Ultimate Itineraries for Diving in the Philippines!

First Stop: Manila & Puerto Galera.

You will likely enter the country in Manila. You can spend a day or two acclimating, however, I would move away as quickly as possible since I believe the Philippines has much more to offer than another busy city. You can either travel by car or public bus to Batangas Pier. I recommend checking out the button below "Puerto Galera Details" on how to best get here.

Once in Puerto Galera, Sabang you should try to seek out "Tina's Diving" or any other dive center that you like of course. You can easily stay here for a week, or just 2-4 days. The area has a lot of dive sites available along the coast to keep you busy for a while!

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Second Stop: Coron & El Nido.

You can fly to Coron next. It's a small domestic flight that will drop you off at a small airport, in the northern part of the island. Once landed there will be a transfer waiting, no need to arrange that in advance! This bus will take all passengers to all major towns and stays. Just tell them where you are staying and they will drop you off. Coron conveniently is the last stop for this transfer.

Once in Coron, you can stroll through the village and if you move a bit towards the exit of the town you will find reggae dive center along the main road that I can highly recommend!

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Diving in Coron is not only beautiful and diverse. The landscape is stunning! For more impressions I highly suggest you check out the link below!

I suggest staying in Coron anywhere between 3 and 7 days. You can freediving, canoe, or just explore the island on your deco-days.

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From Coron, it's quite easy to arrange a transfer by boat to El Nido. El Nido is a lovely little town on Palawan island, all the way to the northern part. You can go diving in crystal clear, warm waters, with many easy-going, shallow diving, lots of macro and muck diving, and even some caverns.

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From the El Nido area, you can go straight to Puerto Princessa to catch your flight to the next stop. However, A nice "in-between" might be to stop in, for example, Sabang, which is along the Western Coast and makes a beautiful remote stop for 2-3 days. You could go explore the tiny island around the area on day trips!

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Flying from Puerto Princessa might be the best way to continue your trip to Cebu. If you skipped El Nido for example and stuck around in Coron you might be better off, flying to Cebu City directly. Puerto Princessa is actually a quite nice town. You can easily spend a night here while transferring to your next place, however, it is far from as charming as previous villages.

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Third Stop: Cebu.

Once arrived in Cebu City you have a few options for going about your travels. I personally stayed the night in Cebu City which has a nice atmosphere and plenty of places to stay, eat and enjoy yourself!

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If you're heading north to Malapascua Island, the best idea, in my opinion, is to arrange a taxi via grab. It's quite the trip, but this part of your ultimate diving trip is quite essential! You could also take public transport and either way you will be dropped off at the Maya-Malapascua Ferry. On the pier, there is a small kiosk that will take you to Malapascua Island. The island is divided into a southern and northern part and the southern part is designed for tourism mostly. When not diving, you can explore the northern part by walking and meet the real people living there, and perhaps even witness a festival or party while you're there among the locals! 

 

Tip: If somehow you're stuck in Maya port, due to storms that can occur in September, don't panic. There is a small harbor just south of the port, where you will most likely find people who can transfer you. Due to Typhoons, sometimes ferries are canceled out of precaution, even when not seeming necessary. Be your own judge.

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Once in Malapascua seek out the diving centers along the eastern coastline. They will organize the famous "Thresher shark" dives, very early in the morning! Usually leaving 5.30 AM, thresher sharks come up to the cleaning stations around sunrise. These dives are usually requiring Advanced dive certifications though, be mindful.

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When leaving Malapascua Island you can travel, again by transferring a taxi or bus to Moalboal as your next stop. Moalboal is famous for its "Sardine run". The dive centers are located all along the coastline and the Sardine run dive is a shore dive! Moalboal is more than just "Sardine run" though. You can do amazing night diving, close to wrecks, and see some amazing reefs during the day. Well worth it! You can also do some waterfall climbing, hiking, and cycling.

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You can easily spend a week here and I highly suggest diving the "Sardine run" at least twice. 

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Fourth Stop: Dauin & Apo Island.

From Moalboal it's quite easy to get to Liloan Port all the way in the southern part of Cebu Island. Transfer to Dumaguete from here and get yourself a taxi to Dauin. Dauin is a lovely, small town situated a short ride from Dumaguete in between the main road and the ocean.

I highly recommend booking Bongo Bongo Divers. This hostel/ hotel/ dive center is one of the best I've ever experienced! 

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They organize probably the best muck diving in The Philippines, and also have their own boats to organize excursion trips to Apo Island.

This type of diving is different but very interesting as you'll mostly be searching for small, incredible creatures in all colors!

You could also choose to stay on Apo Island. The island is basic and tranquil and diving is absolutely amazing, in crystal clear water among pristine coral reefs.

 

To travel directly to Apo Island, drive a bit further south from Dumaguete to the port of Malatapay and arrange a boat ride on one of the boats leaving multiple times a day. However, I would prefer to stay in Dauin. 

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When wishing to return home, you can fly to Manila from Dumaguete or Cebu City.

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