We have been lucky enough to spend more than a decade exploring the reefs of South East Asia and have come to love the Philippines, for its people, top side natural beauty and beautiful reefs and marine life.
Here are a few of our best places to snorkel in the Philippines:
Cabilao:
We love to snorkel around this island. A small island in the Visays, near Bohol, Cabilao has some of the healthiest reefs in the country with an abundance of hard and soft coral gardens alive with schooling reef fish, turtles, and small critters. Cabilao itself has some wonderful seaside resorts and picturesque beaches to relax on between snorkel sessions.
Anda- Bohol
Tucked in the far quite corner of Bohol island is a beautiful bay called Anda. Here there is a long (14km) fringing reef which is home to all manner of marine creature ranging from the occasional whaleshark, to small seahorses, frog fish, eels, turtles and giant clams, to name but a few. This part of Bohol is reletively quiet and hosts fewer tourists than some other parts of the island and we think it makes a great snorkel vacation destination.
Moalboal- Cebu
This coastal town offers amazing snorkeling opportunities. Our favorite is the chance to snorkel in a huge school of sardines. Watching these beauties move in their synchronized schoals is somethign truly special. Also a good chance to see jacks and trevally hunting the sardines. In the area there are also beautiful reefs, a good chance of seeing whitetip reef sharks and a host of tropical reef fish.
Coron- North Palawan
The fringing reefs are exceptionally healthy and colourful and offer the opportunity to snorkel over shallow boat and plane wrecks form WWII. Also some beaches here are spectacular. There is also a rare and beautiful lake, known as Barracuda Lake, which offers a sensory experience found almost no where else. The water in the lake is crystal clear, and whole there is little fish life int he lake, we love it because it has a thermicaline about 8m deep. Above the 8m mark the water in a cool 28C and below this it suddenly rises to over 38C. Such a wonderful thing to experience on a quick duck-dive.
