Diving in Anilao and Batangas

A province that is famous for excellent dive sites and the world’s lowest volcano, Batangas is going nowhere but up. It is a thriving tourist destination replete with open beaches and sheltered coves, subterranean caves and deep harbors, a preserved heritage and brave men in history.

The area around Anilao is home to some of the most pristine reefs in the country and it is particularly popular with photographers and those seeking macro life. The waters here have pretty much everything you need with sandy slopes, drop-offs and walls, swim throughs and overhangs, pretty coral gardens and so on. Visibility here tends to be very good and upwards of 20m is common.

The reefs play host to a huge range of smaller species including nudibranch, shrimps, ribbon and moray eels, frogfish, mimic and blue ring octopus, mandarin fish etc. Larger species are abundant and you will regularly see jacks, snappers, trigger fish and angel fish. At certain sites the strong currents may attract turtles, white tip and black tip reef sharks. Blue spotted and eagle rays are often seen in the deeper waters. There is also a profusion of hard and soft corals and sponges in these waters.

Its many dive sites that are ideal for poking around and observing marine life, and outstanding for macro photography. Multi-hued crinoids are prolific. The variety of nudibranchs is unmatched. Night dives are specially nice and often reveal unusual creatures like sea hares, sea goblins, catfish eels, ghost pipe fishes, blue-ringed octopuses, mandarin fishes, and snake eels.

The area’s best known dive site, coral-covered Cathedral is spectacular at night. One of the prettiest dives in the area, Sepok has nice coral gardens and a vertical wall.

Dive sites in Ligpo Island and Sombrero Island are home to different types of corals. Enjoy reefs diving on ledges that drop to 90 feet (27 meters) deep and more. Diving spots like Batalan, Mapating Rock and Layag-Layag Reef are great for snorkeling and home to a variety of coral formations also shoals of pelagic fish and small reef fish are common to be seen.

Destinations like Anilao-Mabini, Culebra Island and Malajibomanoc Island are home to great numbers of dive sites and are located minutes away from Batangas. These islands are surrounded by shallow ledges at a depth range of 15 to 25 feet (4 to 8 meters). Soft and hard corals are seen on these ledges and it is a great spot to watch sharks and many other sea lives.

Famous is the Verde Island drop offs at great depths 0 to 300 feet (0 to 91 meters). However you must beware of the strong currents here.

You can dive on the Spanish galleon which sank in 1620. The visibility is good and the site is home to many beautiful fish, large gorgonians, and plenty of soft and hard corals.

Travel to Anilao and Batangas

Batangas is a beautiful province on the southwestern part of Luzon, with beautiful sandy beaches that attract many divers and snorkeling fans. Its attractive dive sites are ideal for observing marine life, and outstanding for macro photography.

Batangas offers a huge diversity of dive sites and marine lives inhabiting these sites. Batangas diving includes all kinds of dive sites that may suits divers of all levels. Ship wrecks, coral reefs, drop offs, caves and tunnels are numerous. Batangas possesses some of the best dive sites in the Philippines.

Batangas dive sites are accessible by land or by sea. Anilao-Mabini, Balayan Bay and Nasugbu are parts of this district and home to many beautiful dive sites and attractive coral reefs with huge diversity of sea life, also it offers great visibility most of the year.

Anilao, close to Batangas is an area just two and a half hours south of Manila that is a very popular diving destination. Considered by many to be the first region in the Philippines to attract scuba divers.

In the 60's, a whole coral reef was transplanted onto a large rock formation close to the shore. Contrary to popular belief at the time that the adventure would fail, the coral has flourished. As a result, diving has developed and is at the forefront of the industry in the Philippines to this day.

Visibility is good and the opportunities for photography are excellent. Most of the best dives are actually found around the islands of Sombrero and Maricaban, a short boat trip away from Anilao. A short drive north of Anilao is the quiet town of Nasugbu where good diving is abundant, so get out your magnifying glasses and your cameras and be prepared to swim with your head down.

The short journey time from Manila and the quality of the diving makes this a very popular destination for those seeking a break from the capital, for those taking diving courses and for people staying here as part of a two centre holiday.

The emphasis in Anilao is firmly on the outdoors and in particular the water, as well as diving, visitors engage in Kayaking, snorkelling, sailing and island hopping.