Visayas Safari – Malapascua, Bohol & Oslob Diving, Philippines
A$5,290
Duration: 8 Days | 7 Nights
Vessel: Atlantis Adventurer liveaboard (maximum 16 guests)
Embarkation & Disembarkation: Atlantis Dumaguete Resort, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental
Season dates: 27 June – 12 December 2026 | 28 August 2027 – 15 January 2028 | 9 September 2028 – 6 January 2029
The Visayas are one of the three island groups of the Philippines, and for divers they are the best of the lot — incredible macro, stunning walls, whale sharks and thresher sharks, all within a week’s easy cruising. Seven nights, a different dive site every day: the sardine run at Moalboal and the vertical walls of Pescador, Malapascua’s Gato Island where whitetip and bamboo sharks sleep in the tunnels, the thresher shark cleaning stations of Kimud Shoal, the sanctuary walls of Balicasag and Panglao in Bohol, and a finale snorkelling with whale sharks at Oslob and diving the pristine reefs of Sumilon.
This itinerary is hard to beat if you want a wide variety of locations in a single week. Easy cruises each evening take you from one great dive site to the next, so you wake up already moored above the morning’s diving.
Day 1: Embarkation, Dumaguete
Board the Atlantis Adventurer at 5pm at Atlantis Dumaguete Resort. Welcome briefing, dinner on board and an overnight cruise.
Day 2: Moalboal & Pescador Island, Cebu
Impressive drop-offs and bottomless walls along the Moalboal coast, and the famous resident sardine school that swirls in its millions just off the shore. Pescador Island, a couple of miles west, is a small plateau that drops vertically into the abyss and has been rated among the Philippines’ top dive sites for decades. Look out for… frogfish, stonefish, barracuda and turtles, with a chance of a passing thresher.
Day 3: Gato Island, Malapascua
A marine sanctuary and protected breeding location for the sea krait, with resident whitetip and bamboo sharks sleeping in the caverns and a shark tunnel running clean through the island. Gato is alive with nudibranchs, harlequin ghost pipefish and pygmy seahorses; photographers will find it hard to choose between macro and wide angle.
Day 4: Kimud Shoal & Capitancillo Islet
Kimud is a sunken island rising steeply from deep water and one of Malapascua’s great draws — a reliable thresher shark cleaning station that also attracts mantas, devil rays and turtles. Capitancillo adds a quieter drop-off with healthy hard coral and good macro.
Day 5: Balicasag Island
A marine sanctuary of dramatic multi-hundred-foot vertical walls south-west of Panglao, beginning on a shallow plateau before falling away. Look out for… turtles, schooling barracuda and trevally, and large groupers and napoleon wrasse hiding in the overhangs.
Day 6: Panglao Island
Reef and wall diving along Bohol’s south coast. Look out for… turtles, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, eagle and manta rays, frogfish, ghost pipefish and many species of nudibranch. An optional land excursion is available for those so inclined — Bohol’s renowned Chocolate Hills and the tarsiers, or a cruise on the Loboc River.
Day 7: Oslob & Sumilon Island
A grand finale. The day begins snorkelling at Oslob with the gentle giants, the whale sharks, before diving the pristine coral gardens and drop-offs of tranquil Sumilon Island, surrounded by crystal-clear water and white sand.
Day 8: Disembarkation, Dumaguete
Disembark at 7am at Atlantis Dumaguete Resort, followed by your transfer to Dumaguete Airport. End of tour.
Important – before you book:
• Advanced Open Water certification with a minimum of 25 logged dives is required.
• Minimum age is 15 years. Children under 15 are not accepted on dive charters.
• Dive and accident insurance is mandatory on all Atlantis liveaboard charters.
• A dive computer is mandatory, and every diver must carry a visible (signal tube) and audible (whistle) surface signalling device.
• Maximum recreational depth is 30m/100ft with a maximum dive time of 60 minutes. Night dives and dives below 18m/60ft require the relevant certification or the SSI Night/Deep module.
• The Atlantis Adventurer carries a maximum of 16 guests and requires a minimum of 8 paying guests to sail.
• The vessel carries spare dive equipment but no rental equipment on board. Rental gear can be hired for the week from Atlantis Dumaguete Resort and must be collected before embarkation.
• We strongly recommend arriving in the Philippines at least one day before departure. The charter departs on schedule and will not wait for missed flights.
• Embarkation is 5pm on Day 1 and disembarkation is 7am on Day 8. Early check-in and late check-out are not available on the liveaboard.
• The final itinerary and dive sites are at the Captain’s discretion and may change for weather, safety or logistical reasons.
Tour Price
• Price shown is per person, twin share, and includes return land transfers between Dumaguete Airport and the vessel.
• All prices displayed are subject to availability and can be withdrawn or varied without notice.
• Prices are guaranteed once booking is confirmed by us and paid in full by the due date.
• Depending on your needs and group size (individual, couple, family, group, etc.) we will provide the final pricing for your tour.
• Single travellers are quoted at the single-occupancy rate shown above; a solo diver also pays a double fuel surcharge, as the surcharge is levied per cabin space.
Approximate add-on costs (not included – confirmed at time of booking):
• Marine park fees: approximately PHP 9,000 per person, paid on board to the vessel.
• Fuel surcharge: approximately PHP 17,400 per cabin space, paid on board to the vessel. Single occupancy uses two spaces, so the surcharge is doubled.
• Nitrox for the charter: approximately A$270 per person.
• Rental equipment, full set (excluding dive computer): approximately A$70 per person per day, hired from Atlantis Dumaguete Resort. Dive computer approximately A$30 per day.
• Air transfer Manila – Dumaguete or Cebu – Dumaguete: from approximately A$230 per person each way, including economy airfare, 30kg checked baggage and terminal transfers.
• Transit hotel, Manila: from approximately A$210 per room per night, including breakfast, based on two sharing.
• Apo Island day trip, pre or post cruise: approximately A$210 per person.
• Oslob whale shark day trip, pre or post cruise: approximately A$240 per person, minimum 6 people.
• All add-on amounts are indicative only, are set by third parties and local municipalities, and are subject to change without notice.
Inclusions:
• Seven nights twin share accommodation on board the Atlantis Adventurer.
• Return land transfers between Dumaguete Airport and the vessel.
• All meals and snacks on board.
• Complimentary local soft drinks, and social servings of local beer, rum and wine with dinner.
• All scheduled diving, up to five dives per day including a night dive where conditions allow.
• Tanks, weights, air fills, boat and dive guide.
• Use of the lounge, deck and TV areas.
• Wi-Fi on board, subject to reception.
Exclusions:
• International and domestic airfares.
• Marine park fees, payable on board.
• Fuel surcharge, payable on board.
• Nitrox.
• Rental equipment and dive courses.
• Land excursions and day trips.
• Transfers other than the Dumaguete Airport transfers listed above.
• Transit hotels in Manila, Cebu or Dumaguete.
• On-board purchases.
• Travel, dive and accident insurance (mandatory).
• Airport taxes and charges.
• Any private expenses.
• Personal incidentals such as telephone calls, room service and laundry.
• Tips to the crew and dive guides, porterage fees and others which are personal in nature.
• Any other services not mentioned in the itinerary.
Please refer to our Standard Booking Conditions for booking terms and conditions.
