A popular vacation spot since the 1970’s, Boracay was awarded distinction as one of Travel and Leisure’s top ten islands for 2011, taking fourth place. With excellent resorts, beautiful expanses of white sandy beach and great diving, this is the perfect place to throw your cares to the wind and spend time relaxing with your favorite dive buddy. And, whether you’re new to diving or if you are a seasoned expert, you’ll find that the diving is excellent. Here are ten of the best Boracay dive sites available – there’s something for everyone.
Bat Cave
A challenging site made up of a series of caves arranged along coral and gorgonian strewn walls that drop from 30 to 60 meters, the Bat Cave dive site is washed by strong currents and is suitable for expert divers only. An excellent place to view manta rays and hammerheads on occasion, the site always yields big schools of snapper and other fish, along with lots of white tip and gray reef shark sightings. Smaller reef fish are abundant, and inside the caves, you’ll find lobsters, shrimp, and moray eels.
Friday’s Rock
Located on Boracay’s west coast, Friday’s Rock is close to shore and features maximum depth at just 18 meters. Dive operators have been feeding the fish here for decades; they are friendly and will follow divers in hopes of receiving a handout. Watch for blue tang and damselfish, emperor angelfish and stingrays, lots of wrasse, and some large parrotfish. This site is fun and easy, plus it offers some good photo opps.
Camia Wreck
A 30 meter cargo boat deployed as an artificial reef in 2001, the Camia Wreck is quickly acquiring a lovely coat of coral and sponge growth. Home to a school of batfish and some enormous red bass, a few transient groupers and lots of trevally and scorpionfish, to name just a few, the wreck sits beneath 30 meters of water and is accessible at 18 meters. It is suitable for intermediate divers and up.
Laurel Island
There are actually two Laurel Islands, the larger of which features an 8 meter long swimthrough. With sloping walls that begin at about 5 meters and eventually meet the seabed at a depth of 24 meters, this is a lovely site with fantastic coral cover. Watch for small reef sharks, and keep an eye out for turtles as you enjoy all the smaller reef inhabitants that make their homes here.
Channel Drift
A superb drift dive for experienced divers only, the Boracay Channel Drift lets you fly along with the current through coral-strewn canyons filled to overflowing with tropical fish in every shape and color imaginable. With depths between 10 and 35 meters, and good visibility that sometimes exceeds 20 meters, the site yields frequent reef shark sightings and pelagic encounters are numerous.
Laguna De Boracay
A relaxing site which is ideal for all divers, Laguna De Boracay is located on the backside, or east side of the island. With lots of smaller creatures, including clams and sea squirts, butterfly fish and feather stars, anemone playing host to clownfish, crabs, and shrimps, it is a huge area which offers opportunities for endless exploration among stands of healthy hard and soft coral. Depths vary from 5 to 20 meters, and visibility is usually quite good, sometimes exceeding 20 meters.
Yapak
Located along the island’s northern edge, Yapak features a pair of walls that offer an excellent vantage point for viewing large pelagics. Watch for sharks and rays, huge tuna and trevally, fleets of toothy barracuda, and gleaming schools of baitfish. While maximum depth is 70 meters, you can see plenty at a depth of about 30 meters. Currents can be swift – this challenging site is reserved for experienced divers only.
Balinghai
A pair of walls that begin in 8 meters of water and ultimately make their way to the seabed 40 meters below, Balinghai features a small wall punctuated with fantastic grottoes filled with anthias and gobies, bannerfish, butterfly fish, triggerfish, puffer fish, and moray eels, groupers and snapper, and lots of crustaceans. The deeper wall offers an excellent opportunity to view dogtooth tuna and reef sharks, barracuda, trevally, and other large fish.
Angol Point
An excellent site for all divers and perfect for novices and snorkelers, Angol Point is often used for diver training and checkout dives, and it is a favorite night dive spot. Covered in fantastic leather corals and stony corals, the reef shelters a wealth of invertebrates and crustaceans, nudibranchs and gorgeous reef fish. Brilliantly lit from above, the site is excellent for macro photography. Maximum depth is just 12 meters.
Crocodile Island
Don’t worry – you won’t encounter crocs on this dive. The site is named for its shape, which resembles the silhouette of a crocodile! Crocodile Island is a rocky, uninhabited island that features a stunning wall which begins at a depth of 5 meters and drops to meet the seabed at a depth of 20 meters. Located a short 20 minute boat ride from Boracay’s White Beach, the site also boasts gorgeous canyons and caves. You’ll find colorful coral gardens and sponges here, along with anemones that host colonies of orange and white clownfish, huge groupers and big lobsters hiding in holes and grottoes, and a brilliant explosion of reef fish by the thousands. Sometimes subject to swift currents and best for diving at slack tide, the site is suitable for intermediate divers and above.
Not only does Boracay boast fine resorts, but there are also several dive operators on the island, some of which offer extended trips to more remote locations. Getting here is fairly easy – after landing in Manila, take a connecting flight to Kalibo, then enjoy a scenic 2 hour drive followed by a quick 15 minute boat trip. Then, let the relaxation and fun begin! The best time to dive Boracay is between March and June. Book in advance for what is certain to be an enjoyable vacation – and some truly unforgettable diving.