I traveled to the Philippines in April of 2022, shortly after the country was reopened to tourists. I wanted to dive in Puerto Galera again, and chose the Atlantis Resort as my temporary home-away-from-home. In the past, I had taken a bus from Manila to Batangas on the coast, then a ferry to Puerto Galera. Because the bus & ferry schedules were so erratic, I requested the resort arrange my transfers. This consisted of a private driver in an air-conditioned van, 1st class ferry ticket, and tuktuk ride to the resort. Everything went like clockwork. The resort is set on a hillside, carved out of the jungle, at the ocean’s edge. I was on an all-inclusive plan with accommodations, diving, and food included.

Everything at this resort is top notch. The rooms are large and spacious with bathroom and shower. All have A/C and ceiling fan, as well as a mini bar that can be used a a refrigerator. My room had plenty of outlets for easy charging of electronics.

There is a large restaurant with an extensive menu and the chefs prepare about 6 specials each day. The food was excellent and the portions were large. The meal plan includes 3 courses at dinner and I found it hard to finish all 3. I never had a complaint with the food or the service.

The dive shop, locker room, tank storage, and dive-prep area are all at water-side. The dive crew will set up your gear and take it to and from the boat. They take a maximum of 6 divers per boat, and we were diving most times with 5 and a couple of times with only 4 divers. Because the dive sites are such a short ride, your dive briefing is at the resort, you suit up, board the boat, and go diving. The boat returns to the resort after every dive where the resort staff is waiting with hot soup, coffee, tea, beverages, snacks, and sweets. If you're diving nitrox, you select a pre-filled tank, analyze and check pressure yourself, mark tank with tape, and the crew will do the rest. After a short surface interval, it all happens again. They offer 4 dives per day plus a night dive. The local reefs are covered with beautiful hard and soft corals. Nudibranchs are everywhere you look, sometimes several different species on one rock. You can also expect to see octopuses, mantis shrimp, lots of crustaceans, and the typical reef fish found in the Coral Triangle. Puerto Galera is a photographer’s dream. The dive guides are very experienced at finding the best critters. The dives are generally no more than 50 feet, so 60 minute dives are normal.

Atlantis also does a day trip to Verde Island. This is an all day trip including 3 dives. The dives at Verde Island tend to be deeper, with more current, hence, more pelagics. This is vertical wall diving at it's best. There is a famous “Washing Machine" dive here as well.

The service from the staff at the resort is impeccable. Starting at check-in, every staff member greeted me and addressed me by name each time they saw me. Everyone has a wide, genuine smile. The staff would rate 5 stars anyway, but after 5 days of diving and making a total of 19 dives, I contracted covid-19. I was required to quarantine in my room until I tested negative, before returning home. The staff really upped their game and attended to my every need. Food and all other necessities were delivered to my room several times each day. Ten stars are not enough for the friendly and attentive staff here.
My return transfers, again arranged by the Resort, went flawlessly.

The only small negative about this resort is they have no elevator. If your room is on the upper levels, you may have to navigate a lot of stairs up and down each time you go to or from your room. I was on one of the upper levels, but the stairs were not an issue for me.
I would definitely return to Atlantis Puerto Galera and have recommended it to friends.

I have been to Bonaire several times, but recently stayed at the Belmar Oceanfront Apartments for the first time. I chose it because their on-site valet boat diving service was just what I was looking for. Shore diving was not an option for me this trip. This is a small resort with a mix of 21 one, two, and three bedroom apartments. The on-site dive shop and dive boat are operated by Buddy Dive Bonaire. Everything in the resort guide is described perfectly.
We had a 1 bedroom that was extremely spacious, with a full, well equipped kitchen and bathroom. Our balcony overlooked the gorgeous saltwater pool and had a 180 degree ocean view (see photo). The living room is large and comfortable with a flat screen TV.
The dive boat picks up at the dock right in front of the resort. It is configured for a maximum of 8 divers. Some days we were diving with only 6. Dive gear is stored in a locker room just behind the dive shop. Even though “valet service" is provided, it is still each diver's responsibility to bring gear to the boat and back, and rinse and hang to dry. The crew will load gear onto the boat, set up on your tank, assist in analyzing your tank if using nitrox, switch tanks after first dive, and unload gear from the boat on arrival back at the dock. The dive guides were very knowledgeable and did a great job at finding frogfish for us. Five out of six days, we dove Klein Bonaire, only accessible by boat. This is great for people wanting to make afternoon shore dives on Bonaire. No need to worry about repeating dive sites. One day, we dove sites on Bonaire due to winds at Klein causing chop, but these sites are just as good.
The resort doesn't have a restaurant. Our package included a rental car, so it was very easy to drive to one of the many great restaurants available on the island. The car also came in handy to drive around the island for sightseeing.
We will definitely return to the Belmar Oceanfront Apartments for the laid back, easy atmosphere and the great boat diving. We visited a couple of other resorts to eat, and realized how busy they were with dive groups and other visitors. So glad we chose Belmar! Highly recommended.