Top Dive Sites in the Philippines

Here are some of the most sought after dive sites in the Philippines. so gear up and lets get wet.

Apo Island, Dumaguete

Apo Island is a small volcanic island, 7km off the southeastern tip of Negros Island. it is one of the worlds best known community-organized marine sanctuary.

Getting There:

Negros Oriental is accesible by land, sea and air transportation: It is one hour and 15 minutes by plane from Manila, and 40 minutes from Cebu to Dumaguete City, capital of Negros Oriental. There are daily direct flights from Manila and Cebu. There are also daily sea voyages to and from different points in the Visayas and Mindanao and twice a week to and from Manila.




Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park, Sulu Sea

Its the Mother of all the Dive sites in the Philippines. the Tubbataha's thousands hectares of reefs is a Unesco World Heritage Site. it is also home to big fish,killer currents,manta's,white tip reff sharks,hammerhead,whale sharks and the list goes on and on. getting into the reefs is not that easy you need a "visitor's permit" to be able to dive in. this is not for the beginner so if you are you need a few more dives.

For more information about diving in Tubbataha Click Here




Puerto Galera, Mindoro

It is probably one of my most favorite destination in the country why not you got sun,sand,sea and a wild nightlife. i cant forget my first time in this island i was just supposed to stay for about 2 or 3 days but because it is so beautiful i extended my stay up to 8 days. ok for your info about Puerto Galera it is also designated a Man and Biosphere Reserve of UNESCO in 1973 and it has the most diverse coral reef diving in asia. there are two famous beaches in Puerto Galera Sabang and White beach. Sabang mostly caters to foreigners and divers especially those who are into an adult kind of fun while White beach is the choice of local tourist for its cheaper accomodation and more finer sands.

Getting there:

A tourist transport operator SIKAT LTD operates from the City State Tower Hotel in Mabini St., Ermita Manila. The tourist coach leaves at precisely 8am---7 days a week. You alight at the port of Batangas for your ferry to Puerto Galera. The bus and ferry trip takes about 4-5 hours. Cost is approx US$15 per person return. The ferry leaves Puerto Galera also everyday at 9:00am to connect to the bus in Batangas. More economical are the commercial buses of BLTB, JAM and TRITRAN which has terminal in Pasay,Cubao and Taft Avenue the earliest schedules of these busses is 6 am usually Fare on these buses range from Php 130 to 150 (3 to 4 $) depending on whether it is regular or an air-con bus.



Anilao, Batangas

Anilao is very popular to weekend divers as it is not so far from Manila. but offers a wide variety of marine life plenty of corals and amazing diversity of fishes.

Getting There:

Anilao is no longer as difficult for visitors to get to as in the past. It is accessible by land. From Manila, one can typically get to Anilao by taking a bus bound for Batangas City(Buendia /Cubao/Alabang Terminal) and asking the conductor for drop off at the Mabini/Bauan jeepney terminal. By request, a Mabini jeepney driver will then take passengers to the Mabini dock area. From the Mabini docks, visitors can hire a driver to any one of the resorts.



Moalboal, Cebu

Moalboal is a 4th class munipality in the province of Cebu Philippines. the tourism industry in this province can be traced back into the 70's. The municipality had the sole two white sand beaches on the western shore of Cebu Island,

Getting There:

Cebu City ia an hour away by plane from Manila almost all domesti airlines do have everyday flight to the City some international flight like from Singapore can go directly to Cebu. it is also accesible by boat from Manila. then from Cebu City you can get to Moalboal by hiring private car, taxi or if your on the budget side you can get there by passenger bus.




Coron Bay, Palawan

Coron doesnt need a further introduction as it is one of the most favorite among the top dive site in the country. but just for those who are clueless about Coron it is famous for its wreck diving not only in the Philippine but in the whole world it has a large amunt of historic sunken ships which can be visited and seen with great clarity. some of these famous wrecks are Irako Wreck,Okikawa Maru Wreck,The Akitsushima Wreck,Kagyu Maru Wreck,Olympia Maru Wreck and more.

Getting There:

Coron is accesible by air from Manila via Busuanga. and by sea with Superferry and Negros Navigation.




Camiguin, Mindanao

Camiguin is a small volcanic island in the Philippines actually its the second smallest province in the country but as they say small things comes with big package cause this tiny town has a lots to offer from its white sand,hot springs and dive spots.

Getting There:

Camiguin is accessible by air and sea from Manila and Cebu City. Most fly in to Cagayan De Oro in Misamis Oriental Province, the gateway to Northern Minadanao One would then take a 1.5 hours bus or hired van from Cagayan de Oro City to the port of Balingoan Ferries leave Balingoan to Camiguin Island every hour from 6:00 am until 5:00 pm.



(Images Via p@ragon, Bern,laz'andre,Knox,srcuerpo)