Discovery Palawan

MV Discovery Palawan is a huge steel-hulled liveaboard with an impressive length of 49m. It cruises around the regions of Tubbataha (6 nights), as well as the wrecks of Coron and Apo Reef (mini-cruises of just 4 nights) - some of the best dive sites in the Philippines.

This enormous liveaboard has acres of space to hang out in. Although it is constructed to accommodate up to 32 guests, normally there are fewer and there is always a quiet spot somewhere on board. The air-conditioned saloon on the main deck is huge and has comfortable booth style seating. Here is where you can find the audio-visual entertainment system and library of books and magazines, including a good array of fish ID books for all those new species you will be encountering. Guests can also use the onboard sea kayaks.

You will either dine here or in the shaded open air dining area on the bar deck where, unsurprisingly, you can also enjoy a cocktail from the bar as the sun sets on another glorious day.

There is also the sun deck for catching rays and 2 more shaded relaxation spots as well as the dedicated camera room for tinkering with your equipment. The 20 cabins all have air-conditioning and ensuite bathrooms and are located across the 2 lower decks of the boat. Nitrox is available, and diving is conducted via 3 RIBs that will take you to the sites where you can backroll into paradise.

Loading...

Notes: Children must be accompanied by at least 1 parent or legal guardian at all times. DFC accepts no responsibility for the care of the child and does not provide baby care or nanny facilities. Children under the age of 12 are entitled to 40% off the published rates. Children up to 5 years of age are free as long as they share parents bed/room.

Dive experience: Tubbataha only: Divers must have at least 50 logged dives due to safety reasons. No refund will be given and the operator will prevent guests from diving if it finds out that the guest had less than the required logged dives.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, water, juice and hot drinks, local airport and hotel transfers (except for Batangas departures), dives (as detailed in the cruises above), 4 experienced English-speaking divemasters per full boat (8 divers per guide), tanks, weights and weightbelts, all taxes.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment (US$ 30 per day), dive computer (US$ 8 per day), dive insurance, port/park fees from US$ 80 to US$ 135 (to be paid in advance). Fuel surcharge US$ 150 (to be paid in advance). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash or credit card).

Optional extras: Soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers (US$ 12 per tank), torch, 15 liter tanks ( US$ 6 per dive), transfers from Manila to Batangas, non-diving/diving plus wellness packages (massage/yoga) to be paid in advance. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: MY Discovery Palawan uses 3 ports:
Puerto Princesa: This port is used for cruises to Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park and some transit tripsto Coron. The local airport is Puerto Princesa Airport (PPS). There are direct flights from Cebu City and Manila, as well as from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. Return transfers from the local airport to the boat are provided. Boarding will be from 2-4 pm. Disembark 8 am onwards.
Cebu City: This port is used for Visayas cruises. The local airport is Mactan Cebu International Airport (CEB). There are direct flights from Manila and some other Filipino cities, as well as from Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Dubai, Taiwan and China. Return transfers from the local airport to the boat are provided. Boarding will be from 2-4 pm. Disembark 8 am onwards.
Batangas: Bauan in Batangas is the port used for Apo Reef & Coron trips. It is a 3 hour drive south from Manila International Airport. Manila is the capital city and is well connected with direct flights to much of Asia, Australasia, North America and the Middle East. The national carrier is Philippine Airlines, but there are countless other major airlines that operate flights to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL).
Transfers from the local airports to the boat are not provided. Boarding will be from 1-3 pm. Disembark 11 am onwards.
Busuanga: Coron is sometimes the port where Apo Reef & Coron trips end. There are flights to Manila from Busuanga airport (USU) with Cebu Pacific Air, Zest Air or PAL Express. Busuanga airport is 1 hour by road from Coron Port. Disembark 11 am onwards.
The last dive of the trip will be at lunch time on the penultimate day. Disembarkation and local airport/hotel transfers will be at 8 am. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.
For more details, including airlines, see our Philippines travel information section.

Non-diver rate: 10% off the full published price (Tubbataha only).

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travellers may choose to share a cabin or pay a supplement of 50% of the normal published price.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Pay for 8 guests, and 1 extra person can join the cruise in a stateroom free of charge (total 9+ guests).

Whole boat charter rate (per night): 30% off the published rate for a full boat, approximately equivalent to: Pay for 23 guests and 9 additional persons can join the cruise free of charge (total 32 guests).

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (7 Days / 6 Nights - 19 Dives)

Trip highlights: shark action, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Tubbataha: Ranger Station, Amos Rock, Wall Street, Delsan Wreck, Southwest Wall, Triggerfish City, Black Rock, T Wreck, Shark Airport, Seafan Alley, Washing Machine, Malayan Wreck, Jessie Beazley Reef

Day 1
You will be met at Puerto Princesa Airport (PPS) upon arrival on the day departure and transferred to the MY Discovery Palawan, where snacks and drinks will be served. Boarding is between 2-4 pm, when the cruise director will greet you with a welcome drink. He will assign your cabin to you, give a boat safety briefing, crew introductions, and explain the plans for the week ahead. You will have time to complete the necessary dive paperwork, familiarise yourself with the vessel and settle in. Dinner will be served as you depart from the port for the 10 hour crossing. After a good night's sleep, the diving will commence the next day.

Days 2-6
The Tubbataha Reefs National Park is an UNESCO World Heritage site lying in the Sulu Sea in the heart of the Coral Triangle. There are 370 types of coral, 600 species of fish, 12 species of cetacean. The walls are adorned with beautiful soft corals, barrel sponges and lots of cleaning stations. The shallows are made up of hard coral gardens. Due to their isolation, the atolls are a great area for shark action with species such as guitar, blacktips, white tips, grey reef sharks, silkies, hammerheads and whale sharks. Although the macro life is fantastic here, it take a back stage to the big marine life action, such as dogtooth tuna, giant trevally, barracuda, turtles and manta rays. All dives are day dives.
Buffet-style meals are served each day with a mix of international and local cuisine. In addition to breakfast lunch and dinner, snacks are available throughout the day to keep the diving hunger pangs at bay. Drinking water, juice, soft drins, tea and coffee are available free of charge throughout the day while alcoholic drinks are available after scuba diving.
After 3 morning dives at Jessie Beazley Reef on the final full day of the trip, Discovery Palawan returns to port.

Day 7
After breakfast, you will disembark at 8 am and be transferred back to the local airport or local hotel.

---

Apo Reef & Coron (7 Days / 6 Nights - 14 Dives)

Trip highlights: shark action, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Apo Reef, Coron: Barracuda Lake, Twin Peaks, Siete Pecados, Maquinit Hotspring, Kayangan Lake, Sangat and Culion Islands, Calumbuyan and North Cay Islands, Club Paradise, Dimakya Island

Day 1
You will be greeted at Bauan Port, Batangas upon boarding the Discovery Palawan, where snacks and drinks will be served. Boarding starts at 1 pm, when the cruise director will greet you as you board. He will assign your cabin to you, give a boat safety briefing, crew introductions, and explain the plans for the week ahead. You will have time to complete the necessary dive paperwork, familiarise yourself with the vessel and settle in. Then lunch will be served as you depart from the port. After dinner and a good night's sleep, the diving will commence the next day at Apo Reef.

Days 2-6
Apo Reef is a great place to see whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, but also manta rays are sometimes spotted here, as well as hawksbill turtles and bumphead parrotfish.
Coron is a mecca for wreck divers: Japanese shipwrecks from the Second World War are there for you to explore. The Okikawa Maru is a 160m long ship which was sunk by a direct hit on the bow area. The Olympia Maru is another massive vessel of 120m, but the submarine East Tangat Gunboat is probably the most ideal for exploration as it is in shallow waters. Its 2 main boilers are covered in hard corals, while the deck is now home to many scorpionfish. You will also explore the Akitsusima, a sea plane tender, and Irako, a refrigeration ship for the Japanese Imperial Navy. At the end of a day of diving there is an optional visit to Coron's hot springs.
Buffet-style meals are served each day with a mix of international and local cuisine. In addition to breakfast lunch and dinner, snacks are available throughout the day to keep the diving hunger pangs at bay. Drinking water, juice, soft drinks, tea and coffee are available throughout the day while alcoholic drinks are available after diving. After 2 dives on the final full day of the trip, the Discovery Palawan moves on to port.

Day 7
After breakfast, you will disembark around 11:00 hrs in Batangas.

---

ZZDUMP (7 Days / 6 Nights - Dives)

Trip highlights: non diving activities

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: zz

zz

---

ZZDUMP (5 Days / 4 Nights - Dives)

Trip highlights: non diving activities

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: zz

zz

---

Apo Reef (5 Days / 4 Nights - 9 Dives)

Trip highlights: shark action, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Apo Reef: Coral Garden, Shark Airport, Ego Wall, Apo 29, Aladdin, Shark Ridge, Mabuti, SE Corner, Shipwreck, North Wall

Day 1
You will be greeted at Bauan Port, Batangas upon boarding the Discovery Palawan, where snacks and drinks will be served. Boarding starts at 2 pm, when the cruise director will greet you as you board. He will assign your cabin to you, give a boat safety briefing, crew introductions, and explain the plans for the week ahead. You will have time to complete the necessary dive paperwork, familiarise yourself with the vessel and settle in, as you depart from the port. After dinner and a good night's sleep, the diving will commence the next day at Apo Reef.

Days 2-4
Apo Reef is situated on the western side of Mindoro and encompasses 34 sq km; it is the world's second-largest contiguous coral reef system. The reef, its 3 islands, and its surrounding waters are protected by the Apo Reef Natural Park. It is one of the most popular dive destinations in the Philippines and has an extensive wealth of marine life, with plentiful batfish, surgeonfish, snappers, fusiliers and trevallies. There is great macro life including tunicates, nudibranchs and sea slugs, but also large schools of large pelagic fish, dolphins, sharks (blacktip/whitetip/grey reef, and thresher sharks), barracuda and manta rays.
Buffet-style meals are served each day with a mix of international and local cuisine. In addition to breakfast lunch and dinner, snacks are available throughout the day to keep the diving hunger pangs at bay. Drinking water, juice, soft drinks, tea and coffee are available throughout the day while alcoholic drinks are available after diving.
After 3 dives on the final full day of the trip, the Discovery Palawan moves back to port in Batangas.

Day 5
After breakfast, you will disembark before 11 am.

---

Apo Reef & North Palawan (7 Days / 6 Nights - 15 Dives)

Trip highlights: shark action, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Basuanga - Cabiluaun Island: Kyokuzan Maru wreck, Palawan: Sibaltan, Linapacan; Apo Reef

Day 1
You will be greeted at Bauan Port, Batangas upon boarding the Discovery Palawan, where snacks and drinks will be served. Boarding is between 10 am and noon, when the cruise director will greet you as you board. He will assign your cabin to you, give a boat safety briefing, crew introductions, and explain the plans for the week ahead. You will have time to complete the necessary dive paperwork, familiarise yourself with the vessel and settle in. Then lunch will be served as you depart from the port. After dinner and a good night's sleep, the diving will commence the next day at Cabiluaun.

Days 2-6
Apo Reef is situated on the western side of Mindoro and encompasses 34 sq km; it is the world's second-largest contiguous coral reef system. The reef, its 3 islands, and its surrounding waters are protected by the Apo Reef Natural Park. It is one of the most popular dive destinations in the Philippines and has an extensive wealth of marine life, with plentiful batfish, surgeonfish, snappers, fusiliers and trevallies. There is great macro life including tunicates, nudibranchs and sea slugs, but also large schools of large pelagic fish, dolphins, sharks (blacktip/whitetip/grey reef, and thresher sharks), barracuda and manta rays.
Located at the northern tip of Palawan, Sibaltan is a little-explored region that is suitable for divers of all levels, with manta ray cleaning stations and some fantastic healthy reefs. Linapacan has reputedly the clearest waters in the world. This remote island has some amazing coral gardens and a wreck to explore. Only adventurous divers with a thirst for something new need apply.
Buffet-style meals are served each day with a mix of international and local cuisine. In addition to breakfast lunch and dinner, snacks are available throughout the day to keep the diving hunger pangs at bay. Drinking water, juice, soft drinks, tea and coffee are available throughout the day while alcoholic drinks are available after diving.
After 2 dives on the final full day of the trip, the Discovery Palawan moves on to port.

Day 7
After breakfast, you will disembark between 11 am and noon in Batangas.

---

[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].

20 cabins: 16 Standard double/twin cabins on the lower deck (13 twins, 2 with Queen bed, and 1 with 1 double and 2 single beds) plus 4 Upper deck double/twin bed cabins.

All the cabins have:

---