Visayas scuba diving

Visayas scuba diving

Scuba Diving in the Visayas means you will be scuba diving in one of the most popular dive areas of the Philippines. Visayas are a group of islands, in the central area of the Philippines, which hold all the beauty underwater. It begins with the smaller macro life of which there is a lot in all shapes, sizes and colours but fear not, the size of the marine life increases up to the spectacular whale sharks, thresher sharks and more pelagics. Visayas scuba diving has something for everyone; underwater plateaus, wall dives, wreck dives and flourishing coral reefs and clear waters for avid underwater photographers.

MARINE LIFE IN VISAYAS

The marine life in the Visayas is extremely varied but impressive none the less. A lot of the dive areas have plateau and wall dives which attract mini jungles of hard and soft corals, there are boulders of corals, large sponges, micro marine life including nudibranchs, lobster and much more. Some unique Lionfish, Scorpion fish, Cuttle fish and Frog fish pop up all around as well. Scuba diving the Visayas means the chance to see the elusive and adorable Thresher shark, Manta rays, Whale sharks; which are around from March till June, and many sea turtles.

BEST DIVE SITES IN VISAYAS

NEGROS + APO ISLAND: The Apo Islands are part of the Negro dive area and together they provide scuba divers with an extremely large variety of underwater spectacles to explore. There are steep walls covered in jungles of corals which are inhabited by many species of micro life. You can also do some fantastic muck dive safaris, including night muck dives and there is even a dive site with black sand, which in contrast makes the corals even more colourful!

CEBU: Scuba diving in Cebu includes a few marine sanctuaries which means preserved marine environments and so stunning dives. If you are hoping to dive with sharks then you will have a high chance of seeing them during early morning dives. There are also wall dives and caves which are covered in large sponges, back corals and surrounded by schools of tropical fish. One of the more famous sites in the Sunken Island; an underwater plateau covered by large schools of Jacks and Tunas.

BOHOL: This is also known to be some of the most spectacular dive sites in the Philippines. You will run into some unique looking scorpion fish, Frog fish, batfish, sea snakes and caves filled with schools of fish. This are is also a Turtle Paradise where you are almost guaranteed to see turtles on every dive.

MALAPASCUA: In the northern tip of Cebu is the Malapascau dive area, this is a wreck divers heaven, with around five ship wrecks including a ferry, a Japanese warship and a Japanese cargo ship from WWII. There is also the famous Shark Point which is a plateau that descends from 20m-60m and the best place to see Thresher sharks, as well as white tip reef sharks and Manta rays. There is also Gato Island where you can spot the adorable Coral sharks.

MOALBOAL: This is one of the most inexpensive areas to dive in and one of its main spectacles is its own version of the Sardine run: large schools of sardines that just surround you.

BEST TIME TO DIVE IN VISAYAS

SEASONS AND CONDITIONS: It is possible to dive all year round in the Visayas, but the absolute best time to go scuba diving in Visayas is from October to March, with the dry season being April and May and the rainy season from July to August, but this does not have much of a negative effect on your diving experience. The visibility is on average excellent; 30 m (90 ft).

WATER TEMPERATURE: The temperature of the water also varies, but is always at a pleasant temperature. The temperature at its lowest is 23 C (73 F) and heats up to 30 C (86 F), all for which you only need a wetsuit, and in the dry season with the warmest water temperatures a shorty wetsuit will suffice, or even no wetsuit!

EXPERIENCE LEVEL FOR DIVING VISAYAS

Scuba Diving in Visayas means seeing some of the best dive spots in the world, and it is possible for everyone of any level of diving. There are numerous dive sites in each dive area, an each with their own level of difficulty, some have quite strong currents or are extremely deep and so those are only for the more experienced divers. In general it is very beneficial for you if you have your Open Water Certification and for some dives including wreck dives a further certification is needed.

HOW DO I GET TO VISAYAS?

The main entrance port into the Philippines coming from international destinations is Cebu City, one of the largest cities in the Philippines and this is the most convenient port to arrive at to go diving in the Visayas. The international airport here is called Mactan-Cebu International Airport and receives flights from Manila, other south East Asian destinations and Dubai, there are also other international flights that arrive here but always through a transfer in a neighbouring country. If you have signed up for a Philippines liveaboard trip, then they will depart from the port of Cebu City. Cebu itself has an array of waterfalls and jungles for you to go and explore during your time there, for some on-land adventures!