Diving the Visayas, Philippines
June 25th, 2004
The Philippines may be the most underrated diving destination in Southeast Asia. With reasonable pricing, excellent service and reefs densely packed with life, the PI offers a terrific value for a destination so close to Thailand.
Popular diving destinations include Puerto Galera and Boracay for beach action and topside entertainment in addition to diving. However, most serious divers head south either to the Sulu Sea or the Visayas in the central Philippines. The most convenient point of entry to this region is the city of Cebu. Philippine Airlines offers many daily flights from Manila and other domestic aiports. There are also direct flights to Cebu from Hong Kong and Indonesia. The months of March thru May, being the dry season, see most of the divers and travelers in the Philippines. Although the Typhoon season can bring your trip to a grinding halt for a few days during a tropical storm, June to October still offers terrific diving, usually at discounted rates. The rest of the year also sees rainfall, though less wind and likelihood of turbulent weather systems.
The Philippines is an archipelago that is made up of 7000 islands, offering reefs in stunning variety. Some of the best dives in the Visayas are wall dives driven by currents, allowing you to drift along effortlessly with the abyss below you as you glide by with ease while taking it all in.
The density of aquatic life rivals or surpasses that of just about any other destination in Southeast Asia, with huge tornados of jackfish, lionfishes galore, schools of barracuda and writhing masses of sea snakes. Places like Malapascua Island boast unique chances to see thresher sharks, and tiny Apo Island off the coast of the larger island of Negros is known for rare harlequin ghost pipefish and nudibranchs of all shapes and colors. Alona Beach and the island of Bohol are where you can spot snake eels and giant groupers, as well as being host to many topside attractions such as the curious Chocolate Hills and the tarsier monkey. Moalboal, one of the first diving centers of the Philippines, is a convenient 3-hour ride overland from Cebu City and offers splendid wall dives abundant in soft corals at nearby Pescador Island.
To the surprise and delight of the traveler, the Philippines have some of the most professionally run dive operations in the entire world. Most are Swiss or German owned, with first-rate rental equipment and excellent guides and instructors. Nitrox is usually readily available and some operators even offer technical gear rental and instruction. Groups are on average less than 6 divers per guide in the high season. In the low season, there are many instances where a diver will have his/her own individual divemaster for the length of their stay. Divers are brought to the divesites on the distinctive banca type boats (motorized outriggers). Dives are typically 18-20 USD per tank including weights, or approximately 50 dollars for unlimited dives per day. Most dive shops will negotiate a package deal if the diver stays for a more than a few days. Liveaboard boats are also a popular way to visit the more inaccessible divesites and prices range from $65 - $180 and up per day.
The bigger cities are usually not that pleasant to visit, but the smaller towns that provide the gateways to dive destinations are mostly carefree and fun places to visit. There are plenty of things to do on land such as caving, trekking or just renting a small motorcycle and putzing around an island for an afternoon. English is widely spoken and the people are generally very accommodating and take pleasure in meeting foreigners and learning about them. All of this adds to the overall impression of comfort and ease enjoyed while island hopping across the region. Most people are hooked once they discover the lesser-known gem of the underwater world found in the Philippines. Perhaps it is the relative lack of attention in the media that has kept the Visayas and the Sulu Sea in such a pristine state.