Sulu Sea Located some 98 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park's isolation has helped preserve its prestine condition, making it the prime dive destination today along with Basterra Reef to the southwest of Tubbataha. There are no facilities on the island, which serves as rookery to brown boobies and terns. The diving terrain is varied - continuous reef platforms, sandy lagoons, spectacularly steep and perpendicular walls, some of which seem to have no bottom.
Currents are unpredictable along the North Rock so the use of a cover boat is absolutely necessary.
The current around the South Islet, on the other hand, is quite predictable and particularly good for drift-diving. Marine life is abundant and overwhelming in Tubbataha. It would seem that the fish around here all live to a right old age as they seem far larger than in other parts of the country. Their sizes are matched by the wide spans of giant sea fans and giant sponges. It is easy to lapse into superlatives when describing the underwater scene around here.