OK, take a break; it’s time for a tropical riddle. What do Tuesday night TV, Thanksgiving dinner with the folks & Philippines scuba diving all have in common?

Four words, funseekers. They are all: predictable, close, lively & cheap. Cheap entertainment, that is. And that is the refreshing undercurrent of diving in the Philippines Islands. Whether by boat or by shore, the diving in this oft under-rated archipelago is:

* PREDICTABLE — If you practice heads-up surge technique, respect the dive tables & avoid deep pocket coves in big water, your safety is nearly guaranteed. You won’t get to wallow amongst vast billowy corals anywhere, but you’re likely to enjoy big critter encounters, from muscular whitetip sharks to green sea turtles to dozens of gaping eels, who sway from their crannies like cobras charmed by some sea swami

About Philippines

* LIVELY — If you like scores of small critters lurking in compact coralheads, Philippines is the ticket. Don’t forget about the grinning sea turtles, big as 18-wheeler hubcaps, who glide by so close to your mask they nearly lobby you to Save the Whales.

* CHEAP — If you scoot with early deposits, you can beat the airlines’ pricing games. Find a reliable dive travel wholesaler who knows these islands well. Never buy air at exorbitant published fares if you can avoid it & travel during low seasons. That means Christmas, Thanksgiving & Spring Break are war zones, amigos. And if you hazard a Bohol booking during the annual Bohol Festival, you’ll find rooms on the Bohol Island as abundant as consciences in a school of whale sharks.

Swimming With Hammer Heads and Whale Sharks

Philippines has more or less everything, and it’s all in warm waters. There are over 7,100 islands surrounded by clear seas and we have hundreds of coral species and even more species of fish.

Best of all, the Philippines offers incredible value diving in a series of high quality comfortable resorts.

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For beginners, the Philippines provides the highest levels of Instructor care with teaching available in all the major global languages. Just imagine doing your first dives on pristine coral reefs and seeing turtles, rays and a whole host of beautiful marine life. The majority of all the resorts we feature even have swimming pools so much of your initial training will take place in a comfortable and easy environment.

We would recommend diving education therefore most of our featured resorts are 5 Star Centres allowing you to continue training up to Instructor level and beyond. For those already Nitrox certified you will find it available virtually everywhere. If you are not certified then take the course whilst you are here! Please look at the separate section on all the courses available for more information.

We have muck and macro diving here which offers wonderful photographic opportunities, the house reefs around Negros and Panglao are perfect for this.
A beach in the Philippines.

Apo Island, Apo Reef and Tubbataha Reefs are synonymous with pelagics and here you can see Tuna, Sharks and schools of Jacks and Barracuda.

There are steep walls at Pescador Island, Balicasag Island and Cabilao full of sea life and excitement. At Malapascua you will find one of the few dive sites in the world where you have a good chance to see Thresher Sharks.

Siquijor and Boracay have gentle slopes and very pretty reefs. Boracay also has the famed Yapak wall where big Pelagics will glide past you at 30m deep.

Coron is justifiably famous for its World War 2 wrecks, over 10 Japanese boats lie in waters shallow enough for recreational divers to explore them – all set in a backdrop of astonishingly beautiful scenery.

On the north side of Busuanga Island, at Dimakya island, not only can you reach Apo Reef but you can also take the opportunity to dive with dugongs.

Puerto Galera has dozens of dive sites within a very short distance of the resorts. Perhaps the best known being Canyons where strong currents will give you an exhilarating ride and Verde Island home to great numbers of fish.

Anilao which is just a short dive from Manila is home to great reefs and makes for the perfect weekend or short dive break.

Of course there’s more still…. Most of the resorts offer longer day or overnight trips to little known atolls or islands which are teeming with life and the diving is full of adventure.

There’s night diving, technical diving, rebreather diving, diving in lakes and so much more that you just have to keep coming back time after time.

And all this set in a tropical bliss with warm seas, sandy beaches, green palm trees, fantastic food and drink and friendly people. Your holiday here can be as lively or as quiet as you want it to be, you don’t ever have to travel far to find a deserted cove, beach or tranquil space and yet the impromptu party is always just around the corner!

Lastly, our location means that we are just a short jump to Truk, Palau and Borneo which opens the door to more famous diving locations and the opportunity to combine diving in two countries.