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Dive Locations

16 recommended locations. Please contact us for further suggestions.

Coron Bay

Coron Bay, just north of Palawan, is one of the world’s finest wreck diving destinations. An entire Japanese fleet was sunk here by American forces in 1944, attracting divers from far and wide to discover these fascinating pieces of history. Find Out More about Coron Bay

  • Ideal for viewing: green turtle, dugong, hawksbill turtle
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Group diving, Wreck diving

Malapascua

Surrounded by white sand beaches, the little island of Malapascua has gained a reputation as one of the best places in the world for thresher shark sightings, encountered each morning at Monad Shoal. Numerous other sharks are also seen, as well as mantas. Find Out More about Malapascua

  • Ideal for viewing: pelagic thresher shark, mobula ray, mandarin fish, giant frogfish, banded sea krait
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Singles diving, Group diving, Shark diving

Puerto Galera

Located three hours south of Manila, Puerto Galera’s marine park has some of the most accessible diving in the Philippines. A year round destination, the area is blessed with exceptional coral reefs teeming with marine life, and great beaches. Find Out More about Puerto Galera

  • Ideal for viewing: giant frogfish, green turtle, white-tip reef shark, pygmy seahorse, black-tip reef shark
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Group diving

The Visayas

This central region of islands is deservedly famous for beautiful beaches, relaxed lifestyle and stunning dive sites. Cebu City is the international gateway and provides links to the most exciting dive spots including Malapascua, Moalboal, Dumaguete and Bohol. Find Out More about The Visayas

  • Ideal for viewing: green turtle, pelagic thresher shark, giant frogfish, black-tip reef shark, banded sea krait
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Singles diving, Luxury diving, Reef diving, Snorkelling, Underwater photography

Tubbataha Reef National Park

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tubbataha Reef is home to some of the best big fish diving in the Philippines. The sheer walls are covered in huge seafans and sponges, while barracuda, tuna and reef sharks, mantas, eagle rays and hammerheads patrol its waters. Find Out More about Tubbataha Reef National Park

  • Ideal for viewing: spotted eagle ray, scalloped hammerhead shark, white-tip reef shark, black-tip reef shark, reef manta ray
  • Excellent for: Liveaboard diving, Luxury diving

Apo Reef

Located in the Mindoro Strait, in the west of the Philippines, is the World Heritage Site of Apo Reef, a 34 kilometre long reef featuring magnificent drop-offs and overhangs with resident turtles, barracuda, snapper, white-tip and grey reef sharks. Find Out More about Apo Reef

  • Ideal for viewing: green turtle, spotted eagle ray, white-tip reef shark, grey reef shark, barracuda
  • Excellent for: Liveaboard diving, Resort based diving, Reef diving

Bohol

Across the channel from Cebu is the beautiful island of Bohol, a tropical haven of natural beauty, with pristine beaches and colourful coral dive sites for both divers and snorkellers to enjoy. Land attractions include the resident tarsiers and the world-famous Chocolate Hills. Find Out More about Bohol

  • Ideal for viewing: green turtle, western clownfish, banded sea krait, giant frogfish, barracuda
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Luxury diving, Reef diving

Cabilao Island

Located to the west of Bohol, the small island of Cabilao is renowned for the rich biodiversity of marine life found on its fringing reef. It’s a great escape, and the island can be explored on foot or if you prefer, you can simply enjoy life from your hammock! Find Out More about Cabilao Island

  • Ideal for viewing: pelagic thresher shark, pygmy seahorse, white-tip reef shark, ornate ghost pipefish
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving

Donsol

The small coastal town of Donsol in the northeast of the Philippines offers a rare opportunity to interact with whale sharks. Between the months of December and May, visitors head here to swim and snorkel with these harmless and gentle filter feeders. Find Out More about Donsol

  • Ideal for viewing: whale shark
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Shark diving, Whale shark

Dumaguete & Dauin

Known as the ‘City of Gentle People’, you’ll be welcomed in Dumaguete with open arms and first class hospitality. Further down the coast, Dauin has some of the best critters in the Philippines, and both areas also offer plenty of opportunity for snorkellers and non-divers. Find Out More about Dumaguete & Dauin

  • Ideal for viewing: giant frogfish, ornate ghost pipefish, spotted eagle ray, green turtle, flamboyant cuttlefish
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Luxury diving, Group diving, Muck diving, Underwater photography

Moalboal

Meaning ‘bubbling stream’, Moalboal is a small town on the island of Cebu, with around 25 recognised dive sites and more being discovered. The range of diving is excellent, with vertical walls, a cathedral like cave, healthy coral reefs and plenty of macro life. Find Out More about Moalboal

  • Ideal for viewing: green turtle, mandarin fish, giant frogfish, ornate ghost pipefish, whale shark
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Group diving, Reef diving, Underwater photography

Palawan

The island province of Palawan is known as the Philippines’ last ecological frontier, offering remote jungles, rugged scenery, pristine beaches, secret coves and world-class diving. Highlights include the wrecks of Coron and Tubbataha Reef, accessible only by liveaboard. Find Out More about Palawan

  • Ideal for viewing: green turtle, dugong, hawksbill turtle
  • Excellent for: Liveaboard diving, Resort based diving, Wreck diving

Panglao Island

Panglao, which is connected by a causeway to Bohol, offers divers coral gardens near the surface and steep walls complete with caves, overhangs and crevices harbouring teeming fish and invertebrates. The surrounding islands are known for big fish encounters. Find Out More about Panglao Island

  • Ideal for viewing: green turtle, western clownfish, banded sea krait, giant frogfish
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Reef diving

Sipalay

A little off-the-beaten-track, Sipalay is a small town on the west coast of Negros Occidental in the western Visayas. Visitors are attracted by its rustic charm, white sand beaches and colourful fringing reef. Great for snorkellers and divers of all abilities. Find Out More about Sipalay

  • Ideal for viewing: green turtle, hawksbill turtle, potato grouper, lionfish, Napoleon wrasse
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Family diving, Group diving, Learn to dive, Reef diving, Snorkelling

Siquijor Island

Siquijor Island is a macro photographer’s dream, and night divers will long remember their marine experience. Adventurous visitors can enjoy the towering limestone landscape, which offers opportunities for climbing and exploring the many caverns. Find Out More about Siquijor Island

  • Ideal for viewing: giant frogfish, ornate ghost pipefish, spanish dancer, common cuttlefish
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Muck diving

Ticao Island

A haven of tranquillity, Ticao Island is blessed with crystal blue waters and white sandy beaches. The local reefs are full of colourful creatures, corals and sharks, but the area’s signature site is the Manta Bowl, a cleaning and feeding station of the oceanic manta. Find Out More about Ticao Island

  • Ideal for viewing: reef manta ray, whale shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, pelagic thresher shark, tiger shark
  • Excellent for: Resort based diving, Group diving, Manta ray

View trips to these locations

Dive trips

A nation of over 7,000 islands, experience the very best of the Philippines exceptional scuba diving on a liveaboard or island hopping adventure. Lying within the Coral Triangle, the Philippines offers the diver jaw-dropping diversity, kaleidoscopic reefs and exceptional wreck diving.
14 recommended trips. Our trip ideas are offered to inspire you and can be tailored to suit your requirements.

Discover the Visayas

This popular itinerary offers divers the chance of thresher shark encounters in Malapascua, a unique dive with a resident sardine baitball in Moalboal and plenty of time to discover the islands of the Visayas region. Find Out More about Discover the Visayas

  • When to go: Jan-Dec
  • Duration inc. flights: 13 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £2,445 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Magic Dive Experience

Diving in the Philippines doesn’t get much better than this. Experience the magical combination of two dedicated dive resorts located in the Visayas region, famous for its stunning dive sites. Find Out More about Magic Dive Experience

  • When to go: Jan-Dec
  • Duration inc. flights: 15 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £2,895 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Island Hopping Dive Safari

Choose from five exceptional diving locations in the Visayas region of the Philippines. Enjoy stress free diving adventures as you island hop between them, exploring everything from macro life to pelagics. Find Out More about Island Hopping Dive Safari

  • When to go: Jan-Dec
  • Duration inc. flights: 18 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £2,995 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Dive Coron Bay

Recommended for wreck enthusiasts, Coron Bay is home to 11 Japanese World War ll vessels. Other visitors can explore the protected reefs and relax in the tropical surroundings on Sangat Island. Find Out More about Dive Coron Bay

  • When to go: Oct-Jun
  • Duration inc. flights: 13 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £2,995 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Dive Moalboal

Swim with a sardine baitball, marvel at colourful coral reefs, search for smaller marine life, spot turtles and visit the beautiful Pescador Island, on this week-long diving holiday to Moalboal, Philippines. Find Out More about Dive Moalboal

  • When to go: Jan-Dec
  • Duration inc. flights: 10 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £1,945 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Dive Into Luxury Philippines

Experience world-class diving at a beautifully calm pace with this superb trip idea, which combines two of the Philippines’ hidden gems for a diving holiday brimming with indulgence and laid back luxury. Find Out More about Dive Into Luxury Philippines

  • When to go: Jan-Dec
  • Duration inc. flights: 14 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £4,295 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Tubbataha Liveaboard

Liveaboards visit this remote area of the Philippines in season, offering access to world-class dive sites. Discover colourful reef fish, manta rays and turtles, and experience a thrilling drift dive with sharks. Find Out More about Tubbataha Liveaboard

  • When to go: Mar-May
  • Duration inc. flights: 10 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £3895 pp
  • Trip type: Liveaboard trip

Visayas Liveaboard

These liveaboard trips operate throughout the year to the Visayas, one of the best diving locations in the Philippines. Highlights include outstanding macro life in Dauin and Malapascua's thresher sharks. Find Out More about Visayas Liveaboard

  • When to go: Jun-Feb
  • Duration inc. flights: 12 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £3,795 pp
  • Trip type: Liveaboard trip

Big Fish Tour

For those who like their marine life BIG! This exciting and comprehensive dive itinerary includes encounters with whale sharks, manta rays and thresher sharks in three locations across the Philippines. Find Out More about Big Fish Tour

  • When to go: Nov-Apr
  • Duration inc. flights: 14 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £2,845 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Dive into Atlantis

Combine two premier resorts for an unforgettable dive experience in the Philippines. Enjoy the diverse sites of Puerto Galera and search for unusual critters in Dauin from these welcoming dive resorts. Find Out More about Dive into Atlantis

  • When to go: Jan-Dec
  • Duration inc. flights: 13 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £4,495 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Sharks & Reefs

This two week itinerary is perfect for divers seeking thresher shark encounters in the clear blue waters at Monad Shoal, and the pristine reefs surrounding Panglao and Balicasag islands. Find Out More about Sharks & Reefs

  • When to go: Jan-Dec
  • Duration inc. flights: 17 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £2,145 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Malapascua Dive Adventure

Escape to an island hideaway brimming with delights on this trip to Malapascua, a tiny island with huge appeal for divers with its mix of diving experiences and thresher shark encounters. Find Out More about Malapascua Dive Adventure

  • When to go: Jan-Dec
  • Duration inc. flights: 11 days
  • Price inc. flights: From £1,995 pp
  • Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

When to go

The Philippines can be visited throughout the year, but is best from November to May.

Seasons

  • Dry season

    Nov to May: The Philippine’s dry season offers the best diving conditions in most areas and many of the best marine life encounters
  • Wet season

    Jun to Oct: More rain and higher humidity in much of the Philippines, with the chance of typhoons in certain regions

Wildlife events

  • Feb to Apr: Whale sharks gather in large numbers in Donsol
  • Apr to Jun: The best months to dive Tubbataha
  • Sep to Oct: Best months for thresher shark and manta sightings in Malapascua
  • Nov to Jan: Best months for Apo Reef diving

Dive Resorts

Liveaboards

Availability

Search for your ideal departure below, and then enquire to confirm availability and book.