Tag: Philippines diving

Verde Island located in the middle of the channel separating Luzon and Mindoro islands is one of the best places in the Philippines for seeing large schools of fish and walls with coral in pristine condition.  Currents are often strong including down currents and it is best to dive on a slack tide and with…

Dauin is excellent for muck diving and macro photography.  It is less than an hour drive from Dumaguete airport which has direct flights from Manila and Cebu.  Apo island is about forty minutes boat ride from Dauin and has nice walls with healthy coral and rich marine life including schools of jacks, barracuda and other…

Padre Burgos in Southern Leyte is known as a place to snorkel with whale sharks migrating through Sogod bay.  We went around Christmas time hoping to see the whale sharks but they were not yet there – their migration patterns are not well understood. We still had a great time diving and exploring the area.…

Why go diving in Moalboal, Philippines The main attraction for visiting Moalboal is diving or snorkeling with the sardines.  It’s definitely great fun diving with the huge school of sardines but there is much more to Moalboal. Diving along the reef and Pescador island is excellent for macro and we saw many frogfish, ghost pipefish,…

Why go diving in Malapascua Monad shoal off the coast of Malapascua is a cleaning station for thresher sharks and you are almost guaranteed to see them there – the best chance to see them in the Philippines for sure. There is also nice diving around Gato Island and Malapascua itself as well as Dona Marylin…

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…

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 &…

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…

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…

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…