Dive Sites
1. MANILA CHANNEL - 4 star
Location: The channel between Medio and Paniquian Islands
Access: 15 min by banca west around the northwest tip of Medio Island to the western end of Coral Gardens.
Conditions: Usually calm with a slight current although it could get rough. Visibility can reach 65 ft.
Average depth: 40 ft
Maximum depth: 43ft
The reef from the shore has 6 ½ ft rocks and a small purposely sunk motorboat often used for night dives.
The dive follows rubble coral and sand along the edge of a 6 to 10 ft drop off. Over the drop off there is an abundance of good stony and soft corals although these are mostly of the beige rather than the more colorful varieties. Large leathery corals are everywhere, together with lots of mushroom corals and bubble coral. These are several different types of anemones with clownfish, leopardfish sea cucumbers, colorful linckia sea stars, feather duster worms, Christmas-tree worms and lots of small reef fish.
2. CORAL GARDENS - 3 star
Location: The west face of Medio Island
Access: 15 min by banca
Conditions: usually calm, though it can get rough. Best dived on a flood tide for good visibility which can reach 65 ft.
Average depth: 20 ft
Maximum depth: 30 ft
The area is a good dive for the novice. The terrain shelves out from the shore to 30 ft. Lots of corals, both stony and soft are found around 6 ½ ft level, with more sand coral heads in the deeper water.
There are some crevices deeper down with moray eels and the occasional immature Whitetip Reef Shark.
3. BATANGAS CHANNEL - 4 star
Location: The northern end of the channel between Medio Island and Coco Beach.
Access: 10 min by banca to the western end of Coco Beach
Conditions: Usually calm with some strong currents. Visibility can reach to 65 ft
Average depth: 45 ft
Maximum depth: 90 ft
Experienced divers would treat this as a drift dive on a strong flood tide. There are lots of large barrel sponges up to 6 ½ ft high around the 45 ft depth. When the current is running there are schools of jacks, sweetlips, several stingrays and the occasional Whitetip or Grey Reef Shark.
4. THE HILLS - 3 star
Location: The southeast end of the channel between Medio Island and Coco Beach
Access: 10 min by banca west around Coco Beach to the southeast end of Batangas Channel.
Conditions: Usually calm, but can be rough with strong currents. Visibility can reach 65 ft
Average depth: 40 ft
Maximum depth: 40 ft
This is a safe dive for novices so long as they accurately hit slack water. Good soft corals and sponges abound, with small reef fish teeming around them.
5. LA LAGUNA POINT - 3 star
Location: Off La Laguna Point
Access: A few minutes by banca west to La Laguna Point
Conditions: Usually calm with a gentle current. Visibility can reach 65 ft.
Average depth: 40 ft
Maximum depth: 50 ft
A short wall from 40 ft to 50 ft with lots of small reef fish, nudibranchs and colorful crinoids.
6. SABANG POINT - 4 star
Location: Off Sabang Point
Access: 5 min east by banca
Conditions: usually calm with a slight current. Visibility can reach 65 ft
Average depth: 50 ft
Maximum depth: 72 ft
A good wall dropping down to 72 ft with stony corals, soft corals, fish and invertebrates. A ridge coming up from the wall to 16 ft is covered with even more corals and colorful crinoids. Good area for night dive.
7. MONKEY WRECK - 4 star
Location: East of Sabang Point
Access: 8 min east by banca
Conditions: Generally calm, but can have some current. Visibility can reach 65 ft.
Average depth: 115 ft
Maximum depth: 130ft
A 65ft local island transport(pig boat), sunk by Asia Divers in early 1993, lies in 130ft and is a little dangerous, as it rolls around in the swell. It is already collecting its own resident fish, including a small school of batfish.
8. MONKEY BEACH - 3 STAR
Location: Off Monkey beach
Access: 10min by banca east until opposite Monkey Beach
Conditions: General calm, often with less current than at the dives sites further east. Visibility can reach 65 ft
Average depth: 40 ft
Maximum depth: 60 ft
A pretty coral slope down to 60 ft makes an easy dive, good for novices. Small coral heads have crinoids, nudibranchs and plenty of small reef fish. There are sea stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers on the sand.
9. ERNIE'S CAVE - 4 star
Location: East of Monkey Beach
Access: 10 min by banca
Conditions: Usually calm with a medium-strong current, but it can get rough with strong currents. Visibility can reach 65ft.
Average depth: 72ft
Maximum depth: 100 ft
There was a resident large lone grouper who the divers fondly called Ernie but eventually left.
The area has two small caves, one at 72ft and the other at 90ft. There is a plentiful of fish life, including schools of surgeonfish, unicornfish, jacks, snappers and fusiliers, as well as the smaller reef fish and occasionally White tip Reef Sharks. There are good stony and soft corals, sponges, small gorgonian sea fans and crinoids.
10. DUNGON - 3 star
Location: West of Wreck Point
Access: 15 min by banca until just west of the point.
Conditions: Generally choppy, it can get very rough, with strong currents. Visibility can reach 65 ft
Average depth: 60 ft
Maximum depth: 100 ft
An easy, multilevel dive with drop offs from 40 ft to 90 ft, lot of good soft corals, colorful crinoids, most reef fish and the occasional tuna.
11. WRECK POINT - 4 star
Location: The first point west of Escarceo Point
Access: 18 min by banca east to Wreck Point
Conditions: Usually a bit choppy on the surface with a strong current, but it can get very rough with fierce currents. Visibility can reach 80 ft on a flood tide.
Average depth: 80 ft
Maximum depth: 100 ft
There is one wreck on the beach, and a further two small wodden wrecks - one 40ft long and the other 50ft long - sunk by Asia Divers in early 1993 in 90 ft of water.
You will find a gentle slope of sand with large heads of all types of stony corals and some rock boulders. There are a lot of small reef fish, angelfish, butterfly fish, damselfish, sergeant majors, parrotfish, groupers, surgeonfish, triggerfish, trumpet fish, lionfish and anthias. There are also puffer fish, jacks, sweet lips, juvenile Pinnate Batfish and moray eels, with lizardfish, goatfish, gobies, leopard fish sea cucumbers and Linchia sea stars down on the sand. There are colorful crinoids everywhere.
12. WEST ESCARCEO - 4 star
Location: Just west of Escarceo Point and hole in the wall.
Access: 20 min east by banca
Conditions: Usually a bit coppy on the surface with strong currents, but it can get very rough with fierce currents. Visibility can reach 80ft on a flood tide.
Average depth: 60 ft
Maximum depth: 90 ft
On a gentle slope from 30 ft to 90 ft you will find many large coral heads on sand. Other attractions include some very large, healthy table corals good boulder corals with Christmas tree worms and feather duster worms, blue wand white sponges, large barrel sponges, blue and yellow sea squirts, many different species of nudibranchs, flat worms, sea cucumbers, sea stars and colorful crinoids. There are many male Titan Triggerfish guarding eggs in nests, groupers, pufferfish and trumpertfish, schools of Ehrenberg's Snappers, jacks, fusiliers, sweetlips, Moorish idols and lone blacktail snappers, lionfish and Zebra lionfish.
The abundance of fish and marine life makes this a good dive for photographers.
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