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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