Learn about the Puerto Galera diving on this page.

Puerto Galera Diving : Dive Sites of Puerto Galera

Mindoro Island in the Philippines is recognized as one of the very best diving areas in all of Asia. You can confirm this for yourself several times a day by diving at the dozens of diving sites within a 15 minute boat trip from our dive resort at Big La Laguna Beach.

We have more varieties of fish than there are in the whole Red Sea, and move varieties of soft and hard corals than the Great Barrier Reef.

The water here is a constant 25C – 26C, 365 days a year and the underwater visibility is usually in the range of 30 – 40 meters.

One of the most unusual aspects of the diving sites around Mindoro Island is the rich mixture of hard and soft corals. Also the big difference between high and low tide gives great opportunities for some serious drift dives!

Below you’ll find a selection of some of the dive sites near Puerto Galera.

The Kilimar Drift

Probably the most famous dives near Puerto Galera, Mindoro Island that attracts visitors from far away and makes the Puerto Galera diving what it is. At low tide, and at the time of a new moon, you will find some of the fastest water in the Philippines.

Here it’s not only a question of what you see, but also the exhilarating experience of “flying” with the current! A first class drift dive!

Depth: 18 or 30 meters.

Monkey Beach, Dugong Wall and West Escarcio

These three places are one continuous coral garden.

A great variety of animal species are found among the many different and very colorful corals.

Divers will want to return to these areas again and again.

Depth: 5-25 meters.

Laguna Wreck, Sabang Wreck,Dugong Wreck and Boulders

One of the highlights of the Puerto Galera diving is the shipwrecks. All these wrecks, except the Japanese wreck, have been sunk especially for the purpose of wreck diving. The wrecks are the homes for larger fish like groupers, snappers etc. The wrecks vary in size from 20 to 40 meters, and the depth from 16 to 45 meters.

The Japanese wreck is a Japanese gunboat that was sunk by the Americans during World War II. It is situated at 42 meters depth and has almost disappeared. Only the engine and the propeller remain. Two huge moray eels live here. They like to eat sausages and other delicacies that divers often bring them. Often you will also find a large shoal of sweetlips around the wreck.

Diving at the wreck can be combined with “The Boulders”, a collection of large rocks, cracks and small holes. Many sea snakes are found here too.

Depth: 6 – 25 meters

Deep West Escarceo

This Puerto Galera dive is often made as a multilevel dive: 10 minutes at 35 meters, 10 minutes at 20 meters, 10 minutes at 12 meters, and a swimming stop (5 minutes at 3-5 meters).

Here you will often be able to see both sharks and turtles.

A real exciting and fascinating dive.

Shark Cave

If you want a close encounter with sharks then this Puerto Galera diving site is the place to be!

Two caves at a depth of 27-30 meters are the homes of the blue-spotted stingray and the white-tipped reef shark measuring up to to meters in length

The dive can be combined with “The Atoll”, a huge rock at a depth of 15-32 meters surrounded by a great variety of animal life.

Canyons

This is a large area consisting – as the name indicates – of 3 canyons on the bottom of the sea. It’s one of the popular Puerto Galera diving spots.

The current is often rather strong which attracts large shoals of tuna, barracuda, jackfish etc.

On the best days, a dive at this site will show you the whole spectrum of marine animal life, from lobsters to sharks!

Depth: 20 – 32 meters

Fishbowls, The Abyss

This is a demanding and very deep dive with strong currents.

Fishbowls is a depression in the bottom of the sea formed like a bowl. Here you’ll normally find large fish of different kinds; – often sharks.

The Abyss is a large area consisting of many small and medium-sized rocks, and a steep cliff or wall rising from a white sanded bottom. Two huge groupers, weighing about 100 kilos each, live here. They are very shy and will hide in small caves if divers approach. There are also excellent possibilities of meeting sharks! The depth of the Abyss is not – as the name implies – bottomless, but around 35-38 meters. For technical divers.

The Puerto Galera diving area offers several other deep and very demanding dives of a similar kind. Those dives are only for experienced technical divers.

Bring videos home!

Don’t miss the opportunity to make friends and relatives green with envy when they see the Puerto Galera diving!

We can contract a professional photographer to accompany you when you go diving and record your underwater adventures on video.

Puerto Galera diving is a unique and fascinating experience

Night diving and other goodies!

Scandi Divers also offer night dives, which gives the diving sites a completely different dimension!

You can also to take part in Puerto Galera diving day trips to Verde Island (about 45 minutes by boat), which offers outstanding tropical diving.

Also, we offer all PADI diving courses from “Open Water” to “Assistant Instructor” Puerto Galera, Philippines has a lot of exciting dives.

Puerto Galera dive sites map

Puerto Galera dive sites table

Puerto Galera Dive Prices

The following prices are for a single dive, and includes boat and guide.

Dive Safety

Dive safety has the absolute highest priority for Scandi Divers.

Our dive equipment is of the highest quality and dependability. It is checked and maintained regularly.

Regarding dive safety, there is no substitute for experience. Therefore, our dive instructors, dive masters, and boat crews have from three to twelve years experience, and are recognized as some of the very best on Mindoro Island and all of the Philippines. All of our dive instructors and dive masters have passed first aid courses and PADI Rescue Diver courses.

We do our best to anticipate anything that might happen. It must be realized, however, that forces of nature play a large role in the world of diving. Even though the risk is minimal, the unexpected might happen. We have made emergency plans that are drilled on a regular basis.

We have a first aid kit, drinking water, and extra equipment on board.

When going diving we always strive to have small groups ( six people), and never more than 10 divers on board the boat (where we have a crew of two to help with the equipment).

In Batangas, which is 30 minutes by boat from Puerto Galera and our Dive Center and 10 minutes from the dive sites by helicopter, there is a decompression chamber which is available 24 hours a day.

Our Divemasters and Instructors are trained in first aid and in handling diving accidents. These skills are thoroughly refreshed at least once a year.

Your maximum depth at our Philippine Dive Resort on Big La Laguna Beach is determined by your certification level.