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Scuba diving is your ticket to a world underwater, where life exists at every improbable turn in the most vivid arrays of colors, shapes and sizes. We’ve long heard that the Philippines boasts some of the most incredible dive sites in the world. But with over 7,000 islands making up the Philippines, where do you even begin?
This week Jeff Caceres, a digital nomad who has extensively explored the country, shares five of the best scuba diving spots in the Philippines, based on his own experience. We hope you feel as inspired reading about them as we did!
Going Diving? Be sure you have travel insurance that covers SCUBA.
5 of the Best Scuba Diving Spots in the Philippines
In the Philippines, there are several scuba diving destinations you can visit and explore for yourself or with your friends. Although I do respect other scuba diving destinations that I have visited in the past few years, I honestly think that these five are worthy to be named the top scuba diving destinations ever!
In no particular order, here are the top five scuba diving hotspots in the Philippines today:
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1. Blue Hole
Located at Tablas Island in Romblon, this is the only Blue Hole in the entire country!
However, it’s not ideal for those who are scuba diving for the first time. For you to qualify to dive into the Blue Hole, you should hold a Certificate of Advanced Open Water Diver/Adventurer in scuba diving. In other words, the scuba certificate itself must state that you are qualified to dive for up to 30 meters deep.
The price of diving the Blue Hole is quite high, around 22,600 Pesos ($447 USD) which includes a 3-day itinerary. I suggest you should bring at least 4 to 8 people with you to get a lower price for diving at 8,700 Pesos per person ($172 USD) and 1,600 Pesos for non-divers ($32 USD).
2. Tubbataha Reef National Park
If you want to experience the beautiful coral reefs in the Philippines, the Tubbataha Reef is the best diving spot for you. The reef is off the coast of the Sulu Sea. It is known as a sanctuary for more than a thousand marine species living along its atolls.
Tubbataha Reef is the Philippines’ first ever national marine park, and the colors of Tubbataha’s coral reef system are stunningly vivid.
3. Puerto Galera
One of the more popular summer destinations in the Philippines is Puerto Galera. Located in Mindoro, it is said to be one of the best diving sites in the country. From Manila, you can travel to Puerto Galera via seaplane or boat from Batangas port. Puerto Galera is also an ideal place for you to engage in fun water sports activities such as jet skiing, kayaking and so much more.
Just like Boracay Island, Puerto Galera’s White Beach with hotels and bars is what makes this place attractive to tourists. Due to its one-of-a-kind coral reef system, it’s where scuba and free divers spend their vacations to see the beautiful underwater world.
4. Wreck Dives in Coron
As much as I like El Nido in Palawan for scuba diving, the Wreck Dives in Coron are much more exciting to me. During World War II more than 24 supply ships from Japan sank to the bottom of the sea in Coron. Diving inside these incredible shipwrecks is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Palawan is consider by many to be the Philippines “last frontier”. There is a proposed artificial coral water park to be created in Coron, funded by a large corporation. Environmentalists are currently working to stop this development, which would change the area drastically.
If you want to extend your trip to Coron, check out this Palawan itinerary.
5. Apo Island
Last, but not least, is Apo Island, only 45 minutes away from Liquid Dumaguete via boat. This island is one of the most famous scuba diving destinations in the country.
With its healthy and stunning corals, turtles and schools of fish, you’ll never be disappointed in your scuba diving experience. No matter if you’re a newly certified or experienced open water diver, it’s an experience you’ll never forget.
If you haven’t visited any of these top scuba diving destinations in the Philippines, it’s time you should consider booking a ticket for yourself or with your families and friends.
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About the Author
Jeff Caceres is a digital nomad who loves to travel and explore many places within the Philippines. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Management, Jeff decided to pursue his dream to become a digital nomad. Aside from traveling here and there, he loves scuba diving, fun water sports activities, and finding the best gear, which he talks about on his website www.watersportsmag.com. You can follow Jeff about scuba diving and water sports by visiting checking out his Facebook and Twitter.
This is a great guide, thank you for putting it together! We plan to visit the Philippines for diving (hubby is an Instructor) so this saves us some research. Pinned. #feetdotravel
We’ve never been to the Philippines, so all of these look stunning. I especially like the idea of diving near all those WWII supply ships – I bet they’re host to some incredible residents! Also, you pictures are stunning and serious travel inspo!!
Great spots, I think my favorite one is the blue hole. But I cannot do it because I am not an experienced diver so in the end I would choose the wreck dives. Do you know if there are good and affordable diving schools in Philippines? I think I would need to pass the exam again . . .
I don’t dive (kind of scared of the confines of deep water…) but I’m not surprised that the land of 1,000 island has so many stunning dive spots. Who knows maybe I’ll give it a try some day.
Happy continued travels!
C
I love reading about scuba diving. Honestly, it makes me a little nervous to be under water like that. One day Ill get brave. Each spot you picked looks incredible! Id love to try a wreck dive!
Ever since I heard of a friend’s wonderful experience of scuba diving in Philippines, I want to visit the country JUST for it! Your post only reaffirms the wish 🙂 Stunning pictures! The blue hole looks so mysterious! 🙂 Wreck dives make the entire experience of diving surreal! hope to visit these some day:)
Coron, Palawan is amazing. It’s getting quite popular too. I hope they preserve it’s pristine waters so it stays amazing. Better than going to the overrated Boracay.
I’m so gutted that I haven’t got my scuba license yet, though the Philippines is so close to Australia so it gives me extra incentive to get it done state! Tubbataha Reef National Park looks like an amazing spot – those coral are out of this world! I would love to get to a wreck sometime too 🙂
Apo is a great spot. I read a lot about this place and Cebu. Will def check it out once I am there. Thank you for the great post. Is renting the equipment expensive?
Loved this post. I’m hoping to get to the Philippines one day. And I definitely need to get certified.
Scuba diving is something I haven’t done in my whole life. Need to strike it off my list of must do before I kick the bucket.
Each spot is thrilling and exciting. I have to do at least one.
I live in the Whitsundays in Queensland, Australia. My weekends are spent snorkeling, wish I could dive, it hurts my ears going below 10m. Sigh. Anyways, nothing beats seeing all that lies under the water. Many pinch me moments had in recent times.
I have some mates from the Philippines and they say that the diving is some of the best in the world, can’t wait to see it for myself, well the snorkel version.
I’m unaware of scuba diving yet as I am still learning to swim!! I am deeply inspired by your pictures that I should put more effort into my swimming lessons and atleast attempt scuba diving once in my lifetime. This is a wonderful post, pinning it for my future travel for Philippines!!
Tubbataha and Apo seem like such beautiful places! How much does scuba diving cost at these places? Is it as high as Blue hole?
Besides the first one, are the others okay for people with an open water certificate (and no advanced)?
The Blue Hole sounds so mysterious and beautiful but I’ll have to enjoy it from afar as I’m not a diver. All the destinations looks spectacular, particularly the coral reefs at Tubbataha Reef. You’re right. With so many islands, how do you choose? It’s good to have some expert advice.
Completely agree about scuba (and snorkelling) opening up a whole new world of underwater goodness. I love that feeling of opening your eyes for the first time once you’ve oriented yourself on a dive’s descent and you see the underwater world before you. Have definitely heard that the Philippines has some epic diving and I can’t wait to check it out. Have dived the Blue Hole in Belize so would love to try the Philippino version and the coral gardens of Tubbataha.
Tubbataha looks like a lovely place to take a dive. The blue hole looks enticing but the depth seems to be intimidating. I love the colors of underwater. First time I saw them, I dreamt of them for days together.
I’ve never been scuba diving, but some of these dive spots look so amazing it’d almost be worth getting certification just to go there! I particularly liked Tubbataha Reef – the coral formations look AMAZING, and it’d be pretty cool to see as many of the 1000 marine species as possible!
Wow, these places look incredible. I’m not a diver myself, but these would make me tempted to learn! Getting to enjoy the beauty of the ocean from below is a crazy amazing thing!
That looks a beautiful destination to visit. Nice photos too. Loved the way you described the place.
Thanks for reading, Kalyan!