Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MARINE LIFE
The beauty of diving in the Philippines is that you don't have to dive deep to see some
incredible marine life. Among the commonest are the exotic and brightly coloured
angelfish
,
damselfish
and eye-catching
humbugs
, striped black-and-white like the sweet. In shallow
coral gardens you'll see inquisitive
clownfish
defending their coral nests either singly or in
pairs, perhaps with minuscule juveniles at their sides. Also unmissable are the frenetic shoals
of
dragonets
and
dottybacks
, with their psychedelic colouring.
Moray eels
take shelter in
crevices in the reef and it's not unusual to see one even in the shallows. Even
turtles
can be
seen at this depth.
Where the coral plunges away steeply into an inky darkness, at depths of five or six metres,
you'll see bright green
parrot fish
and mesmerising
batfish
, who patrol the reef edge in
family shoals. These slopes and fore reefs are also home to
snappers
,
goatfish
and
wrasses
,
the largest of which - the Napoleon wrasse - can dwarf a person. Deeper still, but usually in
the more isolated dive sites such as Tubbataha, it's possible to see sharks, including
white tip
reef sharks
and
grey reef sharks
, while if you're lucky an immense but gentle
manta ray
or
whale shark
might drift lazily past.
Poisonous species include the beautifully hypnotic
lionfish
(also called the flamefish),
which hunts at night and has spines along its back that can deliver a nasty dose of venom,
while shoals of
jellyfish
are common at certain times of year.
take to it, try a gentle twenty-minute “
discovery
dive
”, guided by an instructor for around P1500, or
the longer PADI
Discover Scuba Diving
course for
around P3000. The main course for beginners is the
PADI
Open Water Diver Course
(from around
P20,000) which will allow you to dive at depths up
to 18m. You might want to consider doing the pool
sessions and written tests before you travel, then
doing the checkout dives at a PADI resort in the
Philippines. It saves time and means you don't have
to slave over homework in the tropical heat. If you
choose this option, make sure you bring your PADI
referral documents with you.
Once you've passed the course and been given
your certification card, you are free to dive not
just anywhere in the Philippines, but anywhere in
the world. You might also want to take another
step up the diving ladder by enrolling in a more
advanced course. There are many to choose from,
including
Advanced Open Water Diver
(from
P16,000), Emergency First Response (from P7000),
which is also suitable for non-divers and
Rescue
Diver
(from around P20,000).
dives, but vary significantly according to destination;
Tubbataha costs at least US$1200-1600 per week,
while trips around Coron start at around US$130 per
day. Most of the boats used have air-conditioned
en-suite cabins for two. Packages often include
unlimited diving and are always full board.
LIVEABOARD OPERATORS
Atlantis Dive Resorts
W
atlantishotel.com. Operates the 32m-long
Atlantis Azores
with eight luxurious cabins with private bathrooms. Trips
to Puerto Galera and Apo Reef (Oct-Dec), Tubbataha (mid-March to early
June), Dumaguete (June-Sept) and southern Leyte for the whalesharks
(Jan-March). Most trips US$3295-3790 for 7 nights, 6 days.
Expedition Fleet
W
expeditionfleet.com. Trips to Tubbataha on the
ten-cabin MY
Stella Maris Explorer
(from US$2400; 8 days, 7 nights).
Seadive Resort
W
seadiveresort.com. Trips to Apo Reef and the
Coron wrecks from P22,500 (2 nights/3 days), including five dives and
all entry fees.
Victory Divers
W
victorydivers.com. Overnight trips from Boracay to
Apo Reef where there are whale sharks, sharks, rays and turtles. P7500/
day (minimum of four people).
RECOMPRESSION CHAMBERS
Batangas City
St Patrick's Hospital, Lopez Jaena St
T
043 723 8388,
W
divemed.com.ph.
Cavite City
Sangley Recompression Chamber, NSWG, Philippine
Fleet Naval Base
T
046 524 2061.
Cebu City
Cebu Recompression Chamber, Viscom Station Hospital,
Military Camp Lapu-Lapu, Lahug
T
032 232 2464.
Manila
V. Luna Recompression Chamber, AFP Medical Center, V.
Luna Rd, Quezon City
T
02 920 7183,
W
afpmedicalcenter.com.
Sea Dive Resort
Barangay 3 Don Pedro St, Coron (Palawan)
T
0917 808 6700,
W
seadiveresort.com.
Liveaboards
There are two great advantages to diving from a
liveaboard (a boat that acts as a mobile hotel) - you
can get to places that are inaccessible by bangka
and once you're there you can linger for a night or
two. Liveaboards allow you to explore terrific destina-
tions such as Apo Reef off the coast of Mindoro and
Tubbataha in the Sulu Sea, arguably the best dive
spot in the country. Packages include all meals and
