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It can be said that Boracay is a truly beautiful island inside out. Not only does it boast of beautiful white sand beaches, the equally beautiful crowd that frequent its shores, and picturesque resorts and hotels, Boracay also boasts of pretty special scuba diving and snorkeling spots. The incredibly clear waters magnify the enjoyment of the diving and snorkeling experience. All diving takes place within a protected environment to help maintain the natural beauty of the surroundings both in and out of the water. With its beauty and wealth of activities to do, Boracay may very well just be the most perfect tropical getaway, not only in the Philippines, but in the whole world as well.
Scuba diving here is available all year round. However, one may prefer to dive during the dry season (October to May), when light winds blow over the calm and warm seas. With these conditions, a 3 mm suit or its equivalent should be sufficient.
Diving is possible during the wet months of June to September , but watch out for typhoons which may last for 3 days each time.
Angol Point: This is an excellent dive site for beginners and training dives. The reef is covered with stony corals, leather corals, nudibranchs, anemones, sea stars, and sea cucumbers. It is also a favorite for night dives and is a good spot for macro photography. Good for snorkeling, too.
Balinghai: Balinghai has two walls running parallel to each other: The deep wall features sharks and tuna, while the shallow wall is pockmarked by small holes which house anthias, lionfish, triggerfish, bannerfish, puffers, and gobies.
Bat Cave: This dive site has a series of small caves leading to the actual Bat Cave, which is also accessible by land. Conditions must be just right to dive here, since waves usually pound against the rocks and swift currents can take you offshore. Lobsters, sea snakes and of course, the bats overhead make for a fascinating dive.
Beach Night Dive: The beach is a little-known treasure trove for divers with a sharp eye. It is a sandy area with patches of sea grass and hard corals. Watch out for flounders, crabs, nudibranches, squid, and pipefish.
Camia: The Camia is Boracay’s resident underwater wreck. It is a 30 meter long cargo boat that was sank as a Fish Attraction Device in January 2001. It has since developed very nicely as an artificial reef. The residents now include a couple of huge red bass, some bluefin trevallies, scorpion fish, and a school of batfish.
Channel Drift: Strong tidal currents flow through the strait, taking divers on a joy ride through canyons and crevices. Coral growth here is very impressive and occasionally white tip sharks and trevallies are sighted.
Coral Garden: This dive site is right off the main beach and usually has calm and clear conditions. It is ideal for beginners and training dives. It is a popular fish-feeding area, so expect to see sergeant majors, butterflyfish, and batfish crowding around. A favorite snorkelling spot.
Crocodile Island: From a distance, this small uninhabited island looks like the head of a crocodile, which gives it its name. Currents can be fierce except at slack tide, which makes for a beautiful collection of corals. It is a gently sloping wall with several canyons and caves containing a wide diversity of fish.
Laguna de Boracay: This dive site is located on the “backside” (east side) of Boracay. It is well-suited for beginners and professionals alike, with a great diversity of clams, anemones, feather stars, butterflyfish, lionfish, and sea squirts. The area is quite large, and almost every inch is covered with hard and soft corals.
Laurel Island: Big Laurel and Small Laurel are two separate dive sites which are very similar and quite close to each other. Big Laurel has a tunnel swim-through filled with soft corals and nudibranchs. Both Laurels are sloping walls with healthy corals and prolific fish life.
Friday’s Rock: A dive at Friday’s can actually cover two dive sites: Friday’s Reef which is 7 to 12 meters, and Friday’s Rock which is 12 to 18 meters. This famous fish-feeding station is a large boulder which provides photographers a chance to capture close-up shots of emperors, triggerfish, red bass, scorpionfish, and sturgeons.
Punta Bunga: This site is the start of a series of walls which connect to Yapak. The drop-off is filled with cubbyholes where moray eels, lionfish, groupers, and triggerfish reside. Stingrays are usually seen on the sandy bottom at 24 meters.
Tulobhan Reef: Although it is quite shallow, a slow steady current usually allows drift diving to cover a wide area. Sea snakes are common, while sea cucumbers, eels and feather stars can be seen waving in the current.
Virgin Drop: This wall dive is ideal for deep dive training. Large sea fans and crinoids provide colorful hiding spots for bass, moray eels and nudibranchs. Rays are sometimes seen gliding through the thermoclines during tidal changes.
Yapak: Yapak 1 and 2 are actually two separate walls which begin at 30 meters and drop down to 70 meters. Yapak is the most famous of all the dive sites in Boracay, and close encounters with white tip and grey reef sharks, dogtooth tuna, groupers, napoleon wrasses, and giant trevallies are common. Surface conditions can be rough, and therefore a negative entry is often required, followed by a spectacular blue-water descent.