Tulapos Marine Sanctuary
Tulapos Marine Sanctuary
4.2
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4.2
39 reviews
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Charlotte H
12 contributions
Mar 2025 • Couples
A must do!! We got here around 10am and it was really quiet. We paid 700 pesos for 2 of us entry free, snorkels and a guide. Our guide was amazing and well worth the money, he got some amazing pictures and videos for us and we tipped him well as he was so good! Definitely worth getting a guide as they know where to look and found us 3 turtles and barracudas, lots of amazing fish and coral. The snorkel rent is all day until 5pm so we chilled on the beach for the rest of the day and went snorkelling on our own in the afternoon and watched the sunset. Brilliant day. Food and drinks available also
Written March 9, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Belle
Bucheon, South Korea870 contributions
Feb 2023 • Couples
This marine sanctuary is not hard to find. There's a small hut with with lots of snorkelling gears hanging on it.
There's a fee of 100pesos per person and a guide fee of 250pesos (for every 2 people in a group). You can also rent snorkeling gears if you did not bring any with you.
Our guide, Frank, is very friendly and he is knowledgable. The marine sanctuary is located a little further away and you need to be prepared for a lot of swimming (unless its low tide). We saw different kinds of fish including a fiesty clown fish, a school of talakitok (trevally) and a sea turtle!
We ended the snorkelling in shallow waters ang saw a group of giant clams and lots of starfishes while walking back to shore.
There's a fee of 100pesos per person and a guide fee of 250pesos (for every 2 people in a group). You can also rent snorkeling gears if you did not bring any with you.
Our guide, Frank, is very friendly and he is knowledgable. The marine sanctuary is located a little further away and you need to be prepared for a lot of swimming (unless its low tide). We saw different kinds of fish including a fiesty clown fish, a school of talakitok (trevally) and a sea turtle!
We ended the snorkelling in shallow waters ang saw a group of giant clams and lots of starfishes while walking back to shore.
Written March 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mena S
16 contributions
Sep 2023 • Solo
That last! Goggles, guide, fins cost about 400 pesos and it takes you along a path and then a whole underwater world opens up, as if you were diving. There are small sharks, turtles, clown fish, starfish of all colors, giant clams, etc etc!!
Written September 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JayM04
Manila, Philippines166 contributions
Dec 2022
Very clean and pristine water, this is Tulapos. Shallow waters and very healthy and good marine life under. This is protected site and the locals, DENR officials, and men in uniform really take good care of the tourists who visits this sanctuary and of course the site. Although not yet develop, it is a very good site to snorkel or even jump off point for scuba diving. A good place to take instagramable pictures too,
Written December 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
frimoussette
Gironde, France401 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
Very pretty site with clear and warm water. Entrance fee and possibility to rent snorkel mask and fins. We took a guide to make the most of the experience. At the start you walk in the water then swim to the school of barracudas. Along the way you will be able to see coral fish turtles if you are lucky. The experience is very nice and you stay in the water for 1 hour. To do
Written March 4, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kyra0019
Squamish, Canada22 contributions
Mar 2016 • Couples
Like every beach on Siquijor, this one is beautiful, but it is definitely not a "marine sanctuary." My experience, as explained below has prompted me to contact government authorities to try and shut down this "sanctuary".
My boyfriend and I arrived and one of the guys parked on a bike asked us if we wanted to snorkel. Upon answering yes, he pointed a couple hundred meters out and instructed us to walk in the shallow water past the tide break to where the snorkeling is. We got started walking on sand when two tourists stopped us and warned we might want to grab shoes because of all the "rocks." We did, and soon found out the sharp sea floor was covered in dying and crushed coral - not rocks. We tried to swim where possible with less than a few inches clearance between our stomachs and coral, scattered sea urchins, sea grass and starfish. We finally made it out to the breakwater where it would have been impossible to pass without standing up and walking on the already damaged coral hoping not to step on something else. We ended up turning around, not wanting to scratch our stomachs and damage the coral even more.
When we got back we were told we had to pay a 25 PHP fee each. When I asked "for what" the lady said something about a government fee. Considering there was no sign-in required and no ticket given, I can safely assume the lady pockets all of the money. While it isn't much money, I don't like paying into tourist scams. To make matters worse, her group was washing their plates in the shallow water and dropping their garbage on the beach.
To summarize, I was forced (quite literally) to pay a fee that helps encourage locals to sit on the beach littering and polluting as well as damage coral and sea-life.
Awful experience and I hope this review will discourage people from supporting this place.
My boyfriend and I arrived and one of the guys parked on a bike asked us if we wanted to snorkel. Upon answering yes, he pointed a couple hundred meters out and instructed us to walk in the shallow water past the tide break to where the snorkeling is. We got started walking on sand when two tourists stopped us and warned we might want to grab shoes because of all the "rocks." We did, and soon found out the sharp sea floor was covered in dying and crushed coral - not rocks. We tried to swim where possible with less than a few inches clearance between our stomachs and coral, scattered sea urchins, sea grass and starfish. We finally made it out to the breakwater where it would have been impossible to pass without standing up and walking on the already damaged coral hoping not to step on something else. We ended up turning around, not wanting to scratch our stomachs and damage the coral even more.
When we got back we were told we had to pay a 25 PHP fee each. When I asked "for what" the lady said something about a government fee. Considering there was no sign-in required and no ticket given, I can safely assume the lady pockets all of the money. While it isn't much money, I don't like paying into tourist scams. To make matters worse, her group was washing their plates in the shallow water and dropping their garbage on the beach.
To summarize, I was forced (quite literally) to pay a fee that helps encourage locals to sit on the beach littering and polluting as well as damage coral and sea-life.
Awful experience and I hope this review will discourage people from supporting this place.
Written March 8, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MJoy10
Victoria, Canada15 contributions
Feb 2016 • Friends
Clear, warm, shallow water allows you to snorkel forever. Be aware of sunburn as the water is perfectly cool in the hot sun. The volunteer (boatmen) are amazingly good and helpful. If you want to see the biggest clam (king clam), this is the place to be. We were alone in the entire beach. I didn't want to leave. I would highly recommend if you do not like the crowd. Pristine.
Written February 16, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amalie S
12 contributions
Aug 2016 • Friends
My friend and I had rented snorkling equipment in our hotel and talked to the owner, who recommended Tulapis marine sanctuary for seeing sharks (black tip sharks) and barracudas when snorkling - so we took our first stop on our scooter tour on the coastal main road here.
From the road, there is only a sign in one direction, so keep an eye out if your finding it yourself.
The beach is not very big, but big enough for staying some time and my friend and i haf it all to our selves apart from a handling of locals.
There is a fee of 25P Per person for snorkling, and a guide can be hired for 150P.
Our original plan was to just snorkel on our own, but we ended up hiring a guide to find sharks and barracudas easier which turned out to be a good decision. The locals know the animals in the sea and are way more faster in spotting things. I don't think I would have seen sharks without them. So snorkling here my friend and I saw two-three black tip sharks, a sea turtle an lots of barracudas in 10 m derpĂĄ water. We Also saw giant clams.
I would definitely recommend a visit here if you are in to snorkling - and you will have it all to yourselves.
From the road, there is only a sign in one direction, so keep an eye out if your finding it yourself.
The beach is not very big, but big enough for staying some time and my friend and i haf it all to our selves apart from a handling of locals.
There is a fee of 25P Per person for snorkling, and a guide can be hired for 150P.
Our original plan was to just snorkel on our own, but we ended up hiring a guide to find sharks and barracudas easier which turned out to be a good decision. The locals know the animals in the sea and are way more faster in spotting things. I don't think I would have seen sharks without them. So snorkling here my friend and I saw two-three black tip sharks, a sea turtle an lots of barracudas in 10 m derpĂĄ water. We Also saw giant clams.
I would definitely recommend a visit here if you are in to snorkling - and you will have it all to yourselves.
Written August 18, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kaav
8 contributions
Nov 2019 • Couples
For me the see wat too wild and there were too many waves so I had to turn back. My boyfriend, who is an amazing swimmer, went on and saw hundreds of barracudas and jack fish! He was very pleased :)
Written November 23, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MariaTuulikki
68 contributions
Mar 2019 • Solo
I've been diving and snorkelling in many places in the Philippines (including Apo) but this is the first time I ran into a big school of barracudas. I asked my guide (Yes you need one, 250pesos) and there are two separate schools in the area this being the smaller one with 500-1000 barracudas. I also spotted blacktip sharks and turtles here. Turtles you can see pretty much everywhere in the Philippines but first time for blacktips and barracudas!
Written March 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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