Atmosphere Resort Philippines

Atmosphere Resort, Philippines

Atmosphere Resort – for a family friendly holiday

Atmosphere is a family friendly resort and welcomes both big and small. With two separate pool areas, of which one comprises of three shallower pools, and a Kids’ Club, we hope that families will feel right at home at Atmosphere Resorts & Spa.

In addition to regular babysitting services for the children of Atmosphere guests, we have Kids’ Cove on Atmosphere’s premises with access to both educational materials and toys and an on weekends an outdoor playground. We also have arts and crafts activities and movies – see more below. For the older kids we offer PADI Bubble Maker Dive Courses, the PADI Seal Team program as well as snorkeling programs. We also cater to families in the spa with Kid’s yoga and a Kid’s Spa Menu.

Arts and crafts

Kids’ Cove is a treasure of fun to be discovered by children between the ages of 2 and 8. Kids’ Cove is open for guests’ children, who can avail of the daily Kids’ Cove schedule with arts & crafts activities ranging from t-shirt design to pet rock making and movie nights on our bean bags. We have lots of fun or educational toys and we offer marine biology classes for children with our resident marine biologist. We have a large playground on the premises and a sports pit, which belong to our on-site school but are accessible whole day Saturday and Sundays and after 4.30 pm on weekdays. It is also open for guest’s children all day long during school holidays (contact us for dates).

Babysitting at Atmosphere

The kind people of the Philippines are notoriously good with children of all ages. We can provide regular babysitting – “yaya care” while you dive or have a night out at the Atmosphere bar. The yaya will take care of your child/children within the resort area, whether it is in the comfort of your room/apartment or by the pool or beach, it’s up to you. The yaya can also accompany you on your dive boat if you wish to bring your children, but this service is weather dependent and subject to availability.

Kids Diving

No family friendly resort is complete without joint family activities. If you wish to make scuba diving a family event, we offer specific PADI Programs as a great introduction to the underwater world for children starting at 8 years old. PADI Bubble Maker is a great half day course to learn basic techniques and help children become comfortable breathing underwater. Even at the young age of 8, they get to dive in the ocean! The Seal Team program is a 2 day course; learning the basic principles of diving and subsequently getting the chance to take part in specialty Aqua Missions! 10-year olds and older can join in with the adults starting from Discover Scuba Diving or PADI Open Water full certification courses. There is no better place to learn to dive than the Philippines.

Our Family Pools

In early 2015 Atmosphere Resorts had the chance to develop the family pool area, perfectly situated next to the Atmosphere Bakery. These fun pools comprise of three shallower, cascading infinity pools, giving youngsters and adults alike their very own adventure area to frolic and play in the water to their hearts content!

Kids’ Spa and Yoga

The Sanctuary Spa here at Atmosphere is child and adolescent friendly. We actively encourage children to recognize the importance of looking after themselves and working on the art of proper therapeutic relaxation. Yoga is offered as an additional activity for young ones and due to popular demand, you will find treatments such as the Mini Massage, Fruity Facial, Scrummy Scrub and Twinkle Toes on a specifically designed Spa Menu for all between ages 8 and 15.

Kids Menu at Atmosphere

We provide child-friendly food options such as child sized pizzas, fish fingers, homemade burgers and a variety of pasta options, all of which come on a drawing-friendly childrens menu with fun activities. Every menu is printed on recycled paper and it even comes with crayons! Most food items on the regular menus can also be had as child portions.

The best scuba diving in the Philippines

At Atmosphere you can take full advantage of some of the world’s best scuba diving. The world renowned Apo Island with its walls, stunning coral and schooling fish is a short boat ride away. Some of the world’s rarest critters compete for the underwater photographer’s attention along the Dauin coastline near Dumaguete in the Philippines, where Atmosphere is situated. The area is often frequented by underwater photographers in search of exquisitely rare shots.

Our spacious PADI Dive Centre offers a full range of PADI courses in multiple languages, as well as instructor courses, photography classes and marine life presentations. Whether a beginner diver, a snorkeler or an experienced underwater photographer, we will cater to your every need. We offer dive packages, unlimited scuba diving, diving off the beach, boat diving, diving day trips and dusk- as well as night dives.

The night dives at Atmosphere are stunning, as are the mandarin fish dives at dusk and the fluoro dives where you can see the underwater worlds in a completely new light.

Our exceptional scuba diving service at Atmosphere

• Small dive groups – maximum 4 divers per guide.
• No minimum number for night dives or day trips
• Up to 5 scuba dives per day
• Complimentary Nitrox for all Nitrox-certified divers
• Marine life presentations several times per week
• A marine biologist who dives with you
• PADI Instructor Development Courses 6 times per year
• PADI Course Directors on site
• We can teach diving in 9 languages
• Two in-house photo instructors
• A dedicated camera room
• 15 PADI dive masters and instructors
• Fluoro dives
• Mandarin-fish at dusk on the house reef
• Complimentary drinks and snacks on boats
• Hot chocolate after night dives
• Babysitting onboard boats and snorkel guides for kids

Summer Specials at Atmosphere

Book 5 nights at Atmosphere between June and September, and receive the 6th night for free! Click on Book Now in the top menu to reserve online.

Take your PADI course at Atmosphere in the Philippines

For a fun and safe PADI course, you will be in good hands at Atmosphere. A full range of PADI scuba diving courses is available at Atmosphere. If you are an absolute beginner and about to take your first few breaths underwater, don’t worry. We offer all PADI sanctioned courses from a Discover Scuba Diving experience through to the professional levels of PADI Dive Master and above.

For those of you that are already qualified divers, we offer a range of PADI Specialty and continuing education courses, such as PADI Nitrox Diver, Deep Diver, Drift diver. Digital Underwater Photographer etc.

If you wish to make scuba diving a family event, PADI Bubble Maker or the Seal Team Programs are a great introduction to the underwater world for children between the ages of 8-10. The Open Water Course certification can be completed as soon as a child turns 10.

Our instructor team is under the guidance of our two in-house PADI Course Directors and will adhere to PADI standards while also making your course a thoroughly enjoyable experience. We can teach in English, German, French, Swedish, Finnish, Tagalog, Russian, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

We also offer marine biology workshops and dives – go to the marine biology section for more information. Photo courses and workshops are also popular at Atmosphere and you can find out more in the underwater photography section.

Dive Centre, Team and Boats

Atmosphere’s PADI 5* Dive Center

A better dive center, dive team and dive boats would be hard to find. Atmosphere’s dive services consistently rank very high on Tripadvisor. We are proud to offer a personalized service for our guests whilst at the same time having the capacity to welcome big groups of divers. Despite welcoming groups with up to 50 divers, we keep dive groups small with no more than 4 divers per Divemaster – to make sure divers get the personal attention and get to see the critters they deserve.

In the the heart of the resort lies Atmosphere’s state of the art PADI 5* Instructor Development dive center. We offer a full range of PADI courses from beginner to professional training, specialty courses and underwater photo workshops.

As a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Dive Resort we understand the need for space in our wet facilities but also the growing demand for technological requirements. With this in mind, guests enjoy private dive equipment storage spaces, wireless internet, complimentary nitrox for all PADI nitrox-certified guests, a camera/video room with private work space for each diver, a retail boutique, full equipment rental and a spacious briefing area. Our large (20 x 9 meters) infinity pool is divided into a shallow and deep area (3 meters) which makes it ideal for scuba courses, the ocean with our spectacular house reef is then just a step away.

Atmosphere’s experienced Dive Team

Atmosphere’s dive team, boat crew and dive support crew makes the biggest difference to your dive holiday. The dive staff comprises of Atmosphere’s Dive Center Manager, our resident PADI Course Director, as well as an experienced team of more than 10 multilingual PADI Instructors and Dive Masters. Our team can guide and teach in English, German, French, Finnish, Swedish, Tagalog, Mandarin, Spanish and Swiss, from Discovery Scuba Dives up to PADI Instructor level. Our experienced PADI Dive Masters will find you the rarest critters imaginable without harming the marine life, and keep you safe at the same time.

We offer private guiding as one of our services and we also have a diving marine biologist who will be happy to dive with you during your holiday. Diving children are very welcome and we make sure to keep groups small – marine life classes for kids, as well as all diving courses are also available. Contact us in advance or inquire in the dive center upon your arrival.

Atmosphere’s Dive Boats

Atmosphere has two main purpose made dive boats. Victoria is a beautiful 84 foot long, local banka boat with the traditional bamboo outriggers. Victoria is used mainly for longer trips or day trips to outlying islands such as Apo Island, Siquijor and Sumilon. Eve is a 30 foot long speedboat and she can take you to one of the Dauin marine sanctuaries all within 15 minutes of the resort. For shorter trips, we use Eve or one of the smaller banka boats.

Snorkeling With Turtles And Whale Sharks

At Atmosphere Resort in the Philippines, we welcome snorkelers on all our boat trips. Snorkeling can also be done off the beach on our amazing house reef at any time, or from our dive boats. Many of our dive sites are also excellent snorkeling sites with corals reaching very shallow.

Snorkel equipment is available for rent in our dive center and we offer snorkeling classes for guests who have little experience but wish to learn. We also always send snorkeling guides with our snorkelers and we have life jackets available for the less experienced swimmers. Whale sharks or turtles? The choice is yours!

Snorkeling in Apo Island with Atmosphere

Apo Island is a stunningly beautiful snorkeling spot. Apo is only 30 minutes away from Atmosphere and we take divers and snorkelers there almost every day. We usually leave in the morning and come back to Atmosphere at lunch time, and there is plenty of drinks, fruit and cookies on board as well as towels and fresh water. Apo Island has a turtle sanctuary in very shallow water where you can see leatherback and green turtles grazing on the sea grass. There are also sea turtles deeper and you can often spot them from the boat, when they come up for air. Pristine corals and white sand surround the island, you’ll be amazed at the variety of colorful reef fish you’ll see.

Swim with Whale Sharks with Atmosphere

Near Oslob village on Cebu Island in Tanawan, 1,5 hours away by van and boat, a large group of whale sharks congregate year-round in a shallow bay. We will bring you there in an air-conditioned van by road and car-ferry. Once on site, there will be a briefing and then it’s time to step into a small boat that will take you the 100 meters out to where the whale sharks are. Some chose to just watch the whale sharks from the surface but those who wish can get in the water and swim/snorkel with these gentle giants. Life jackets are available.

Unafraid of humans, the whale sharks come very close to swimmers and for many of our guests, it is the experience of a life-time. We chose not to do any scuba diving with the whale sharks, following the recommendations of WWF. Bring your underwater camera or rent one from Atmosphere!

Our Critters

Atmosphere boasts some of the best diving in the world, mixing world class muck diving dive sites with lush reef diving, walls and macro diving. The Philippines is situated in the Coral Triangle – a marine area located in the western Pacific Ocean. It includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands. Named for its staggering amount of corals (nearly 600 different species of reef-building corals alone), the region nurtures six of the world’s seven marine turtle species and more than 2000 species of reef fish.

Reef diving at Apo Island

Apo Island – only 30 minutes from Atmosphere Resorts & Spa – boasts many of those species. Apo Island is a very old marine sanctuary and has among the world’s best hard coral. Also present around Apo are a multitude of green turtles and leatherback turtles, schools of big eyed trevallies/jacks, bumphead parrotfish, lots of colorful reef fish and beautiful black and white sea kraits (snakes).

For those of you who love drift dives, some of Apo Island’s dive sites will give you the ride of a life time – but there are also quiet wall dives where you can stop and explore the marine life in the crevices.

Some of our favorite critters also reside here, such as frogfish, pipefish, eels, nudibranchs and leaf fish.

Muck diving along the Dauin coastline

The coast of Dauin where Atmosphere is situated has excellent macro diving with many of the most interesting critters in the world. Often called “muck diving” these usually small critters can be found worldwide but very often in dive sites with nutrient-rich volcanic sand. Muck diving usually also refers to the site being mucky with a lot of trash – which is not the case in the Dauin area, where pristine brown sand sites line the coast. Many of the coveted animals here are masters of camouflage and rely on mimicry to survive, making each dive a treasure hunt and the use of great dive guides a must.

Many of our favorite critters, like the frogfish or the devil scorpionfish, don’t swim… they walk. Others, like seahorses, hang on for dear life with the tail and we are pleased to have both the smallest pygmy seahorse and the big thorny seahorse on our Atmosphere house reef. The list of critters can be very long but a few favorites are: Blue-ringed octopus, hairy frogfish, pygmy seahorse, ambon scorpionfish, mandarinfish, orangutan crab, mimic octopus, ribbon eel, ornate ghost pipefish, halimeda crab, flamboyant cuttlefish, nudibranchs, wonderpus, velvet ghost pipefish, thorny seahorse, stargazer, leaf fish, harlequin shrimp, squat lobster, sargassum fish, jawfish, mantis shrimp, giant frogfish, candy crab and many more. A muck-divers paradise!

If there is a specific animal you’d like to see during your stay, let us know. Some are seasonal whereas others just need to be found in the right place.

Join Atmosphere onboard a dive live-aboard of the Siren Fleet!

Here at Atmosphere, we have some of the best diving in the world. We do however understand that our guests dream of other dive destinations – as do we! This is why we have teamed up with one of the world’s most luxurious and well-renowned dive liveaboard fleets, the Siren Fleet of Worldwide Dive & Sail, to be able to offer our guests the Atmosphere experience in other locations.

Each year, Atmosphere will take you to a famous dive spot in Asia:

2015: We went to Komodo August 20 – August 30 on board the S/Y Indo Siren
2016: We went to Raja Ampat May 20 – May 30, 10 nights on board the S/Y Indo Siren
2017: We went to Palau March 7-14, 7 nights on board the S/Y Palau Siren
2018: We went to Tubbataha May 24-30, 6 nights on board the S/Y Philippine Siren
2019: We are going to Palau May 13-20, 7 nights on board the S/Y Palau Siren
2020: We are going to Tubbataha April 25 – May 1, 6 nights on board the S/Y Philippine Siren

Atmosphere’s Management will lead the private expeditions to make sure that all diving guests receive the Atmosphere star treatment throughout the duration of the cruise. Why not join our team by spending a few nights in Atmosphere before or after your expedition? Any guest joining us at Atmosphere before or after the live aboard adventure will be offered a five night stay for the price of three.

Dive Sites

At Atmosphere, we have the good fortune to have a wide diversity of dive conditions and dive sites. From the white sand and stunning corals of Apo island to the brown volcanic sand and spectacular macro and muck diving of Dauin.

Corals and turtles in Apo Island

Apo Island is a scuba diver’s heaven and has been a well-preserved marine sanctuary for the past 20 years. It has an international reputation as one of the most diverse and stunning collections of corals in Asia Pacific. The hard coral fields seem endless, in particular when you fly over them on one of the exhilarating drift dives that Apo Island has to offer. Apart from having stunning sub-aquatic views, the warm waters provide an outstanding diving experience all year round. Our local PADI dive masters will show you the highlights of each dive site, whether it be unusual critters or lush corals. Green and leatherback Turtles are very common here, as are banded sea kraits (sea snakes), bumphead parrotfish and colorful reef fish. A couple of big schools of trevally (jacks) are usually present one one side of the island and there are many walls, overhangs and crevices for the curious scuba diver to explore. Apo Island is also a great snorkeling site and it is only 30 minutes away from Atmosphere Resort in Dumaguete.

Muck diving and macro marinelife in Dauin

Dauin’s Marine Sanctuaries line the coast where Atmosphere is situated and can easily be accessed from the shore or by boat. A total of around 20 dive sites, the boundaries are clearly identified by the semicircle of buoys immediately off shore. All the dive sites are a short boat or car ride away from Atmosphere, except from the spectacular Atmosphere House Reef which is right outside the resort and can be reached by foot. Most of the Dauin dive sites are characterized by brown volcanic sand and a multitude of rare critters, mixed up with coral bommies. Dauin is the macro underwater photographer’s paradise, where unusual and rare marine life compete for the underwater photographer’s attention. Normally labelled “muck diving”, we have the critters and macro life but without any of the trash that is so common in other famous muck diving areas.

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