Whale shark at Manta Bowl, Donsol, Philippines

Why go diving in Donsol

Donsol is one of the best places in the world to see whale sharks.  Whale sharks aggregate in the area between December and June with peak season between February and May. In Donsol Bay whale sharks come up close to the surface to feed. Whale sharks are protected and it is only allowed to snorkel with them in Donsol Bay.

Manta Bowl is a shoal at about 20 meters deep in the middle of a channel between Luzon and Ticao islands. It is about 2 hours by banca from Donsol. We did three days of diving at Manta Bowl – and saw whale sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, white tip sharks, schools of jacks, tuna and juvenile barracuda.  Visibility was reasonable at about 15 meters and water was on a cold side at C23. Currents at Manta Bowl are very strong and you need to use reef hooks to have a decent bottom time as current can push you off the shoal pretty quick. This was some of the best diving we have done in the Philippines and we definitely did not expect to see so many pelagics so near to the shore!

What to see

Logistics

Sunset view from Vitton hotel in Donsol, Philippines

There are two main options for diving Manta Bowl – one is to dive from Donsol another is to stay on Ticao island.  Since we originally planned to also snorkel with the whale sharks and had only limited time we decided to stay in Donsol at Vitton hotel.  It is on the shore with beautiful sunset views over the ocean, good food, basic clean and comfortable rooms, and within 50 meters of the whale shark interaction center which runs the whale shark snorkeling tours. It is also near to other resorts and the absolutely wonderful BARacuda restaurant. We had dinner there three nights in a row  and they serve some of the best seafood we had in the Philippines – very simple fresh fish and prawns with nice salads and other sides.

Getting back to banca after a dive at Manta Bowl

We dove with Giddy’s place dive shop and had excellent experience. Our instructor Jeremie was highly professional, the trips were perfectly organized and his guiding was brilliant as we got to see whale sharks on 7 out of 9 dives and had good bottom times of about 45 minutes each dive. We liked that they were trying to make sure that divers had matching level of experience as we saw that other operators took everyone to dive Manta Bowl – even open waters with ten or so dives – which is scary considering currents.

Manta ray, Manta Bowl, Philippines

Giddy’s resort is located in Donsol downtown. We were picked up every morning at 7:30am at our hotel and driven straight to the boat. Trip to Manta Bowl takes about 2 hours depending on the waves.  Lunch, coffee, water and towels were provided on the boat. We did all three dives on Manta Bowl each day. Other option includes going to San Miguel island which reportedly has very nice reef and corals.

Donsol town with Mayon volcano in the background

Donsol is a small town. There is one ATM but when we went to it on Sunday it already ran out of money so it is good to make sure to bring cash as most places (except Giddy’s) do not accept credit cards. Diving trips take pretty much all day coming back at about 5pm. We did not make it to the fireflies tour though heard good reports about it.  We also did not make it to waterfalls or to Mayon volcano.  We will need to come back for a longer stay next time!

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site covering 97 thousand hectares in the center of the Sulu sea in the heart of the coral triangle. Diving here is spectacular. Research shows that there are 600 fish species, 360 coral species, 11 shark species, 13 dolphin and whale species, and a nesting site for Hawksbill & Green sea turtles here.

Most dives are along walls covered with corals in very good condition. We went at the end of the season during the first week of June and saw lots of reef sharks, manta rays, eagle ray, lots of turtles, large bumphead parrot fish and napoleon wrasse, and even a hammerhead shark (albeit far – we were at about 40m and it was at abt 50) as well as variety of schooling fish.

We missed the whale shark and will be going back for sure. Tubbataha is only accessible by liveaboard and diving season is short between mid-March and mid-June. Visibility is superb about 30-50 meters. Only about a dozen boats operate diving trips and given the size of the reef you most likely will not have too many divers around you.

What to see

Logistics

Tubbataha reef is only accessible by liveaboard. The information on the park and liveaboards in the park is here. All liveaboards depart from Puerto Princessa in Palawan. There are regular flights to Puerto Princessa from Manila and Cebu. Most operators offer transition trip as the first and last trip of the season. Transition trip is a good opportunity to combine Apo Reef and Tubbataha reef in one trip. Transition trip in March departs from Batangas and ends in Puerto Princessa and the last trip of the season in June starts in Puerto Princessa and returns to Batangas. Puerto Princessa town has many hotels and expanding restaurant options. There is not much to do in Puerto Princessa itself.

Further ideas for combining Tubbataha trip include going to El Nido in the north of Palawan island – about 5 hour overland transfer or private plane transfer – or visiting Underground River and Honda Bay. If you do a transition trip in/out of Batangas then it can be combined with diving in Anilao or Puerto Galera. Tubbataha is definitely a world class destination and by far the best diving in the Philippines!

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Apo reef is the second largest in the world contiguous coral reef system covering 34 sq km – a part of a protected area managed by the Apo Reef Natural Park. You can see sharks, tuna, barracuda, variety of reef fish and coral reefs in a very good condition.

Visibility is up to 40 meters during dry season between December and May. Apo reef, along with Tubbataha are probably the only places in the Philippines where you can see big stuff (plus Malapascua for thresher sharks).

What to see

Logistics

Apo reef is about 30km offshore. The tiny island in the park only has a ranger station and a lighthouse and no tourist accommodation. The  best way to dive Apo reef is as a part of a liveaboard trip. Our Apo reef diving trip was part of Around Mindoro trip on Rags II liveaboard. Rags II is a very large traditional style banca purpose build for diving. The organization of the dive operation is superb and crew is wonderful. The guys running the Rags boat are highly experienced tech divers and also organize tech diving trips including for wrecks and caves (plentiful in Mindoro-Coron vicinity).

A number of liveaboard operators have routes that include Apo reef including transition trips at the beginning and end of season for Tubbataha – which is a nice option if you want to cover both Apo and Tubbataha in one trip in the Philippines. There are also several operators that organize day trips and overnight trips from Sablayan, Pandan island and from Coron.

Even though Sablayan – the departure point for Apo reef – is on Mindoro island, and looking on the map one would think it should be easy to combine Puerto Galera dive trip with Apo reef trip, it is not quite the case. The circumference road of Mindoro has a crucial bit missing in its north east corner, which means that one can not drive from Puerto Galera to Sablayan along shorter eastern route but has  to go along the western shore, and pretty much drive all around the island to get to Sablayan which would take at least 8 hours. Alternative and faster way is to take a boat to Abra from Puerto Galera and then drive to Sablayan. If you have time, this is an option, but if time is limited, the best option is to go with a liveaboard.

It is best to dive during the dry season between December and May when seas are usually calm and visibility is excellent.  Some operators still run trips through rainy and typhoon season and you may have a perfectly good trip. But chances of storm coming in are not small and trip can be cancelled at short notice.

All in all – definitely worth the effort!

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Why go diving in Sabang, Puerto Galera

Sabang, Puerto Galera offers excellent diving with healthy coral reef, wide variety of fish, critters and nudibranchs and lively topside scene. Located in the north of Mindoro island, Sabang is a 3-4 hour trip from Manila not requiring air travel.

One of the most famous dive sites in Puerto Galera (PG) is Canyons – an excellent deep drift dive best done on nitrox. Delaruan and Giant Clams offer excellent muck diving – we saw all kinds of creatures there including sea horses, mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, frog fish, unusual nudibranchs and variety of crabs and critters.  Sabang wrecks is excellent on a night dive.  Sites are nearby and the boats come back to the resort for the surface interval. Many resorts in Sabang offer day trips for diving Verde island – definitely worth doing if tides are favorable.

Sabang has a bit of a reputation for being a party scene and girly bars place.  It does have those establishments, but if you stay in Small or Big La Laguna you would not know you are 5 minutes walk from lively night scene of Sabang beach proper. Basically, if you are interested in that type of scene it is available, but if not – you can easily avoid it. There is a growing number of restaurants and our favorites are Papa Freds, Blue Ribbon, Relax restaurant and Captain Greg’s.

What to see

Logistics

Sabang

Sunset view from Small La Laguna

There is plentiful accommodation in Sabang and Puerto Galera area. Sabang beach
proper is busy and noisy but Small and Big La Lagunas are quieter and have many dive resorts.  Most resorts are functional but not too fancy and target largely diving guests. The Sabang-Lagunas area is small and it is only a 10-15 minutes walk along the beach from Lagunas to Sabang proper. There are also bigger and fancier resorts in the area but they are generally not in a walking distance to Sabang. If you prefer not to be isolated in a resort and have options for dining other than your hotel’s restaurant, it is better to stay in one of the Lagunas.

Sabang main street

Passengers disembark banca at Sabang pier

There are regular boats – bancas going to Sabang from Batangas pier. Schedules are here. If you miss the boat to Sabang – there are more boats going to Muelle, and it is about 10 minutes by tricycle from Muelle to Sabang. There are also larger ferries that go from Batangas to Calapan from which it is about 1 hour to Sabang by car. Normally, regular bancas are the best way to go. However, if the weather is stormy and bancas area stopped the roros to-from Calapan may still be running. We have been taking bancas all year round but it is a good idea to check if there is a storm or typhoon expected and plan accordingly.

To get to Batangas pier you can take a bus or arrange a private car transfer from resort. There are also private boats that go from Berberabe pier near to Batangas and you can arrange private car and boat through most resorts.

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Excellent macro diving in Anilao attracts many underwater photographers. Anilao is dubbed by some “Nudibranch capital of the world” or “Philippines Lembeh”. Dive guides are very experienced and have superhuman ability to spot all manner of nudibranches and critters. There is plenty of reef fish but, as in most other places in the Philippines, chances to see big stuff are extremely low.

About 3 hour drive from Manila, trip to Anilao does not require flights or boat transfers. This makes it a good destination for a weekend trip from Manila. It also makes Anilao a good addition on a longer dive trip in the Philippines at the end to reduce risks of missing a flight out of Manila. Weather, especially during the rainy season between July and November, may be unpredictable. Boats or connecting domestic flights can be cancelled on a short notice. Finishing trip to the Philippines in Anilao means you are less likely to be stranded on another island and can catch your flight out of Manila.

Logistics

There is a range of accommodations from luxurious to basic.  At the same time Anilao remains quiet and secluded. Philippines luckily has not yet caught up with industrial scale diving destinations in Indonesia and Thailand. Groups are small and you can have a boat and a guide to yourself if you want to. The place gets busier on weekends with groups coming from Manila, often on a day trip.

Anilao topography with resorts nested in the cliffy shores means that you are most likely to stay in one resort for all your diving, eating, relaxing and entertainment needs. There is no “main strip” to stroll through. We dive with Blue Ribbon. 

Many dive sites are within 5-10 minutes boat ride from resorts and you can get back to the resort for surface interval. Sites across the channel around Tingloy island are about 20 minute boat ride and are usually arranged as “2 dives out” returning back to resort by lunch. 

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