Sulu Sea Liveaboard Diving

Liveaboard Diving in Sulu Sea

What To Expect On a Sulu Sea Liveaboard

Liveaboard diving in the Sulu Sea offers the delights you will come to expect from the waters here in the Philippines and more. The Sulu Sea is a vast expanse of blue between many of the Philippine Islands—South of Cebu and North of Mindanao. The Sulu Sea houses the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Parks, one of the Philippines' most exciting dive areas. Best Sulu Sea liveaboard cruises will take you either North of the Sea across from Cebu to Tubbataha or out of Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island. The luxury liveaboard options in the Sulu Sea are available for spending days at sea to take in all of the sites Tubbataha offers. Relax in between dives on your sun deck and enjoy the food prepared for you by your crew.

Sulu Sea Underwater

Sulu Sea dive tours will allow you to take in much sea life, including the big species: white tips, grey reef sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, and turtles. You will not be disappointed with what sailing the Sulu Sea has to offer. The Sulu Sea has a dive site for everyone: wrecks, reefs, walls, and drift dives for the more adventurous and experienced. The Sulu Sea is stunning underwater. Treat yourself to these beautiful sights of colorful corals, great sea fans, and encrusted walls on your dive trip. Enjoy the biodiversity that these waters bring: shrimps, nudibranchs, and tiny critters alongside the big fish we have come to expect here: 11 shark species and 13 dolphin and whale species. There are great opportunities to see much of this life while scuba diving in the Sulu Sea, with up to 4 dives a day on your live-aboard option. Not only can nature enthusiasts enjoy their dive liveaboard, but underwater photographers and those seeking beautiful dive sites can also enjoy them.

Dive Sites Of Sulu Sea

Delsan Wreck: This site in South Atoll is home to schools of sweetlips and snappers. On the bottom, at up to 35 meters, look for eagle rays, white tips, black tips, and grey reef sharks. A fabulous wreck, the vessel is encrusted in mollusks, crustaceans, and all sorts of macro life. Liveaboards in the Sulu Sea will often allow for two dives here as there is so much to be seen.

Black Rock: A whole day can be spent diving here to take in everything the site offers. Sweetlips, schools of surgeon fish, and rainbow runners reside here, as do white tips and nurse sharks who take shelter under coral tables. Looking closely, you will find boxfish, scribbled filefish, leaffish, and spiny lobsters on the reef. The main sight that divers come for here is the sharks.

Washing Machine: The reef here in North Atoll slopes down to 12 meters and drops off. As clearly stated in the name, this site can have strong and unpredictable currents. Still, many divers take to the waters here for shark and manta ray spottings; even hammerheads swim there. On your dive safari, you can also find dogtooth tuna, large Napolean wrasse, and pickhandle barracuda.

Donato's Wall: Get your wide-angle lens camera out here as the sights stretch side to side. Sea fans and soft corals are plenty, and hard corals are extremely beautiful on the wall; schools of bannerfish and turtles will be waiting here for you to spot.

Malayan Located on the North Atoll, this site offers two dive types: wreck and wall. Focus on the macro species that inhabit the wreck: shrimp, nudibranchs, crabs, and sea slugs. Your descent to 35 meters on the wall will allow you to see beautiful corals, colorful sea fans, and a variety of reef sharks. Look closely for the spotting of a ghost pipefish on the bottom. Due to the currents and depth of this site, it is only suitable for advanced divers.

Amos Rock, situated on the North Atoll, is a popular dive site that offers a stunning wall dive with whip corals, gorgonians, and various beautifully colored corals. Giant groupers, grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, mackerel, snappers, and Napolean wrasse live along the wall. At night, lobsters and crabs come out to play here.

Top Tips For Divers

Bring your underwater camera on your liveaboard trip to capture moments in the clear water. You will likely catch some wonderful snaps of the mantas that will make your diving pals back home very jealous of your trip. Remember to bring your suncream for restful sunbathing on the sun deck between dives.

Getting To Sulu Sea

You will most often arrive in the Philippine Islands through the capital's Manila airport. From here, you can transfer in the shortest and easiest way with South East Asian Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and Air Philippines to Palawan. Your departure point will be Puerto Princesa; the airport is in the city, so take a tricycle to the port for an easy transfer.

If your liveaboard's port of departure is Cebu from Manila, take a flight direct to Cebu with Cebu-Pacific Air or fly into Cebu with Qatar Airways from Doha, Malaysian Airlines from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore Airlines from Singapore.