Anilao, Batangas

If you ever get to dive Anilao, you will find incredible diversity, rich reefs, a great variety of small fish, and unexpected critters & nudibranchs turning up around every corner. If you love underwater photography, or if you love marine life, Anilao is a dream spot.

Anilao diving - Macro and Nudibranch diving at its best

Anilao is just a 3 hour drive south of Manila, Philippines - just past Batangas, and it has some of the best scuba diving for underwater photography in the world, particulary for photographing macro subjects, nudibranchs, rare underwater critters, and finding new species of fish. The reefs of anilao are extremely healthy, at shallow depths and at very deep depths. Reef fish are plentiful at every dive site, although larger fish and pelagics are not common. Anilao is an underwater photographer's paradise.

Anilao Marine Life

Every reef and juvenile fish imaginable can be found in Anilao. Shrimp, crabs, nudibranchs, small squid and cuttlefish, are all more plentiful than almost anywhere else I've dove. Frogfish, pipefish, seahorse are also fairly common at some sites. I've seen Rhinopias and Hairy Frogfish. Wonderpus, Mimic and Blue-ringed octopus can be seen. Most species on the muck and macro diving critter list can be found in Anilao. Anilao is also a great place to find Bobbit worms. Anilao has a large number of species of hard and soft corals, perhaps more than anywhere else in the world.

If you really try, you can even see bigger stuff an Anilao, like large schools of Jacks and giant seahorses. At Mainit point, which has strong currents I've seen 3-4 great barracuda hunting, and blue trevally. Reef sharks are seen down deep at dive sites with stronger currents. On very rare occasions people have seen small whale sharks.

Best dive sites in Anilao

Twin Rocks, Basura, Mainit Muck (Secret Bay), Kirby's, and Bethlehem are consistently target rich environments for underwater photographers. Beatrice has some great wide-angle opportunities of schooling anthias. For very advanced divers wanting a dive with strong currents, healthy current and pelagics, try Mainit pointearly in the morning. I saw trevally's there, a shark and several great barracuda hunting. Devil's point is well known for prolific soft coral.

Secret Bay, Anilao - aka Mainit Muck

 "Secret Bay", also known as "Mainit Muck" -is one of the most famous, yet "secretive" muck-diving dive sites in Anilao. This dive site is one of the most productive dive sites I've ever been to for muck diving. Secret Bay (Mainit Muck) is excellent at any time of the day, but especially at night. the best diving is between 10ft and 70ft deep (3-21 meters).

Marine life at Secret Bay, Mainit Muck

 Mantis shrimp, gobies, wonderpus octopus and nudibranchs are prolific during the day. Squid and cuttlefish are easily found at night. Seahorses, ghost pipefish, ambon scorpionfish, tiny frogfish, colemani shrimp, and bobbit worms are all readily found.

Typical Dive Day at Anilao

Diving is usually by a small open boat, which is comfortable for up to 4 divers plus a crew of 2-3. Dive sites are usually 15-30 minutes away from most resorts. When we dive Anilao, we go out for 2 dives early in the morning, enjoy lunch and rest in the afternoon, and then go out for 2 dives in the last afternoon, with the last dive always being a complete night dive. Daily night dives are a must in Anilao! Dive times are usually not limited, and significant time can be spent in the shallows. We enjoy using Nitrox on all of our dives.

Diving other areas nearby Anilao

Verde Island is supposed to have some spectacular walls, and is doable as a long day trip from Anilao.

Puerto Galera is known for having many dive shops, many dive sites, inexpensive diving, and a noisy nightlife. Anilao, on the other hand, is very quiet and I don't even know if it has a restaurant. You can transfer to Puerto Galera in a couple of hours via car and ferry, or private boat, across the large channel. Diving in Puerto Galera is good, but Anilao has better corals, critters, and diving in general. Many people dive Puerto Galera because they want some options for eating out, clubs or bars, etc. Puerto Galera has a couple well known resorts with amenities which is also a draw.

Best time to dive Anilao

Anilao water temps, visibility, weather

October to the end of May is the main diving season in Anilao. July and August can get wicked monsoons. Please note that the water can get significantly cooler in january and february, around 25C/77F. The best months are probably november and april - may, with april and may being the most crowded months at the resorts. Visibility is consistently fairly good at 40-50ft.