The crew was great and we saw dolphins at a distance. What wasn’t great, though, was that nobody told us December isn’t the right season to spot whale sharks. We discover the right season is March-April. Yes, we could have done more research, but given their commitment to wildlife protection, we assumed they’d be honest with us too. Unfortunately, we were wrong, which is a real shame. My recommendation to the whaleshark center is to be 100% transparent with visitors—we might still be willing to pay (maybe less?) and take our chances. They’ll probably just respond with a ‘thank you’ to this review because they don’t actually read them. :)

The tour information center is an official office for whale shark tour in Donsol. Php5000 per boat (3 hours) for six people. We had 4 people and we booked our own boat. It is not guarantee to meet the whale shark, may be just 50/50 as they do not feed the whale shark so it's your luck. Factors include weather, current, high / low tide, etc. If raining and no run lights then it's harder to find them. We went 3 days (raining on the first day) and we didn't meet them. I didn't blame anyone as they were trying their best to look for the whale shark. And as a service provider, they do want to show you what they are proud of in their town. So I feel like it's a gambling that you choose to involve. And I love this giant animal so I am happy they are trying to protect their sea to keep the whale shark. They only rely on human's eyes (stand on the top of the boat) to track the whale shark, the effectiveness can be improved by using more ways like Drone? They do not put gps tracker to the whale shark as they don't want to stress them. Donsol is a nice town, road and river are very clean (unexpected !) and people are generally doing okay. They seem to have a good waste management system. Besides, no beggers on the street. If they can manage the stray dogs numbers then it will be even better. The dogs are okay and they just sleep around like they are part of the neighborhood. There is a famous active volcano but we haven't gone to. I will come back another time to try my luck because I enjoy the time on the boat watching the sea and just focus on one thing. By the way, the firefly watching tour is impressive because their protection to the river does play an important role for firefly's growing. Must go.

Really enjoyed the experience. The organisers made sure that we had everything available and gave us snacks and drinks. Highly recommend. Unfortunately, did not see the Whale Sharks but it is what it is.

Just sharing our experiences with the whales, we were there last April 18 on our first attempt to interact with the whalesharks but mission failed 😔. So we opted to stay for another day, we planned to start later in the morning. And yes, the butandings were there! It was joyful for our family to watch, swim and play with the whalesharks! The tour was well organized with the help of B.I.O. (Butandings Interaction Officers). Butanding goals…checked!!

Loved my tour! Came solo around 8:30am and waited until around 10am for 4 others to make a group of 5 with. It's 5k pesos for the boat, so we paid 1k each plus marine fee (300 pesos for foreigner marine fee, I think cheaper for Filipinos). You can rent a mask and snorkel for 150 pesos and fins for 150 pesos also. I got fins only and they found a pair for my wide-ish size 41 feet. During the actual tour, the sky had just cleared up (it was raining when we watched the intro video) and it took an hour until we saw the 1st whale shark. This one was already quite deep when we got in the water, but we saw it swimming away. You gotta be ready at the front of the boat to jump in cuz the whale sharks are big and that means they're fast! It took maybe another hour to see another. And then on our ride back to shore with about 25 minutes left into our max 3 hours, they spotted another one and let us jump in again! The 2nd and 3rd ones we saw came a lot closer to us! The waiting room has air conditioning and bathrooms, and shower rooms are in the building behind. Good tshirt, magnet, and keychain selection at the souvenir store (other souvenirs also). You can also buy tampons there according to a sign.

The most amazing experience of my life 🫶🏼 Thanks to our amazing guides, we saw soo many whale sharks and had long encounters with them! I did two days of snorkelling with a group, one day this was with 6 people and the other day 4 people! Such good value for money at just £23 for 3 hour trip. Over the two days, I had 10 encounters with the whale sharks 🥹 An absolute dream come true, thanks to this amazing company for providing the best experience. I’m so happy I came to Donsol for the ethical experience instead of Oslob! The guides were knowledgable, friendly and helped me get some amazing views up close of the whale sharks. (Only recommendation would be to have more of a limit on how many boats can go around one shark because at one point it got really busy with people kicking each other. I would recommend having a limit of 2-3 boats per whale shark) At some encounters it was only our group with the shark, this was amazing 🫶🏼

Attractive, wildlife preserved activity for family, friends and diver who love to encounter with whale shark. You can rent fin, mask and snorkeling here. Be ready to be on spider boat in 3 hours, jump many times and swim a bit quick to spot whale shark. With no luck , sometime you may not see it.

We are sad to read that many people had mixed experiences with this dive shop because our experience was good! Many reviews are talking about the old equipment, but right now (December 2024) they are renewing their gear slowly. We did our open water course here and had brand new gear we could use. The course itself was really nice, the swimming pool where we did our first two days of training could have been better tho, with strangely enough zero visibility inside it. But once we went open water, wow! Majestic dive sites for a training. We saw turtles, beautiful reefs, sea horses, sea snakes and much more. Not bad for training dives. Also the food that you receive on the full day boat tours while diving is really great! The diving we did was on Ticao Island and that place is just magical. There were also advanced divers on our boat who also did the diving in Manta Bowl, even though they did not see them, they really loved the dive! Last but not least, the whale sharks. We did three whaleshark tours . No whalehsark in the end. They are definitely in the area though because we got a few close calls, but since they are wild animals (not like in Oslob) sightings are never guaranteed. Would definitely recommend the place and I hope you are more lucky than we were.

Staff at the office were super friendly and helpful. All dive staff on the boat equally as nice and knowledgeable. You are responsible for checking and selecting your dive kit. Some small air leaks in gauges and regs, but nothing too serious. Boat was very large and comfortable, food was great. Briefings very detailed. We saw no Mantas, but 5 whale sharks! Amazing day of diving at the Manta Bowl. The early dives are in a very strong current so would not recommend for inexperienced divers.

Greetings fellow travelers, I may be a bit late with this review, as my visit to Donsol was back in April 2022, but I simply couldn't resist sharing the memorable experience I had at this Dive Center. If you're a diving enthusiast, or even if you're just curious about taking the plunge, this place is worth every moment. My dive experience was entirely unexpected; I hadn't brought any gear with me. However, the dive center came to the rescue, providing everything I needed for an extraordinary underwater adventure. The entire day was nothing short of awesome, and it was made all the more enjoyable by the accommodating and professional dive masters who guided us every step of the way. But the real star of the show was the Manta Ray Bowl dive. It was beyond fantastic; it was a truly exhilarating experience to swim alongside these magnificent creatures. The Manta Rays gracefully gliding through the crystal-clear waters left an indelible mark on my memory. It's a sight and an experience that divers of all levels should have the privilege to witness. I must give a special shout-out to Russell Manzanilla, my dive master. He went above and beyond, personally looking after me throughout the dive. It had been three long years since I'd last dived, and he patiently provided a refresher to help me recall the basics. His expertise and guidance instilled confidence, making the entire dive experience not only memorable but also incredibly safe. In summary, if you find yourself in Donsol and have even the slightest inkling of curiosity about scuba diving, I highly recommend this Dive Center. The unexpected dive adventure, the exceptional dive masters, and the awe-inspiring Manta Ray Bowl dive all combine to create an experience that's nothing short of unforgettable. So, to all fellow adventurers and underwater enthusiasts, don't hesitate to explore the depths of Donsol and dive into a world of wonder. Safe diving and happy memories!

NO, NO AND NO. AVOID IT ! I, Erwan COZ, divemaster SSI, would like to declare many safety incidents during our dives. For my partner and I, SAFETY IS NOT AN OPTION. It will never be so. Scubadiving may be very dangerous, that’s why we are trained. On the 12th of March 2025, a small breafing occured before we left the office. We were told that on the second dive or the third dive, the divemaster might be different. So I ask for a dive computer, indeed how could he got the same parameters than ours ? The divemaster agreed with me and gave me a computer without telling me that I will need to pay for it. Which I didn’t do of course. How could I pay for a thing supposed to protect my wife and I from a dive accident ? Especially after 3 dives. On this very first day, nothing more happened. On the 13th of March 2025, on the first dive, the BCD of my partner inflates automatically and continuously at the very beginning of the dive with no way of stopping it. The divemaster saw us, we signalled to him the problem as we were at the surface, he waved his hand, turned back and continued the dive with the two others divers who didn’t understand why he didn’t go at the surface to help us and correct the problem. We went back to the boat and the crew changed the damaged BCD and told us to go back underwater and look for the divemaster. After more than 10 minutes we finally reached the group and the divemaster was very happy to see us again … Plus, very short dive for everyone (minus more than 10 minutes for the two of us). On the second dive, the « new BCD » of my wife, whose the high purge was broken, defleated continuously which it very dangerous as we were warned about the descending currents in Manta Bowl area. Moreover, a second group of divers, all beginners, dived with us at the same time. One of the three beginners got lost during the dive and joined our group. Moreover the two girls of this group got also lost, one stayed with her divemaster, the other joined an other divemaster who accompanied the two groups. The two girls reported to us that they didn’t see each other during the dive. Thus, the three beginners were separated each one with a different divemaster and different parameters. Was anyone aware of a lost diver procedure ? Hell no ! As a beginner, clearly not prepared for such a drift dive, the man, who was now part of our group, emptied his tank in 15 minutes. End of dive or everyone. The divemaster didn’t suggest to start the dive again after leaving the beginner diver on the boat, especially as he missed the dive site where we were supposed to be. Nothing special occured on the third dive. Yeahhhh. My partner exchanged her « new damaged BCD » with the divemaster’s one as he told her he knew how to fix the problem. This very day we dived less than 90 minutes for 6350 pesos each due to bad breafings, the lack of debriefing, misinformation, absence of communication, bad gear and so on. When we returned to the office at the end of the second day, I returned the computer and I was asked money for it. It’s a common scam on those countries to give you something and at the end to claim money for it without telling you at the first time. We explained the situations to the two women of the office. One of them asked me to write it down while still arguing for the paiement of the dive computer. It lasted about 30 minutes. We also asked for the refund of the second dive, but the women didn’t hear anything while still arguing. On the way home, we wrote to Mr. David Rabino, of the dive center to report the incidents and to claim the refund of the second dive. I join to this report the screenshots of the exchange that we had on WhatsApp. As you can see, he  "punished" his staff by not paying them. Moreover, he claimed that the equipment is subject to malfunction. We rented many pieces of gear for a high price to be said it is subject to malfunction. How could a dive center tell you that ? How do they provide safety for the divers ? How and when do they do the maintenance of the diving equipment ? AVOID IT !

The dive masters and boat crew gave us a 10/10 experience, and the admin tried very hard to get extra divers to make the boat hire cheaper. We weren't lucky with perfect weather and sightings but unfortunately they haven't bought a weather changing machine yet.

Pros : friendly staffs, boat is big and spacious. Mine equipment's are fine and working, surprisingly for remote place like donsol. Cons : No buddy system, no clear sharing which group follow which DM on boat, we(divers) also confuse ourselves. I out of sight almost for 30 secs at Mantabowl, and DM not even aware/check, only until other divers noticed. Scariest moment of my life. Please be aware and take care divers properly. Please improve and put safety to highest priority.

Had a great diving experience here, I did 3 dives and ended up seeing manta rays on 2 of them. The dive was over a few hours so they gave us a very good lunch, and had good snacks too. Overall a great experience.