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Diving in Philippines

Dawn thresher sharks, a sardine baitball you walk into, a WWII wreck fleet and a no-take atoll, each on a different coast.

16 Dive areas75 Dive sites

Last updated October 2026

Best diving areas in the Philippines

Philippine diving splits by coast, and divers planning a trip talk in shortlists: wrecks at Coron, macro at Anilao and Dauin, walls and healthy reef at Panglao, then an order in which to fly between them.

Cebu has diving at both ends of one island. Off its northern tip, Malapascua sends boats out before dawn to Kimud Shoal, where the thresher sharks moved in 2022. On the west coast, Moalboal has a resident sardine baitball that you enter from the shore. In the south, Oslob's whale sharks are fed to keep them in place for visitors, and divers describe a crowded queue.

Bohol is the easiest base in the Visayas because Panglao has its airport on the island. Balicasag is the day boat from there, run on a rationed daily quota. Cabilao has walls off the west coast, Anda has a quiet limestone coast at the southeast tip, and Pamilacan has a drift that Panglao's own shore lacks. Across the strait in Negros Oriental, Dauin is black-sand muck, dived slowly with a guide, and Apo Island is a village-managed reef with real current. Southern Leyte has walls and a seasonal whale shark run.

Luzon is the weekend band. Anilao is the nudibranch coast, reached by road from Manila, and Puerto Galera faces it across the Verde Island Passage. Palawan holds the big set pieces. Coron Bay keeps the Japanese fleet sunk in September 1944, in shallow, sheltered water. Apo Reef is an offshore park that a day boat from Sablayan can reach. Tubbataha is a no-take atoll park, reached only by liveaboard.

Dive map

The 16 highlighted areas have full dive guides. Grey markers show more of the country's dive regions, with new guides on the way.

Planning your diving trip to the Philippines

Pick two destinations, three if you will spend days moving. The road transfer and boat at the end of each journey set how many places fit in a trip.

No national licence is needed; bring any recognised certification card. What repays checking is the operator's accreditation with the national scuba commission, which obliges a shop to keep a written accident-management plan. Accreditation is also a condition of the Permit to Operate for Tubbataha, the one park whose rules and fees are statutory. Other charges are set locally by ordinance or board resolution and can change without notice; read any figure as of its date. Apo Reef's diving fees follow the Municipality of Sablayan's own schedule.

Nationally the dry season runs December to May and the rainy season June to November, and dive-travel sources often begin the good-diving window in November. Diving continues year round, and storms are mostly a travel problem because they suspend ferries. Water sits around 25 to 30°C, warm enough for a 3mm suit.

For medical cover, the state has funded hyperbaric chambers at a number of dive destinations. A list shows where chambers exist, not that one is staffed on your dive day, so ask your operator for its evacuation plan before you book.

Why Dive Philippines

What makes this country a world-class diving destination.

  1. Pick a coast first

    Thresher dawns, a baitball from the beach, a wreck fleet and a no-take atoll are separate trips on separate coasts

  2. No national diver licence

    Any recognised certification card works; accreditation is a rule on the operator, not on you

  3. Fees are local

    One national park publishes a statutory schedule; every other charge is a local ordinance or board resolution

  4. Transfers decide the itinerary

    Most destinations are a flight, then a road transfer, then a boat, and the sum limits the trip

  • *Pelagic thresher sharks cleaning at a shallow shoal off Malapascua
  • *A resident sardine baitball entered on foot at Moalboal
  • *The sunken Japanese fleet of September 1944 in Coron Bay
  • *Tubbataha, a no-take atoll park by statute, dived only from a liveaboard
  • *Muck and macro coasts at Anilao and Dauin

Diving in Philippines

Rules and permits

Permit or booking?
Inside a national protected area, a dive centre needs prior clearance from the area's management board and a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Extra cost?
Each protected area's board sets its fees; the environment department (DENR) sets system-wide fees. The local government may add a charge based on its part in maintaining and protecting the area.
What not to do?
Damaging coral reefs is unlawful. Gathering or possessing corals is unlawful except for science or research. Unless the law allows it, collecting or possessing wildlife is unlawful.

Protected areas lawFisheries Code, corals and rare speciesCultural heritage act, underwater sitesChecked: Oct 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a licence or a minimum number of dives to dive in the Philippines?▼

No, on both counts. There is no national licence to buy, no national medical certificate to produce and no national logged-dive minimum, and any card from a recognised agency is accepted. The scuba commission regulates dive establishments, so the thing worth checking is the operator's accreditation, which is what obliges a shop to hold a written accident-management plan and to declare the certification of its professionals. A dive-count or supervision rule, where one exists, belongs to a specific marine protected area.

How long is the Tubbataha season, and is the park closed for the rest of the year?▼

Accounts disagree. Some divers describe the park as open about three months a year, while the park authority's own tourism records show boats entering from 20 February to 29 July in 2024. The 2009 Act sets no closed season. The March to June window is weather and commerce: moderate northeast winds calm the sea from about mid-March, and liveaboards concentrate their sailings there. Treat any dates as a commercial pattern, check the sailing calendar of the operator you book, and remember that only the park's management board can grant a permit.

How many destinations can you fit into two weeks?▼

Two, or three if you accept losing days to travel. Almost every destination is a domestic flight, a road transfer and a boat, and the last two legs eat the schedule: the long road to Malapascua and its boat crossing, the drive to Moalboal. A long-stay diver's advice is at least four dive days per base, because each move costs about a day. Panglao is the exception, with its airport on the island.

When is the best time of year for a Philippine dive trip?▼

December to May is the dry season nationally, and many dive-travel sources start the good-diving window in November. June to August carries typhoon risk, and the northeast winds can roughen the sea from about September into January without stopping the diving. A storm can also suspend every ferry around Cebu for days, so leave slack before an international flight. The country is too big for one answer: some destinations follow their own weather window.

Where should a newer diver go in the Philippines?▼

Toward the shore-based destinations with gentle conditions. Puerto Galera is repeatedly recommended to newly certified divers, and Moalboal's baitball is entered from the beach with no early start. Panglao has its airport on the island. Macro coasts such as Anilao and Dauin ask for good buoyancy control, a skill that can be practised. Experienced divers add that much Philippine diving assumes you can backroll from a small boat and hold trim in current, so match the destination to what you already do comfortably, whatever your card says. Save the dawn shoals, the deep walls and the liveaboard-only atoll for when that is routine.

Is the Oslob whale shark experience the same as seeing them wild?▼

No. The Oslob whale sharks are fed to keep them in place for visitors, and divers who have been describe a crowded queue and a poor reputation. Wild whale sharks turn up elsewhere in the country, seasonally and with no guarantee. Donsol and Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte are the established alternatives.

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