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Welcome to the World’s Best Diving Destination
Greetings and welcome to the best diving in the world. In the following pages, you will see amazing underwater dive sites full of healthy coral reefs, beautiful fish, seascapes, sunken wrecks, and much more. The Philippines is a wonderful combination of ocean diversity. Our many islands and large landmasses provide an amazing array of habitats under the sea that attracts some of the most unusual and sought-after creatures in the world.
SCUBA diving is a highly-developed industry in the Philippines. Divers and non-divers will enjoy the facilities and amenities available in the wide choice of special destinations. Couple this with the exceptional quality of service and unpretentious hospitality of the Filipino people and a visit to The Philippines becomes a sublime experience. Some amazing reefs – like those in Anilao, Calamians, and Cebu islands – are just a shore entry away.
Visit Coron, Apo Reef, and Tubbataha for clear water, healthy corals, and extreme dropoffs. Take a trip to Malapascua to see rare thresher sharks. Numerous Marine Protected Areas provide a look at the tiny and rare macro and muck creatures sought by divers worldwide. The country has amazing geographic attractions. Combine this with a welcoming and outgoing culture and wonderful cuisines and you have a destination that truly “has it all”. Your Philippine Dive Team welcomes you to this wonderful world
Diving History
In the Philippines, the birth of sport diving is generally said to have taken place in Anilao, which is still a popular dive destination to this day. The pioneering Aquatropical Divers opened in 1966 and scuba tourism was born.
That makes sport diving here one of the earliest founded anywhere on the globe. Since then, the sport has blossomed, expanding to areas like Puerto Galera and now pretty much all across the country. Divers used small traditional outriggers back then to get to the dive sites and many beach dive areas were found.
The Philippines was also at the forefront of the technical diving revolution in the mid-1990s. Puerto Galera, well placed logistically from a gas and equipment point of view and with deep water just offshore, was the starting point. Other dive centers followed soon after. Wreck diving meccas such as Coron Bay and Subic Bay opened up to tek. John Bennett took the world scuba depth record in 2001 off Puerto Galera. That put the Philippines on the radar of technical divers internationally.
Now, the Philippines still offers outriggers, but these are custom-made for diving. They are quite large and comfortable with plenty of room to relax, to walk around, to put on dive and camera gear, and to get dressed. These boats have modern safety features as well as toilets, small kitchens, and covered cabins. And modern dive boats are being introduced.
The End
While growing in spurts over the decades, the industry in the last ten years has seen phenomenal growth. Modern facilities and beautiful resorts combined with excellent multi-lingual training beckon divers from all over the world. Many local guides are highly certified, excellent marine life spotters, and extremely qualified divemasters and instructors.
