Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park

Tubbataha is two coral atolls and an isolated reef sitting in the open Sulu Sea, roughly 150 kilometres from the nearest land, and it is protected as strictly as any marine site in Asia: no fishing, no anchoring, no landing except at the ranger station, and a diving season limited to about three months when the sea is calm enough. The result is a reef in a condition most divers never see, with walls dropping into deep blue, dense schools of jack and barracuda, reef sharks as a matter of routine, turtles, and occasional whale sharks and hammerheads. Around a thousand species have been recorded here. Rangers live on a platform in the middle of it year-round, which is both the reason it has survived and a fairly bleak posting.

What you actually see

• The walls - vertical reef drop-offs on both atolls, the signature dive profile.
• Shark and pelagic action - white-tip and grey reef sharks, jacks, barracuda and occasional hammerheads.
• Bird Islet - a seabird nesting cay, viewed from the boat rather than landed on.
• The ranger station - the permanently manned platform that keeps the park intact.

When to go

Mid-March to mid-June is the entire season; outside that window the Sulu Sea is too rough and the park is closed to visitors. Boats book out a year or more ahead for the best weeks.

Honest expectations

This is an expensive, committed trip and not a day excursion: a liveaboard of several days, ten hours of open sea each way, and no possibility of leaving early. Currents are strong and the diving suits experienced divers rather than novices. There is no snorkelling-only option worth the money, and seasickness on the crossing is common.

Nearby

Puerto Princesa and its underground river are the mainland base; El Nido lies north up the Palawan coast.