Philippines - Siren Fleet

Liveaboard Diving Trips in the Philippines

Liveaboard: S/Y Philippine Siren

Diving in the Philippines by luxury liveaboard you will have the opportunity to explore many islands and fantastic coral reefs. The Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands, surrounded by deep blue seas that contain some of the richest marine life on Earth. Thought by many to be the apex of the coral triangle, diving in the Philippines offers you a wide variety of marine environments to choose from. Dives on steep walls and offshore pinnacles, critter hunting in coastal reefs, wreck diving a sunken Japanese fleet and the opportunity to get up close to the World's largest fish - the whale shark. We offer 4 distinct trips to the islands and dive sites of the Philippines that will whet the appetite of even the most seasoned diver. Join us in Tubbataha, Coron & Anilao, Visayas - Cebu, Bohol, Apo & Negros and Leyte.

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Southern Visayas
Batangas-Coron
Tubbataha Reef
Southern Leyte

Dive Southern Visayas, departing Mactan or Moalboal

Year round - 6 to 10 nights from 2150 Euro
The Visayas region is home to some of the best diving in the Philippines, with its nutrient rich water supporting a variety of eco-systems & a wide diversity of marine life. Sites range from steep coral covered walls to gentle sloping reefs and muck diving hotspots. During the tour we visit and dive the islands of Cebu, Cabilao, Panglao, Balicasag and Pescador. Along with Apo Island marine sanctuary and critter hot spot Dauin.

Visayas Liveaboard Diving Itinerary

Departing from Cebu the S/Y Philippine Siren cruises southwards to the first stop at Cabilao Island, where steep reef walls are covered with sea fans, corals and sponges. Pygmy seahorses and frogfish are common sightings. Moving on to Balicasag we dive a variety of sites around the tiny island to see turtles and schools of jacks as well as barracuda and snapper. The dark sand slopes of Dauin are the place to find a myriad of tiny odd shaped bottom dwellers from robust ghost pipefish to pipehorses, waspfish and skeleton shrimps.
024JaneMorgan Philippines Apo Island is a testament to the success of the marine sanctuaries in the Philippines and the pristine corals abound with numerous fish species including redtooth trigger fish, pyramid butterfly fish and blue lined fusileers. Friendly turtles approach divers and at least 8 species of anemone fish can be found here. Moalboal and tiny Pescador Island are the next destination. Schools of sardines are known to pass through with hungry thresher sharks in their wake. Whale sharks pass through also in search of a meal and are frequently seen in the channel. Smaller creatures including a wide range of nudibranchs, shrimps and crabs can be found on each reef during every dive.

The calm seas and diversity make the Visayas an ideal diving destination for all experience levels. 10 night trips depart from and end in Mactan / Cebu, whilst shorter trips run between Mactan & Moalboal. We also offer special family trips and photography workshops.

Visayan Dive Site Highlights

Dive Anilao, Apo Reef & Coron Wrecks, departing Batangas or Busuanga

November to February - 10 nights from 2900 Euro
Apo Reef, a UNESCO world heritage site, is considered by many to be among the best diving in the Philippines. The Japanese World War II wrecks around Busuanga Island, particularly in Coron Bay, have been one of Philippine diving's best kept secrets whilst Anilao is well known for its numerous smaller creatures including blue-ringed octopus and Sargassum frogfish. The dive sites throughout our 10-night itinerary consist of wrecks from World War II, covered with soft and hard corals and home to schooling fish, a fresh water lake, steep reef walls and gentle sandy slopes and coral gardens; for a truly varied dive vacation.

Coron, Apo and Anilao Liveaboard Diving Itinerary

Just a few hours south of Manila, lies the World renown muck diving area of Anilao. It is here that many new species, particularly nudibranchs, have been discovered. There are numerous dive sites to explore including Secret Bay, Twin Rocks and Kirby's Rock where xeno crabs, seahorses, mimic octopus and many more odd looking critters can be seen. After 2-3 days diving in Anilao the S/Y Philippine Siren cruises southwards to Apo Reef, the second largest of the World's continuous reef systems. 33Km from the coast of Mindoro Occidental the reef teems with life. Rocky walls with huge seafans and barrel sponges attract schooling snappers & white tip reef sharks. Manta rays and eagle rays are also known visitors to the reefs for cleaning.
bluering To the far north of Palawan lies the Calamian group of islands, to which Busuanga and Coron are a part. During the Battle of Coron Bay in 1944, 24 ships of the Japanese supply fleet were sunk including the armed Arkitsushima and the oil tanker Olympia Maru. Up to 12 wrecks are within recreational diving depths and we spend up to 3 days diving the bay along with dives in the north part of the island for the chance to see dugongs and a trip to the inland Barracuda Lake - a freshwater site offering great visibility within the cave systems and some interesting thermoclines.

Trips start in either Coron and culminate in Batangas or vice versa. A one-way domestic flight is required.

Coron/Batangas Dive Site Highlights

Dive Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park, departing Puerto Princessa or Mactan

February to June - 6 nights / 13 nights from 2150 Euro
Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993, in recognition of its outstanding universal value in terms of marine life species diversity and richness, Tubbataha Reef offers some truly amazing diving, only accesible by liveaboard. These reefs consist of vertical walls or near drop off's rising out of great depths where hammerheads, thresher sharks and whale sharks can be seen. The shallow reef tops are teeming with colourful reef fish whilst at many dive sites stingrays, spiny lobsters, immature manta rays and turtles are found.

Tubbataha Liveaboard Diving Itinerary

150km South East of Puerto Princessa, on Palawan Island, the Tubbataha reef system covers 970 square Km, with 100square km of pristine coral reefs for divers to explore. Tubbataha consists chiefly of two atolls (North and South) and the Jessie Beazley reefs. After an overnight cruise of approximately 14 hours we arrive at the Tubbataha Reef system to enjoy up to 4 dives per day over the course of our 6-night trip. The delicate reef system supports over 600 different fish species and over 300 coral species, whilst providing a haven for nesting hawksbill and green turtles along with numerous birds. A field station on the North atoll is manned by rangers year-round, during our trips we visit with the rangers to learn more about conservation and reef protection.
staghorn point15 Dive sites include Washing Machine, where many shark species can be sighted in the speedy current, the Delsan Wreck - now home to a plethora of reef fish and white tip reeef sharks as well as Amos' Rock. Seafan Alley is where huge sea fans adorn the reef walls whilst Staghorn Point boasts fields of staghorn corals. Divers can expect to see stunning corals, schools of jacks, numerous reef sharks, marble rays, blue spotted sting rays, turtles, unicorn and triggerfishes in schools. There are a wide variety of smaller creatures from sea cucumbers to coral crabs, ghost pipefish to sea stars, crinoids with cling fish and pygmy seahorses.
The S/Y Philippine Siren also offers extended 13 night trips, which combine 5-6 days at the Tubbataha reefs with the highlights of diving the Southern Visayas. These trips depart from Puerto Princessa or Cebu.

Tubbataha Dive Site Highlights

Dive Southern Leyte, departing Cebu

March to May - 7 day/ 6night from 2000 Euro
Sogod Bay is world famous for sightings of whale sharks. These enormous filter feeders arrive here each year to feast on the swarms of plankton that bloom in the warm shallow waters. The area is perfect for both scuba diving and snorkelling but its not just the whale sharks that people come to see. The coral reefs around the bays of southern Leyte & Limasawa Island provide havens for numerous fish species and a whole host of weird and wonderful creatures.

Leyte & Sogod Bay Liveaboard Diving Itinerary

The S/Y Philippine Siren liveaboard yacht departs from Mactan, Cebu to spend 6 days within the Sogod Bay area. Working closely with the local municipalities, who act as "spotters", our dinghies position themselves ahead of the shark so that you may enter the water and are able to watch as it approaches, keeping well away from the head and tail of the shark. The yacht will move to the best areas dependent on the most frequent sightings. The small area of Sunok Bay and the coral slopes of San Ricardo are typically visited and Limasawa Island also sees much whaleshark activity with up to 5 seen in the bay at one time. Only snorkelling is allowed, however whale sharks may also be seen during the dives.
whaleshark2 Dive sites vary between steep reefs with soft corals, sponges & black corals to the critter dive hot spot of the Padre Burgos Pier, where seahorses, frogfish, pipefish and mandarin fish can all be seen. The Marine Sanctuary at Napantaw offers stunning soft corals and a great opportunity for over/under photography in the hard coral garden. The walls in Padre Burgos shelter numerous reef fish species, including grouper & sweetlips and within seafans pygmy seahorses are commonly spotted. Occasional visitors to the reefs are eagle rays, meanwhile research is on going to find the manta ray cleaning station that has been reported by local fishermen.