Puerto Galera scuba diving guide
A diverse range of marine life can be seen here
Puerto Galera’s main claim to fame is as a world class scuba diving destination and can boast over 30 dive sites within a 10 minute boat ride of busy Sabang Beach. There are a dozen or so dive schools based here offering basic PADI learn to dive courses but it is best suited to intermediate and experienced divers, especially with often strong and unpredictable currents. In fact it is one of the premier technical diving destinations in Asia and several places offer TDI courses including Nitrox and advanced Trimex.
Times are staggered through the day so that reefs rarely get overwhelmed with divers. Basic PADI open water courses for beginners are US$400 and single dives start at US$30.
Prices for diving courses and single dives for the qualified are generally similar whichever dive operator you choose. Many are accredited five star PADI IDC development resorts offering decent value dive and stay packages and most operators tend to visit the same dive sites each day.
Safety records and quality of equipment is very high for Asian standards and all dive operators provide training in at least English and Spanish. Here is our recommended list of dive schools that offer both beginners courses and advanced specialist training for experienced scuba divers.
Recommended Puerto Galera dive operators
Asia Divers Dive Resort, Small Lalaguna Beach, Tel +63 917 8145107
Pacific Divers, White Beach, Tel: +63 919 8886763 contact@pacificdivers.net
Action Divers, Small Lalaguna Beach, Tel: +63 043 2873320
Frontier Scuba, West Sabang Beach, Tel +63 917 5408410 frontierscuba@gmail.com
Mermaid Dive Resort, Sabang Beach, Tel: +63 432 873301
Octopus Divers, Sabang Beach, Tel: +63 432 873019, info@octopusdivers.org
Despite its popularity, local reefs are in good condition and underwater visibility can be as much as 30 metres. Marine diversity is tremendous with big fish such as tuna, barracuda and white tip reef sharks common.
Divers will also encounter reef species like batfish, angelfish and wrasses in abundance while exotic rare marine life like Spanish Dancer and ghost-pipefish are much anticipated seasonal highlights. Puerto Galera is noted as a haven for underwater photography too with specialist courses available for those that want to hone their skills.
Recommended dive sites around Puerto Galera
The Pink Wall
Located south of Escarceo Point, this popular night dive spot has an overhanging wall at 10 metres filled with pink and cup corals. Excellent for small reef fish, soft corals and colourful sponges. Good visibility up to 15 metres in normal conditions.
The Hill
In the Batangas Channel, this spot is perfect for all levels and one of the better places for beginners. Calm waters and good visibility and home to abundant soft and stony corals. A fabulous variety of smaller reef fish here too.
La Laguna Point
There is a short wall at 10 metres depth dropping down to a sandy bottom at 15 metres full of colourful small critters, nudibranches, batfish and moray eels. A good dive spot for intermediate and beginners and a popular site for photographers.
Deep Escarceo
This site slopes down from 10 metres to a depth of over 30 metres with colourful table corals and sponges. Only suitable for experienced certified divers due to the depth and unpredictable shallow currents.
Most of the larger dive shops schedule around five different dive trips each day by small outrigger boat which invariable includes a night dive too. It is possible to dive all year round in Puerto Galera and sea temperatures range from 22°C to 29°C. The colder months are December, January and February.
Virtually all dive schools are found in the Sabang, Small Lalaguna, and Coco Beach areas and all have access to fresh water swimming pools for the early stages of dive tuition. The nearest decompression chamber is at Batangas City.
