Dive sites in Negros the Philippines

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Scuba dive sites Negros - Philippines

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Also read our travelogue of scuba diving and tour in the Philippines, Cebu, Negros, Bohol

El Dorado 4star

At El Dorado you can go muck diving in a protected area in Negros in the Philippines. The start is quite sandy and the soil gently tilts down. From 15 to 20m depth, you'll see lots of little rocks and coral. Around El Dorado there's also a lot of fish to find. During our dive, we saw e.g. three schools of barracudas, two large hogfish, a schools of snappers, schools of goat fishes, butterfly fish, sweet lips, Groupers, coral devils and other fish which you don't directly would expect on a muck dive. There's also a small wreck of 12m. length. No green has grown in the wreck and its pretty ugly, but there's a lot of fish swimming in and around it, which is very amusing for divers. Among other things, we come across a lot of macro life, such as nudibranchs, syngnathus, sea feders, eels, anemonefish, moray eel in the cavities, Harlequin Shrimps, lizard fish, etc. The visibility was up to 10m, which is actually quite a lot for muck diving, but according to the dive guide, the sight was hampered due to the northern wind.

Atlantic Point Macro 4star

On Atlantic Point in Negros, you as well, go muck diving. The sandy soil gently goes over into the depth. On 24m depth, there are a few seahorses and frog fish on a soil which has nothing else to offer. But, if you want to see them during your dive, you're obligated to go to these sandy places as well. Although it doesn't offer very much, it's fascinating to see how the animals prefer the few sprouts and wilted aborted seaweed over tender seagrass. During the dive, you come across all kinds of small life, for which a professional dive guide is absolutely recommended. Even if you know these creatures, it's very difficult to spot them because they're easily missed. Here you'll find syngnathus, nudibranchs, tube worms, sand eels, sea feders, rino scorpion fish, winged fishing on legs, porcelain crab, ghost shrimps, etc.. Next to good eyes, you need a great photo device to be able to shoot some sharp shots. On the sand rocks, there's coral and in between you'll also find the typical reef fish. On our dive, we spotted two large hogfishes, a large moray eel and a green turtle on this location. The sight was up to 10 meters, which is quite far for muck diving.

Atlantic North Macro 3star

Atlantic North in Negros also offers muck diving, with a smooth start, slowly going down on a soft sandy bottom. The original intention here was to get to the coral field via the soil, slowly back to the surface, to eventually drift out, but there was too much small life in the sandpit. It was necessary to take multiple photos, to at least have one good shot to take home. A crab on a green leaf looks way too similar to a plant, it's difficult to photograph them and distinguish them. As well as the crabs that sat on fire coral. They are white and striped, like the fire corals itself. To me, they were two new underwater animals that I'd never seen before. A mantis shrimp was digging a little hole, from which a stone that was twice as wide, and as high as the Shrimp itself, had to be pushed out from the nest. Also, the two petal ghost flute fish and razor fish were difficult to photograph. We've come across a lot of attractions here, which made the time fly. The visibility was only 8 to 10m. The emerging wind and waves we're the most likely cause of the limited sight, but at the end of the day this is typical for muck diving and didn't result in any problems while diving, nor taking photographs.

Panabulon 1star

To see the colourful mandarin fish, you have to go scuba diving at dusk on e.g. broken coral. At a depth of 5 to 7m., the Mandarin fish come out their holes and start courting during twilight. Since mandarin fish are very lively, it's very difficult to photograph them. But their activities and courting resulted in some awesome film material. The male is larger than the female and continuously hunt on his beloved one. When you want to find them yourself, you'll have to prepare for a big search and be extremely patient. You'll also need to plan at least half the time of your dive on taking good shots. Afterwards, we went diving at the good coral, where we were able to admire Nudibranchs, shrimps, crabs, walking sea stars, e.a.. As a second main attraction during this dive we got to see a blue ringed octopus. These creatures are extremely rare and, more importantly, extremely toxic. Be prepared, if you don't know what to expect when you go diving on mandarin fish, it can constitute a disappointment.

Diving on Apo Island, dive place Cogon 4star

The dive site Cogon on Apo Island always has a strong current, which results in all dives to be drift dives. Participants must therefore have quite some experience to dive on this dive site. The diving starts on a tilted reef with many soft corals, hard coral and sponges, on which you can spot many types of reef fish and other marine life. Due to the strong current, there's a big chance on spotting schools of eye jacks. Green turtles are regularly spotted, so keep your eyes open! If at the end of the dive the current decreases, you should have a look between the rocks and crevices, in which you can find and admire small life such as prawns, eels, little crabs, e.a.. The visibility during the diving was approximately 25m.

Diving on Apo Island, dive site Katipanan 3star

Katipanan on Apo Island is a dive site with lots of soft corals on a slight dissolving soil. The current is pretty mild, pushing you gently over the coral. There are very many types of reef fish and other reef life to spot, during our dive. It's a suitable place for night dives. Green turtles are found swimming and sleeping on a regular basis. Sometimes you can see large batfishes swimming in the distance, but they keep a sufficient distance so that's taking photos becomes almost impossible. The sight during the diving was approximately 25m.

Diving on Apo Island, dive site Chapel North 3star

At Chapel North on Apo Island, we dived on a sandy bottom where different types of coral grow. In the sand, you'll see a lot of eels and other bottom sea life. Sometimes, when you look around actively, you can be lucky by finding some green turtles too. Chapel North is also a place where you can find frog fish (if they haven't been driven out of their patch). The current was quite peaceful and probably a nice place for night dives. The visibility during the dives was approximately 25m.

Dauin Car Wreck Macro 3star

At Dive Resort Dauin at Negros you can go muck diving on an old car wreck. The diving starts on a shallow site, with a light dissolving sandy bottom. On 30m. depth there are two decommissioned car wrecks. On the bottom, you'll find a lot of marine life. The car wrecks have become an artificial reef, where many reef fish are found. The coral vegetation is practically non-existent.

Punta Macro 2star

Punta means muck diving without coming across anything other than sand. Yet, we found four sepias, flat fish, multiple sand eels, reef snakes, a turtle, mantis shrimps, syngnathus, a strange crab, e.a.. A freely swimming remora also kept us company nearly the entire dive. The visibility was less than 10m. The current pushed us forward, backwards, sucked in an out, but particularly pulled. It was a relatively shallow dive site.

Talysay Macro 3star

The strong wind and heavy waves in Negros made the weather previously very unfavourable. Since this dive took place in the afternoon, the sun already had had a few hours to interact with the sea water and so our visibility was limited to a maximum of 8 to 10m. Also, the dusting sand hampered the photographing, but didn't destroy our dive, because there was a lot of life to find on the coral. Both small life as larger fish and some turtles crossed our path. At this place, there were also multiple blue-yellow ghost moray or moray nose, which aren't present everywhere.

Mainit 3star

The diving on Mainit starts in Negros on a sandy soil that's softly inclined. On Mainit there can be a strong current, in this case you'd speak of a drift dive. The advantage of this is, that the strong current gives you a great chance on spotting schools of barracudas, trivalies, e.a. while your diving. Subsequently we pass a coral reef where we come across many reef fish, but also trivalies and hogfishes, as well as several nudibranchs and other small life, but these are unfortunately difficult to watch or shoot, due to the strong current. Subsequently the drift continues a small piece of sand, which is followed by an artificial reef made from truck tires. In and around this artificial reef you'll find besides little coral, again a lot of reef fish. The drift diving ends on sandy soil. Probably due to the strong wind and waves, the visibility was only 8m., but fortunately, this didn't result in real restrictions during the diving.

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