerto Princesa, and the reef only opens from mid-March to mid-June when the Sulu Sea lies calm enough to reach it.

Best dive sites in Tubbataha

The best dive sites in Tubbataha share a formula: a shallow reef top, a vertical wall, and a lot of big animals cruising the edge. Here are four that make the trip worth it.

Explore more dive sites with Divearoo's Dive Site Explorer.

Delsan Wreck

Delsan Wreck sits on the edge of a drop-off in the south atoll, and it's one of the best places in the park to catch the big pelagics. The old wreck itself breaks the surface and is too shallow to dive, so the dive starts near its anchor and works the reef edge. You'll drift along the drop-off watching for manta rays, grey reef sharks, and barracuda, with turtles grazing the coral-covered slope. In April and May this is a prime spot for passing whale sharks, so keep one eye on the blue.

Depth: 5–30 m (16–100 ft)
Visibility: 30–40 m (100–130 ft)
Current: Moderate to Strong
Level: Advanced
Key species: Manta ray, whale shark, grey reef shark, barracuda, green turtle

Shark Airport

Shark Airport gets its name from the whitetip reef sharks that lie resting on its sandy plateau like planes on a runway. You'll cruise a flat, healthy shallow bottom counting sharks, then work the reef where clouds of fusiliers and surgeonfish stack up. It's one of the more relaxed sites in the park, which makes it a great first dive to get your bearings.

Depth: 5–30 m (16–100 ft)
Visibility: 30–40 m (100–130 ft)
Current: Moderate
Level: All Levels
Key species: Whitetip reef shark, grey reef shark, green turtle, fusiliers

Amos Rock

Amos Rock starts on a gentle slope in the shallows and ends at a sheer vertical wall that meets the seabed around 70 m (230 ft). It's at its best when the current is running and the reef comes alive with fish. Watch for big groupers, mackerel, and snappers along the wall, with gorgonian fans and whip corals fringing the deeper section.

Depth: 5–40 m (16–130 ft)
Visibility: 30–40 m (100–130 ft)
Current: Moderate to Strong
Level: Advanced
Key species: Giant grouper, snapper, fusiliers, jacks, gorgonian fans

Washing Machine

Washing Machine, on the exposed northeastern edge of the reef, is named for exactly what you think. When the tides swing, currents churn the water and can change direction mid-dive, pulling in schooling action. It's an advanced dive that you time to the conditions, and the payoff is walls of jacks, barracuda, and reef sharks feeding in the flow.

Depth: 10–25 m (33–82 ft)
Visibility: 30–40 m (100–130 ft)
Current: Strong
Level: Advanced
Key species: Schooling jacks, barracuda, grey reef shark, tuna

Map of dive sites in Tubbataha showing Deisan Wreck, Shark Airport, Amos Rock, Washing Machine — Deisan Wreck
Shark Airport
Amos Rock
Washing Machine

Best time to dive Tubbataha

The best time to dive Tubbataha is the only time you can: the park opens exclusively to liveaboards from mid-March to mid-June, when the Sulu Sea is calm enough to make the crossing.

Period	Conditions	Highlights
Mid-March	Water 26–27 °C (79–81 °F), transitional weather	Season opener, fewer boats, cooler water
April – May	Water 27–29 °C (81–84 °F), calmest seas, best visibility	Peak window, whale sharks and mantas passing through
Early June	Water 29–30 °C (84–86 °F), first signs of southwest monsoon	Warm water, last trips before the reef closes

April and May are the most reliable weeks for flat seas and clean water, which is why they book out first. If you want the season at its quietest, the mid-March departures trade slightly cooler, less settled conditions for fewer boats on the reef.

Diving conditions in Tubbataha

Factor	Details
Water temperature	26–30 °C (79–86 °F) across the season, coolest in March
Visibility	30–45 m (100–148 ft), among the best in the Philippines
Currents	A major factor, often moderate to strong; dives are timed to the tides
Wetsuit	A 3 mm full suit is enough for most divers
Reef system	Two coral atolls plus Jessie Beazley Reef, walls and shallow plateaus

Marine life in Tubbataha

Marine life in Tubbataha is what a reef looks like when it's left alone. As a strict no-take zone, the park holds numbers you rarely see elsewhere: 11 species of shark, 360 species of coral, big schools that haven't been fished down, and pelagics passing through on the open-water side of the walls.

Sharks: Grey reef, whitetip reef, and occasional hammerhead and tiger sharks
Pelagics: Manta rays, whale sharks (April–May), tuna, jacks, and barracuda
Reef dwellers: Green and hawksbill turtles, Napoleon wrasse, giant groupers, snappers, and fusiliers

Whale sharks: April to May, especially around Delsan Wreck and the south atoll drop-offs.

Manta rays: March to June, especially along the reef edges where current meets the walls.

Grey reef and whitetip sharks: throughout the season, especially around Shark Airport.

Tubbataha is one of the Philippines' great conservation success stories. It was declared a no-take marine park in 1988, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, and a permanent ranger station on the reef keeps watch year-round. The USD 145 conservation fee every diver pays helps fund those rangers and the park's ongoing protection.

Discover more marine life on Divearoo's global heatmap.

Practical information

Dive prices

Fun dives: Liveaboard only; no day diving is possible
Liveaboard: From around $1,400 USD for budget boats to $3,000 USD and up for premium vessels, for a 6-night, 7-day trip
Park/permit fees: USD 145 conservation fee per diver, usually collected in Puerto Princesa; marine park fees are typically bundled into the liveaboard package

Getting there

Every Tubbataha trip starts in Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan, reached by a short domestic flight from Manila or Cebu on Philippine Airlines or Cebu Pacific. From there, liveaboards sail 150 km (93 mi) southeast to the reef, an overnight crossing of 10 to 12 hours. There is no other way in, and no land to step onto once you arrive.

Scuba Diving in Tubbataha