Philippines Diving Holidays, Scuba Diving Philippines, Liveaboards

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The Exotic Dive & Beach Resort is set on the southern side of Malapascua Island directly on the eastern end of Bounty Beach. The resort is approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes from Cebu airport.

Special Features

Beachfront located divers resort

29 rooms with choice of types

Choice of BB, HB or FB basis

Daily thresher shark diving

Dive centre on-site

Diving at Gato Island

Prices from

£889

Including flights and transfers

Diving from

£33

6 Days Diving

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El Galleon Beach Resort

El Galleon Beach Resort is located on the Small Lalaguna Beach. This resort is accessible from Manila international 2 hours by van transfer and 1 hour on the banca boat.

Special Features

Diver focussed resort

Located on the edge of Sabang bay

Choice of rooms to suit budget

Pool/Gym/Bar/Spa/Internet

Great beach restaurant

Local nightlife

Prices from

£933

Including flights and transfers

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Magic Island Dive Resort

The Magic Island Dive Resort has 10 cottages, all with beautiful views of the sea and the swimming pool from their private balcony. Dive the fantastic house reef.

Special Features

Exclusive resort to Ultimate Diving

Fantastic house reef diving

Small divers resort with 10 cottages

Choice of board types

Featured in DIVER Jan 2012

Sardine run diving (Jun-Aug)

Prices from

£943

Including flights and transfers

Diving from

£55

1 Day Diving

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City Garden Hotel Makati

The City Garden Hotel will welcome you to a perfectly cozy and comfortable environment. Ideally located, being just a few minutes away from Makati's business and shopping centers and major airports.

Special Features

Manila stopover hotel

Makati city location

BB basis (buffet)

Pool/Jacuzzi/Gym/Spa/Internet/Laundry

Great value

Nightlife in Manila

Prices from

£943

Including flights and transfers

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Club Paradise

The Club Paradise is set on beautiful Dimakya Island amidst Palawan’s sparkling turquoise waters just 2 hours from Busuanga airport by jeepney and boat.

Special Features

Private island resort

Explore the island on foot

Great house reef diving

52 rooms inc sunrise/sunset cottages

Choice of BB or HB basis

Dive centre on-site

Prices from

£1,190

Including flights and transfers

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El Rio Y Mar

El Rio y Mar is located in San Jose, Coron in Palawan just 30 minutes jeepney ride followed by a scenic 20 minutes boat ride from Buswanga airport.

Special Features

Romantic resort location for couples

Just 15 cabana style bungalows

A’la carte restaurant menu

Choice of BB and HB basis

Very quiet location on private beach

First Class Service/Spa/Infinity Pool

Prices from

£1,421

Including flights and transfers

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Atlantis Puerto Galera Resort

The Atlantis Puerto Galera Resort is at the heart of Oriental Mindoro. This resort is accessible from Manila international by van transfer of about 2 hours and 1 hour on boat.

Special Features

Boutique beach resort

40 rooms and suites

Local nightlife

5* PADI CDC dive centre on-site

Pool/Bar/Internet/Spa/Camera Room

Beachfront cocktail bar

Prices from

£1,441

Including flights and transfers

View Hotel

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The Philippines has something to offer to everyone. Below sea level, the country boasts some of the world’s best diving and snorkeling opportunities. And if you’re after palm fringed, white sandy beaches, then the Philippines is the place to be. The Philippines is located in South East Asia between Indonesia and China and is made up of 7,107 islands covering a land area of 115,739 square miles making the second largest archipelago in the World. The main island groups are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Capital of the Philippines is Manila.

The Philippines has hosted voyagers, migrants and traders since the dawn of history and it was the center of a lively Asian trade route that stretched all the way to China and Japan and this can still be seen from the relics these early visitors left behind. Among their archaeological treasures is a Neolithic spirit boat typical of early Southeast Asian culture.

Filipinos are warm and welcoming. Apart from some beautiful, remote tropical islands, superb all inclusive luxury resorts and legendary scuba diving spots, the archipelago's best resource is the friendliness and laid back attitude of the Filipino people. Their hospitable and embracing attitude is enough to put a smile on any face and this can be seen even more in the rural areas.

Philippines Diving Holidays - Diving Information

Malapascua Diving Information

The diving in Malapascua has attracted some of the world’s leaders in diving research due to the possibility of seeing Thresher Sharks at Monad Shoal (a sunken island about 30 minutes from Malapascua). This is a very early morning dive with the boat leaving between 5.30 and 7am.

It is also possible between December and May to see a large number of Manta Rays at Monad Shoal as this is a cleaning station with drop offs to 230m. The shoal is about 100m in diameter and it’s a case of diving a square profile to get the maximum bottom time as time can be limited at 23-26m deep.

The Threshers and Mantas are not the only attraction in Malapascua, there is a varied range of dives available. Gato Island is a excellent day trip for diving as you can see a huge variety of soft corals, turtles and the famous Pygmy Seahorse. Dives can range from 16 to 35 metres deep depending on site and diver experience. Currents can be strong and unpredictable in this area so sometimes the dives will be conducted as a drift dive.

Entertaining night diving is also available with the chance to see the mandarin fish mating at dusk followed by a night dive to see crabs, lobsters and many other night critters.

Moalboal Diving Information

Diving is organised using local boats (Bangkas) but they have been upgraded to use outboard motors so transfer times to dive sites is very short between 10 and 25 minutes.

There are about 25 dive sites around the bay. About 25m from the shore it drops off to over 100m deep. There is also a house reef wall dive that boasts Pygmy Seahorses and a massive variety of corals.

One dive that is a must is Pescador Island, a large pinnacle rising up from 65m to above the surface there are a number of dives that can be done just at this one site including a deep dive on the cathedral which is at about 35m, you can swim into the cave and look out into the blue, excellent for photo opportunities. There is an abundance of Frogfish in Moalboal (as written about recently by Sue Daley and published by Diver magazine in August 2009).

A constantly moving ball of sardines live around Pescador Island. The sardine run in the Philippines was unheard of until 2009 when the first school of sardines arrived in the area and left no sign of leaving. During June and July, with the sardines in the area, tuna, whale sharks, thresher sharks and other hunters start to descend on the island for a feeding frenzy. Today, divers experience this amazing phenomenon of sardines blocking the sun light on most dives around the island pinnacles.

Dimakaya Island

There are many options for diving from the Dugong dive centre, Dimakaya Island. There is a fringing reef just off the sunrise beach which stretches around the island with a max depth of about 17 metres but most of the dive will be between 12 and 14 metres. You can see turtles and they have a special turtle which at times will approach the divemaster to be fed a small meals of seagrass. Mandarin fish can also be seen in a small collection of dead coral and rocks even in the day they are swimming around!

Dugong diving is also a possibility. Dugongs like other timid animals are not always proactive in their efforts to interact with divers. However, they are highly common in this area with weekly trips to spot Dugongs. During this trip 2 dives are also conducted when you have the opportunity to do some underwater scouting for these amazing creatures.

Wreck diving is also a possibility in this area with a few wrecks within a 45 minute boat ride. Visibility can be worse than the reef locations as the wrecks are in bays within surrounding islands but boast a variety of marine life including the wreck loving batfish. The wrecks are well worth a visit as they hold historical relevance to the 2nd world war and are well intact.

Apo Island is a day trip offered from this location and is nothing less than world class. A small island out over 20km from any land that drops down to over 150m deep in staged sloping sections, the first at about 45m and the second just before 100m, well over recreational limits. The marine life and coral really is second to none with a myriad of species and an abundance of reef fish. You are highly likely to encounter sharks and other pelagic fish including schooling jacks and barracuda. This is not to be missed and well worth the 7 hours travelling in a day. Three dives are completed on this trip.

Busuanga

The diving options are the same as Dimakaya Island as this resort is only 10 minutes boat ride and all customers staying at El Rio will be collected and dropped off by the same boat apart from there is no house reef.

This resort is more focused on 5 star luxuries and diving is its second focus. This is however a great place for a few days to rest and reflect on life and maybe spend some special time with your companion.

Puerto Galera Diving Information

Puerto Galera is one of the most popular dive destinations in the Philippines due to the diversity of hard and soft corals and the hundreds of tropical fish that can be seen in over 45 dive sites along the 5km Marine and Sanctuary protected area.

Most dive sites are within a few minutes boat ride of the resorts offering divers a wide range of scuba diving experiences. Puerto Galera offers novice divers the opportunity to explore wrecks and do leisurely drift dives in shallow bays as well as challenging deep and exciting current dives for the more experienced divers.

Verde Island Passage is a must dive when visiting Puerto Galera due to its spectacular and exhilarating drift dives. The island is located about 30 minute boat ride away and separates Mindoro from Luzon with waters flashing from the South China Sea resulting in currents of up to 6 knots. When there is no current, divers will have plenty of time to explore the canyons with a fantastic variety of underwater flora and fauna. When the current is running strong, the adverse conditions enhance dives with astonishing densities of schooling fish and pelagics such as tuna, trevallies and reef sharks.

The Hill and Hole on the Wall are two amazing dive sites that should not be missed. The Hill is a shallow site with interesting things to see, anglerfish are often seen on one of the many elephant ear sponges in the area, as well as big barrel sponges, coral trees and gorgonian fans. Close by is a protected area where you can see dozens of the most amazing giant clams in perfect condition. The Hole on the Wall is a wall dive with fields of table corals, soft corals, gorgonian fans and big sponges. At 12 meters you will find this little hole in the middle of a huge rock, big enough for one diver to swim through covered with multi-coloured sponges and crinoids and when the current is stronger you will be able to experience an amazing drift dive, especially when trying to swim through the hole. Without a doubt a world class dive site

The water visibility varies from 10 to 30 metres depending on the water temperature, current and wind direction. April to September offers the best diving conditions as the seas are at their calmest, the water temperature reaches 29 degrees Celsius and visibility is at its best.

Dumaguete Diving Information

Dumaguete is located on the eastern half of Negros Island south of Luzon. Being a year-round diving destination just outside of the typhoon belt, Dumaguete offers the world’s most diverse marine ecosystem where a lot of divers unite to explore the beautiful corals underwater and fantastic marine life.

Apo Island is a must dive when visiting Dumaguete. Apo Island is a tiny marine sanctuary teeming with fish and beautiful corals. The ten dive sites around the island offer divers a range of diving experiences ranging from exhilarating drift dives to gentle shallow dives over hard and soft corals and sights that you will never forget such as schools of jacks and a variety of fish species and nudibranch.

Whale and dolphin watching is one of the biggest outdoor activities in Dumaguete. You can go on a scenic cruise along the Strait of Tanon situated between Cebu and Negros Island heading to Bais, the home of whales and dolphins. Here you will have the opportunity to see bottle nose, spotted, spinner frasier and striped dolphins.

Dumaguete is an all year round diving destination with visibility ranging from 10 to 40 metres depending on weather conditions. The water temperature reaches 29 degrees Celsius between December and June.

Bohol Diving Information

Bohol is an island paradise famous for its Chocolate Hills, historic sites and fantastic underwater scenery, a true haven for diving enthusiasts.

Bohol lies at the very heart of the Visayas and along its coastline there are several islets such as Panglao, Cabilao, Jao, Balicasag, Mahanay, and Lapinin all offering excellent diving experiences.

Panglao Island is a small coral island located near the south western tip of Bohol. The north and western section of the reef is remarkable with hard and soft corals, sacrophyton and lobophyton varieties. Near the cliff there are schools of tuna, mackerel and surgeonfish and further seawards you can see schools of dolphins and pilot whales. Panglao’s steep walls will give you the opportunity to explore beautiful caves with an abundance of fish and invertebrate life.

Balicasag Island is where you will find a 400 meter Marine Sanctuary of healthy corals and plenty of pelagic visitors characterized by the vertical walls over deep waters with strong currents. A dive in December or January can offer you the opportunity to see hammerhead sharks and sometimes whale sharks. The island is surrounded by a sandy shell coral line which in turn is fringed by a narrow reef shelf of 10 to 55 metres wide. The shelf is between 3 and 8 metres deep turning into an amazing wall beyond 83 metres deep with a thriving fish community. Jacks, mackerel and barracudas are seen here in abundance.

The water visibility in Bohol varies between 15 and 30 metres depending on weather conditions. Diving is possible all year round in Bohol with December to June offering the best diving conditions as water temperatures reach 29 degrees celsius.

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