Asia Divers El Galleon, Puerto Galera

Puerto Galera is one of the Philippines’ most diverse diving destinations. Its beautiful reefs with their spectacular underwater landscapes are home to more than 300 species of corals and nearly 60 percent of the world’s known reef fish species.

Sabang is the main focus for visiting scuba divers - and rightly so. Night dives on the reefs in front of Sabang are great for muck-diving enthusiasts and the wrecks in deeper water are home to schooling batfish, giant frogfish and a host of other marine life. Around Paniquian and Medio Islands, patient divers can find critters such as flamboyant cuttlefish and mimic octopus on the sandy rubble. But, some of Puerto Galera’s best diving lies in the east, towards Escarcio Point - such as Monkey Beach with multiple pygmy seahorses on a single sea fan, Hole In The Wall with its short tunnel swim-through at 12m, and Puerto Galera’s ‘must do’ site known as Canyons. This last site is an exhilarating drift dive, with three spectacular canyons swept by currents that attract plenty of big fish such as trevallies, batfish, and the occasional manta ray. Thresher and hammerhead sharks are also known to make an appearance and keep an eye out for the old Spanish anchor in the third deepest canyon at 30m.

Nearby Verde Island has some of the best reef diving in the Philippines. The Drop Off is considered the best site and features remarkable topography with enormous sea fans, carpets of soft coral and dense schools of reef fish. With good visibility and currents, this is a spectacular dive, awash with colour and activity. With so much to choose from, its no wonder Puerto Galera is considered such an excellent dive destination. With so many sites to choose from - reefs, muck diving sites, wrecks and drift dives - this is a great place to learn to dive, advance your skills, or even embark on a technical diving course.