The Philippines has won Asia’s Leading Dive Destination from the World Travel Awards seven consecutive times since 2019, and now the archipelago has a new national plan to develop sustainable “ridge to reef” experiences, highlighting both the rare encounters visitors can enjoy underwater and the UNESCO-recognised cultural and natural treasures on offer above ground.
Two years into the islands’ latest tourism development plan, Travel Tomorrow sat down with the Mission of the Philippines to the EU’s Ambassador Jaime Victor H. Ledda and Tourism Attaché Dakila F. Gonzales to discuss their favourite diving spots and other recommendations.
1. Combine Baroque Manila with macro diving in Anilao
The Baroque Churches of the Philippines have been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Their architecture lends insight into the nation’s European colonial past but is fused with local materials such as wood and coral stone. Visitors arriving in Manila can see the notable example of San Agustin, then travel just three hours by bus (for less than €5) or a couple of hours by taxi (around €40) for an underwater treasure hunt in Anilao, the world capital of nudibranchs, and nearby Mabini and Batangas, where the fascinating and colourful world of macro diving awaits.
@riccciarevalo Quick dive in Anilao last week. Water was ice cold and cloudy. Don’t go diving in feb 😂 #freediving #batangas #philippines #leaderfins ♬ Somewhere Only We Know – Gustixa & Rhianne
2. Historic Subic Bay, Zambales
If larger-scale underwater discoveries are more the attraction, also near Manila, Subic Bay presents historic aircraft and shipwrecks and a view of the Philippines as a crucial world war battleground. Take the USS New York, which hit water in 1891 as the fastest armoured cruiser in the world and was scuttled 50 years later in 1941, to prevent her falling to the invading Japanese. Similarly, the World War II freighter El Capitan’s final resting place is nearby and shallower, suitable for all ability levels.
@sunridgesubic We can’t think of a better time to spend some time underwater and stay cool in this weather. Book a stay with us & receive the best for dive site recos! #sunridgesubic #subicbay #subicbayfreeportzone #scubadiving #subicdiving ♬ Bossa Nova / cafe / food comfortable with a guitar – MATSU
3. Combine sea turtles, coral and muck-diving with trekking the Chocolate Hills on Bohol and Balicasag
The island of Bohol has been designated a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2012. Here, the visitor can trek the Chocolate Hills, a collection of nearly 1,200 nearly symmetrical mounds that change colour seasonally from green to brown. In protected forests, the world’s smallest primate, the tarsier, thrives. Just one adventure might involve kayaking downriver, marvelling in mystical caves like Hinagdanan, at underground lakes and stalactites, and then diving just offshore to spy out the seahorses or explore a kilometres-long reef. Meanwhile, just nine kilometres away, the further dive spot of Balicasag is renowned for its sea turtles and marine sanctuary.
4. Design, thresher sharks, and thousands of sardines on Cebu
Just a two-hour ferry journey from Bohol Island is the central Philippine destination of Cebu. Cebu City is a UNESCO design destination, known for its furniture, arts, crafts, and fashion (and, for visitors on the Baroque trail, offers the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, allegedly the oldest church in the country). Touring the island will also unlock one of the planet’s most mesmerising marine sights: Moalboal’s iconic, year-round sardine run. Occurring only metres offshore, this once-in-a-lifetime experience is accessible to beginners, snorkelers, and divers. The sardines’ breathtaking, silvery, synchronised patterns might be one of the best ways to fall in love with diving – an activity Attaché Dakila F. Gonzales described to Travel Tomorrow as “incredibly sexy.” And over on the eastern side of Cebu, lies Malapascua, one of the only places in the world where thresher sharks can regularly be seen. From here, visitors can access both a historic shrine, the mangroves of the Olango reserve, and the world-class scuba diving of Mactan.
@keejayvalenzona Proof that Cebu is the country’s top island destination. 🌴🐋 Featuring: 1. Kawasan Falls, Badian 2. Malapascua, Daanbantayan 3. Osmeña Peak, Dalaguete 4. Whale Shark Watching, Oslob 5. Tumalog Falls, Oslob 6. Camotes Islands 7. Mantayupan Falls, Barili 8. Sirao, Cebu City Comment down your favorite spot in the island. #Cebu #Philippines 🎨 Colorgraded in @VN Video Editor 🚁 DJI Mini 3 Pro @DJI Philippines ♬ Baianá – Bakermat
5. The biodiversity and shipwrecks of Palawan, Coron Bay, and the Tubbataha Reefs
It would be remiss not to mention Palawan’s UNESCO-listed Tubbataha Reefs, whose clear waters boast one of the best intact reef systems in Asia, alive with biodiversity, including sharks and rays. Like a ski resort that offers fun for a wide range of ability levels, it’s an exciting marine sports opportunity that blends beginner-friendly corals with a unique collection of World War II shipwrecks, sunk by the US in 1944 in Coron Bay, suitable for more seasoned divers. As well as the ships’ ghostly suspended bridges and walkways, valves and gears, machine rooms and anti-aircraft guns, underwater explorers can encounter an array of marine residents, including star puffers, barrel sponges, and lionfish.
6. Remote and pristine Southern Leyte
To the east of Bohol and Cebu, in the Eastern Visayas, a series of more remote and less touristic dive sites will reward those prepared to take a longer journey. From November to May, pristine Sogod Bay offers the awe-inspiring chance to swim in a controlled, marine-protected environment with whale sharks – a gentle giant that is the world’s largest known fish species. Padre Burgos is described by some as the Philippines’ best-kept secret, and Limasawa Island, the cradle of Christianity in the Philippines, offers romantic small coves, ideal for swimming and snorkelling.
Scuba diving Sogod Bay Southern Leyte Philippines pic.twitter.com/LQbpQg3T5U
— Sogod Bay Scuba Resort (@SogodBay) April 4, 2025
With thousands of islands, it isn’t hard to understand how the Philippines rates so highly among divers and travellers from around the world, and is still able to offer a warm welcome on land and at sea to those who are yet to discover this award-winning destination.
