Philippines

Best overall months to dive: Mar–May

The Philippines covers thresher sharks at Malapascua, macro at Anilao and Dauin, Moalboal's resident sardine baitball, and Panglao and Balicasag's walls and jack schools. Coron holds Japanese WWII wrecks; Subic Bay adds lower-visibility wreck diving inside an active industrial port, with permits and technical limits that matter. Romblon is a specialist macro trip for rare sea slugs, not a reliable checklist. Donsol and Sogod Bay offer wild, non-provisioned whale sharks, unlike the fed encounters at Oslob. Apo Reef and Tubbataha are the two big offshore reefs, with Tubbataha liveaboard-only from roughly mid-March to mid-June. Something is diveable most months, though March to May is the broad dry-season core and typhoon risk is highest from roughly August to December.

Dive regions

Anilao, Batangas

$–$$ · Land based, Shore dive, Day trip

Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Nov, Dec

Apo Reef Natural Park

$–$$ · Liveaboard, Land based, Day trip

Best: Mar–May

Coron, Palawan

$ · Land based, Day trip, Liveaboard

Best: Mar–May

Dauin

$–$$ · Land based, Shore dive, Day trip

Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec

Donsol & Ticao Pass

$ · Land based, Day trip

Best: Feb–Apr

Malapascua

$ · Land based, Day trip

Best: Mar–May

Moalboal

$ · Shore dive, Land based, Day trip

Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Nov, Dec

Panglao & Balicasag (Bohol)

$–$$ · Land based, Day trip, Shore dive

Best: Jan–May

Puerto Galera

$ · Land based, Day trip, Shore dive

Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Nov, Dec

Romblon

$–$$ · Land based, Day trip, Shore dive

Best: Feb–Apr

Sogod Bay

$ · Land based, Day trip, Shore dive

Best: Jan–Apr

Subic Bay

$–$$ · Land based, Day trip

Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Nov, Dec

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park

$–$$$ · Liveaboard

Best: Apr–May