Island Hopping and Scuba Diving Across the Philippines
Scuba diving in the Philippines is an extraordinary way to explore the ocean while island hopping. With more than 7,000 islands stretching across vibrant tropical seas, the Philippines offers some of the richest marine biodiversity in the world. Each region presents a new underwater landscape, from coral walls teeming with pelagic life to black sand slopes filled with rare macro critters.
The Philippines lies at the heart of the Coral Triangle, home to thousands of species of fish and hundreds of coral types. Warm waters ranging from 81 to 86°F and visibility often exceeding 60 ft create ideal conditions for both relaxed drift dives and challenging reef explorations. Seasonal shifts affect currents and visibility, but there is almost always something spectacular to see, whether it is a giant school of barracuda or a tiny pygmy seahorse hanging on a gorgonian fan.
What makes the Philippines truly unique is the diversity between regions. In one dive trip, you can encounter thresher sharks at dawn, swim among turtles over vibrant walls, and photograph colorful nudibranchs in muck dives. By understanding the destinations, dive conditions, and marine highlights, travelers can plan an immersive island-hopping experience beneath the waves.
Dauin and Dumaguete
Dauin and Dumaguete in Negros Oriental are famous for their muck diving and macro opportunities . Black sand slopes reveal rare critters such as frogfish, cephalopods, and nudibranchs, offering unforgettable encounters for underwater photographers. Just offshore, Apo Island Marine Sanctuary provides vibrant coral reefs and schooling fish in clear, tropical waters.
Travelers can combine resort comfort with diverse diving options. Dive operators run multiple boat dives per day, including night dives, often accompanied by access to dedicated camera rooms, nitrox, and expert dive guides. Road transfers from Dumaguete City are short, making it easy to reach beaches, markets, and local cultural highlights.
Highlights of Dauin and Dumaguete diving:
Muck diving with frogfish, hairy shrimp, and octopus
Night dives featuring unique nocturnal marine life
Apo Island reefs with turtles, schooling fish, and coral gardens
Easy access from Dumaguete City with short road transfers
Diving here allows for both macro-focused exploration and open reef adventures. Resorts like Atlantis Dumaguete and Thalatta Resort provide a base for discovering nearby islands while offering full board packages and additional activities such as quad biking, snorkeling, and wildlife observation.
Anilao
Anilao, about 60 mi south of Manila, is renowned as the Nudibranch Capital of the World. Its shallow, sheltered bays are perfect for spotting shrimps, seahorses, frogfish, mimic octopus, and a staggering variety of other critters. Underwater photographers flock here for macro opportunities, while its vibrant reefs appeal to anyone seeking colorful marine life.
Resorts in Anilao offer 3 boat dives per day plus shore diving and full board packages. Solitude Acacia Resort, for example, combines luxury accommodation with workshops in underwater photography and organized excursions such as volcano trips and beach hikes. Its glass-walled restaurant, 100 ft pool, and beachfront access create a tranquil retreat after an active day of diving.
Popular Anilao diving highlights include:
Muck dives with rare cephalopods, frogfish, and nudibranchs
Walls and shallow reefs with schooling fish and colorful soft corals
Shore dives and day trips to nearby Verde Island
Specialized underwater photography sessions and workshops
Diving in Anilao is ideal for those who want accessible shore diving with high biodiversity. The combination of macro life, sheltered dive sites, and nearby resorts creates a flexible, full-featured diving experience for visitors.
Puerto Galera
Puerto Galera on Mindoro is recognized as a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve and offers more than 40 dive sites. Inner bays feature relaxed coral gardens and sandy slopes, while outer walls are home to canyons, swim-throughs, and vibrant reef systems. Verde Island, often visited on day trips, showcases prolific marine life and strong currents that attract schooling fish.
Resorts in Puerto Galera range from boutique villas to larger hillside properties with full dive operations. Atlantis Puerta Galera offers 5 boat dives per day, evening entertainment, a spa, and sunset cruises. Casalay Boutique Villas & Dive Resort emphasizes tranquility with 11 luxury villas, 4 daily boat dives, and access to Verde Island. Both provide full board dive packages, nitrox, and specialized dive instruction.
Puerto Galera diving highlights:
Shallow coral gardens and drift dives along outer bay walls
Small wrecks and underwater formations ideal for photography
Day trips to Verde Island with dense reef life
Shore activities including kayaking, hiking, and cultural visits
With a combination of accessible dive sites, resorts, and additional activities, Puerto Galera remains a top choice for those seeking a flexible and diverse diving experience in the Philippines.
Planning Your Philippines Dive Trip
When planning a dive trip to the Philippines, timing is essential. The dry season runs from November to April, offering calmer seas and better visibility, while the wet season brings rain, especially in the west. Water temperatures are consistently warm, usually 81 to 86°F, so a 3 mm wetsuit is often sufficient.
Travel is straightforward. Most international flights land in Manila, with domestic connections to Dumaguete, Cebu, or Puerto Princesa. From there, short road or boat transfers bring you to resorts or liveaboard departure points. Comprehensive dive insurance is strongly recommended.
Diving locations vary by experience. Muck sites in Dauin and Anilao provide sheltered conditions and abundant macro life, while Tubbataha requires confidence in currents and wall diving. Planning your itinerary carefully ensures you make the most of each region.
Liveaboard Diving in the Philippines
Atlantis Infiniti
The Atlantis Infiniti is a 128 ft steel-hull liveaboard purpose-built for comfort and extended diving expeditions in the Philippines. Operating primarily in Tubbataha, Visayas, and Leyte, it combines a robust design with thoughtful amenities to support both advanced diving and onboard relaxation. Its large steel hull provides stability on long open-water crossings, giving divers confidence when traveling to remote dive sites that are often inaccessible by day boats.
With 11 cabins spread across three decks, all featuring ensuite bathrooms, individually controlled air conditioning, and storage for personal belongings, guests enjoy a high level of comfort. The vessel can handle up to 5 dives per day, supported by 3 high-capacity compressors and a nitrox system. A dedicated camera room with rinse tanks allows photographers to clean and charge equipment immediately after dives, ensuring no valuable moments are missed.
Key features include:
11 cabins with private bathrooms and individual AC
Up to 5 dives per day with nitrox availability
Dedicated camera room and rinse tanks
Spacious sundeck and partially shaded lounge areas
Fully RINA-certified vessel with strong self-sufficiency systems
The Infiniti emphasizes diver-focused operations. Crewmembers are trained to understand local marine life, including sharks, turtles, and large pelagics, and the onboard chefs prepare fresh meals that refuel guests between dives. From drift dives in Visayas to pelagic-rich walls in Tubbataha, the vessel ensures every dive is accessible, safe, and memorable, while the spacious lounge, sundeck, and library offer relaxation after action-packed days underwater.
Atlantis Adventurer
The Atlantis Adventurer is a 105 ft aluminum monohull that carries 16 guests in eight en-suite cabins. It is designed for divers who want to explore multiple regions of the Philippines, with seasonal itineraries covering Tubbataha, Visayas, Malapascua, Apo Reef, Coron, and Anilao. Its lighter aluminum hull and 2 fast dinghies allow for flexible site access, making it ideal for diving in areas with strong currents or multiple dive spots in a single day.
Onboard life balances productivity and comfort. The vessel offers up to 5 dives per day, including nitrox, while being fully rebreather-friendly. Dedicated camera tables with charging stations and rinse tanks make underwater photography seamless. The upper deck saloon is spacious and bright, with free internet access when in range, allowing guests to edit photos or relax between dives. Full board service ensures meals and drinks are provided around diving schedules, keeping divers energized throughout their expedition.
Highlights include:
8 cabins with ensuite bathrooms
5 dives per day, nitrox included
Rebreather-friendly setup
Dedicated camera tables with charging stations
Fast dinghies for flexible access to dive sites
The Adventurer’s cruises provide a mix of wreck diving, macro photography, and pelagic encounters. In Tubbataha, divers experience pristine reefs with sharks, tuna, and manta rays, while in Malapascua, thresher sharks rise from the deep for early morning cleaning sessions. Coron offers historic World War II shipwrecks, and Anilao provides rich macro life. With experienced divemasters and crew, each dive is guided with attention to safety, site knowledge, and photographic opportunities, making it a comprehensive liveaboard experience.
Resort Diving in the Philippines: Flexibility and Focus
Land-based diving in the Philippines offers incredible freedom. You can set your own schedule, choose how long to stay, and select dive sites based on conditions and interests. Resorts provide full board dive packages, camera facilities, and expert local guidance, making them ideal for those who want a balanced combination of diving, relaxation, and cultural exploration.
Solitude Acacia Resort (Anilao)
Solitude Acacia Resort is a luxury seafront property in Anilao with 25 modern rooms, a 100 ft swimming pool, and a glass-walled restaurant. Full board dive packages include 3 boat dives per day plus shore dives, letting guests maximize their time underwater. The resort also has a bar and easy access to nearby beaches and trails for post-dive relaxation.
Guests can enhance their underwater photography skills through workshops and enjoy excursions to volcanoes and hidden beaches. Its location just a 3-hour transfer from Manila makes it a convenient starting point for diving adventures in Anilao.
Atlantis Dumaguete (Dauin)
Atlantis Dumaguete is a mid-budget beachfront resort with 44 rooms set in a tropical garden, a restaurant, a waterfront bar, a pool, and a spa. Full board dive packages include up to 5 boat dives per day, including night dives, and a spacious camera room ensures easy equipment management.
The region’s diving highlights include the muck sites of Dauin and the coral reefs of Apo Island, home to turtles, reef fish, and macro critters. Transfers from Dumaguete airport take just 20 minutes, and guests can also enjoy city tours, market visits, lake trips, and eco-tourism activities alongside their dives.
Thalatta Resort (Dumaguete/Zamboanguita)
Thalatta Resort is a value-for-money beachfront property near Zamboanguita with 16 rooms, a deep sea water pool, spa, and outdoor bar and restaurant. Packages are flexible with bed and breakfast, half-board, or full-board options, and include 3 daily boat dives.
Diving focuses on Dauin’s macro critters and nearby Apo Island’s reefs. Guests can also enjoy snorkeling, city tours, dolphin watching, waterfalls, ATV rides, and hiking, making it a convenient base for combining diving with local exploration.
Atlantis Puerta Galera (Puerto Galera)
Atlantis Puerta Galera is a mid-budget hillside resort on Sabang Beach with 40 rooms, a restaurant with daily changing menus, theme nights, a Mongolian Wok, a spa, and the 50 Bar. Full board dive packages include 5 boat dives per day, including night dives, plus sunset cruises and island hopping trips.
The resort gives access to over 40 local dive sites, ranging from coral gardens and sandy slopes to drift dives and small wrecks. Kayaking, trekking, and cultural excursions allow visitors to balance underwater adventures with on-land exploration.
Casalay is a boutique luxury resort on a secluded stretch of beach in Puerto Galera, featuring 11 hillside villas, 2 pools, a beachfront bar, a spa, and complimentary snorkeling and kayaks. Full board dive packages include four daily boat dives and a day trip to Verde Island.
The resort is ideal for divers seeking privacy while still accessing rich marine life. Guests can enjoy muck diving on the house reef, water sports, island hopping, and visits to Tamaraw Falls and Mangyan Village. Its design combines comfort, convenience, and an immersive dive experience.
How We Help You Explore the Philippines
At Dive The World, we connect travelers with the best diving destinations and liveaboards in the Philippines. Our team offers guidance on which regions and itineraries match your interests, whether you are looking for macro photography, shark encounters, or wreck dives.
We provide detailed advice on resorts and liveaboards such as Solitude Acacia Resort in Anilao, Atlantis Dumaguete, and liveaboards to Tubbataha, Apo Reef, and Malapascua. By understanding seasonal shifts and site conditions, we help plan trips that maximize encounters with marine life and minimize long transfers.
Our goal is to make trip planning simple and seamless. We support you from selecting cabins or resort rooms to arranging transfers and dive schedules. With Dive The World, you can focus on the adventure and leave the logistics to us.
Your Philippine Adventure Awaits
The Philippines offers unparalleled diversity for scuba divers, from macro critters to pelagic predators, coral walls to historic wrecks. Every region delivers a unique experience, creating an island-hopping adventure beneath the waves that few destinations can match. Warm waters, high visibility, and abundant marine life make each dive rewarding.
Whether choosing a land-based resort or a liveaboard cruise, the Philippines has options to suit all preferences. Resorts like Solitude Acacia, Atlantis Dumaguete, and Casalay Boutique Villas provide full-service accommodations and specialized dive packages, while liveaboards like Atlantis Infiniti and Atlantis Adventurer allow exploration of remote marine parks and seasonal highlights.
Get in touch with us at Dive The World to plan your Philippines diving adventure. We can help you select the best resorts, liveaboards, and itineraries for your goals, ensuring your underwater journey is seamless, exciting, and unforgettable.
