Anilao Dive Sites

Anilao is where Philippine diving began commercially in the 1960s, and it has settled into a specialty: macro. The coast along Mabini and Tingloy holds dozens of sites within a short boat ride - Secret Bay, Basura, Twin Rocks, Cathedral, Kirby's Rock, Mainit - mixing coral slopes and current-swept points with the black volcanic sand that muck divers love, and the species list is the reason photographers come back with hard drives full: nudibranchs by the hundred species, frogfish, ghost pipefish, harlequin shrimp, flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopus, hairy shrimp and mimic octopus. Resorts line the shore road in a strip of dive-focused lodges, most with house reefs and their own boats, and the whole area sits inside the Verde Island Passage, the strait repeatedly described in marine research as the centre of the world's shorefish biodiversity. Weekends bring Manila's dive clubs; weekdays are quieter and the boats less busy.

What you actually see

• The macro life - nudibranchs, frogfish, rare octopus and shrimp.
• The black sand - muck sites for critter hunting.
• The coral points - Twin Rocks, Cathedral and the current spots.
• The resort strip - dive lodges with house reefs.

When to go

November to May for the calmest crossings; macro subjects are present year-round, and some photographers prefer the plankton-rich shoulder months. Weekdays are calmer on the boats.

Honest expectations

This is a divers' destination - beaches are small and rocky, and non-divers will find little. Currents at some sites are strong. Marine sanctuary fees are charged per site and add up.

Nearby

Masasa Beach on Tingloy, the Verde Island Passage crossings and Batangas port for Mindoro ferries are all close.