Diving in the Philippines
The Philippines sit at the eastern edge of the bio-diverse coral triangle, supporting more than 500 types of coral, 3,000-plus species of fish, and more than twice that number of small and unique invertebrates. Counts continue to go up as new species are discovered almost weekly. The archipelago is composed of some 7,000 islands that offers a combined 22,500 miles of coastline. Obviously, there is no shortage of diving opportunity, and the challenge for visitors is often deciding which of many excellent regions to select. The primary hubs for diving center around Anilao and Puerto Galera to the north, along with Dumaguete, Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, and Coron in the central region of the Philippines. Diving in Anilao is primarily done in small open boats known as bancas, set up for groups of four to as many as 10 to 12. Because dives sites are usually just 15 to 30 minutes from resorts, daily schedules usually provide two dives in the morning, followed by a lunch back at the resort, with another 1 to 2 afternoon/night dives. Night dives in Anilao are highly recommended. Because there are shallow components to many sites, it's not uncommon for multi-level profiles to exceed 70 to 80 minutes. Having a Nitrox certification can be a big advantage. Some of Anilao’s top sites include Twin Rocks, Basura, Mainit Muck, Kirby's, and Bethlehem, all of which offer consistently target- rich environments for underwater macro photographers. Nearby Beatrice provides excellent wide-angle opportunities on slopes covered in soft corals and crinoids, with schooling anthias as thick as raindrops. Dumaguete is widely known for muck diving, but a 45-minute boat ride away is Apo Island, which offers a distinctly different venue with stunning coral gardens and prolific fish life. At sites like Chapel Point, Cogon and The Sanctuary the reef ends with a gorgeous steep mini-wall down to 100 feet with a healthy blend of hard and soft corals. In addition to a bevy of moray eels, reefs are thick with anthias, clownfish and shrimp gobies, and both hawksbill and green sea turtles are quite common. Across the Verde Island Passage from Anilao is Puerto Galera, which features some 30 dive centers and resorts along the north coast at Sabang Beach and White Beach. With shores washed by currents from the South China Sea, most dives are conducted as drifts, which carry divers along an underwater landscape covered with soft corals and sponges, and carved with small drop-offs and canyons. Divers can duck into one of these recesses to escape the currents and watch snapper, sweetlips, barracudas, jacks and an occasional white-tip shark cruise by. Among the long list of must-do dive sites in the area are Canyons, where a trio of deep clefts in the wall allow divers to drop out of the way of the current and discover sandy alcoves that are home to octopus, scorpionfish and sea snakes, then return to blue water frequented by manta rays, thresher sharks and hammerhead sharks. Moving south, Bocaray is known for drift dives along walls visited by white-tip and grey reef sharks, schools of tuna, manta rays and eagle rays. At the northern tip of Cebu the small island of Malapascua is famous for thresher sharks, but also delivers walls, spectacular soft coral growths and a diverse roster of marine life that includes batfish, flutemouth, barracuda, tuna, mantis shrimp, pipefish, scorpionfish, lionfish, Moorish idols, schooling bannerfish, unicorn fish, squid, octopus and various moray eels. Just off Cebu's eastern coast, Matcan Island is one of the most popular diving destinations in the Philippines, with short boat rides of sites along a deep channel. Best known is Marigondon Cave, which is a large tunnel in the side of the wall that is home to luminescent flashlight fish. Another favorite is Tingo Point where thresher sharks are sometimes joined by passing hammerheads. Across the channel, the southern coast of Bohol and Panglao Island are jumping off points from trips to the marine sanctuary at Balicasag. A dramatic walls starts at depths of 10 feet and plunges to more than 200, but even more impressive are the huge schools of jacks that blanket the wall in a living curtain, and the numerous grouper and large wrasse that congregate at cleaning stations. The sanctuary is also known for smaller finds such nudibranch, eels, frogfish, scorpionfish and leaf fish. Live-aboards provide seasonal access to the World Heritage Site of Tubbataha Marine Park. This remote reef is renowned for both the density and diversity of marine life. Here, walls and reefs are overgrown with forests of multi-hued soft corals, and frequented by pelagics such as mantas, sea turtles and sharks.