Where are the best scuba diving sites in the Philippines?

Dive into a fantastic underwater world as you dive at the Hinugtan’s dive place composed of many diving sites. Dive into the vivacious underwater scenery along a wall full of sea fans and gorgonians, a forest of corals and many different kinds of schools of fish. You can dive 2 times for a day trip or just one time for a half day journey.

One of the excellent diving destination in Boracay and mainly suggested for beginners and training in scuba diving, the Angol point, for it has a shallow, easy reef dive going from 10 meters (33 feet) to 15 meters (50 feet) deep. Angol point is also the right spot for those who like to take and enhance macro underwater photography since the visibility is excellent and the marine sanctuary is full of life and flourishing with colors. Highly recommended for night dives also.

One of the shallow diving destination in Boracay, the Tulubhan reef, is also well known for having a slow and steady flow of current making it an amazing and comfortable diving experience. The Tulubhan reef is located beside the Laguna de Boracay dive spot where its starting depth starts at 5 meters (15 feet) and go down to 20 meters (65 feet). It is accessible through 15 to 20 minutes boat ride or via swimming from the shore.

Located beside the Yapak diving destinations and the Balinghai wall, Punta Bunga is another accessible diving destination from the shores of Boracay. Punta Bunga is advised for beginners and training scuba divers. Punta Bunga can be reached via 15-minutes boat ride from boat station 1. With its calm waters, you will dive into a unique experience and allows you to absorb and enjoy the underwater sceneries.

The Maniguin island is at 1 hour with an average of 25 knots (47-48 km/h) by boat (with our boats) from Boracay. With a local bangka boat, it can take more than 4 hours. This is a day dive safari, and prepare yourself to be astonished first by the underwater visibility which is more than 30 meters (100 feet). Secondly by the unusually rich biodiversity like the big napoleon fish (AKA Humphead wrasse), manta rays and other kinds of rays, school of barracudas, trevally fish, school of jacks and so on.

The Yapak dive sites are located at the west-north end of Boracay and just near the Punta Bunga diving site area. A 15 minutes boat ride from stations 1 and 2 can take you to Yapak dive sites. Yapak sites are separated walls which span at 30 meters (100 feet) going down to 70 meters (230 feet). The walls can be split into four different dives. This dive site is known for mild to strong currents.

The Laguna de Boracay is a diving destination that is located in the eastern part of the island of Boracay. This dive site is well-suited and recommended for both advanced and beginner scuba divers. With a depth ranging from 5m to 20m, the visibility of the marine life is not bad, and the area is accessible with a slow current flowing. Laguna de Boracay can be reached via the shores.

The Balinghai dive site is located right in between the Punta Bunga and the Diniwid dive sites and just a 10 minutes boat ride from the shores of Boracay Boat Station one and two. The dive site consists of two walls that are positioned parallel. The two walls have a different minimum, and maximum depth and both have different marine biodiversity.

The Virgin drop dive site is just a 15 minutes boat ride from the Boat Station one or two in the Boracay's shores. The dive site has a long wall that goes on and on with many crevices and cracks where you will see the marine life hiding away from the rest of the marine population, a lot of shoal of fish are hanging around though.

Coral Garden might be one of the most popular diving sites in Boracay. The Coral Garden got its name from the hard corals that are forming in the reef, especially cabbage corals. It is located right in the center of the west coast of Boracay and accessible by boat from station 1 and station 2. This dive site is ideal for beginners in scuba diving and for those who just want to snorkel around. The sea in this area is just calm and clear; it's also a favorite fish-feeding area.

Crocodile Island is an uninhabited island that looks like a crocodile from afar when you go from the west south of Boracay. Crocodile Island is one of the main attractions of Boracay and a usual island hopping tour for snorkeling since it is just 5 to 10 minutes away from Boracay. Crocodile Island has a vigorous current, which is perfect for a drift dive, with also a pretty good visibility most of the times. Crocodile Island is known as a four-star dive site in Boracay.

The Channel drift dive site is located on the Boracay Island and the Aklan mainland. It takes 15 to 30 minutes by a boat ride to the dive site. It is also known as the Channel steps by the locals in Boracay. This dive site is like a coral garden, full of flora and fauna and you will find amazing rock formations, hard and soft corals and school of fishes such as batfish, sweetlips, snappers, and stingrays.

Laurel Island is situated just behind the Crocodile Island dive site, and from the shores of Boracay, it will take 45 minutes to an hour to get to the island by boat. Laurel Island is divided into two dive sites: the Laurel Island and the Laurel tunnel. Both diving destinations are quite close to each other and can make a perfect island tour worth diving. Currents may stay quite moderate, but it is always advisable to be a little more experienced in drift diving so that you can enjoy and be safe in this fun diving destination.

The Camia shipwreck dive site is one of the premiere diving destinations in Boracay, and it is situated between Virgin drop and Coral Garden diving destinations. A 30m long cargo boat that sank in January 2001 as a fish attraction device, and it developed as an artificial reef and now being resided by large red bass, a school of bluefin trevallies, scorpionfishes and a school of batfish.

Friday's rock covers two dive sites: the Fridays reef which is 7 to 12 meters (23 to 40 feet), and the Friday's rock which is 12 to 18 meters (40 to 60 feet) deep. It is a known fish-feeding station and most anticipated by underwater photographers because they can capture close-up photos of emperor fish, triggerfishes, red bass, scorpion fish and surgeon fishes. Butterflyfishes and batfishes can be sighted too. Amazing different kinds of soft and hard coral formations are also covering the sea beds of both Friday's rock and Friday's reef.

Full moon diving is a unique night dive experience. We do full moon diving in all our dive centers. Wherever it's in Boracay, Bohol, Panglao or Mactan and Cebu, full moon diving in the tropical waters is a must to try. Check out our full moon calendar to see when it will be the full moon; you can dive with a full moon around two days before and 2 to 3 days after the given day on the calendar.

Ideal place for scuba diving and technical diving training, Kontiki house reef offers an excellent shallow flat area and pretty suitable for novice divers. The shallow part of the reef sets out with sea grass beds and amazing formed corals, and an artificial reef artifact which is a giant iron clam sunk in the 90s and now filled with lives of hard and soft corals. Suitable for underwater photography training.

Cabilao island is known as the best diving place, with its different dive sites, between Bohol and Cebu. Cabilao is a haven for underwater photographers, and we don't even speak about macro photography because Cabilao is housing the famous pygmy seahorse and the most beautiful nudibranch of the Philippines. Cabilao is also the home of the hammerhead sharks as well as the white tips and black tips reef sharks.

The Caubian cave dive site is at less than 30 minutes from our dive center headquarters in Mactan. Diving in the Caubian cave is for experienced divers, and we even recommend to be a tech diver. The average depth is around 40 meters (130 feet), and exploring the cave is a must to do, while on the way back you will have all the time to observe the amazing marine life along the wall, during your decompression.

The Camotes Islands are a group made of 4 islands. At the Camotes islands, you can dive on a deep wreck, in a cave, or all around on different plateaux and walls. The Camotes is very beautiful, especially underwater with an enormous biodiversity. Colorful species of soft and hard corals, as well as gorgonians and sea fans with all tropical fishes shoaling around.

The Cuatro Islas mean the four islands. The Cuatro Islas (the four islands) is a day trip safari, with three dives on the site and going back before the night. Nondivers are very welcome to join the safari as they will enjoy the journey too. Cuatro Islas has a tremendous underwater visibility in which the divers love, but it's also perfect for snorkeling as you can see the bottom of the seabed.

The Danajon Bank double barrier coral reef is one of the six underwater double-barrier reefs in the world which is made of corals. This unique feature of the Danajon Bank make this dive site a unique dive spot in the Philippines, and even in the world due to the numerous species of corals. This double barrier reef is also known for a possible tiger sharks encounter as weel as bull sharks.

The Hilutungan Island dive site is one of the most popular in the Cebu region. The local government is well maintaining this marine sanctuary and authorize the tourists to dive around. Due to this effort, the marine life and the marine biodiversity is quite impressive and made the Hilutungan Island a place of choice for diving, as well as island hopping and excursions.

The Hilutungan and Nalusuan day trip safari are a must to dive if you come in the Cebu region, as these two dive sites have a different biotope not so far from each other. All the family can enjoy this diving safari even if they are not divers because it is also a popular island hopping tour for nondivers where people can swim or snorkel to see the fishes few meters below.

There is a lot of House Reef diving sites all around the world, and because Scotty's Action Sports Network is spread around the Philippines, we do know many House Reef dive sites. Wherever in Boracay, Panglao, and Bohol or Mactan and the Cebu region, we have an extensive list of diving sites called "House Reef", where it's usually a perfect if not an excellent diving spot.

The Kontiki House Reef is an easy dive, going down on a slope, where various critters are living around the tropical corals and inside the metallic artificial sunken structure. The Kontiki reef is the home of the macro photographers as they will have a lot of photos to shot about nudibranchs, crabs, seahorses, sponges and many more underwater living creatures.

There is a lot of Lighthouse diving sites in the Philippines, and because Scotty's Action Sports Network is spread around the Philippines, we do know many Lighthouse diving sites. Wherever in Boracay (Maniguin island), Bohol (Cabilao) or in Mactan and the Cebu region. Diving at a Lighthouse dive site, like in Capitancillo, can be a unique experience.

Malapascua Island is a not to miss diving destination in the Philippines. Malapascua is well known for the thresher sharks diving at 05h00 (5 AM), just before that the sun rises and where the thresher sharks are active. But in Malapascua, there is not only the thresher sharks to see, but there is also the Dona Marilyn Wreck dive to do as well as Gato island, and it's underwater tunnel.

The Pawod Underwater Cave System is located in the Barangay Agus on Mactan, the Cebu region, and is at just 15 to 20 minutes by car from our Dive Center. The Pawod cave is a spring freshwater cave diving, where only certified cave divers can enjoy the dive. It's a dissolution cave made of limestone, and the entrance is inland. The Pawod cave is a perfect training cave where we conduct our cave diving courses.

The Marigondon Cave diving site is located at 10 minutes only from our Scotty's Dive Center. This cavern is one of the most popular diving sites around Mactan and Cebu. The entrance of the cave is at around 30 meters (100 feet) of depth and is covered by beautiful gorgonians and sea fans. The Marigondon Cave is also known for the beautiful wall all around it.

Moalboal is in the southwest part of the main Cebu island. Diving in Moalboal is weel known for the sardines run, a so huge school of sardines, that it is considered a once a life dive. From our Scotty's Dive Center, diving in Moalboal is a diving day safari trip, with two dives on the different diving sites of Moalboal and going back before dusk.

The Nalusuan Island diving sanctuary is located at around 17 kilometers (9 nautical miles) from our Scotty's Dive Center in Mactan. The overall trip, with one dive on the site, takes around 2 hours and a half, but the trip is worth to do it just for the hour passed underwater seeing the great biodiversity of the Nalusuan Island marine sanctuary.

The Santa Rosa dive site, situated along the Olango Island, is at 5 to 10 minutes by boat from our Scotty's Dive Center headquarters on the Mactan Island. Santa Rosa is at the edge of the marine sanctuary of the Olango Island, and when there is a good tide, this diving site can become a beautiful drifting zone for all divers. Olango is known to being fulfilled with a great underwater biodiversity.

The Shangri-La marine sanctuary is our commitment to the preservation of the underwater world. The dive site is just in front of our Scotty's Dive Center headquarters at the Shangri-La Mactan. With many years of dedication to preserving this sanctuary, it is now filled with a high biodiversity and a beautiful underwater seabed with all its coral's formation.

The Talima dive site, located in Olango Island, is between 5 to 10 minutes by boat from our Scotty's Dive Center headquarters on Mactan. The Talima diving spot is the leading marine sanctuary of Olango Island, where all the underwater photographers want to go for their best shots. As a major dive site in the area, Talima is known by all the local scuba divers.

The Tambuli diving site is at only a few minutes from our Scotty's Dive Center in Mactan. This dive spot is well known for a wreck laying down at around 20 meters (65 feet) where the beginner open water divers can also enjoy diving a wreck. The Tambuli wreck is a plane which was sunk as an artificial reef and as a diver's attraction, nowadays fulfilled with marine life.

This a very early morning dive! Because early in the morning (best 6h00 - 6 Am in the water), the thresher sharks are going up from the depths to the "cleaning station" at around 30 to 40 meters (100 to 135 feet) deep. Past 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning, it's finished, your chance to see a thresher shark is melting like an ice cream under the sun.

The Tingo Point diving site in Olango is not to be mistaken with the Thresher Point dive site. Tingo Point is at the tip of Olango Island where often a mild to high current can run around. This diving site is for advanced divers and technical divers, as the top of the wall is at 25 meters (80 feet) going down to 65 meters (210 feet).

Diving with whale sharks is a unique experience, the biggest fish in the world (yes it is a fish and not a mammal) is living in Oslob all the year-round. Oslob is at less than 3 hours by car from our Scotty's Dive Center in Mactan, and this day trip safari starts very early in the morning to be in the water with the whale sharks before 10 o'clock followed by a second dive at the Sumilon Island.

Balicasag Island is a marine sanctuary where you can dive with sea turtles. It's usually a day trip safaris with 2 or 3 dives at Balicasag. There are many diving sites around Balicasag Island, but the most popular dives are for the turtles which are quite shallow on the plateau at around 10 meters (33 feet) eating seaweeds and algae around 3 o'clock.

Pamilacan Island is located at 17 kilometers (9 nautical miles) from our dive center in Bohol, Panglao. Pamilacan is known for it whales and dolphins watching between March and June (the sedentary dolphins can be watched all the year though). The seabed of Pamilacan is covered by sea fans, huge gorgonians and many different species of colorful corals where fishes are shoaling around.

The Habagat wreck diving site is a steep slope where open water can enjoy the top down to 20 meters (60 feet), while deep divers can go down to 35 meters (115 feet) to dive around the little wreck and visit the crevices on the wall around the wreck. The Habagat shipwreck is located at less than 5 minutes by boat from our Scotty's Dive Center in Bohol.

The Garden Eels dive site in Panglao, Bohol province is situated at less than 5 minutes away from our dive center in Bohol. The Garden Eels dive site is a haven for all divers, from beginners to experienced, this dive site a must at night. You can see a field of spotted garden eels in there. A strong recommendation is to no forget your underwater camera.

The Doljo point dive site in Panglao Island (Bohol province) is a must to dive if you come in the Philippines. It's 2 walls on top of each other, which make the dive site perfect for all level of divers, from beginners to advanced dives. The biodiversity of the marine life is great. You can spot barracudas, tunas, sharks and all the usual tropical underwater marine life.

Off the shore of Panglao Island, the Cervera Shoal diving site is known as the snake's island because there are many white and black banded snakes on the south part of the diving site. The current can be powerful to "brutal" on the surface, this is why the Cervera Shoal is well known to the experienced drift divers. The underwater marine biodiversity is average for this tropical island.

Cabilao island is known as the best diving place, with its different dive sites, between Bohol and Cebu. Cabilao is a haven for underwater photographers, and we don't even speak about macro photography because Cabilao is housing the famous pygmy seahorse and the most beautiful nudibranchs in the Philippines. Cabilao is also the home of the hammerhead sharks as well as the white tips and black tips reef sharks.

Balicasag Island is a marine sanctuary where you can dive with sea turtles. It's usually a day trip safaris with 2 or 3 dives at Balicasag. There are many diving sites around Balicasag Island, but the most popular dives are for the turtles which are quite shallow on the plateau at around 10 meters (33 feet) eating seaweeds and algae around 3 o'clock.

The Alona House Reef diving site is at just 3 minutes by speedboat from our Scotty's Dive Center in Panglao (Bohol). It is an excellent diving site for beginner scuba divers who want to do a relaxed dive and, still, enjoying the colorful tropical marine life. We often dive at night on this site, as the colors are truly awesome with the underwater torches.