Aside from Scuba Diving, Puerto Galera has a wide range of other activities on offer. For those who are not content with topping up their tan, there is no shortage of things to do!

Extreme Sports

X-Treme Sports Philippines offers a great day out for large or small groups of all ages. They have a regulation Go-Kart racing track with 200cc Karts, an Off-Road Adventure Track with 150cc ATV’s and Buggies, and last but not least they also offer Jungle Paintball! Great adrenaline pumping fun. They are also planning to install a zip slide through the jungle soon! For more information, pricing and contact details, visit our X-Treme Sports page.

Tours and Vehicular Activities

There are several options for those who want to see the most popular attractions of Puerto Galera. There are guided tours available by Jeepney, Motorbike or Buggy, to visit  beautiful locations like Tamaraw Falls, Hidden Paradise, the Mangyan Village, White Beach and the Ponderosa Golf Course, with it’s stunning 270° view of Puerto Galera.

For those with a more independant spirit t is also possible to hire Scooters, Motorbikes, ATVs and Dune Buggies and discover for yourself what Puerto Galera has to offer. For information on Jeepney tours check out our Tours page, for more information on Motorbike Rentals, click here.

Watersports

Scuba diving aside, there are many other great watersport activities available in Puerto Galera. There are snorkelling boat trips, water skiing, Jetskis, kayaking, wakeboarding and bananaboat rides to name a few.
Just ask us where the is best place to go for the activity you are interested in.

The Puerto Galera Yacht club also has small boats for hire and sailing courses. You can visit them here for more information.

Please feel free to drop us a line if you require any more information!

The night diving in Puerto Galera is certainly not to be missed, as there are many species which will remain dormant during daylight hours and come out to feed or hunt at night. The wrecks around Puerto Galera are especially great when diving at night.

We hope you enjoy the video!

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: Bars floating in the middle of a beautiful bay!

If you are looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon or evening, check out the two floating bars in Sabang Bay. The bars are moored in the bay about 50 meters from the beach, and have little taxi boats ferrying guests back and forth.

You can relax at the bar or on the deck and catch a tan, hop in the water whenever you feel like cooling down, and the bars are perfectly situated for great sunsets. Things can sometimes get a bit boistrous when the bars are busy, and the very raunchy wet-shirt and bikini competitions are not to be missed!

If you like turtles you will love this video!

Whilst the waters of Puerto Galera contain a fairly large number of turtles, they are one of the less frequently seen species, and are often quite shy. We were incredibly lucky to have this beautiful specimen let us track and film him for a full 5 minutes! Such a graceful creature, what a great experience.

Just another affirmation that Puerto Galera has some of the best diving in the world!

For the past 15 YEARS, I’ve been to different parts of the world, trying to explore the underwater beauty of the seas as much as I can. I was running a dive shop in Egypt and the Maldives back then, but had always wondered about the Philippines after hearing so many wonderful stories about it from friends and colleagues. I’ve always wanted to come here.

And finally, about three years ago, I was given the opportunity to establish and manage a dive centre here. My first reaction, the moment I got to dive here, was pure amazement. The dive sites are fantastic!

As an underwater macro photographer, I was impressed by the abundance and variety of marine life in the area. I was able to shoot dozens and dozens of spectacular underwater photos in just the first few days of my diving here. And right then and there, also considering the friendliness of the locals and the relaxed lifestyle here, I decided that I was going to stay in Puerto Galera for good. I now understand what the fuss was all about.

Most of the dive sites here are only 2-10 minutes away by boat. You can find around 39 dive sites in just a short 1.5km stretch of sea – each with its own features and attraction, something that is hard to find elsewhere in the world.

Even the Verde Island Passage, which is officially recognized as the “World’s Centre of Centres of Marine Shorefish Biodiversity”, is merely 30 minutes away.

That’s the beauty of this place. It is just so rich and amazing. You can find interesting marine creatures here, seahorses and sea turtles for example, in waters as shallow as 4 metres deep. The dive sites are also not too crowded. Most of the time you will find yourself alone with your group.

Although a good number of visitors here already have some kind of an idea on what Puerto Galera has to offer, it is also important to note that there are also many backpackers who got to discover the wonders of this place just by accident. These are the people who come to visit the Philippines without any fixed itinerary in mind. Many of them end up here in Puerto Galera maybe because it is one of the nearest tourist destinations from Manila. And because of the different kinds of diving packages that are being offered here, they always find something that fits their travel budget.

So what happens is that, they first come here as backpackers, but almost always leave as certified divers. That, I can say, is undeniable proof of Puerto Galera’s charm.

And because of all this, you can see constant improvements all over the town throughout the years. You can virtually find high-class resorts sprouting out of nowhere almost overnight. Rooms are also being continuously upgraded. So in effect, the local business benefits, and people’s lives are also improved.

I would also like to mention that careful attention is being given to the environment here – to preserve and make it sustainable despite the increasing popularity of the area. Both the locals and dive shop operators share the same sense of responsibility on how to take goog care of the environment through continuous awareness programs, seminars and environmental clean-up events.

It is just sad to mention that many Filipinos have yet to experience diving. It is ironic that westerners get to enjoy the underwater life here first while most Filipinos have yet to see these things.

That’s why I try to tell as many people as possible the marvels of diving in this country. In our dive shop for example, I require that everybody take some diving courses, just so that they would have even basic knowledge of diving. Even our kitchen staff have done some Discover Scuba training. I want all of them to experience it, primarily for their own enjoyment, but secondly, to make them credible, so when a first-time tourist comes to our dive shop and asks questions about diving, all of us will be able to provide at least basic information. I firmly believe that people and businesses here in Sabang are interconnected and all have something to do about diving.

I still hope that Filipinos will one day realise that they are very lucky to have such natural wonders in their country and start to go diving too. I’m optimistic that this will eventually happen. Like 10-15 years ago in Europe, no one was into golfing because it was such a high-class sport and very expensive (then). But now you see more and more people taking up golf as a sport. The same is happening with diving. Dive courses are getting cheaper and cheaper, and more and more dive centres are being established.

It will only be a matter of time until diving enters the mainstream and will be enjoyed by many, young and old alike, as a universal sport. After all, the beauty of the sea is for everyone to enjoy.

See you under!

Written by Guido Busch for Puerto Galera Living Magazine.
Special thanks to Mike Fehr for the incredible photos.

We hope you enjoy the first in our series of videos highlighting some of the incredible diving to be found in Puerto Galera‘s warm, clear waters. Puerto Galera is a diver’s paradise, with over 40 dive sites within a few minutes boat ride of the dive centres. There is something for everyone, from beginners to career divers: drift dives, wrecks, macro-photography dives and much more.

Puerto Galera has been voted one of the most beautiful bays in the world; combine this with the amazing diving, vibrant nightlife and a host of other activities available and you have the recipe for a vacation of a lifetime.

Book your dream tropical diving vacation today!

Written by Scott Rogers for ScubaGlobe Magazine
Underwater Photography courtesy of Mike Fehr

Diving in Puerto Galera with any frequency is enough to spoil the most jaded of divers. no matter how many times you visit, there is always something new to see. Puerto Galera and her ample charms beckons me again and again.

Separated from Luzon by the deep waters of Verde Island passage, Puerto Galera (Port of Galleons) is one of the most popular dive destinations in the Philippines. Located on the magnificently rugged island of Mindoro, the beautiful natural harbour provided a safe haven for galleons seeking shelter from typhoons. Prior to the arrival of the spanish in 1572, Malay, Chinese and Indonesian merchants have been plying these waters as early as the 10th century to trade with the island’s original inhabitants. Today the boats are still coming, heavily laden with divers and holidaymakers wishing to experience the area’s bountiful attractions.

Strong currents and upwellings flush nutrient-rich waters through the Verde Island Passage, supporting a wealth of biodiversity. Carpeting the seabed is a dense mantle of vibrant corals and marine invertebrates – a paradise for underwater photographers. These rich coastal waters have been protected as a marine sanctuary for a number of years, resulting in prolific reefs teeming with fish.

High Voltage

With over 30 dive sites to choose from, there is something to offer even the most discriminating diver. From wrecks to high-voltage drift-dives, most sites are within a few minutes banca ride from many of the resorts. A bit further afield lays Verde Island, with its stunning wall and abundant fish life. although the entire area is referred to as Puerto Galera, the bulk of the accommodation is congregated around Sabang Beach, Small Lalaguna and Big Lalaguna Beach.

More than 20 different dive shops in the area cater to divers of many different nationalities. The diving is relatively inexpensive by Asian standards making Puerto Galera an ideal place for beginners to be certified. Europeans, Australians and American tend to dominate the dive sites, but in recent years have been joined  by an increasing influx of arrivals from around Asia, especially South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The diving is year round, although bad weather from May-September may hamper bancas from making the crossing to Batangas. Still, there are far worse places one can be stranded!

The Diving

Canyons

Undoubtedly the most popular dive in Puerto Galera is the Canyons. An advanced site due to the depth and strong currents, this is THE place in Puerto Galera for big fish action. After being dropped in near Hole in the Wall, an exhilarating drift-dive sweeps divers to three large fissures in the seabead at depths ranging from 24-30m. In order to be swept into position, a dive guide with extensive knowledge of the currents is absolutely essential. To escape current, duck into one of the canyons, sit back and enjoy the show. The fish life here is overwhelming. Anthias congregate in large numbers among vividly coloured soft corals, while magnificent sea fans provide a colourful backdrop for large harlequin, oriental and ribbon sweetlips, emperor angelfish, lionfish and batfish. Large shoals of snapper, trevally, emperors and chevron barracuda are frequently observed cruising the deep waters just off the third canyon. Extremely lucky divers have even spotted mantas, hammerheads and thresher sharks. Entrenched in the seabed at the end of the third canyon, an old coral-encrusted anchor provides a good signpost for divers to regroup before being swept off into the current for the safety stop. When the currents are running you’ll end up surfacing a LONG way from your entry point. If not, it’s actually possible to swim back to Hole in the Wall. The only downside of the location is the depth, resulting in an all-too-short bottom time. To fully appreciate this site, the Canyons are best made on Nitrox. This is a world-class dive you’ll want to do over and over again!

Boulders

Located at the headland south of Escarceo Point, Boulders is one of the most distant sites from Sabang, taking roughly 30 minutes by banca. Surface conditions tend to be choppy, with some degree of current usually present. A number of huge boulders, one the size of a house, tumble down to around 25m creating a series of swim-throughs, tunnels and overhangs. As you descend the slope, the site is strewn with boulders of various sizes. This is also a terrific site for nudibranchs. During my dive, my guide excitedly gestured to a nembrotha nudibranch lying on a rock. It was only after scrutinising the developed photo that I realised the nudibranch was in the process of laying a delicate spiral of yellow eggs! Prawns and small lobsters can often be found in the profuse cracks and crevices, while dragonets, stonefish, scorpionfish and lionfish are commonly observed. Basket sponges, gorgonias including sea whips housing tiny whip gobies and soft corals decorate the rocky surfaces with a riot of colour. Hanging on a huge boulder at 25m, a diminutive sea fan is home to a lone pygmy sea horse. Despite having been to Puerto Galera many times before, this was the first time I’d ever dived Boulders, and it certainly won’t be my last!

Sinandigan Wall

Nudibranch enthusiasts won’t want to miss Sinandigan Wall. Descending from 5-30m, the wall, cloaked with a combination of stoney and soft corals, is home to a diverse selection of nudibranchs. Up to a dozen different species can be observed on one dive, offering limitless possibilities to the macro photographer. Some species are so common one can almost become blasé! Often mistaken for nudibranchs, hordes of miniature yellow sea cucumbers cling to the wall, tentacles outstretched in the current, to collect any tidbits of food that happen to pass by. With all the nudibranchs on display, it’s very easy to overlook the other creatures found here. Cuttlefish are also common in the vicinity, and are easily overlooked as a result of their expert camouflage. They are usually quite curious, and with slow movements, can be closely approached. However, if alarmed, undulating waves of colour flash across the skin to show their displeasure before disappearing in a jet of water. Plenty of the larger fish species, including snappers, jacks, trevallies, tuna and baracuda, can sometimes be seen off the wall. That is if the nudibranchs aren’t diverting all of your attention!

Kilima Drift

I had mentioned to Ali, my guide that my previous dive at the Canyons had the biggest concentration of anthias that I’d ever seen. Ali smiled and said “Wait until you see Kilima drift.” She wasn’t kidding!

Located between Sinandigan Wall and West Escarceo, this 1.5km drift is one of the best that the area has to offer. Starting well upcurrent from Sinandigan Wall, a series of up and down currents sweep divers past canyons and walls shrouded with a varied assortment of multi-coloured soft corals, whip corals and sponges. Vast numbers of anthias hover in the current amid green tubastrea corals, while out in the deep water, schools of barracuda, trevally and mackerel can be seen hanging out in the currents.

When the moon is full, current speeds can reach up to 6 knots. At these times the distance from Sinandigan Wall to Escarceo point can take as little as 10 minutes! With depths ranging from 10-30m, the dive can be kept shallow or deep depending on the experience level of the divers.

Sabang Wreck

Being thouroughly obsessed with macro photography, I could easily spend my entire visit in Sabang Bay. Lying at a depth of 18m , Sabang Wreck is an old wooden fishing junk purposely sunk for divers in 1993.After descending down the mooring line to the sandy bottom, divers are usually approached by a resident school of friendly batfish looking for a handout. While feeding is generally discouraged, it doesn’t prevent the optimistic batfish from trying! Resting upright on the sandy bottom, the wreck is a magnet for numerous species, especially frogfish. During numerous dives here, I have seen black, white, green, brown and orange specimens in all manner of sizes. At night, large numbers of well-camouflaged scorpionfish are to found hiding in the countless recesses in the sides of the ship, so be very careful where you put your hands. Durban hinge-beak shrimps are to be found among the vessel’s rotting timbers, as are eels, crabs, lionfish and stonefish. The sandy areas neighbouring the wreck are home to a diverse assortment of oddities, especially at night. Black-pitted snake eels, flounders, flamboyant cuttlefish, sponge crabs, mantis shrimp, sea horses and anenome hermit crabs are just some of the fascinating creatures to be found here. Careful probing into the sand with a pointer stick may result in a disturbed stargazer erupting from the bottom. This site is quite popular, with processions of divers congregating here at all times of day. This causes a dilema at night, as it can be very easy to end up following the wrong group. On one dive, one member of our group ended up on the wrong boat! Take care when surfacing as the bay can be thronged with boat traffic, even at night.

Sabang Bay, Sea Grass

Not far from the Sabang Wreck lies an extensive bed of sea grass at between 3-7m. This is also a great place for critters, but you have to look! What at first glance may appear to be a leaf resting on the bottom may actually turn out to be a cockatoo waspfish. Undulating gently in the current, this relative of the scorpionfish forms a perfect imitation of a leaf. Snaking across the bottom, metre-long sea cucumbers resembling vacuum cleaner hoses carry colourful emperor shrimps. Nearby, what appeared to be a tiny red pebble on the sand turned out to be a minute juvenile frogfish. Flying gunards, wings outstretched like elaborately decorated oriental fans, can be observed skimming over the sandy bottom, while Pegasus sea moths, morays, octopus, finger dragonets, dwarf lionfish, and a varied assortment of shells will compete for the macro enthusiast’s eye.

Alma Jane

Sunk in March 2003 near the Asia Divers pier, the Alma Jane is Sabang Bay’s newest wreck. The Alma Jane was a 60-ton, 35m steel-hulled cargo ship built in Japan in 1966, she sits upright at a depth of 30m. After being dropped off, divers descend via a mooring line to reach the wreck. Compared to my first visit in 2004, there had been a significant increase in marine life on the vessel’s superstructure. Fish life was more abundant as well. In addition to the ever-present batfish and lionfish, a shoal of bigeye trevally can be observed cruising around the wreck, attracted by the abundant shoals of baitfish on which they feed. The upper deck lies at a depth of 22m. Swimming through the ship’s hold revealed vast numbers of cardinalfish hovering amongst the numerous steel beams

Verde Island Drop Off

Less than an hour away by boat from Sabang, Verde Island provides one of the most spectacular wall dives in the Philippines. Plummeting down in excess of 100m in some places, this site has something to offer divers of all skill levels. A multitude of plate and staghorn corals can be found in the shallower water, while deeper down the wall, large soft corals, basket sponges and some very impressive gorgonian sea fans drape across the rocky surface. The nutrient rich waters attract swarms of anthias, surgeonfish, trumpetfish and butterfly fish, while shoals of bigeye trevally, rainbow runners, tuna and spanish mackerel can be seen out in the blue just off the wall. The sheer grandeur, colour and diversity of life makes it a must see for all divers.

The Blue Ribbon Dive Resort in Puerto Galera offers rooms and apartments at budget rates without sacrificing quality or comfort. All of their rooms have recently been renovated and equipped with brand new furniture and fittings. For clean and comfortable rooms in Puerto Galera, situated on a beautiful property only meters from the beach, Blue Ribbon Dive Resort is the obvious choice.

All the rooms and apartments come with a minibar, air conditioning, personal safe, hot and cold water, and cable TV. The bungalows and apartments are located at the back of the resort in our beautiful tropical garden, but still just meters from the beach and the clear waters of the bay. The bungalows all have their own terrace, so you can sit and relax while taking in the atmosphere.

The Dive resort is located on Lalaguna Beach, just around the corner from the bustling bay of Sabang. You have the convenience of being only a one-minute walk from Sabang (where you can find the shops, supermarkets, and many bars and restaurants), but can enjoy the peace, quiet, and tropical surroundings of Lalaguna Beach! Out of all the resorts in Puerto Galera you will find these lush gardens one of the most idyllic settings, while still being close to the nightlife, and of course, the best dive sites in the Philippines.

$30 per night (based on a 7-night stay)
Otherwise $36 per night

DivingAsia is your one-stop solution for a diving holiday in Puerto Galera. Our service will guide you effortlessly from your home to one of the most spectacular diving destinations in the Philippines. We will organize your transportation to and from the Philippines, accommodations at the best resorts, diving excursions and training and direct you to the best dining and entertainment Puerto Galera has to offer.

All-inclusive diving and hotel packages simplify your travel and ensure that your holiday is trouble-free. DivingAsia will make your adventure here in the Philippines unforgettable—once you’re here, you’ll never want to leave.

Standard packages include diving, hotel, and dining. Custom packages for groups and individuals are also available. Click here select one of our diving packages or to customize your own diving holiday.

Click on images to zoom!

Sabang Oasis is a British/Filipino owned resort nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood located only a three-minute walk from the beachfront, dive shops, and Puerto Galera’s numerous bars and restaurants. Their friendly Filipino staff speaks fluent English,and Tagalog and are there on site 24 hours a day to meet all your travel needs.

Sabang Oasis Resort offers a selection of modern rooms decorated in local decor constructed from ethnic materials. Each room has a queen-size bed, air conditioning, Wi-Fi internet access, spacious closets and cabinets, and a refrigerator fully stocked with the local favorite refreshments. The bathrooms are completely modern in western standards in every way. Each room also has a spacious balcony where you can relax in the warm Philippine sunshine and forget all your problems back home.

The resort has a rooftop swimming pool and bar with amazing views over Sabang Bay and the Manila Channel. It offers the perfect balance of great accommodations, friendly staff, and nice prices.

$37 per night (based on a 7-night stay)
Otherwise $45 per night