Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of 97,030 hectares marooned in the middle of the Sulu Sea, reachable only by liveaboard during a short calm-weather season from mid-March to mid-June. Its two isolated atolls and the smaller Jessie Beazley Reef hold some of the Coral Triangle's healthiest, least-fished reefs, with sharks on virtually every dive, manta cleaning stations, and walls dropping past 40 m.
Destination info
Conditions, highlights, and the resident marine life.
Conditions
Water and air temperature across the year.
WaterAirDryShoulderWet
Description
Tubbataha sits roughly 150 km southeast of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, in the open Sulu Sea, far from any inhabited coast. President Corazon Aquino declared it the Philippines' first marine national park in 1988; it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1993 and expanded to its present 97,030 hectares (about 970 km²) by proclamation in 2006. The park comprises two large coral atolls—North Atoll and South Atoll—plus the smaller Jessie Beazley Reef some 20 km to the north. Decades of strict no-take protection, enforced year-round by 10–12 rangers rotating through a station on the North Atoll, have left the reefs exceptionally intact: surveys document on the order of 360 hard-coral species, around 600 reef-fish species, 11 species of shark, 13 cetacean species, and roughly 100 bird species, with hawksbill and green turtles nesting on the South Atoll's lighthouse islet. Because the long open-water crossing is only safe in the dry, calm window, diving runs from mid-March to mid-June and is liveaboard-only; the rest of the year the park is effectively closed to visitors. Dives are mostly drift dives along sloping reefs and sheer walls, with variable—sometimes strong—currents and the occasional down-current, so operators typically require an Advanced certification and around 50 logged dives. Visibility commonly runs 20–40 m, peaking in April, with water temperatures of about 26–30°C.
Highlights
What makes this dive worth the trip.
Tubbataha is divable only during a short calm-weather season, roughly mid-March to mid-June, and only by liveaboard: the park lies about 150 km from Puerto Princesa in the open Sulu Sea, so the crossing is unsafe outside the dry window and the park is effectively closed the rest of the year. April typically delivers the calmest seas and peak visibility of 30–40 m.
Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, the park protects 97,030 hectares of the Sulu Sea and is one of the healthiest, least-exploited reef systems in the world, with surveys documenting roughly 360 coral species, 600 fish species, 11 shark species, 13 cetacean species, and 100 bird species.
Reef sharks are seen on virtually every dive—grey reef and whitetip reef sharks are constant—alongside large schools of jacks and barracuda, bumphead parrotfish aggregations, abundant turtles, and seasonal pelagics including hammerheads, whale sharks, and manta rays.
Marine life
34 species you’re likely to encounter on a dive here.
Dive sites
8 signature sites at this destination.
Delsan Wreck
A South Atoll site that, despite the name, is dived for its marine life rather than wreckage. It is a perennial favourite for green and hawksbill turtles and, above all, for a manta ray cleaning station where divers find a vantage point on the reef to watch one or several mantas circle in before settling to be groomed by cleaner wrasse. The drop-off also draws hunting pelagics—dogtooth tuna, great barracuda, and giant trevally—and reef sharks patrolling 'The Cut.'
18–33 madvancedLiveaboardModerateVisibility 20–40 m
Shark Airport
One of the North Atoll's most fertile sites: a wide coral plateau at roughly 15 m that drops to a shelf near 25 m, named for the rows of whitetip reef sharks that rest on the shallow sand like aircraft lined up on a runway. Ten to fifteen resting whitetips are common, with grey reef sharks, nurse sharks, turtles, dogtooth tuna, eagle rays, and moray eels along the slope. Drift conditions and the open plateau make it a classic Tubbataha shark dive.
15–30 madvancedLiveaboardModerateVisibility 20–40 m
Washing Machine
An exposed site on the northeastern edge of the park, named for unpredictable currents that can reverse direction mid-dive and churn divers around. It has a reputation for some of the most reliably excellent visibility in the marine park and is rich with grey reef sharks, whitetips, nurse sharks, stingrays, turtles, eagle rays, and—seasonally—manta rays and whale sharks. Surge near the reef edge and shifting current make it an advanced drift dive.
10–30 madvancedLiveaboardStrongVisibility 25–40 m
Amos Rock (Southwest Rock)
A wall dive on the southwest side of the North Atoll, draped in massive gorgonian sea fans and corals. It is a predator-focused, big-fish site: large groupers, snappers, dogtooth tuna, bluefin and giant trevally, Napoleon wrasse, grey reef sharks, whitetips, and barracuda work the wall and the blue, while the reef itself holds macro life including pygmy seahorses and nudibranchs. A favourite for dusk and night diving.
10–40 madvancedLiveaboardModerateVisibility 20–40 m
Black Rock
A South Atoll site running from a sloping plateau down to a wall, known for intense currents and serious pelagic action. Dogtooth tuna, Spanish mackerel, bluefin trevally, and barracuda hunt in the current; grey reef and whitetip sharks are constant, hammerheads and tiger sharks are possible, and a manta cleaning station and resident green and hawksbill turtles add to the mix. An advanced drift dive when the current is running.
10–40 madvancedLiveaboardStrongVisibility 20–40 m
Staghorn Point
A South Atoll site over dense thickets of staghorn coral, reckoned one of Tubbataha's most reliable spots for reef manta rays, which pass over and feed along the reef. The healthy staghorn fields also shelter reef fish, with rainbow runners and reef sharks cruising the adjacent slope. A comparatively relaxed drift relative to the high-current pinnacle sites.
5–25 mintermediateLiveaboardModerateVisibility 20–35 m
Malayan Wreck
A North Atoll drift along a wall and reef near the wreck of the M/V Malayan, which grounded on the atoll. The wall is good for spotting distant sharks in the blue—grey reef, whitetip, nurse, and seasonal schooling hammerheads—while the reef holds African pompano, rainbow runners, bumphead parrotfish, batfish, marble rays, giant morays, and macro life such as pygmy seahorses and leaf scorpionfish. An advanced dive that rewards looking both at the wall and out into open water.
10–35 madvancedLiveaboardModerateVisibility 20–40 m
Jessie Beazley Reef
A small, isolated coral reef about 20 km north of the two main atolls, around 1.6 km long, usually dived at the start or end of a trip. Sloping reefs and dramatic undercut drop-offs fall from roughly 7 m past 50 m, with plenty of shark activity. Schools of barracuda, Spanish mackerel, unicornfish and surgeonfish, Napoleon wrasse, and grey reef sharks gather here; currents can be unpredictable, so it is an intermediate-to-advanced site.
7–50 madvancedLiveaboardModerateVisibility 20–40 m
Where to dive & stay
Local dive centers, resorts, and hotels.
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