Manta Liveaboards

Such an absolutely phenomenal experience. We went on the trip scheduled for 20 Feb from Coron to Apo Reef. The crew on Manta are exceptional and every experience was just next level hospitality. I read several reviews before doing this trip and I would like to share that the boat is in good standing, recently renovated, and everything is exactly as needed for a super trip focussed on diving. The food is great and the diving is spectacular. Overall 1000 x 5 stars. Thank you Mimi and the team for unforgettable memories.

Mar 2026

Congratulations to the MANTA DIVING TEAM!!! Want to dive intensely 3 or 4 times a day on a liveaboard dive boat? Look no further, the Philippines and NAVIS 1 are waiting for you. It's not a pleasure boat or aesthetically pleasing, that's true. It's a solid catamaran without frills, designed specifically for diving. However, the cabins with spacious beds and en-suite bathrooms are comfortable enough to recharge between dives after enjoying the excellent meals that Chef Mark prepared for us each day—varied and always featuring meat, fish, and vegetables. Special mention goes to the desserts that those of us with a sweet tooth eagerly awaited at every meal. The dive team, led by the jovial and always cheerful J.J. and his team leader Randy, along with their female Divemasters Cam and Thea, always ready to help, are true diving enthusiasts. They'll accompany you on every dive, alert to anything worth seeing or any animal worth admiring. They added confidence to every dive and joy and smiles the rest of the time. We had the owner, Travis, on board, and some days his twin sons joined him, and other times his lovely daughter, Lana, who were never a bother at all, incredibly well-behaved and kept under their father's control. Despite having to face Typhoon Tino, he managed to turn the program around and ensure we almost completed all the planned dives in just 4 out of 6 days. The other two days were off-limits for all nautical activities on the island, and we took refuge in Busuanga Bay, a protected natural enclave once used by the Japanese navy, whose sunken ships served as our farewell. For added safety, we stayed in a nearby hotel and were privileged spectators during the typhoon, enjoying a few fun karaoke sessions, so popular in the Philippines. Special mention goes to Mimi, the manager responsible for coordinating and ensuring everyone's satisfaction. She was an excellent public relations person and, on top of that, a fantastic companion for my wife on all our snorkeling trips, since she's not a diver. Mona and Lean also took wonderful care of us at the Coron office. They stored my dive bag for a few days and repaired my watch strap in record time. Anyway, I could go on and on, but the best thing is for you to come and discover it for yourselves. You won't regret it; you'll want to come back, just like we did.

Nov 2025

Be very cautious with booking a live aboard with manta and liveaboard.com We arrived for our trip and boarded this horrendous floating death trap, no way I would risk my loved ones lives on this boat, we have been on several boats and this by far has been the worst. 1. The boat is rusted to the point metal turns to dust when you hold it. 2. The boat is patched up quite a lot and not done well at all. 3. The boat is filthy. 4. The rooms are very tiny and not useable for a couple for a week out in the ocean. 5. The boat is a reclaimed boat that should not be on the seas that was a small ferry a long time ago and repurposed as a dive boat. 6. The rate varies for each guests, book on live aboard.com then it's more expensive by 25%, book with them and they are open to negotiation, the other guests on board did tell us what they paid and it was lower! We ended up leaving the boat after having to argue with the owners over the safety concerns and then finally agreeing to a refund, however they didn't cover our wasted flights or time, instead gave us an 150 usd in pesos to take a shuttle to another hotel. We basically wasted a lot of money and time on this.The owner tried to convince us that the boat was rebuilt but the steel available these days is not good....that's really not a great excuse. liveaboard.com did not help either, their response was "corrosion is a normal process" despite sending them pictures of the boat crumbling. Live aboard.com does no physical inspections of the boats they market and take it solely on the word of the operator that the boat is sea worthy. This boat is being operated in a 3rd world country and it's easy to get away with a lot, you would think an international company selling the trip would be more concerned and take action, instead they simply shrug it off on the basis that you are some uneducated person that doesn't know the difference between normal corrosion and a serious safety risk. The only reason we got our refund is that I had to tell the boat owner that I would not leave the boat till we settled the issue and the boat doesn't leave the dock for the trip till that's done or the authorities get involved. It's only after this that the owner pleaded with me not to tell the others on board of what issues I had seen and to keep it quiet so that the other guests don't complain too, this was a major red flag, the owners clearly know it's sub standard but I guess a sale is more important than safety and sadly liveaboard.com seems to be agreeable to that. Now mark my words, manta will come up with some sort of sing a long rhyming response to make themselves seem like they are cool and collected, that's definitely one part they are quite skilled at and that is some great defense but you decide for yourself, for us safety is more important! It's out there now, please make a decision that makes you comfortable, you can get much better trips in the same area at the same price, perhaps a little more expensive but certainly does not compromise your safety. I am sure their staff is great, they did try to help out and I do appreciate that. Th other negative review here is absolutely to the point.

Apr 2025