Tom Blake

Destination and Diving Specialist

I have been an avid diver now for over 17 years! I have around 2700 dives amassed visiting around 25 different countries during my diving career. I decided to create Ultimate Diving around 15 years ago after a year-long diving holiday. I wanted to bring my business skills together with my love of diving to create a business I was passionate about and to ensure I had a long list of places to visit and review!

One of the things important to me is our visits to the places we sell so we can give that extra bit of knowledge and advice about what the diving will really be like, how will the visibility be at a time of year for instance? Can be important to enhance the trip that bit more. We can share our experience. I also do lots of video of the destinations and now I own a drone I am doing aerial video as well so much of the content you see is unique to our business as we take the pictures and video ourselves.

Our new website will really allow us to showcase all the things we are doing and the trips we are undertaking. I am excited to now be able to share many more of my experiences through our blogs, galleries and my personal expert page.

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My Favourite Places

Atlantis Puerto Galera

Gangga Island Resort & Spa

Lahami Bay Beach Resort

Busuanga Bay Lodge

Exotic Dive & Beach Resort

Bohio Dive Resort

Atlantis Azores

MY Blue Seas

Palau Aggressor II

Galapagos Aggressor III

Its very hard for me to refine my selections as I have had so many outstanding diving experiences over the years. I have tried to single out my favourite and recommended products in line with my what I feel best represents my bucket list destinations, liveaboards and resorts for the best diving experience over and above everything else.

In my humble opinion whether you go on a liveaboard or stay in a resort is a very personal choice and often combining both in one trip is very common as you can relax a bit after your liveaboard which can often feel very go, go, go and having a few days to relax after is perfect for rounding off a trip. Some locations being on a liveaboard does really offer an advantage but others you can experience sometimes more with a local dive centre with guides who know the local reefs much better. There are a lot of factors that bring together an outstanding diving holiday. My attention to detail is a key element of our approach and philosophy.

Atlantis Puerto Galera

Philippines, Mindoro & Anilao

The Atlantis Puerto Galera Resort is located in the heart of the Coral Triangle with spectacular scenery above and below the water. This idyllic resort has to be on every divers bucket list!

Boutique resort on the hills of Sabang Bay
Center of biodiversity in the Coral Triangle
Spa facilities with a range of treatments
Up to five dives a day available
Excellent camera room facilities
2018 Trip advisor Certificate of Excellence

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El Rio Y Mar

Philippines, Palawan & Tubbataha

The beautiful and intimate resort, El Rio Y Mar is located on a picture perfect white sandy beach surrounded by crystal clear blue waters filled with an abundance of marine life! Perfection!

Romantic resort location for couples
Just 15 cabana style bungalows
A’la carte restaurant menu
Choice of BB and HB basis
Very quiet location on private beach
First Class Service/Spa/Infinity Pool

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Gangga Island Resort & Spa

Indonesia, Gangga Island

Gangga Island is a romantic, intimate and majestic resort offering spectacular diving opportunities allowing you to experience diverse marine life from both the Indian and Pacific Ocean.

Romantic diving at its best!
Island resort with maximum 30 guests
Private beach with Bali beds
Ideal for couples and non divers
Gangga Divers on-site
Spa/Infinity Pool/Full Board/Bar

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Lahami Bay Beach Resort

Red Sea, Hamata

The Lahami Bay Beach Resort is surrounded by pristine natural, untouched surroundings, reflecting an Oriental Maritime and a Mediterranean style.

5* resort with great house reef diving
Set in beautiful lush gardens
Excellent dining options
Perfect for those seeking quality
220 rooms with sea view
On the beach

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Busuanga Bay Lodge

Philippines, Palawan & Tubbataha

This boutique hotel is located on the island of Palawan, a nature sanctuary known worldwide for its ecological diversity and stunning physical features.

Where luxury meets adventure
PADI Dive Centre on-site
Nestled on the beach
Tours & excursions available
Gym & spa available
Close to 11 WWII wrecks

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Exotic Dive & Beach Resort

Philippines, The Visayas

Exotic Dive & Beach Resort is the perfect hotel with a variety of rooms, a magnificent beachfront location, out of this world thresher shark diving experiences and a unique man-made house reef.

Beachfront located divers resort
29 rooms with choice of types
Choice of BB, HB or FB basis
Daily thresher shark diving
Dive centre on-site
Diving at Gato Island

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Bohio Dive Resort

Turks & Caicos, Grand Turk

Bohio Dive Resort is a small, intimate resort, committed to providing a friendly and personal service with everything you could need on one idyllic spot just minutes away from the airport.

Located on a white sandy beach
16 rooms all with beach front views
BB basis including daily diving
Great for all types of traveller
Paradise like holiday experience
Cocktail bar and a’la carte restaurant

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Aqua Cat

Bahamas, New Providence

Perfect for newbies or seasoned pros looking for a chilled week of diving amongst some beautiful reefs and island views. You can learn to dive on-board as well. You can enjoy fantastic food, plenty of non diving excursions.

Max 30 guests / 3-4 dives per day
Night Dives
Eco-Adventures
Shore Excursions
Shark feed diving
Good for non-divers who like cruising

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Atlantis Azores

Philippines, The Visayas

Atlantis Azores is the perfect place from which to explore some of the best diving in the world - in the Philippines' pristine waters.

Maximum 16 guests
4 to 5 dives per day
4 route options
Dive from tenders
Nitrox available
7, 10 and 12 night itineraries

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MY Blue Planet I

The baby of the Blue Planet Fleet accommodating a maximum of 16 divers which makes her ideal for groups! Staff are friendly and have been servicing guests for a number of years offering consistent high level of service.

Max 16 guests/3-4 dives a day
Full board basis inc soft drinks
Various routes available
Nitrox Available (Additional)
Spacious and beautifully fitted
AC cabins and en suite

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MY Blue Seas

Red Sea, Marsa Alam

The Blue Seas operates in the southern Red Sea and offers a selection of trips departing from Hurghada and Marsa Alam. The cabin choices provide a nice option for couples with double beds onboard.

Max 20 guests/3-4 dives a day
Full board basis inc soft drinks
Dive South & St Johns
Choice of cabin types
Nitrox Available (Additional)
Discounts for single occupancy

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Palau Aggressor II

If you want to explore further the Palau Aggressor is the good choice. Experience sites that are not dived on a regular basis with other like minded people and enjoy great food in a relaxed but exciting atmosphere.

Max 18 guests / 3-4 dives per day
Dive with an abundance of sharks
Excursions to local beaches/islands
Visit jellyfish lake
Nitrox Available (Additional)
Add on Truk Lagoon for wreck diving

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Fiji & Solomon Extravagance

Fiji, Bligh Waters

We call it extravagance because it ticks 2 of the greatest and most colourful diving conditions you will find anywhere in the world.

Once in a lifetime trip
Best of 2 diving worlds
Tailored to meet your needs
Ideal for honeymooners
City stopovers available
"Soft Coral Capital World"

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My Recent Reviews

We have just returned from two weeks at Liquid in Dumagete, the resort was excellent in every respect our room was spacious had all the facilities we required and was kept spotlessly clean. The food was excellent and the bar/catering facilities very informal with attentive and friendly service. The diving was not the most testing we have done but was very enjoyable both from the boat or from the shore, the area is certainlky worth a visit if you want to see frog fish, they are everywhere all sizes and colours not sure we had a dive when we didnt see some. Apo island was well woth bthe long boat ride the corals among the best we have ever seen. The dive centre staff, the guiodes and the boat (and Jeep) crews were all knowledgeable friendly and looked after us very well (i still find it hard to stand back while someone else insists on sorting out my gear for me). ll in all a brilliant holiday and we will be retuning. Thje arrangements by Ultimate Diving from booking up to our return home were as usualm impecable with all our requirements being met and our expectations exceeded.

I made my booking with Ultimate Diving at very short notice and they were able to help me arrange diving and accommodation exactly where and when I wanted, answering all my questions and accurately re-assuring me that the trip matched my requirements. Borneo Divers on the island of Mabul, was an excellent choice, very relaxed, but professional environment, great mix of people and access to some wonderful dive sites. Swam with sharks, turtles,and in the middle of a barracuda ‘tornado. All travel connections worked perfectly and the staff were friendly and helpful. I can happily recommend both Ultimate Diving and Borneo Divers.

Personal Sign Off

My passion for diving is just as strong as it was when I first started. I continue to visit and dive in our locations many times each year.

I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit more about my diving career and how it helps me drive the business to be outstanding and lead a motivated team to ensure we can deliver that personal service I feel sets us apart from the competition. I look forward to creating lots of video and image galleries and writing up blogs about my travels and experiences over the coming months. I look forward to meeting you at one of our events or at the dive show.