Things to Do at Tubbataha Reef Natural Park
Complete Guide to Tubbataha Reef Natural Park in Palawan
About Tubbataha Reef Natural Park
What to See & Do
North Atoll Wall
The signature dive here is along the vertical coral wall of the North Atoll, where hard and soft corals stack up in overlapping tiers from the shallows down past where recreational divers should be going. Whitetip reef sharks patrol the ledges, and when the current runs, schools of jacks and barracuda form those swirling tornado shapes that look staged for a documentary but are just Tuesday out here. Visibility on a good day pushes 30-plus meters, giving the whole wall an almost theatrical quality—you can see the drop-off stretching away in both directions.
Shark Airport
Named with the blunt humor divers favor, this sandy plateau on the North Atoll is where whitetip and blacktip reef sharks gather to nap during the day. You drop to around 20 meters and find them simply lying on the sand, stacked like commuters waiting for a delayed flight. It's one of those sites where you might spend the entire dive inside a 30-meter radius, barely moving, just watching the sharks cycle through. Nurse sharks show up too, and the occasional leopard shark if fortune smiles.
South Atoll and Jessie Beazley Reef
The South Atoll sees fewer dives because boats often linger longer at the North, yet the coral coverage here is arguably denser. Jessie Beazley Reef, a smaller submerged reef about 20 kilometers northwest of the main atolls, deserves a mention—it rises from deep water to within a few meters of the surface, and the pelagic action can be fierce. Hammerhead sightings are more common here, though as with all hammerhead encounters, "common" is relative and you might need several dives before they decide to cooperate.
Bird Islet and South Islet
These two tiny sand cays—barely above sea level—serve as nesting grounds for boobies, terns, and frigatebirds. You can't land on them (and wouldn't want to disturb the colonies), but circling past in the dinghy gives you a sense of just how remote this place is. Hawksbill and green sea turtles nest on the beaches during season, and the ranger station on the North Atoll keeps a sharp eye on poaching. The birdlife is loud, chaotic, and oddly moving when you consider how far from anything these specks of sand sit.
Amos Rock
A submerged pinnacle on the South Atoll that rises from the deep to about eight meters below the surface. Strong currents sweep nutrients past the rock, which means the soft coral growth is dense and the fish life borders on overwhelming. Grey reef sharks are regulars here, and large groupers hover in the crevices with the heavy-lidded indifference of creatures that have never been spearfished. It's a more advanced dive—the current can rip—but the payoff is consistently excellent.
Practical Information
Opening Hours
The park is only open during liveaboard diving season, typically mid-March through mid-June. The Tubbataha Management Office in Puerto Princesa handles permits and coordinates with liveaboard operators. The ranger station operates 24/7 during the open season, and all boats must register upon arrival.
Tickets & Pricing
The Tubbataha conservation fee is approximately ₱3,000 (around $55 USD) per person for foreign visitors, payable at the Tubbataha Management Office in Puerto Princesa before departure. Filipino nationals pay a reduced rate of around ₱1,000. This fee goes directly to park management and enforcement. The big cost, obviously, is the liveaboard itself—expect to pay somewhere between $2,000 and $3,500 USD for a 5-to-7-night trip, depending on the boat and cabin class. That typically covers all diving, meals, tanks, and the transit from Puerto Princesa.
Best Time to Visit
The entire season is compressed into March through June, so your window is already narrow. April and May tend to offer the best visibility and calmest seas, with water temperatures around 27-30°C. March can still have residual chop from the northeast monsoon, and by late June the southwest monsoon starts building. That said, marine life doesn't read calendars—hammerhead sightings might peak in April, while manta encounters can happen anytime. Book early; most reputable liveaboards sell out months in advance, and some repeat visitors lock in the following year's trip before they've even disembarked.
Suggested Duration
A standard liveaboard trip runs 5 to 7 nights, with roughly 10 to 12 hours of transit each way eating into the first and last days. Most trips offer 3 to 4 dives per day once on site, so a 6-night trip might give you 15 to 18 dives across both atolls and Jessie Beazley. Shorter trips exist but feel rushed given the travel time—if you've come this far, the extra night or two is worth it.
Getting There
Things to Do Nearby
Another UNESCO site lies only 80 kilometers from the city—easy to tick off while you're in Palawan. The 8.2-kilometer underground river stuns with sheer scale, though peak season turns the visit into a conveyor belt. Slide it in around your Tubbataha dates; you'll already need a day or two in Puerto Princesa for logistics.
Have a spare day before or after the liveaboard? Honda Bay delivers mellow island-hopping and decent snorkeling. Starfish Island and Cowrie Island are the usual stops—nowhere near Tubbataha's level below the surface, yet a laid-back way to unwind. Boats depart from Santa Lourdes Wharf, 15 minutes north of town.
Five to six hours by van north of Puerto Princesa—or a quick hop when flights operate—El Nido swaps Tubbataha's walls for jagged limestone and secret lagoons. Fold it into a longer Palawan loop: dive Tubbataha first, then cruise El Nido's karst seascapes that postcards made famous.
Puerto Princesa rarely headlines itineraries, yet the old quarter around the cathedral and the baywalk make a pleasant evening stroll while you wait for departure. Drop by Bona's Chaolong on Rizal Avenue for solid pho, a tasty souvenir from the Vietnamese refugees who settled here in the 1970s.