Puerto Galera Diving

If diving is what gets your energy flowing, then Puerto Galera is where you will get that adrenaline rush. It has plenty of diving sites that will cater to both the new and experience diver.

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Batangas Channel

If you are new to diving in Puerto Galera or have little experience, the Batangas Channel is a good place to start.

As with other sites this one has a current, but it is not so strong and allows you to flow along at a moderate level, giving you the chance to appreciate the beautiful sponges and coral reefs, of which there are numerous variants. Adding to the beauty are the fish that come regularly for feeding. If you like to capture the beauty of the sea in photos, this is the place to be.

Sweet Lips Cave

For those who are more adventurous, Sweet Lips Cave can offer even the best divers a challenge.

As you progress deeper into the sea, you will eventually come across a wall adjacent to the reef. As you move along you will spot a fissure and see plenty of different kinds of fish It is also possible for you to go in the cave and explore, although it should be emphasized that this is only for experienced divers. If you are a rookie, do it with a guide.

Sabang Wrecks

Night diving is something you should try out, and Sabang Wrecks is the ideal area to do it. Just off the popular Sabang Beach, it is an area that you can easily reach.

The dive site is so called because of the three sunken vessels located at the bottom. The three, consisting of a steel yacht, a Vietnamese boat and a passenger vessel, are all on the sands at the bottom of the sea floor. As you navigate around the ruins, you will also find yourself looking at the various life forms that have settled in and around the wrecks.

Coral Garden

Just as the Fish Bowl got its name from the exotic variants swimming in its depths, so has the Coral Garden earned the title from the various corals and reefs located in the area.
Corals, ranging from pinks, whites and all other colors, can be found almost immediately upon diving; you need not go very deep to glimpse their beauty. Its smooth current also makes this Puerto Galera dive site ideal for neophytes and photographers as well.

Hole in the Wall

This is one dive site that both novice and seasoned keep coming back to, as there always seems to be something new to see every dive.

Getting into the Hole in the Wall is not that difficult, as more often than not, the moving current in the sea will take you there directly. Along the way are some of the finest reefs and aqua life in Puerto Galera. It is best if you make the voyage with an experienced guide because the walls are laden marine life, and it is important that they not be disturbed. As you pass it, you will be greeted by the site of myriad types of fish, ranging from the Triggerfish, Parrotfish to Moorish Iodls and Tuna.

Fish Bowl

This Puerto Galera diving site got its name, obviously from the fact that it hosts a dazzling array of fish types, but be sure you go with a tested guide, as the currents can be tough to navigate.

As you descend to the bottom the first thing that you will see is the reef, laden with corals in all shapes, sizes and colors. At a depth of 130 feet (40 meters), you will come across a bowl shape fracture that continues down. It is the Fish Bowl, and inside you will see all kinds Tuna, Barracuda, Trevally, and even Reef Sharks swimming.

Odies Ding Ding

Odies Ding Ding is recommended for more experienced divers because of strong currents that might drift the divers away from the site. Aside from that, this dive site is hard to find because of the currents, so the services of resident dive master is recommended. Odies Ding Ding is a small wall starting at 24 meters below level extending to 33 meters underneath. Divers who are expert on air consumption may choose to go down to 40 meters for more scenic wonders. The main highlights of this dive site are the thorny oysters and the rare black coral.

Monkey Beach

The Monkey Beach dive site is a hiding place of a shipwreck of a wooden vessel that has become a shelter to cod and snappers. The remains of this wooden vessel have attracted soft corals. Aside from that, divers should expect leatherjackets, surgeonfish and stingrays on the site, as well as one or two sea turtles that always happen to pass by. Monkey Beach is a gentle slope planted with colorful corals and frequented by marvelous seawater species, and is recommended for advanced divers due to tricky currents and deeper dives. Monkey Beach is located at the east of Sabang Beach in Puerto Galera.

Coral Garden

This diving site is perfect for beginners with its shallow distance underneath sea level surface. Also ideal for night dives, the place is perfect for spotting rare crabs, flatworms and nudibranchs. There are also prolific corals, sponges, morays and lionfish on the site. The Coral Garden is also perfect for snorkeling and training, and is located to the west of Medio Island.

Ernies Point

Ernies Point is named after a famous big grouper named by locals as Ernie. Although Ernie is long gone from the dive site, it has left behind a fantastic collection of unicorn fish, jacks, snappers and surgeonfish, along with gorgonian corals. There are two caves found in Ernies Point, one at 22 meters and the other at 28 meters. The visibility point of this site starts at 10 meters from sea surface. This dive site near Monkey Beach is recommended for advanced divers only.

Manila Channel

The Manila Channel dive site is located between Medio and Boquete Island. This dive site is recommended for all types of divers with its shallow point near the corals. The series of walls in this dive site is similar to a multi-level dive where nudibranchs, sponges, moray eels and lionfish greet the divers. There are also sea groupers camouflaged with the walls and stony hard corals. This scenic collection of sea wonders is perfect for macro photography, as well as nigh time dives. The maximum depth of the Manila Channel is at 24 meters.

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West Escarceo

Perfect for strong or mild drift dives, this West Escarceo dive site has currents that will propel you right to the site without any hard efforts. There are boulder corals and magnificent table corals perfect for both sea-level and underwater photography. West Escarceo also has beautiful slopes with Moorish idols, puffer fish, triggerfish and sponges. Located at west of Escarceo Point, this dive site is also recommended for beginners, although deeper dive sites require certification of advanced levels.

The Hill

This dive site located near the southern part of the Batangas Channel boasts of interesting seawater species, such as elephant ear sponges, gorgonian fans and big barrel sponges. Nearby The Hill dive site is a protected area where divers can see a lot of giant clams, although divers will have to ask the guard’s permission before diving onto the protected area. Nevertheless, this dive site has a lot to show on its own, which explains why it is a favorite among divers and underwater photographers. The Hill is also nearby West Escarceo and is recommended for beginners depending on the condition of the waters.

The Clam Farm

The Clam Farm is one of Puerto Galera’s diving sites that are popular among divers. It is an excellent diving site for divers of all levels. This is one of Puerto Galera’s diving sites with excellent location for both snorkeling and diving. The Clam Farm is now teeming with marine life that gives a perfect site for underwater photography.

The Clam Farm made a very remarkable comeback after it was devastated by cyanide fishing years ago. The Clam Farm is so called because the diving site is covered with clams. One can find hard and soft coral formations and many coral fishes everywhere. This Puerto Galera’s diving site offers an excellent place to learn open water scuba diving and snorkeling.

Horsehead

The Horsehead Reef is one of Puerto Galera’s diving sites that are suitable only for experienced divers since it involves a deeper diving area centered on a bowl that lies from 40 to 48 meters. This diving site gets its name from the rock that lies on the diving site that looks like a horse’s head. One can find batfish, sweetlips, Jacks, barracuda, hammerhead sharks, Manta and many big fishes along its coasts.

Mahmuds Reef

Along the Batangas Channel is one of Puerto Galera’s diving sites, the Mahmuds Reef. This diving site is often unnoticed to divers since it has a plain classic beauty that does not commonly catch a diver’s attention. This diving site becomes a host to most invertebrates such as sponges and large anemone colony that can covers as wide as ten square meters. It is also inhabited by rare species of pygmy seahorses, nudibranches and mandarin fish.

Shark Cave

A diver’s favorite diving site, the Shark Cave consists of ledges with depth of 27 meters. This is Puerto Galera’s diving site where Whitetip Reef Sharks are commonly seen. Contrary to the belief that these are dangerous and aggressive species, these sharks usually just swim away when disturbed. Blue stingrays and octopuses are also commonly spotted at the Shark Cave with an atoll lying 90 meters away from the cave where blue triggerfish, lionfish, scorpion fish moray eels also hover underwater.

Kilima Steps

For divers who are into the thrill of electric drift dives, the Puerto Galera’s diving site at Kilima Steps gives them the opportunity to experience a faster drift dive that can take divers to enjoy being drifted away in the strong currents to see zooming schools of barracuda, mackerel and black tip sharks. Its popular routes include the Pink Wall where the reef is a blur and the Hole In the Wall which is a more tranquil area of the diving site.

Marcus Cave

Lying on a gentle slope as deep as 60 meters is the Marcus cave which is a cavern inhabited by beautiful reef fishes and white tip reef sharks. This is Puerto Galera’s diving site that is near the Sweetlips corner where one can see awesome views of clusters of ribbon sweetlips and variety of tuna species.

Sinandigan Wall

This Puerto Galera’s diving site is perfect for underwater photography and for nature lover divers where they can see various species of colorful sea slugs and is a perfect dive site for nudibranch hunts. One can find picturesque flower like arms of soft corals and cuttlefish that allows them to change their colors in order to blend with their surroundings.

La Laguna Point

The La Laguna Point is one of Puerto Galera’s dive sites with a beautiful terrain covered with coral knolls with a sloping hill extending beyond 60 meters. Its mid depth range is the best diving site of this Puerto Galera’s dive site. One fascinating view from this depth is the circular pyramids that are of coral rubble that serves as homes for species of tile fish. One can also find enormous small holes and ledges on the reef. It is in this Puerto Galera’s dive site where one can find the Floating Dry Dock wreck that sunk several years ago.

Boulders/Jap Wreck

The Jap Wreck is known as Puerto Galera’s dive site where one can find the metal remains of a boat that sunk during a war a long time ago which remains to be uncertain whether it is indeed a Japanese boat or a Filipino boat believed to be captured and crewed by some Japanese troops. The wreck’s remains include the boat’s propeller, engine block and some scattered debris which are now inhabited by wide array of marine life such as gold spotted sweetlips, cuttlefish and pufferfish.

Alma Jane Wreck

This Puerto Galera’s dive site is the home of various fish species and to a 60 ton cargo ship built in 1966 in Japan. This 115 feet steel hulled cargo ship becomes a residence to a variety of marine species and becomes a must dive site for fish watchers. The currents at Alma Jane Wreck may be fierce at times. The maximum depth of this dive site is at 30 feet and the hull remains to be on intact condition and becomes a home to small critters such as morays, stingrays and mantis shrimp.

Hot Spring

One famous Puerto Galera’s dive site is the volcanic hot springs which is located at the Chicken Feather Island. Most divers love to have a close encounter with hot bubbles rising from the ocean floor by sitting on a depth of about 20 meters to watch this incredible sight.

Sabang Wreck

Lying at the middle of Sabang Bay is Puerto Galera’s dive site that consists of three wrecks that are on variable decaying states. The Sabang wreck offers a great night diving experience where one can easily swim its depth in a matter of few minutes. Among the marine life inhabiting the Sabang wrecks are ghost pipefish, scorpionfish, morays and mantis shrimps.

Verde Island

Verde Island is one of the Puerto Galera’s dive sites famous for its two standout dive sites: the Washing Machine and Pinnacle. The Washing Machine consists of small canyons and a 15 meter swim through area. Divers are advised to have a good guide when diving through the current since the water rushes from various directions with a washing machine effect owing to the different directions of the passages.

The Pinnacle on the other hand consists of ferocious currents with columns starting from 60 meters and is narrowing as it begins to reach the surface. The dive consists of diving as close to the pinnacle as possible and to descend to the desired dive depth. One can zigzag through the pinnacle to explore the fantastic sights of corals. Marine life, schools of pelagic fish and sea snakes can also be sighted. The Pinnacle is a world class dive that offers excellent visibility to divers.