Welcome to Philippines!!!

Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7.000 islands located East of Vietnam and North of Malaysia and Indonesia. The country offers thousands of paradisiacal islands, beautiful landscapes in the mountainous regions, a warm and tropical climate, and a local population which is among the friendliest in the world. But one of the main reasons for coming to the Philippines is to practice scuba diving. On the following pages I will try to introduce you some of the best diving sites in the Philippines among other destinations in this country.

When to Go/Climate: The Philippines has a tropical climate. The country has three differentiated seasons: the Winter, from December to February; the Summer, from March to May; and the rainy season, from June to November. Winters are somewhat colder than summers, but it is never too hot or too cold in the Philippines. The best season to come is from December to May. The high season is December and the Holy week.

Get in: The best way to get to the Philippines is by air. You can fly to Manila's International Airport (MNL) from many destinations in Asia, Europe and America, but I would recommend skipping Manila, and flying directly to Cebu (CEB). If you want to get the cheapest rates, fly to Singapore, Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur, and take a local low cost flight to Manila or Cebu.

Get around: the best way of moving from one island to the other is by plane. The main air company is Philippines Airlines, but several low cost companies fly to the islands (Cebu Pacific, Zest Airlines and PAL Express.) You can also go to the islands by Ferry. To move around the islands you can use the local transport: Shuttle vans are the most recommended for long distances, for short distances the tricycles and taxis are recommended.

Money and Costs: The local currency is the Filipino Peso. Prices in Philippines are low or very low. You can exchange foreign currencies in the exchange shops; most banks do not exchange money. If you are traveling to an island, make sure there is an ATM there, because some don't have.

Length of stay: The length of your stay will depend on what you want to do and how many days you have. If you want to do some scuba diving two or three weeks will be enough.

Languages/People: 90 million people live in the Philippines. They speak several local dialects, but the official languages are filipino and English. Most of the local population is perfectly fluent in English.

Food: Local food is good and cheap. You should not miss the fish and the sea food.

Safety: Philippines is a very safe country, but some areas in Manila and other tourist destinations are not.

Boracay (Visayas) - [video]

Boracay is currently Philippines' number one tourist destination. This paradisiacal island offers one of the best beaches in the world, a tropical climate, good food, a party scene, and many activities for the visitor.

Bohol (Cebu) - [video]

One of the most complete tourist destinations in the Philippines, with nice beach towns (Alona Beach), a unique countryside (Chocolate Hills), a wonderful river (Loboc), heritage sites, great diving sites (Balicasag Island), and endemic animals (the tarsier monkey.)

Malapascua (Cebu) - [video]

Malapascua, located north of Cebu, is a dive destination famous among other things for being one of the few sites in the world where amateur divers can spot the thresher sharks.

Moalboal (Cebu) - [video]

Moalboal is the main diving site in the island of Cebu, central Philippines. The town is conveniently located two and a half hours West from the airport of Cebu.

Apo Island (Negros) - [video]

Apo Island is considered one of the top 100 dive sites in the world, and definitely one of the best in the Philippines. If you are going to the Philippines and you dive, it should be on your list of places to visit.

El Nido (Palawan) - [video]

El Nido, famous for its limestone cliffs, its sandy beaches, its lagoons and its crystal clear waters, is currently number two tourist destination in the Philippines.

Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa (Palawan) - [video]

Honda Bay, Palawan, is a group of paradisiacal islands famous among tourists for their white sand beaches, their crystal clear waters and their great snorkeling sites.

Cacnipa Island (Palawan) - [video]

Cacnipa is a paradisiacal island, one hour away by boat from mainland Palawan, uninhabited except for a small resort which offers a few cottages in front of a beautiful white sand sand beach.

Coron Island (Palawan) - [video]

Coron is a small fishing town on Busuanga Island, in the province of Palawan, famous for its wreck diving sites, considered among the best in the world.

Donsol (Luzon) - [video]

Donsol is one of the only destinations in the world where you can swim with the whale sharks. Close to Donsol is also Manta Bowl, famous for the manta rays.

Anilao, Batangas (Luzon) - [video]

Anilao is an excellent diving destination, conveniently located three hours south from metropolitan Manila.

Manila (Luzon)

The city of Manila has not much tourist interest, but thanks to its international airport it gets many foreign visitors.