- One way itinerary exploring the best of the Southern Visayas
- Meet an incredible number of critters in the shallows of the Cabilao Island
- Watch for silhouettes of whitetip sharks in the caves of Gato Island
- See Malapascua's famous thresher sharks at Monad Shoal
- Search for the hammerheads and mantas of Kimud Shoal
- Visit the marine sanctuary of Balicasag in Bohol
- Look out for turtles, reef sharks, and rays at Panglao Island
- Explore Sumilon Marine Sanctuary, known for its nudibranchs
Day 1: Embarkation
Board the Atlantis Azores at 17:00 from Atlantis Dumaguete resort, and enjoy a welcome evening and overnight travel to our first destination.
Days 2-9: Possible Destinations
Cabilao Island, Bohol
With its shallow topped reefs and nice drop-offs, the island offers an incredible number of critters in the shallows which are a delight to see. However, what really differentiates it from others nearby are the pristine hard corals around the southern coast. The reef offers species such as scorpionfish, tunas, jackfish, barracudas, frogfish, and nudibranchs.
Gato Island, Malapascua
One of the pearls of Malapascua and a perfect spot to see both macro and big fish, famous for the chance to spot whitetip and bamboo sharks along tunnels and resting under rocks. The soft coral gardens are home to pygmy seahorses, frogfish, and an array of nudibranch, and away from the reef is great for squid and bait balls.
Monad shoal, Malapascua
Monad Shoal is a sunken island on the edge of a 200m drop-off and is famous as the only place in the world where thresher sharks can be seen daily. Monad Shoal also has a cleaning station where giant manta rays are also a common sight year round along with eagle rays.
Kimud Shoal, Malapascua, Kalanggaman Island, Capitancillo Islet
Kimud Shoal is a sunken island. The top lies around 12-16m and drops down to 200m+, located in the same trench as Monad Shoal, there is a chance to spot thresher sharks, mantas, devil rays, and turtles. The top of the island is covered in hard coral with the sides covered in soft corals. The east side has some incredible rock formations and due to the drop-off, there is always the chance to see larger fish such as tuna or dolphins.
Anda, Bohol
Pygmy seahorses, bobtail squids, barracuda, and frogfish to name just a few of the tiny critters hiding in the colourful corals around Anda. But don’t forget to keep an eye out into the blue for huge rays, turtles, dolphins, or even the legendary whale shark.
Balicasag Island
The island starts with a shallow plateau of 6-18m before dropping off to a wall. With hard and soft corals housing moray eels, parrotfish, and clownfish, to name a few, keep an eye out for the schools of jacks that swim along the walls.
Panglao Island and Optional Land Tour
Panglao Island – Look out for… turtles, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, eagle & manta rays, schooling barracuda and trevally, frogfish, ghost pipefish, pygmy and thorny seahorses, plus many different species of nudibranch, among dramatic walls and reefs.
Chocolate Hills or Loboc River Tour. A visit to the Tarsiers (Add on optional Land tour) – the world’s smallest primate on both tours.
Oslob, Sumilon & Apo Island
We spend the last day diving with whale sharks at Oslob. The rest of the day will be spent diving around tranquil Sumilon Island, surrounded by crystal clear waters and pristine white sandy beaches. Look out for… exquisite coral gardens and drop-offs. ‘Might sees’ in this area include manta rays and stingrays, barracudas, sea turtles, snakes, and very occasionally whale sharks and hammerheads.
Day 10: Disembark
Disembark at Atlantis Dumaguete resort by 08:00, where you can stay and explore some world-class muck diving and visit Apo Island.
Sample itineraries are for guidance only. Actual itineraries may differ slightly due to factors such as weather, wildlife, logistics and local regulations.
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