A Guide to Dive Sites and Marine Creatures in the Islands of Visayas

The Philippines is renowned for its diving, located at the apex of the famed Coral Triangle. If you’re looking for a guide to dive sites in the Visayas, the diving is hard to beat, featuring a colorful kaleidoscope of macro life and nutrient-rich waters attracting pelagics.

Moalboal, Cebu

Dive with massive schools of Sardines in Cebu

Moalboal is known for the incredible Sardine Run just off Panagsama Beach, where millions of sardines form a mesmerizing bait ball.

• Thousands of sardines just off the beach. Predators include tuna and sometimes the elegant Thresher Shark. Turtles are also a common sighting.
• Pescador Island: Features sheer vertical drop-offs and swim-throughs. Marine life includes turtles, schools of fusiliers, snappers, and a healthy population of lionfish. Macro life such as frogfish and nudibranchs can also be found.

Dauin & Apo Island, Negros Oriental

Dauin is famous for muck diving on its black sand slopes. Apo Island, a marine protected area, is only a short boat ride away, providing fantastic coral reefs.

Painted frogfish by Carole Harris

• Dauin Muck Sites (Atmosphere House Reef, Dauin North & South, Cars Wrecks): This is a macro heaven. You may encounter bizarre and rare marine life such as mimic octopuses, flamboyant cuttlefish, seahorses, frogfish (including the black painted or giant variety), ghost pipefish, nudibranchs, shrimp, crabs. The Car Wrecks are also home to Lionfish, Blue-spotted stingrays, and Harlequin ghost pipefish.
• Apo Island: Known for vibrant coral gardens. Divers and snorkelers frequently see abundant Green Sea Turtles. Dive sites like Masma Point are known for schools of jackfish. Other sightings include barracuda, snappers, nudibranchs, and sea snakes.

Healthy and vibrant coral reefs at Apo Island

Panglao Island, Bohol

Panglao is the main tourist hub for Bohol. Diving here often centers on Balicasag Island.

• Balicasag Island: Considered one of the most diverse and spectacular dive sites globally. Famous for its large jack fish swarms and numerous sea turtles. At sites like Black Forest, you can also see tuna, barracudas, and frogfish.
• Panglao Coast (Napaling, Doljo Point): Napaling is noted for large sardine swarms. At Doljo Point, divers may encounter large barracuda, eagle rays, jack fish swarms, and occasionally hammerhead sharks.

Dumaguete acts as a vital connection point, allowing travelers to easily hop between major islands in the region. This city provides a convenient base for exploring other islands in the region, and to save time, it avoids the 24-hour no-fly surface interval. Ferries are a common mode of transport between these hubs in the Visayas region.

This route:

1. Start at Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB).
2. Take a domestic flight from Mactan-Cebu (CEB) to Sibulan-Dumaguete City (DGT) which is only a 30-minute flight! Establish Dumaguete as the base for Dauin and Apo Island.
3. Utilise ferries to link Dumaguete City to the island of Bohol via Tagbilaran. And South Cebu via the port of Liloan to Moalboal and Oslob. 

This is just a glimpse of the underwater wonders that make the Visayas the apex of the Coral Triangle. To truly experience this colorful kaleidoscope of macro life and encounter the majestic pelagics of our nutrient-rich waters, you need the perfect base. At Atmosphere Resorts & Spa, we put you at the epicenter of it all. Book your stay with us, and let’s turn this guide into your personal dive log!