News
The Philippines: A Diver’s Dream Destination
With over 7,000 islands surrounded by one of the richest marine environments in the world, the Philippines promises a spectacular diving holiday.
Forming the tip of the Coral Triangle, these waters are unmatched as the global centre of marine biodiversity and are home to many thousands of fish and coral species. Discover historic wrecks, plentiful macro life, dramatic wall dives, turtles, mantas, sharks and whale sharks. Due to its outstanding range of diving and incredible natural beauty, the Southeast Asian paradise of the Philippines is now firmly established as a top dive destination for UK divers.
Mantas, Macro and Marine Sanctuaries
The Philippines is ideal for twin centre stays due to its geography and diversity. Encounter elusive thresher sharks at Malapascua, hunt for critters in Dumaguete and Dauin, explore Apo Reef and Verde Island in Mindoro and drift over stunning coral gardens and plunging walls in Bohol.
The Philippines has something for everyone: offering beginners protected bays and shallow reefs, whilst more advanced divers are also well catered for with dramatic drop-offs and historical wrecks.
Coron: Encounter the Japanese Fleet
Coron Bay, just north of Palawan, is one of the world’s finest wreck diving destinations, featuring an entire Japanese fleet sunk by American forces in 1944.
- Apo Reef: famous for its dramatic drop-offs down to 400 metres, teeming with marine life and good chance of pelagics
- Dramatic limestone cliffs, thermal lakes and underwater caves
Anilao: the Heart of the Coral Triangle
- Rich in marine life and coral
- Macro diving: great for photographers
- Sheltered bays, little current and great visibility
Dumaguete: a Photographer’s Paradise
- Attractive beaches: dark/black sands – ideal for macro spotting
- Apo Island: dedicated marine sanctuary with dramatic wall diving and an abundance of marine life
Malapascua: the Best Place on Earth for Thresher Sharks!
Surrounded by white sandy beaches, the tiny island of Malapascua has gained a reputation for thresher shark sightings. Numerous other sharks can also be seen, as well as mantas.
- Wall diving, wreck diving, macro diving
- Unlimited boat diving packages
Puerto Galera: the Coral Triangle and Much More…
Located just 3.5 hours south of Manila, Puerto Galera’s stunning marine park offers some of the most accessible diving in the Philippines.
- Macro diving: great for photographers
- Verde Island: dramatic reef and wall diving
- Pelagic sightings
Bohol: Combine Tranquillity with World-Class Diving
A tropical haven of natural beauty, with pristine beaches and colourful dive sites for both divers and snorkelers to enjoy.
- Pelagic sightings
- Balicasag Island offers dramatic wall diving
- A rich biodiversity of marine life
Combining the renowned Filipino hospitality with a true melting pot of cultures, when you visit the Philippines an unforgettable diving holiday awaits.
Regaldive offer land-based trips and liveaboards in the Philippines. To find out more, call the Regaldive team on 01353 659999, or visit Diving in the Philippines.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 1
For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.
Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.
All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.
I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).
I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.
Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.
Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.
Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.
After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.
Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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