Atmosphere Resort & Spa
The Philippines are known for great macro and wide angle underwater photography and Atmosphere Resort and Spa is one of the best places I have ever stayed. What made this place so special is that I was traveling with my girlfriend who is a non-diver, but loves to snorkel, and Atmosphere is perfect for both her and I. Atmosphere is the only place that I have been to that offers a snorkeling guide (just like a dive guide) that showed her around and made sure she got to see all that Apo had to offer. He even would use her gopro to video her so that she got a personal video. We also went on land excursions to the market, the waterfalls, downtown shopping and to the Soup Kitchen that Atmosphere sponsors which was a very special place to see. It is worth giving up one of your dives to see the kids at the kitchen and how happy they are and how dedicated the people who staff it are.
Atmosphere is a world class RESORT and SPA. The suites and one bedroom apartments are like having your own private deluxe home on the property. Complete with Kitchens although the food is so good there, you don't need to use them. The well manicured grounds include lush vegetation, palm trees, a seaside negative edge pool, restaurant, Bar, gift shop, dive area and camera room with individual cubes. I can not say enough about the Spa service and facilities at Atmosphere. We bought a package that included 6 treatments and each one was unique and relaxing. You must try the Water Massage!
Diving: I have dove some incredible macro and muck sites in Anilao, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea, but the macro/muck at Atmosphere was truly special. Mimics, wonderpus, coconut, and hairy octopus species were regularly seen. An house reef was one of the best sites hosting an active colony of mating mandarinfish, multiple species of lionfish, frogfish, pipefish (ornate, robust, etc.) eels, rare shrimp and tons of other unique finds. Every dive was like a scavenger hunt with the dive guides assisting as much or as little as you wanted. Not only was the macro incredible, but the 30 minute boat ride to Apo Island provided great wide angle options with an abundance of turtles, walls, drift dives, sea snakes and schooling fish. And for an add-on, you can take the ferry over to Cebu where you can swim with the whale sharks of Oslob.
