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Diving The Philippines is to scuba divers what Switzerland is to skiers, Hawaii to surfers and Nepal to mountaineers.It is a
place you must visit at least once, to get to the real heart of the sport. The country is a veritable smorgasboard of
world-class dive sites set in a lush tropical environment with all the trappings you could wish for. Statistics from the
Philippine Department of Tourism indicate that divers visiting the Philippines return for an average of 10 trips each, which
speaks volume about the quality of the dive sites and the professionalism of the operators.
The Philippines, also known as the Pearl of the Orient Seas, is located 1,210 km (750 miles) away from mainland Asia,
consists of 7,107 islands and forms a part of the Malay Archipelago. With 334.539 kilometers of natural harbors, gulfs and
white palm fringed white sand beaches, it has the longest discontinuous coastline in the world.
Visibility of up to 60 meters, shipwrecks, drop-offs, over 2,000 species of fish and more than 800 species of soft and hard
corals make the Philippines a year around divers heaven. The average water temperatures (December - March 21 C to 25
April - November 25 C to 28 C) allow divers to experience the underwater world in comfort.
The country has three seasons: a cooler, dry season from November to February, the hot and dry season from March to
June marks the summer and the rainy season with high humidity and rainfall follows from June until October. The
temperatures depending on the season are between 31 to 33°C and humidity between 65 to 90 percent.
Cliffs covered with sponges, colorful corals, gorgonians, turtles, sharks, and rays are among the Philippines's underwater
wonders and divers hunting for small fishes and creatures will find excellent sites for macro photography where the very
rarely seen exotic fishes like Spanish dancer, harlequin ghost-pipefish, camouflaged frogfish, fire gobies and various
species of Seahorses can be spotted. The Philippines is a real treasure to be found by the adventurous divers!
place you must visit at least once, to get to the real heart of the sport. The country is a veritable smorgasboard of
world-class dive sites set in a lush tropical environment with all the trappings you could wish for. Statistics from the
Philippine Department of Tourism indicate that divers visiting the Philippines return for an average of 10 trips each, which
speaks volume about the quality of the dive sites and the professionalism of the operators.
The Philippines, also known as the Pearl of the Orient Seas, is located 1,210 km (750 miles) away from mainland Asia,
consists of 7,107 islands and forms a part of the Malay Archipelago. With 334.539 kilometers of natural harbors, gulfs and
white palm fringed white sand beaches, it has the longest discontinuous coastline in the world.
Visibility of up to 60 meters, shipwrecks, drop-offs, over 2,000 species of fish and more than 800 species of soft and hard
corals make the Philippines a year around divers heaven. The average water temperatures (December - March 21 C to 25
April - November 25 C to 28 C) allow divers to experience the underwater world in comfort.
The country has three seasons: a cooler, dry season from November to February, the hot and dry season from March to
June marks the summer and the rainy season with high humidity and rainfall follows from June until October. The
temperatures depending on the season are between 31 to 33°C and humidity between 65 to 90 percent.
Cliffs covered with sponges, colorful corals, gorgonians, turtles, sharks, and rays are among the Philippines's underwater
wonders and divers hunting for small fishes and creatures will find excellent sites for macro photography where the very
rarely seen exotic fishes like Spanish dancer, harlequin ghost-pipefish, camouflaged frogfish, fire gobies and various
species of Seahorses can be spotted. The Philippines is a real treasure to be found by the adventurous divers!
- Boating and Sailing are immediately obvious things to do in the Philippines. This can range from chartering
luxury cameraman yachts, to sailling a ‘Hobie Cat’, or renting a ‘pump' boat (banka) or traveling on the large ferries
- Water Sports Water skiing and Jet Ski hire are available from most major beach Resorts along with ‘banana boat’
inflatables and such, which 'kids' of all ages seem to enjoy.
- Hiking The best way to experience the beauty that the Philippines has to offer, is on foot. If you don’t know
where to go, and what to see, guides can be hired and there are ‘adventure’ tour operators who can arrange
expeditions to visit ‘off the beaten track’ places. There are social organisations that cater for taking groups out
into the Philippines countryside on Rambles, walks, or even ‘Hashes’.
- Biking/Cycling For those not wanting to explore on foot, one can try cycling or mountain biking. Again these can
be rented and specialized ‘Adventure Tour’ operators organize ‘expeditions’. Renting a motorcycle for some Off-
Road Dirt Biking extends the range of places one can visit in a day – you do need motorcycling experience to try
this though. There are also specialized social Dirt Biking Clubs you can join, and they will show you the places to
go.
- Golf is a popular pastime for many everywhere. The Philippines offers some excellent courses at very affordable
prices.
- Music is very popular in the Philippines. It seems to get into their blood at an early age with kids singing along to
Karaoke music. Filipinos are very gifted and talented musicians and singers. Unlike Western bands or groups
where you have one guy who is rhythm, another is lead, another a bass guitarist and one on the drums. Many
Filipinas can play several, or all the instruments, and very capable of taking on the job as lead singer as well.
Western groups tend to have rigid ‘sets’ of pre-planned numbers whereas a Filipina band will improvise and adapt
to suit the mood and wants of a particular audience as well as often performing any song on request. If you have
never tried singing – learn! Joining in a Karaoke session is a good way of ‘bonding’ with the locals and if you
attempt one in Tagalog, it will earn much respect (even if you don't get it right they appreciate you trying and have
a good laugh at your pronunciation mistakes!).
