Diving Anilao

A country like the Philippines has much to offer the travelling diver from the better known sites like Apo Reef, Pescador Island at Moalboal, the Coron wrecks at Busuanga, the Subic Bay wrecks at Olongapo, Dumaguete, Sogod Bay on Leyte & Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea. Then there are the new sites constantly being opened up in the archipelago in the islands away from the main island of Luzon by expats opening dive resorts, exploration dives from live-a-board boats that are offering big fish encounters, macro photography & pristine reefs.     

Anilao, close to the port city of Batangas on the main island of Luzon is frequented by divers from Manila; this is the prime training location for many of the Manila dive shops catering to both expat & local divers. However, Anilao offers the diver more than just a convenient clear, warm water training location.

Well known for the stunning macro photography, Anilao is a muck diving paradise easily accessable from Manila. While I would not personally undertake an entire dive trip to the Philippines from Australia to only visit Anilao; should I be returning from a dive trip to many of the outstanding locations of the Philippines and have a few days free, instead of hanging out in Manila, a relatively cheap and easy trip south to Anilao is a worthwhile & recommended experience.     

Getting to Anilao from Manila can be achieved a number of ways, a private car costing $50 USD taking two hours or alternately, a bus ride from Buendia bus station in Manila to Batangas overpass will set the intrepid traveller back 166 peso ($4.15), a jeepney ride clutching your bags and cramped in together with old women returning from the market, young children in school uniforms and their mothers chaperoning them are all crammed into the back of these outstanding marvels of automotive engineering.

Once in Anilao, a tricycle ride is required to the Calumpan Peninsular where the resorts are located. The tricycle ride was 100 peso ($2.50) delivering me to my chosen resort, usually a dedicated dive resort catering for the large numbers of divers mostly arriving from Manila for the weekends.

I was met at aquaVenture by Ronnie Corpuz from Anilao Diving, Ronnie a budding local entrepreneur with his team instructor brothers are a local freelance operation organising accommodation, transport & diving. Ronnie was previously the operations manager at Sunbeam Dive Resort for six years before embarking on his own business venture with his brothers.

The Corpuz brothers are dedicated to their profession, proud guides with a wealth of local knowledge & experience and an extremely keen eye for detail. The enthusiasm of Romy, who was my guide during my short stay at Anilao is infectious and I would highly recommend Romy Corpuz as a world class dive guide. Romy has a well trained eye for spotting small and unusual marine creatures makes the difference between an ordinary or outstanding dive. You don’t go to Anilao expecting to see masses of turtles, great barracuda, whalesharks, schools of jacks or any of the other large pelagics. What Anilao is to the travelling diver is macro encounters all year round with the best season for diving from November to May.

The Cathedral is one of the best known sites in the area where the banca moors in shallow water allowing the diver to swim down the sloping coral to the bommie, ideal depth is shallower than 24 metres allowing the diver plenty of time to explore. Dive times are kept around the 45 minute mark which is quite short compared to the 60 – 70 minutes usually encountered in other parts of the Philippines, but I have no complaints.

The dive sites around the smaller Caban & Sombrero Islands located on the northern tip of the larger Tingloy Island were my preference, I found the sites to be the most interesting with some nice drop-offs allowing the opportunity a multi-level profile up the wall. There are also a number of small caverns to explore on some of the sloping walls with the shallow corals ideal for off-gassing.

Getting around to the dive sites is achieved by the local outrigger style banca boats, these are an ideal diving platform and the crew is more than happy to take a single diver out. For the dive sites closer to Tingloy Island, a two tank dive is usually undertaken, afternoon dives closer to the peninsula is usually the order of the day for the afternoon dives. The sites closer to the Calumpan Peninsular allow you to return to your resort between dives and take a lunch break should you so desire. 

Due to the proximity of Manila, a couple of morning dives can be taken without the need for waking at an unreasonable hour and you can still be in Manila in the evening for the nocturnal activities the city has on offer.