Scuba Diving in Moalboal
Moalboal boats some of the easiest to access dive sites in the world, for shore dives typically a 20 meter swim from the beach, or 5 to 10 minute boat ride, will place you over a beautiful tropical wall, which provides diving opportunities for complete beginners fresh out of the open water course, through to seasoned divers who need a bit more adventure.
The majority of our dive sites are a short boat ride away, one of the more famous sites is Pescador Island, this is around 4 kilometers from Panagsama beach, another is Ronda marine park and Airport, these spots being the among furthest points from where we start, and still only take around 15 minutes to reach.
With warm waters in the 26 to 28 degree celsius range, and calm seas all year round Moalboal is the perfect base for all scuba divers. On top of that the Philippines is officially the center of the worlds marine biodiversity, you will see more species of coral and marine life here than anywhere else.
Below you will find some pictures and descriptions for a few of our favorite dives, there are plenty more, enough to keep you spoilt for choice for your vacation, and incentive to come back for another.
Sardine Ball
Sardine Ball
Average journey time: None, house reef
Average temperature: 27 degrees
Average visibility: 20 meters
Accessible: All year
Minimum certification: Suitable for beginners
Minimum depth: 3 meters
Maximum depth: 55 to 65 meters
Points of interest: The sardines
Commonly spotted marine life: Millions of Sardines, Lots and lots of hard and soft coral, Frog fish, Barrel sponges, Tuna, Jack fish, Whale Sharks, Moray eels, Hawksbill turtles, Green turtles, Thresher sharks
Airplane Wreck
Airplane Wreck
Average journey time: 15 minutes
Average temperature: 27 degrees
Average visibility: 40 meters
Accessible: All year
Minimum certification: Open Water
Minimum depth: 10 to 12 meters
Maximum depth: 45 to 55 meters
Points of interest: The small aircraft wreck
Commonly spotted marine life: Gorgonian sea fan forest which host a number of macro critters such as the pigmy sea horse, black and white tip sharks, eagle rays, mantis shrimps, squid, angelfish, ribbon eels
Tongo marine sanctuary
Tongo marine sanctuary
Average journey time: 10 minutes
Average temperature: 27 degrees
Average visibility: 30 to 40 meters
Accessible: All year
Minimum certification: Open Water
Minimum depth: 5 meters
Maximum depth: 55 to 65 meters
Points of interest: Lot of small caves and crevices
Commonly spotted marine life: This is probably the best site for spotting Hawksbill turtles and Green turtles, Nuibranche lovers will be in their element here, also a good site for macro, and at sunset you might find some mandarinfish
Narc Rock
Narc Rock
Average journey time: 5 minutes
Average temperature: 27 degrees
Average visibility: 40 meters
Accessible: All year
Minimum certification: Deep Diver
Minimum depth: 40 meters
Maximum depth: 65 to 75 meters
Points of interest: The tip of narc rock
Commonly spotted marine life: In the deeper parts of this site we often see eagle rays circling, with the occasional appearance of a white tip shark, just a few meters back from the rock is the vertical wall of balay reef, which is home to even more marine life.
White Beach
White Beach
Average journey time: 10 minutes
Average temperature: 27 degrees
Average visibility: 20 to 30 meters
Accessible: All year
Minimum certification: Open Water
Minimum depth: 6 meters
Maximum depth: 45 to 55 meters
Points of interest: The coral garden in the shallow part of the dive are incredible
Commonly spotted marine life: Densely packed hard and soft coral between 10 and 5 meters is already impressive, and it is also home to millions of critters. Keep an eye out for some large scorpion fish camouflaged in there, and some sleeping turtles.
Saavedra cave
Saavedra cave
Average journey time: 15 minutes
Average temperature: 27 degrees
Average visibility: 30 meters
Accessible: All year
Minimum certification: Cavern Diver
Minimum depth: 20 meters
Maximum depth: 26 meters
Points of interest: The flora around the entrance
Commonly spotted marine life: Gorgonian sea fans close to the entrance host some pigmys, inside the cavern you will see lots of shrimp, lion fish, scorpion fish and encrusted coral adorning the walls.
Tuble Cave
Tuble Cave
Average journey time: 15minutes
Average temperature: 27 degrees
Average visibility: light beam
Accessible: All year
Minimum certification: Intro to cave and Deco Procedures
Minimum depth: 16 meters
Maximum depth: 37 meters
Points of interest: Twin chambers
Commonly spotted marine life: Inside the cave lots of encrusted coral, shrimps and some eels. Outside the cave, where divers complete their decompression, the wall is a great macro site, move slowly and check in all of the crevices for critters.
Sunken Island
Sunken Island
Average journey time: 45 minutes
Average temperature: 26 to 27 degrees
Average visibility: 40 meters
Accessible: All year
Minimum certification: Advanced + 50 dives
Minimum depth: 26 meters
Maximum depth: 40 meters
Points of interest: The tombstone and surroundings
Commonly spotted marine life: This is a pinnacle poking out of the sand, it draws some impressive fish numbers to it. Most notable is the number of large lionfish, that make the island home, keep an eye out for large fish in the blue, strong currents make this a challenging dive.