Sabang Beach in Puerto Galera, Philippines

Arrive early and to claim the best spot. It's true for parking lots, outdoor concerts and... beach resorts. At least that's the case for El Galleon, which opened for business some 30 years ago on an ideal piece of waterfront real estate in the center of Puerto Galera's popular Sabang Beach. At the time this once-sleepy fishing village was just beginning the transformation to a vacation spot, and divers were discovering some of the finest underwater landscapes in all of the Philippines. Fast forward three decades and Puerto Galera has become an internationally-known destination, and El Galleon remains the region's prime choice for divers.

El Galleon Dive Resort & Asia Divers Video

El Galleon is set on a tree-lined bluff that juts seaward between the white sands of Sabang Beach and La Laguna Beach. With 30 rooms, the resort is large enough to offer a full range of amenities but small enough to maintain an intimate feel. Accommodation includes water-view and poolside rooms, all with air conditioning, minibars and property-wide WiFi. For guests seeking an extra touch of luxury, there is also a one-bedroom penthouse apartment with private kitchen, large private balcony and an adjoining living room with a spectacular sea view.

Palm trees surround the resort's pool deck, which is just a short walk away from the waterfront dining terrace at Arthur’s Restaurant. Under the supervision of a French chef, the kitchen staff serves up an array of innovative and traditional dishes that have earned the restaurant a reputation as the best dining venue on Sabang Beach. Also on water's edge is La Palm Spa, with an open-air design that ushers sea breezes into an oasis of private tranquility. Farther out on the small headland, the Point Bar and Barrel Bar are favorite post-dive gathering spots.

From the property, it is a five-minute walk to restaurants, clubs, shops and the ferry landing. This is close enough for convenience, but far enough removed to avoid the downtown crowds and the sound systems that fuel a boisterous nightlife scene.

The same point of land that creates a scenic perch for the buildings of El Galleon also provides an ideal location for the in-house facilities of Asia Divers. This dive center is positioned on a waterfront deck, where divers can step directly onto waiting boats. This is a convenient contrast to other dive operations along Sabang beach, where boats are pulled up to the sand while divers wade in to begin each trip.

Asia Divers is a modern facility that is recognized as the Philippines’ first PADI Career Development Center. The staff offers specialty programs ranging from Bubblemaker to Instructor level courses. Within the dive center, every diver is provided with a personal storage bin and ample space to stow gear and hang wet suits. There is dedicated camera room with charging stations, a separate rinse tank, and a computer station available for downloading and processing images.

Asia Divers Dive Boat, The Asia Explorer

The majority of dive sites in the Puerto Galera area are no more than 20 minutes from the dock at Asia Divers, and several are less than five minutes away. The typical underwater landscape showcases reefs that start near the shore and follow either a steep slope or a series of step-like ledges down to depths between 70 and 100 feet before transitioning to a semi-flat sand and rubble bottom. Some sites feature vertical walls and overhangs, along with small caves that become resting places for turtles and white tip reef sharks. Currents in this part of the Philippines tend to be tidal and can range from none too brisk, allowing some dives to be conducted as drifts. The moving waters nurture rich growths of soft corals, gorgonian fans and big sponges.

Underwater visibility is often in the 50 to 70-foot range, but the diving here is not about how far you can see, but what you find in the spaces you cover. The waters of this marine park are a macro photographer’s paradise, with an endless supply of subject matter -from the small and colorful such as nudibranchs and mandarin fish to the fantastically cryptic like dragon sea moths.

The place for wide-angle photography is Verde Island. Located several miles offshore of Sabang Beach, this area offers excellent underwater visibility, interesting underwater topographies and a tremendous variety of fish and coral. Among the more usual sites around the island is a huge, broad-based pinnacle that just breaks the surface, with one side dropping sharply to depths beyond 200 feet, and the other sloping to a broad plateau.

Puerto Galera lies on the northern tip of the island of Mindoro, approximately 65 miles south of Manila, the gateway city where you will enter the Philippines. The trip from Manila begins with a two to three-hour van ride van to the town of Batangas, followed by a 45-minute boat trip to Sabang Beach.