Navis 1 Liveaboard, Philippines
8.9 Fabulous
- Free Internet
- Nitrox available
“amazing divesites at Apo Reef. ”
Highlights
Embark on a Palawan dive trip aboard the Navis 1, a spacious 23m/76ft long catamaran liveaboard based in Palawan, Philippines. The Navis 1 accommodates 18 guests in double and twin cabins, each with air conditioning, large windows, and private ensuite bathrooms. As the Navis 1 cruises the pristine, island-filled waters of Palawan, guests can enjoy gourmet meals in the open-air dining area, taking in the incredible vistas of Palawan from the spacious roof deck.
What distinguishes the Navis 1 experience is the spaciousness that only comes with a catamaran and diving the Philippines' most pristine and untouched dive sites. Dive into the rich ecosystems of Apo Reef, explore the history-embedded WWII wrecks in Coron, and dive with mantas and sharks in the remote areas between El Nido and Coron.
Book your Palawan dive trip aboard the Navis 1 today.
Choose your departure date
Included: VAT, Environment Tax, Fuel Surcharge, Drinking Water, Tea & Coffee, Beach BBQ, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Night Dives, Kayaks, Land Excursions, Naturalist Guide, Snorkeling Guide, Stand Up Paddleboard, Beach Towels, Cabin Towels, Complimentary Toiletries, Deck Towels, WiFi internet.
Required Extras: Dive Insurance, National Park Fees (2,000-6,000 PHP per trip), Port Fees (2,000-6,000 PHP per trip).
Optional Extras: Gratuities, Airport Transfer (60 USD per trip), Hotel Transfer, Alcoholic Beverages, Soft drinks, Extra Dives, Nitrox (5 USD per tank), Nitrox Course (15,000 PHP), Rental Gear (20 USD per day), Scuba Diving Courses (13,500-18,000 PHP).
Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.
* Extra fees are shown per person.
Pay by bank transfer or online with
Drawings & Vessel Layouts
Cabin Types
Navis 1 Reviews
- 8.9 Fabulous
-
Vessel
7.6
-
Crew
9.2
-
Food
9.7
-
Diving
9.2
-
Value
8.7
-
- 7.6 Good
- Warren D
-
United States
World's best crew on a vessel with personality
If I could give 6 stars for the crew on this vessel, I would. They emody completely the warmth and kindness of the Philippines. Every request I had was handled immediately. Whether it be karaoke nights or on demand room cleaning, their efforts are unlike any I've seen on a boat. After every dive, you're greeted with a smile and encouragement. The kitchen staff serenaded us on the upper deck with song and saxophone (spectacularly unique) most nights. Presentations before dives were thorough and I felt safe with every dive plan. Tubbataha is BEYOND description, find a way to get there ASAP, and this might just be it (although they are discontinuing them soon). Let me stress: the Navis 1 is NOT a luxury experience. This boat is repurposed and wasn't designed initially to be a liveaboard. Be prepared to have strange smells emanate from the bathrooms and for cheap paint chips to cover your feet therein. Boarding the dingies too is not for the physically unfit and there is nothing ergonomic about the diving prep area. Still, as was my case, it is easily the best price point available for Tubbataha Reef (3k vs. 5k for true luxury ones). If you go into this thinking otherwise, you WILL be disappointed. However, if you go into it with flexible expectations and an open mind, it is a real, unique, and rewarding liveaboard experience. Definitely recommend with those considerations. Would I do it again? If it was a return to Tubbataha. Should you do it if you're looking for a budget liveaboard? Absolutely. Will you be happy you did? I'm confident you will be fully satisfied if you accept the Navis 1 for what she is.
- Recommended for
- The boat crew is legendary. They go above and beyond to make sure customers have a memorable experience. It cannot be stressed enough how well taken care of and how much fun we had because of them! They are a customer first crew.. The food is exceptional, totally unexpected the quality and quantity we received.. The entire mood is laidback and inviting. I felt comfortable and at ease at all times with my.
-
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Philippe E
-
United States
Beautiful trip to Apo Reef, amazing food, and incredible biodiversity.
Great 5 day trip to Apo Reef. The food was incredible and rooms comfortable for a liveaboard. Staff was very friendly, accommodating and knowledgeable. A/C worked well. Reef seemed pretty healthy and we were lucky to see many turtles, sharks, barracudas, parrotfish, and nudis. No hammerheads or rays but they weren’t expected. The diversity of dives was great and well thought through. Very little repetition. We only did one night dive. 4 dives per day for 2 days and 2 dives the first and last day. The first two dives were not as nice but that is because they are intended to be warm up dives done in transit to Apo Reef which has a beautiful reef. No crowds which was a welcome site.
- Recommended for
- Food was excellent. Variety of dives was well selected and gear was in good condition. Staff was very friendly, accommodating and organized.
-
- 10 Exceptional
- Brian G
-
United States
Good times
Exceptional staff especially MI MI the host! Really a great time. Great coral. With the exception of barracuda lake all the dives were great. Barracuda was so warm it was uncomfortable.. Food on the boat was also excellent. Great cook
- Recommended for
- Diving. Crew. Boat.
-
- 8.4 Very good
- Moshe R
-
United States
Excellent experience
Highly recommend , wonderful , passionate team genuinely dedicate to make customers happy with the dives , food , cabins , etc.
- Recommended for
- Dive guide. Crew service. Wonderful attitude.
-
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Peter S. G
-
United States
Overall great trip for a low price. Good bang for the buck (or Euro).
Understand that we made two back to back trips: El Nido to Coron, and then Coron back to Coron. The cabin my buddy and I shared was small, but relatively comfortable. The room air conditioner efficiently cooled the room. Each bed had a lightweight blanket providing adequate warmth over a fitted sheet. A change of sheet, blanket and towels were available for the asking. There was plenty of space to store personal items and clothing. Small luggage was kept in the room. Larger bags can be kept in the spacious camera room. The crew on the Navis 1 were very hardworking and attentive to the guests. The crew did many things that typically are not found on a trip such as this. For example, our wetsuits were hung for us after each dive and washed at the end of each day. One of the guides was always there to help an 87 year old diver remove his wetsuit. When minor room maintenance was needed, that maintenance was quickly performed, even if it was suddenly needed in the middle of the night.. Midway through the first trip, one of the two owners of the boat came on board with his two three-year old twins and their Filipino nanny. Those kids were entertaining to watch and interact with. While on the boat, the owner was ready to hear suggestions on how to make his boat a better five boat and provide a better diving experience. The food was quite good, although it was a bit heavier on spice at times. The variety at each meal was impressive, commonly with pork, chicken, and fish in the same meal. Rice was at every meal. Pasta was common. Soups were great. I asked the cook to write down one recipe to share with my wife. Vegetarian meals were prepared separately for several divers. No one walked away from a meal hungry. One lunches was at picnic tables on an island which had an impressive cavern with a pool of water inside to cool off in and aa nearby pen with a dozen or so monitor lizards were waiting for visitors. There were two evenings on each trip where most divers stayed up late on the sun deck. The steward, Daphne, sang for us one night and played her saxophone on another. On both nights, a karaoke system was set up for those of us brave enough to sing to the other divers and the crew. I would have preferred more time on Apo Reef and less on non-combat Japanese ships sunk by Americans during World War II, but I understand that there are Navis 1 itineraries that offer most or all of the time on App Reef.
- Recommended for
- Been said by many other reviewers that the crew was great. That is an understatement.. Made for a fun filled voyage with entertainment beyond the diving.. Free Starlink providing amazing WiFi and ability to call/text friends and family..
-
- 8.0 Very good
- Patricia T
-
United States
Great dives and crew! Boat needs work.
My husband and I loved the gorgeous dives, and the adventuresome wreck dives. Apo Reef is just wonderful. I got my Advanced Open Water with Divemaster Mark Frazer. He was fantastic. He really took time to help me understand anything I struggled with. Very calm and masterful. I knew he could help me if I needed anything on a dive. The crew was just the best. Mimi took care of everything. Chef made delicious food, on what I suspect was a tight budget. The vegetarian with us had her own plates of lovely veg. The boat needs a lot of upgrades. Just know you are on a budget boat. The crew does their best to keep everyone comfortable. We were grateful for the air con in the little cabin. There's no place to put your stuff. We created a system for ourselves. The bathroom is always wet. there was a leak in the bidet hose that kept the floor wet. The matts on the floors seem old. The top deck, the only place to comfortably hang out, only had uncomfortable plastic chairs or a few old bean bags. Not enough for everyone. There was little shade we struggled to stay in. The dining area was airless and hot. There's diesel fumes everywhere which was really sad to me. There wasn't a place to hang up your swimsuits, rashguards etc. We tied our stuff to railings. There are a few clips but not enough for everyone. But the crew was so good, and strived to make us comfortable. We also had a group of awesome divers who were fun to be with so the trip was overall a success. It's a budget boat, and that is a helpful choice when you need it.
- Recommended for
- The Dives, The Dive masters and the awesome crew
-
- 10 Exceptional
- Roxanne B
-
United States
Amazing experience!
The crew makes this experience incredible. They are all so nice and go out of their way to make sure you are happy. Food was incredible, I think I am spoiled for the rest of my life now. Diving on this trip was epic! I was in a shared room which was ok - if you only care about the room this boat is not for you. But it’s a diving liveaboard so I spent very little time in the room - just to sleep. Thank you so much Manta.ph!
- Recommended for
- The crew, the dive locations, the food
-
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Richard Y
-
United States
Great trip
Very good energy & vibes! Very informative on the wildlife, and the wrecks so we knew the history & characteristics of what we were seeing while diving. Friendly & welcoming staff, felt at home. Music & dinner in the evening on the top deck was beautiful. Took an advanced course on board & the instructor did a wonderful job, very attentive & thorough.
- Recommended for
- Staff, instructor/dive master Shawn, shipwrecks
-
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Christopher G
-
United States
First Liveaboard experience was the best we could have hoped for
Able to enjoy 18 of the 20 dives which at 73 did not exhaust us out like usual from shore based. Crew and particularly Chef surprised us with delicious food and we did not lose weight which usually happens in the Philippines as I am vegetarian. Dive guides and especially the Dive instructor was especially helpful in advanced instruction for me and helping my wife be much more comfortable with her descent and buoyancy issues that we are certain to want to return with this vessel!
- Recommended for
- Dive Guide, Food, Crew
-
- 8.0 Very good
- Greta H
-
United Kingdom
As my first liveaboard experience, this is going to be hard to top!!!
As a solo female traveller with a background working on marine conservation projects abroad, for my first liveaboard experience I wanted to find something that was that was primarily focussed on the diving and was comfortable and relaxed without being luxury or fussy - the Navis 1 certainly delivered on all fronts. The staff are all Filipino and are extremely friendly and conscientious. The catamaran is a recently converted cargo ship and so is large and spacious. Some of the original crew from its past life are still working on board which is a testament to the operators and also means they know it inside and out. I shared a twin cabin with a fellow diver who I did not know prior to the trip and, although the space was small, the set out was well planned meaning we had plenty of room to put our stuff away and weren’t getting on top of each other. Bring earplugs if you’re a light sleeper to avoid getting awoken by the engine at times as sound proofing is limited. The upper deck is huge and has plenty of comfy bean bags to relax on and/or have some alone time in between diving – one tip for the operators for future would be to take advantage of the beautiful surroundings and have more of the dinners on the top deck rather than on the middle deck as we customarily did. I was the only vegetarian on board and the chef and staff really looked after me, ensuring I had plenty of variety and sustenance (in fact too much as I had to ask for smaller portions)! Starlink wifi worked well throughout. I would recommend operators purchase a device that allows guests to connect their devices to the middle deck TV for purposes of sharing pictures and learnings etc. Now to the diving! As I understand it the itinerary is uniquely curated to ensure visits to the best spots rather than those most convenient. True to this we did not pass another liveaboard and were for the most part the only divers on the sites. The Filipino dive and dinghy staff struck the perfect balance, being professional, attentive and safe whilst maintaining a relaxed and calm atmosphere. The dive briefing room and deck on the ground floor is spacious and well equipped. I particularly liked the pictures and information on the marine life adorning the walls of the briefing room. The expansive nature of the route, dive times and sites meant that we were able to see a variety of different marine biodiversity and reef structures and wrecks as the journey progressed – with Apo reef towards the end being the main highlight. I was delighted to find that the Navis 1 has its own mini library on pacific fish and creatures and it was such a joy to use these to debrief with the follow divers and staff about our sightings post dives. Over the 24 dives we saw wonderful diverse fish, sea snakes, turtles, endless nudis, mantis shrimp, rays, reef sharks, lobster, cuttlefish (including a flamboyant one), octopus, barracuda, tuna, dugongs - the captain also alerted us to some dolphins swimming by. If you are an individual who prioritises diving and vibes over luxury, this is the liveaboard for you!
- Recommended for
- The route and dive sites. The Filipino dive staff and boat crew. The fellow guest divers.
