Dauin · Philippines · Muck & macro · Reef
Atmosphere
Muck slope and coral bommies ten metres apart
Photo: Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0
Atmosphere is the sand slope and coral patch lying just offshore of the resort of the same name, dived between 8 and 22 metres. The slope holds cuttlefish, shrimp and ghost pipefish, and a short swim away a cluster of old coral bommies draws schools of snapper and fusilier. Frogfish are a reliable find on the sponge-covered boulders.
Where it is and how deep
9.1604° N, 123.2433° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive runs from 8 metres down to 22 on the slope directly off the resort. The upper part is sand and rubble, and it is worked slowly rather than covered end to end: cuttlefish and shrimp out on the open bottom, ghost pipefish hanging in whatever cover they have found, and frogfish sitting reliably on the sponge-covered boulders.
What sets Atmosphere apart from the rest of Dauin's sand is how little distance separates the two halves of the dive. You can spend twenty minutes hunting for nudibranchs in the rubble, then swim ten metres and watch a turtle grazing on a bommie. The reef patch is a cluster of old coral heads, and schools of snapper and fusilier hang over it.
Marine life and season
- Frogfish
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Sea turtles
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Dauin: Diveable year-round on the sheltered coast; December–February trade winds can raise chop on the shallow sand slopes.
Photos from Atmosphere
Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0
Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0
Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Our amazing house reef at Atmosphere, Philippines · Atmosphere Resorts & Spa Philippines on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Atmosphere dive site?+
The published profile runs between 8 and 22 metres, with the sand and rubble in the shallower part of the slope and the deeper sand below it.
What can you see at Atmosphere?+
Cuttlefish, shrimp and ghost pipefish on the sandy slope, frogfish on the sponge-covered boulders, nudibranchs in the rubble, and turtles and schooling snapper and fusilier over the coral bommies.
Sources
- Dauin Diving, Dumaguete - Philippines — Dive The World
- Atmosphere Resort — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- A reef lizardfish rests on the dark sand slope with its mouth open, showing its teeth. by Elias Levy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A stargazer snake eel buried in coarse dark sand with only its head showing. by Elias Levy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A mandarinfish rests head-up against algae-covered rock, its green, orange and electric-blue pattern lit by a strobe. by Elias Levy, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr
- A mandarinfish swims side-on past encrusted rock, fins spread, its wavy orange and blue-green bands sharp against a dark background. by Elias Levy, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr
In The Logbook
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
More dive sites in Dauin
Sand slope
Metal and concrete structures set on a seagrass flat
Coleman shrimp on fire urchins, and the coast's smallest finds
Artificial reef
Mimic, wonderpus and blue-ringed octopus under the pillars
A decade-old tyre reef, grown in and dived after dark too
Muck & macro
Muck and healthy reef on the sanctuary's southern edge
Blue-ringed octopus and wonderpus on the rubble
Mandarinfish spawning over black sand in the last light
Muck & macro
A sunken jeepney and a Mustang on black sand
Similar dives elsewhere
Small wrecks, sea-pen sand and frogfish five minutes off the beach
Harlequin shrimp and flamboyant cuttlefish on black sand
Schooling jacks hunting silversides under the village jetty
.jpg){kind=link}
Debris slope from 3 to 18 m, dived for frogfish and nudibranchs