The Philippines sits in the Coral Triangle, the region with the highest marine biodiversity on the planet. That is not a marketing line: the reefs here hold an extraordinary variety of corals, fish and invertebrates, from pygmy seahorses smaller than a fingernail to whale sharks longer than a bus. It is also one of the most varied diving countries in the world, with wrecks, walls, muck, pelagics and macro all within a short flight of each other.
Here is where to go, and when.
The headline sites
- Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park: a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the middle of the Sulu Sea, about 150 kilometres southeast of Puerto Princesa. Pristine walls, sharks, turtles and big schools of fish. Reachable only by liveaboard, during a short season of roughly mid-March to mid-June. Book many months ahead; places are limited.
- Coron: a cluster of Japanese Second World War wrecks, sunk in a US air attack in September 1944. Some are suitable for advanced open water divers; others call for wreck training. Barracuda Lake, with its thermocline and limestone walls, is one of the strangest dives anywhere.
- Malapascua: the most reliable place in the world to see thresher sharks, at Monad Shoal, on early-morning dives. Expect a 4:30am alarm and depths of around 25 to 30 metres.
- Moalboal: the sardine run, a shoal of millions of sardines, sits a short swim from Panagsama Beach. Snorkellers see it too. Pescador Island nearby has good walls.
- Apo Reef: off the west coast of Mindoro, one of the largest coral reef systems in the country. Remote, usually visited on liveaboards or on overnight trips, with excellent visibility in season.
- Apo Island and Dauin: near Dumaguete in Negros. Apo Island is a community-managed marine sanctuary with healthy coral and turtles; Dauin is famous for muck diving and critters.
- Anilao: about three hours by road from Manila in Batangas, a world-class macro destination and the easiest serious diving from the capital.
- Balicasag: off Panglao in Bohol, with walls, turtles and jacks, easy to combine with a family holiday.
Seasons for divers
Many sites in Cebu, Bohol and Negros dive well all year, with the calmest seas generally from March to June. Tubbataha has a fixed season of roughly mid-March to mid-June. Coron is diveable most of the year, with the best conditions in the dry season. The typhoon months (roughly July to November) bring more cancelled boat days, but not necessarily poor visibility on sheltered sites.
Water temperature is typically 26°C to 30°C. A 3mm wetsuit is usually enough; some people like a 5mm in the cooler months or for multiple daily dives.
Whale sharks, and an honest note
You can see whale sharks in the Philippines, and how you do it matters. In Donsol (Sorsogon), seasonal interactions are with wild animals, without feeding, roughly between December and May, though sightings vary from year to year. In Oslob (Cebu), whale sharks are fed daily so that tourists can see them. Many marine biologists have raised concerns about the effect of this feeding on the animals' behaviour and health. We do not include Oslob in our itineraries. If you want to see whale sharks, we will help you do it in a way that leaves them wild.
Choosing a dive operator
We do not name operators in our guides, but we do check them before recommending them to travellers. When choosing your own:
- Look for a recognised training agency affiliation and current instructor credentials.
- Ask about group sizes and guide-to-diver ratios. Four divers per guide is a good standard.
- Check that the boat carries oxygen, a first aid kit and a working radio.
- Ask where the nearest recompression chamber is. There are several in the country, but on remote islands it can be hours away.
- Make sure your insurance covers diving at the depths you plan to dive.
Liveaboards
For Tubbataha and often for Apo Reef, a liveaboard is the only practical option. Trips typically last five to seven nights from Puerto Princesa. They are expensive, booked out early, and for keen divers worth it. Smaller liveaboard routes also visit the Visayas outside the Tubbataha season.
For beginners
The Philippines is an excellent place to learn. Water is warm, many sites start shallow, and courses are widely available in Panglao, Moalboal, Malapascua, Dauin, Coron, Puerto Galera and elsewhere. If you have never dived, we suggest a try-dive on your first island and a full course only if you love it.
Snorkellers are not second-class
Plenty of the best marine life is in the top five metres. The sardine run at Moalboal, turtles at Apo Island, the reefs around El Nido and Coron's coral gardens are all superb with just a mask and fins. On boat days, ask for a captain who will take you to the reef at the right tide, not just the busiest spot.
A few rules we live by
- Do not touch, stand on or feed anything.
- Use reef-safe sunscreen, or better, a rash guard.
- Pay the marine park fees; they fund rangers and protection.
- Leave a full day between your last dive and your flight. Most agencies recommend at least 18 hours after multiple dives or repetitive diving.
Our favourite combinations
- Coron wrecks plus El Nido lagoons, for a mix of diving and topside beauty.
- Malapascua threshers plus Moalboal sardines, using Cebu as the base.
- Dumaguete, Apo Island and Dauin, with Siquijor as the rest stop.
- Tubbataha liveaboard, followed by a few slow days in Palawan.
