Philippines Diving Sites Near Puerto Galera
| Mindoro Island in the Philippines is recognized as one of the very best diving areas in all of Asia. You
can confirm this for yourself several times a day by diving at the dozens of
diving sites within a 15 minute boat trip from our dive resort at Big La Laguna Beach. The underwater visibility varies, but is normally at
the positive side of 15-20 meters.
One of the most unusual aspects of the diving sites around Mindoro Island is the rich mixture of hard and soft corals. Also the big difference between high and low tide gives great opportunities for some serious drift dives! Below you'll find a selection of some of the dive sites near Puerto Galera.
|
|
Philippines Diving Sites Near Puerto Galera
The Kilemar Drift
| Probably the most famous dives near Puerto Galera,
Mindoro Island that attracts visitors from far away.
At low tide, and at the time of a new moon, you will find some of the fastest water in the Philippines. Here it's not only a question of what you see, but also the exhilarating experience of "flying" with the current! A first class drift dive! Depth: 18 or 30 meters. |
|
Monkey Beach, Dugong Wall and West Escarcio
| These three places are one continuous
coral garden.
A great variety of animal species are found among the many different and very colorful corals. Divers will want to return to these areas again and again. Depth: 5-25 meters. |
|
Laguna Wreck, Sabang Wreck,Dugong Wreck and Boulders:
|
All these wrecks, except the Japanese
wreck, have been sunk especially for the purpose of wreck diving. The
wrecks are the homes for larger fish like groupers, snappers etc. The
wrecks vary in size from 20 to 40 meters, and the depth from 16 to 45
meters.
The Japanese wreck is a Japanese gunboat that was sunk by the Americans during World War II. It is situated at 42 meters depth and has almost disappeared. Only the engine and the propeller remain. Two huge moray eels live here. They like to eat sausages and other delicacies that divers often bring them. Often you will also find a large shoal of sweetlips around the wreck. Diving at the wreck can be combined with "The Boulders", a collection of large rocks, cracks and small holes. Many sea snakes are found here too. Depth: 6 - 25 meters |
Deep West Escarsio
| This dive is often made as a multilevel
dive: 10 minutes at 35 meters, 10 minutes at 20 meters, 10 minutes at 12
meters, and a swimming stop (5 minutes at 3-5 meters).
Here you will often be able to see both sharks and turtles. A real exciting and fascinating dive. |
|
Shark Caves
|
If you want a close encounter with
sharks this is the place to be!
Two caves at a depth of 27-30 meters are the homes of the blue-spotted stingray and the white-tipped reef shark measuring up to to meters in length The dive can be combined with "The Atoll", a huge rock at a depth of 15-32 meters surrounded by a great variety of animal life. |
Canyons
| This is a large area consisting - as
the name indicates - of 3 canyons on the bottom of the sea.
The current is often rather strong which attracts large shoals of tuna, barracuda, jackfish etc. On the best days, a dive at this site will show you the whole spectrum of marine animal life, from lobsters to sharks! Depth: 20 - 32 meters |
|
Fishbowls, The Abyss
|
This is a demanding and
very deep dive with strong currents.
Fishbowls is a depression in the bottom of the sea formed like a bowl. Here you'll normally find large fish of different kinds; - often sharks. The Abyss is a large area consisting of many small and medium-sized rocks, and a steep cliff or wall rising from a white sanded bottom. Two huge groupers, weighing about 100 kilos each, live here. They are very shy and will hide in small caves if divers approach. There are also excellent possibilities of meeting sharks! The depth of the Abyss is not - as the name implies - bottomless, but around 35-38 meters. For technical divers The Mindoro Island area offers several other deep and very demanding dives of a similar kind. Those dives are only for experienced technical divers. |
Our rinse tanks
|
|
Fairly quiet and predictable, absolutely no current, for those who miss the bathtub. Max depth: 0.5 meters, but then you surely have a bottom time stretching into multiple hours. |
Bring videos home!
| Don't miss the opportunity to make
friends and relatives green with envy when you return home!
We can contract a professional photographer to accompany you when you go diving and record your underwater adventures on video.
Puerto Galera diving is a unique and fascinating experience |
 |
Night diving and other goodies!
| Big La Laguna Dive Resort at Puerto Galera also offer
night dives, which gives the diving sites a completely different dimension!
You can also to take part in day trips to Verde Island (about 45 minutes by boat), which offers outstanding tropical diving. Also, we offer all PADI diving courses from "Open Water" to "Assistant Instructor" Puerto Galera, Philippines has a lot of exciting dives. |
|
Overview of dive sites near Puerto Galera off of Mindoro Island
| Philippines Dive Site | Dive Depth | Required Dive Experience | Max current (1-4) |
|---|---|---|---|
Manila Channel |
18m/60' |
For all divers |
1 |
Coral Garden |
12m/40' |
For all divers |
1 |
The Hill |
18m/60' |
For all divers |
2 |
La Laguna Point |
15m/50' |
For all divers |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Sabang Wreck |
18m/60' |
For all divers |
1 |
Sabang Point |
21m/70' |
For all divers |
1 |
Monkey Beach |
18m/60' |
For all divers |
1 |
Ernie's Cave |
27m/90' |
Advanced |
1 |
|
|
||
Dugong Wall |
18m/60' |
For all divers |
1 |
Dugong Wreck |
25m/80' |
Advanced |
1 |
West Escarcio |
25m/80' |
For all divers |
2 |
Hole in the Wall |
14m/50' |
For all divers |
2 |
The Canyons |
33m/110' |
Advanced |
3 |
Shark Caves |
27m/90' |
Advanced |
2 |
The Atoll |
33m/110' |
Advanced |
1 |
Fishbowl |
40m/130' |
Advanced |
3 |
Kilemar Drift |
30m/100' |
Advanced |
4 |
Kilemar Steps |
30m/100' |
For all divers |
1 |
Pink Wall |
12m/40' |
For all divers |
1 |
Sinandigan Wall |
30m/100' |
For all divers |
1 |
Jap Wreck |
40m/130' |
Advanced |
1 |
Boulders |
24m/80' |
For all divers |
1 |
Verde Drop off |
40m/130' |
Advanced |
2 |
Mini Canyons |
15m/50' |
For all divers |
4 |
Sweetlip Corner |
55m/180' |
TEK |
1 |
Marcus Cave |
49m/180' |
TEK |
2 |
Mamot Reef |
50m/150' |
TEK |
1 |
Deep Fish Bowl |
55m/180' |
TEK |
2 |
Philippines Dive Prices
The following prices are for a single dive, and includes boat and guide. Please see "Prices" on the main menu as well.
| Equipment rental | Price |
|---|---|
| If you rent all equipment | 30 US dollars per dive (1 tank) |
| If you only need tank and weights | 25 US dollars per dive (1 tank) |
Dive Prices include boat and guide. Night dives are US$10 extra.
Philippines Diving Sites Near Puerto Galera
All pictures on this page (except the photography picture, which belongs to PADI) are from the Mindoro area and are reproduced here with the permission of Calypso Video and Underwater Photography, Sabang Beach, Puerto Galera.