ANILAO

Anilao: overview

Anilao is the birthplace of Philippine scuba diving and is one of the most accessible dive areas within the whole of the country being around a 2.5 to 3 hr journey from the capital Manila. Its a macro diving paradise and regarded as one of the best places for weird and wonderful small critters alongside Malaysia Mabul island and the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Whilst you won’t find pristine beaches with white sand (it’s rocks and pebbles here unfortunately) you will find huge riches beneath the waves with Pygmy Seahorses, Nudibranchs, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Frogfish, Pipefish and a whole host of other small delights that can’t be found anywhere else. So, pack you best camera and housing, make sure you have your strobe and macro lens and jump into a macro paradise.

diving

El Pinoy:

El Pinnoy is a mostly sandy bottomed dive site with a gradual slope that at first glance may not seem to be the most exciting site to explore. However, there is a huge abundance of life here with lots of macro subjects for photographers to get stuck into.

Life: Nudibranchs, Pipefish, Frogfish, Red Striped Coral Shrimp, Cleaner Shrimp, Skeleton Shrimp, Juvenile Cuttlefish, Flying Gurnard, Cockatoo Waspfish

Depth: 24m

Blue Ribbon House Reef:

Just in front of the resort, the coral is actually in reasonable condition despite the boats coming in and out all the time. Lots of Nudibranchs and other life exits here and a good place to hone those underwater photography skills.

Life: Nudibranchs, Cleaner Shrimp, Clownfish, Coral Gobi, Mushroom Coral Pipefish

Depth: 11m

Koala:

Life: Boxfish, Cleaner Shrimp, Nudibranchs, Coral Gobi, Mushroom Coral Gobi, Morray Eel, Scorpionfish

Depth: 18m

Dari-Laut:

A sunken wreck at about 25 - 30m is one of the main features of this site, as with most of the sites in Anilao the macro life is spectacular with Nudibranchs seemingly almost everywhere.

Life: Nudibranchs, Mushroom Coral Pipefish, Spider Crab, Electric Disco Clam, Harry Shrimp

Depth: 30m

Cathedral:

One of the first sites to open up in Anilao and takes it name from a sunken cross that was blessed but he pope and placed at around 13m between two pinnacles at around 13m in 1982.

Life: Nudibranchs, Spider Crab, Turtle, Indian Ocean Walkman, Candy Crab, Lionfish

Depth: 25m

Kirby’s Point:

My personal favourite site in Anilao, fantastic coral and the ever minute and hard to spot Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse. A great site that is worth several visits to take in all that is there.

Life: Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse, Scorpionfish, Painted Frogfish, Spider Crab, Pipefish, Nudibranchs

Depth: 25m

Getting There

Getting to Anilao is probably the easiest of all Philippine dive sites to access as it is located on the main island of Luzon. If travelling internationally you fly into Manila and from there you can arrange transportation down to Anilao which is around 2.5 - 3 hours car ride. Most resorts can help to arrange this for you for a reasonable price. If you fly into Manila in the morning, you can be in Anilao by noon and doing your orientation dive in the afternoon.

where to stay

Lots of options in Anilao, we stayed at the wonderful Blue Robbin Dive Resort run by an expatriate Brit, Jonathan and his wife. A nice boutique style resort with great food and a lively bar in the evenings. In and around Anilao there are lots of accommodation and diving opportunities, but I really would recommend Blue Ribbon very highly.

time to visit

The best time to visit is from December through to May when the sea is at its calmest. Water temperatures can be chilly until around March April time which means that you’ll need a full 3-5mm wetsuit to stay nice and warm.

costs

Compared to some other places in SE asia its not too bad, accommodation can be found starting at around USD $50/night and going upwards, Blue Ribbon was at around USD $70/night in 2020. Diving starts at around USD $30 so while not the most expensive place to dive, it doesn’t compare to the best value for money spots in Thailand and Malaysia.