Anilao

Scuba Diving in Anilao, Philippines

Anilao Diving Highlights

Anilao is located about 3 hours drive south of Manila on the island of Luzon, in the Batangas province of the Philippines. Divers and underwater photographers are attracted to Anilao for the incredible diversity, rich reefs, variety of fish, unexpected critters and nudibranchs turning up at every corner. The beachfront resorts are nestled against the jungle and provide exotic scenery while riding to and from dive sites.

Read why Anilao is home to some of the best diving in the Philippines. 

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Intro to Anilao Diving

The Anilao diving scene is dominated by its world-class muck dives, wide array of rare critters, and unique blackwater diving experience. Prepare your critter list, pack your underwater photo gear, and head to Anilao. You'll be surprised how many you manage to cross off within a week of scuba diving Anilao.

Saying that Anilao is a critter haven and paradise for macro underwater photographers is almost of an understatement. There is more to this Philippines diving destination that you could ask for. With healthy reefs nearby, wide-angle opportunities are also present. 

Much like its rivaling destination in Indonesia, Lembeh, Anilao is home to incredibly trained and knowledgeable dive guides who will blow your mind with their God-given ability to point the rarest, smallest, weirdest critter that you'll never be able to find yourself. 

And then there is the friendliness and hospitality of the Philippines dive and resort staff. The Philippines truly is a hospitable country, and you'll feel their warm welcome the moment you land at the airport. 

Watch this awesome video to give you a great feel for what it would be like to dive in Anilao!

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Anilao Diving Information

Critters & Macro Life in Anilao

Virtually every variety of juvenile fish and critter imaginable can be found in Anilao. You'll definitely want to bring your best underwater camera. Shrimp, crabs, nudibranchs, small squid, and cuttlefish are arguably more plentiful than any other dive destination. Frogfish, pipefish, and seahorses are also fairly common, and we've even seen Rhinopias and Hairy Frogfish. Wonderpus, mimic, and blue-ringed octopus can also be seen.

Bobbit worms and many other critters await patient muck divers. Anilao has a large number of species of hard and soft corals - perhaps more than anywhere else in the world. Local guides take pride in locating even the smallest macro subjects living on the corals, oftentimes leaving photographers with a tough decision on which subject to shoot.

Images By: Laurie Slawson & Virginia Worn-Ross

Bigger Marine Life & Wide-Angle Opportunities in Anilao

Larger marine life is also found in Anilao, including large schools of jacks, the occasional turtle and giant seahorses. At Mainit point, which has strong currents, we've seen up to 4 great barracuda hunting, along with giant and bluefin trevally. Reef sharks are occasionally seen down deep at dive sites with stronger currents and on very rare occasions people have seen small whale sharks.

Anilao has some unique soft coral forests, generally found at 70 - 130ft deep, which are mostly unexplored and can turn up rare critters such as seahorses and rhinopias.

Anilao is also one of the best places to dive in Southeast Asia. Check out the full list here.

Image By: Laurie Slawson.

What it's Like to Dive in Anilao

Diving is usually by a small open boat (bangka), which is comfortable for up to 4 divers plus a crew of 2-3. Dive sites are usually 10-25 minutes away from most resorts. The general schedule is 2 dives early in the morning, enjoying lunch and rest in the afternoon at the resort, and then 2 more dives in the late afternoon, with the last dive being a complete night dive.

Frequent night dives are a must in Anilao and no visit would be complete without a muck dive at the pier! Dive time limits are less stringent than at other locations, and significant time can be spent in the shallows. Occasionally divers will encounter currents but the guides at the resorts we recommend dive according to everyone's skill and comfort levels. The guides are excellent critter-finders, which keeps photographers shooting for the entire dive.  

For more information, you may want to check out our report from our trip to Anilao in 2019 & 2022.

Diving Conditions

• Water Temperature: Water temp is generally 27.5C/81F but in January and February this can drop to around 25C/77F. We recommend diving in a 3mm full wetsuit with booties. Many divers choose to wear light gloves and occasionally a hood after several days of repetitive diving. Be sure to bring a light rain jacket, and ample sun protection.
• Visibility: Typically 40-50ft
• Weather: The average annual temperature is 27.2 °C 

Best Dive Sites in Anilao

Here are some of the diving highlights around Anilao!

• "Twin Rocks" - one of the best. Prolific life at 10ft to 130ft and all depths between. Great for macro and wide-angle. Soft corals, schooling jacks, small fish, jawfish and much much more.
• "Beatrice" - stronger currents, profusion of swarming anthias, great wide-angle opportunities shooting upward against corals
• "Kirby's Rock" - great visibility, a beautiful wall filled with life, and a surprising number of good macro subjects
• "Secret Bay" - popular muck site that sometimes has mimic octopus, wonderpus, pipefish, seahorses, frogfish and more
• Muck sites - the "hot" muck sites change season to season, contact Bluewater Travel for the latest spots and critters seen.
• Blackwater dives - Anilao offers some of world's best blackwater diving. You can see countless species of jellies and larval stage fish and invertebrates, most of them unknown to science. 

Images By  (From Left to Right): Laurie Slawson Deborah Bennett, Virginia Worn-Ross

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Travel Information 

How to Get to Anilao

Anilao is about a 3-hour drive from the Manila International Airport (MNL), also known as Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Several major Asian airports run flights to MNL and serve as layovers for visitors from the US and Europe. Once clearing customs with checked bags, divers walk outside and take a tunnel down to the left where resort shuttle drivers are waiting with signs. The drive out of the city is exciting and you can catch glimpses of the colorful Manila city life through the window.  

How to Dive Anilao

Anilao is a two to three-hour van ride from the airport in Manila. Resorts, liveaboards and dive centers are available. Many divers combine Anilao with a trip to dive Puerto Galera, or Cebu / Dumaguete. Puerto Galera is just an easy hour speedboat ride away, while Cebu or Dumaguete is an hour's flight from Manila.  

Most of the Anilao dive sites are close to the dive resorts, 10 to 20-minute boat rides in a small "outrigger" style boat is the norm.

Underwater equipment to bring

• Anilao is a mecca for underwater macro photography.  Dive guides are well-trained in showing photographers and videographers the best subjects in a careful manner. In addition to an underwater housing, we recommend bringing an underwater strobe to bring back the colors of the marine life.

Best Time to Dive 

October to early June is the main diving season in Anilao. The best months are November / December and April/May, with April and May being the most crowded months at the resorts.

Monsoon occurs in July through August, but the dive sites remain accessible.

The critters and rich marine life are found year-round. If you don't mind slightly cooler temps, then Jan - March is great too, and often has more critters underwater.

Other Things to Do

Anilao is relatively limited in terms of non-dive activities. Snorkeling, kayaking and various excursions can be arranged at the resort of your choice. If you're traveling with non-diving friends, partners, or family members, destinations like Puerto Galera or Dumaguete might be more suitable.

• Snorkeling
• Kayaking
• Various excursions

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Other Useful Information 

Practical Information

• Currency: Philippine Peso (PHP)
• Language: Filipino & English
• Time Zone: UTC+8
• Electricity: 220 V 60 Hz

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