Fantastic reef diving

Located in the Visayas group of islands, the combination of direct international flights from Singapore into Cebu (the second largest city in the Philippines) and fast ferries to Tagbilaran, make Bohol one of the more accessible dive areas in the Philippines.

Conservation measures and the reserve status given to many of the dive sites is now starting to take effect, meaning the outstanding diving has got even better.  It would be fair to say Bohol fits in between the Solomon’s & PNG in terms of diving quality.  You will be especially surprised at the unusual marine life that calls Bohol home. See if you can spot the chameleon-like Frog Fish, or climb inside one of the huge barrel sponges.

The resort area of Bohol is Alona Beach on Panglao Island, a quiet white sand beach town that specialises in diving.  This is the ideal spot for beach lovers who like to kick back and do nothing except dive and snorkel.  Although accommodation in Bohol is not five star, it is perfectly comfortable and excellent value.

The Diving

The area has a very wide variety of diving.  Adjacent to Alona Beach are a multitude of great sites.  It has it all – walls, reefs, corals, reef fish, Napoleon wrasse, reef sharks, hammerheads, and much more.

Dive trips go daily to Balicasag, some 20 kms to the southwest of Alona Beach, a 45 minute boat ride.  Balicasag is a marine reserve, which accounts for the variety and quantity of marine life.

Some of the Bohol dive sites include:

Black Coral Forest

A rare opportunity to swim through a forest of black coral makes this a dive experience not to be missed.  Although usually only found at depths of 50m and below, surprisingly, here it grows as shallow as 30m.

Cathedral Wall

This craggy section of wall has many caves and recesses which are great fun to explore.  You’ll need a torch to illuminate the insides of the caves and a kaleidoscope of marine life and colour.

Turtle Point

This site gets its name from the turtles which hide in caves about 20-25m.  Don’t be surprised if turtles do not materialise immediately.  While you wait, enjoy the scenery on the wall outside the caves – soft corals, a profusion of feather stars, and a vast variety of reef fish.  If you are patient, and lucky, you’ll soon see what one diver described as a “B52 sized” turtle swim out of its lair.

For your surface time, Bohol has some interesting land excursions including the world famous Chocolate Hills, a collection of cone-shaped hills that in the summer change from green to brown.