Diving the Philippines from Singapore
Two monsoons from opposite directions, so which coast you are on matters more than which month it is. Typhoons overlay both.
Islands: Apo, Busuanga, Malapascua, Mindoro, Agutayan, Panglao
- Best months
- Feb–May
- Also good
- Jun, Nov–Jan
- From Singapore
- ~9h 9m each way
- On the map
- 103 dive sites · 2 centres
When to go
October is the worst of the season here.
Habagat — southwest monsoon
Rough on the west-facing sites — Coron, El Nido, Apo Reef. Anilao and the east coast are sheltered from it.
Typhoon season
Storms cancel boats at a few days' notice anywhere north of Palawan.
The year here
Best here: February, March, April, May.
The Philippines. Written by hand from how the season actually runs, calibrated against what the boats do, since a season that disagrees with the operators is wrong however good the meteorology behind it. It describes most years, not this one: the forecast above is what knows about next week.
- Habagat — southwest monsoon (Jun–Oct) — Rough on the west-facing sites — Coron, El Nido, Apo Reef. Anilao and the east coast are sheltered from it.
- Amihan — northeast monsoon (Nov–Feb) — Dry and clear, and the best time to be at Anilao or Puerto Galera. Exposed east-facing sites get the wind instead.
- Typhoon season (Jul–Nov) — Storms cancel boats at a few days' notice anywhere north of Palawan.
- Closed open only from mid-March to mid-June — Tubbataha is reachable for one short liveaboard season a year, out of Puerto Princesa, and is closed the other eight months. Nothing else in the country works that way.
Where to dive in The Philippines
Apo · 17 sites
Busuanga · 14 sites
Malapascua · 12 sites
Mindoro · 12 sites
Agutayan · 10 sites
Camiguin · 4 sites
Matinloc · 4 sites
Cebu · 3 sites
Samal · 3 sites
Bohol · 2 sites
Ligpo · 2 sites
Limasawa · 2 sites
Negros · 2 sites
Panaon · 2 sites
Elsewhere · 5 sites
Every site opens onto this week's sea forecast and the marine life seen there. See them on the map →
Dive centres
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Planning The Philippines with friends?
- Hear when a site looks goodFollow any dive site and we'll tell you when a good spell is on the forecast.
- Plan trips with your groupEveryone answers going, maybe or can't, and the club calendar shows the dates most people can make.
- Join a trip from the group chatTap “Count me in” on a shared trip link and you're in the club and down as going.
- Keep a log bookLog your dives with the conditions you found, which become your group's reports on that site.
- Your group's own spacePosts, photos and private messages, seen by members only.
- Add missing dive sitesPut a site the map doesn't have yet where the boat actually goes.