Diving in Panay

Panay Island offers scuba diving opportunities for all levels, from absolute beginners to advanced divers. Snorkeling is also a very popular activity on Panay's beaches. You will see rich colorful marine life and beautiful hard corals.

The beautiful sites were formed by volcanic activities and are only minutes away from shore see directions on the Panay Island diving map. Looking for wall diving? Panay Island has about four walls at depths ranging from 10 to 98 feet (3 to 30 meters). Sicogon Island in Iloilo province is quite a popular site and its coral reefs are ideal for both snorkeling and scuba diving. Local environmentalists make a lot of efforts to maintain corals that was damaged by dynamite fishing.

Antique Province is located on the west side of Panay Island. Its long sandy beaches are rich in beautiful dive sites. It has great dive sites for beginners which are also suitable for open water course dives going to 59 feet (18 meters). There are deeper reefs that start at 16 feet (5 meters) then drop to 131 feet (40 meters deep), providing greater depths for the more adventurous diver. The bottom is sandy and has great coral formations, soft and hard corals can be seen here as well as some pelagic fish.

The good visibility here makes it excellent for underwater photography. Off Nablag Island (South Mararison) in Antique, there's a reef composed of a mixture of hard and soft corals. Although this reef is only accessible by boat it's really worth the visit. There's a lot of pelagic like barracuda, grouper, jack and coral fish inhabiting the island. The reef starts at 16 feet (5 meters) and is table shaped with steep drop offs at the sides. The depth then drops to about 131 feet (40 meters) into the blue.

The drop offs North West of Panay are well known for their black coral forests and many caves. They go to a depth of about 114 feet (35 meters). However particular attention must be paid because the currents here can be strong at times. Groupers, tuna and jacks are regularly seen here and if you're lucky you may even spot some turtles.

Travel to Panay

Panay Island is located at the center of the Philippine Islands on the northwest of Negros Island and southeast of Mindoro Island. Antique, one of Panay's Provinces boasts a beautiful long shore line, attractive coral reef and drop offs.