Boracay,
better known for having one of the world's best beaches,
has now become a fully-
pledged diving destination.
Boracay is a good place to start your diving lessons.
It has a wide variety of diving, from gentle slopes
for the inexperienced to deep drop-offs for the experts.
Here, a diver has a big chance to encounter big different
fishes. There is a wide variety of colorful
corals and shells, big and small corals like the mushroom,
table, stony, bubble, cup corals. There are also urchins,
starfishes and sponges. Deeper dives may have a close
encounter with large sharks.
Diving is good all year round but the best time is
around November until June of the year.
Bel-At Beach Location. Off the
north beach of Boracay. Access. 20min north by boat and around to the
north-northwest face of Boracay, east of Yapak 2. Average
Depth. 35m
(115ft) Maximum Depth. 50m (165ft) Conditions.
Usually dived when the weather is rough, so expect
a strong current. visibility can reach 25m (80ft)
on a flood tide.
This dive is for the experienced only. It is usually
visited for excitement when the weather is too rough
for Yapak 2, and is best dived on a flood tide. A
wall rises to 30m (100ft), running east-to-west all
the way to Yapak 1. Divers must quickly descend to
the wall and get into its shelter.
The wall itself has plenty of interesting soft corals,
gorgonians and stony corals, together with a myriad
of reef fish, but the main object of the dive is to
look out into the blue water where, in a strong current,
almost anything could pass by. Shoals of jacks, surgeonfish,
Rainbow Runners, sweetlips and batfish are common,
but larger animals are often seen, including large
groupers, Napoleon Wrasse, turtles, Whitetip Reef
Sharks and Grey Reef Sharks.
Yapak
1 Location. Located
just northwest of Guiniuit Point, the northwest point
of Boracay. Access. 20min north by boat. Average
Depth. 115ft Maximum Depth. 210ft Conditions.
These sites are best dived on a strong flood tide,
when there are strong and unpredictable currents.
Surface conditions can be rough with visibility up
to 80ft.
By common consent, this is the most exciting diving
off Boracay and the site that all the divemasters
head for when they have a strong enough group.
The dive requires a fast descent to the shelter of
the wall, regardless of surface conditions. The main
object of the dive is to look our into the blue. There
are large shoals of fishes. These are dives only for
the experienced and not for anybody.
Punta
Bonga Location. Located
west-southwest of Guiniuit Point. Access. 15min north by boat until opposite
Punta Bonga. Average
Depth. 60ft Maximum Depth. 150ft Conditions.
This site is usually dived in clam conditions, with
little current and visibility can reach 20m (60ft).
This site is the start of the series of walls that
run on to Yapak and Bel-At. The main site is an easy
dive with a drop-off which is covered in soft corals,
while the sandy bottom has patches of stony corals
with jacks, stingrays, groupers, triggerfish, sweetlips,
angelfish, butterflyfish, cornetfish, trumpetfish,
pufferfish, lionfish, sea stars and sea cucumbers.
Baling
Hai Beach Location. Located
northwest of Diniuid. Access. 10min north by boat. Average
Depth. 50ft Maximum Depth. 80ft Conditions.
Calm with occasionally a slight current with visibility
up to 80ft.
A rich coral garden runs down a gentle slope from
23ft to 10m 33ft, then you go over the drop-off down
to sand at 80ft. The drop-off itself runs north-to-south
for 656ft.
The coral garden has profuse soft, leathery and Acropora
table corals, and there are good stony corals down
the drop-off. There is a fine variety of reef fishes.
Friday's
Rock Location. Located
southwest of Diniuid. Access. 10min north by boat. Average
Depth. 60ft Maximum Depth. 60ft Conditions.
Calm with some current. Visibility up to 80ft.
Friday's Rock itself is a large boulder rising from
sand at 60ft, with its top at 23ft. The sand beside
the rock is used by local dive operators as a fun
dive with fish-feeding, so the fish come at you as
as you approach (but please don't be tempted to feed
them).
On the sand there are Blue-spotted Lagoon rays, moray
eels, ribbon eels, Linckia starfish, Choriaster Cushion
Starfish, Pincushion Starfish and sea cucumbers.
Lobster
Rock Location. Located
west of Balabag. Access. 10min north by boat. Average
Depth. 45ft Maximum Depth. 52ft Conditions.
Calm with occasionally a slight current with visibility
up to 65ft.
Lobster Rock, a large rock is the standard night dive
for advanced courses locally. There is a small colony
of Spiny Lobsters, plus surgeonfish, angelfish, butterflyfish,
damselfishand sergeant majors, most of which hide
in holes in the reef at night, when crabs, shrimps,
moray eels and shellfish come out to feed.
Angol
Location.
Reefs in front of Greenyard and Angol. Access. 5min by boat or a long swim off White
Sand Beach. Average
Depth. 23ft Maximum Depth. 33ft Conditions.
Calm and visibility can reach 50ft.
This is the house reef that runs down the front of
the beach, used for novice training dives and check-out
dives, as well as for its good snorkelling.
Crocodile
Island, South Side Location.
Located northeast of Manoc-Manoc. Access. 15min by boat south and then east along
the Tabon Strait to the south side of Crocodile Island. Average
Depth. 33ft Maximum Depth. 80ft Conditions.
Can be rough with strong currents with visibility
can reach 25m.
This island resembles a crocodile
from a distance. The
shallow reef-top is good for snorkelling, although
snorkellers should be careful of the currents.
Laurel
1 Location.
Located at the northeast side of Laurel Island, east
of the southern tip of Boracay. Access. 20min by boat south and then east along
the Tabon Strait. Average
Depth. 16ft Maximum Depth. 65ft Conditions.
Calm, but currents can be very strong with visibility
up to 100ft.
This small island has a remarkable tunnel, 8m long
where you can swim through at shallow depth. It is
best dived as a drift when the current is strongand
the soft corals on its wall fill up to a blaze of
colour. It is also a good night dive for the cup corals
on its roof. This is a fine dive for photographers
and suitable for snorkellers, though the latter should
be careful of the currents.
Laurel
2 Location.
Located directly east of Laurel Island. Access. 20min by boat south then east through
the Tabon Strait . Average
Depth. 50ft Maximum
Depth. 65ft Conditions.
Usually a drift-dive in rainy season, but it can have
strong currents and visibility averages 65ft.
A north-to-south wall that is not dived often, so
there is little anchor damage and good fish life.
Channel
Drift Location.
Located at the Tabon Strait. Access. 15min
south by boat to the Tabon Strait. Average
Depth. 60ft Maximum
Depth. 115ft Conditions.
Very strong currents (up to 7 knots); it can be rough
on the surface. Visibility can reach 20m (65ft).
Strong tidal currets flow through the Tabon Strait
with great force, taking divers along a sandy bottom
with patches of coral, canyons and crevices where
smaller fish take refuge and bigger fish wait for
the current to bring them food. There is an excellent
drift-dive at 60ft.
Unidos
Point Location.
Located on the east side of Caticlan. Access. 20min
by boat south and then east thru the Tabon Strait. Average
Depth. 50ft Maximum
Depth. 80ft Conditions.
Usually dived as a sheltered site in bad weather with
visibility up to 65ft.
A bad-weather site, shelving off to 80ft on sand with
coral outcrops, groupers, snappers, batfish, sweetlips,
moray eels, garden eels, angelfish and butterflyfish.
Nasog
Point Location.
Located at the northwest corner of Panay Island. Access. 25min
south by boat. Average
Depth. Anything. Maximum
Depth. 115ft Conditions.
Calm with a gentle current, but it can become very
rough with a strong current with visibility averages
80ft.
The site is a slope from 5m to 35m with boulders and
canyons, so that unwary novices may find themselves
indulging in saw-tooth diving. The fish life is limited,
except when a strong current is running, but there
is a good chance of seeing a turtle. But this is a
dive to do for its topography - to swim thru the rocks.
Dog
Drift Location.
Located south of Nasog Point. Access. 25min
south by boat to the west side of Panay Island. Average
Depth. 65ft Maximum
Depth. 100ft Conditions.
Usually calm, with a medium-strong current. Visibility
up to 80ft.
This 200m to 300m wall, running north-to-south, drops
from 6m to 30m and abounds with caves, holes and crevices.
There are lots more fish here than at Nasog Point.
Buruanga
Location.
Offshore from Buruanga village. Access. 35min
south by boat until off Buruanga, on the west side
of Panay Island, south of Dog Drift and Nasog Point. Average
Depth. 65ft Maximum
Depth. 130ft Conditions.
Sheltered, though there can be strong currents. Visibility
can erach 30m.
The reef-top is a gentle slope from 5m to 7m covered
in good soft, leathery and stony corals. From 7m the
drop-off goes down to 40m where there is a cave. A
photographers' dive.
Black
Rock Location.
Located south of Buruanga. Access. 35min
south by boat to the west face of Panay Island. Average
Depth. 80ft Maximum
Depth. 130ft Conditions.
Usually calm, but it can get rough with a strong current.
Visibility can reach 25m.
Black Rock sticks out of the water and offers very
good diving. The west side is a wall with caves at
the bottom, good pelagic fish life and occasionally
you may see Hammerhead Sharks. The east side is shallow
and sheltered, with canyons, caves and crevices. There
are plenty of fishes as well as pelagic species.
Carabao
Island - Cathedral Cave Location.
Located the northern end of Carabao Island. Access. 1hr
20min north by boat. Average
Depth. 115ft Maximum
Depth. 130ft Conditions.
Make this journey in good conditions, but there can
be a strong current with visibility up to 80ft.
This is a very big cave with a large entrance, so
apart from the depth, it is safe for novice divers.
At the back of the cave there are many cracks and
fissures which often contain sleeping big fish. There
is good fish life, and there is the chance you will
see some large pelagic species.
Carabao
Island - Village Reef Location.
The center if the east face of Carabao Island. Access. 1hr
10min north by boat. Average
Depth. 50ft Maximum
Depth. 80ft Conditions.
Calm, with occasionally a slight current with visibility
can reach 25m.
A rich coral garden on a gentle slope followed by
a drop-off down to sand at 24m. The coral garden has
profuse soft, leathery and table corals, and there
are good stony corals down the drop-off.
Carabao
Island - Village Mountain Location.
Located just north of the southeast corner of Carabao
Island. Access. 55min
north by boat. Average
Depth. 65ft Maximum
Depth. 100ft Conditions.
Calm, but there can be a strong current with visibility
up to 25m.
A large coral head drops down to sand at 30m. There
are lots of good fish, including shoals of jacks,
fusiliers and snappers and plenty of colorful reef
fish. With luck you may see some large pelagic species.
Carabao
Island -West Wall Location.
Located at the southwest face of Carabao Island. Access. 50min
north by boat. Average
Depth. 80ft Maximum
Depth. 130ft Conditions.
Calm, but can be rough; usually some current, which
can be strong with visibility up to 25m.
A big wall, 200m long, drops from 10m down to 40m
with caves, good soft, leathery and stony corals on
the reef-top and prolific fish life on and off the
wall.
Maniguin
Island - North Face Location.
Located at the northernmost point of the reef. Access. By
boat. Average
Depth. 50ft Maximum
Depth. 150ft Conditions.
Variable - can be rough in bad weatehr; in good weather
it is calm, with currents varying with the tide. Visibility
100ft.
Most of the reef-top is a gentle slope from 10m to
17m with a mixture of coral heads on sand interspersed
with fresh blast-fishing damage. The blast-fished
areas cover only a small portion of the total expanse,
the rest beign top-quality soft, leathery, stony and
whip corals harbouring a myriad of reef fish.
Maniguin
Island - South Face Location.
Located at the south face of the reef. Access. By
boat. To find the greatest number of sleeping sharks
in caves, line up the lighthouse with the prominent
large white rick, while over the drop-off. Average
Depth. 65ft Maximum
Depth. 150ft Conditions.
Variable - can be rough in bad weatehr; in good weather
it is calm, with currents varying with the tide. Visibility
up to 100ft.
Drifting west with the current, it can be possible
to cover most of the face in one very long dive. The
wall and reef-top are very similar to the North Face;
perhaps slightly more areas have been damaged by blast-fishing,
but the majority of the dive is beautiful, with abundant
reef and pelagic fish life.
At the western end of the face the top of the wall
becomes shallower; the reef-top offers excellent snorkelling
when there is no surf running.
Need
a place for company outings, group travel or for a big family
vacation? Worry no more for we have the right promos for you!
Book
with us and get complimentary
premium accounts in JobsCity.NET for each reservation!
Boracay,
better known for having one of the world's best beaches,
has now become a fully-
colorful
corals and shells, big and small corals like the mushroom,
table, stony, bubble, cup corals. There are also urchins,
starfishes and sponges. Deeper dives may have a close
encounter with large sharks.
