Category Archives: Puerto Galera Dive Sites

Puerto Galera Dive Sites

Top 5 dive sites of Puerto Galera

Posted on by Scandi Divers
Top 5 dive sites of Puerto Galera
07
Sep

Puerto Galera is one of the most diverse scuba diving destinations in the world. With over 40 dive sites and 3,000 marine species to dive with we have given our verdict on the top 5 dive spots that you have to visit during your stay at Scandi divers resort.

  1. The Drop off at Verde Island is not just the number 1 dive in Puerto Galera but must be classed as one of the best in Asia. The Pinnacle breaks the surface before dropping down to three hundred meters. It can have very strong currents which brings in fish by the bucket load. You can see large tuna and snapper mixed in with massive schools of wide mouth mackerel, Chub and the neon colored blue streak fusiliers. The population of anthais is so thick that you struggle to see the reef in places. You can see banded sea snakes, hawksbill turtles and warty frogfish. There are some massive sea fans and barrel sponges that can dwarf scuba divers. With a spectacular ecosystem existing here also look out for large pelagic species in the blue.
  2. Canyons have been listed in the 50 top dives in the world. Best visited with a decent incoming tide, it can be a jaw dropping experience. There are 3 separate canyons the deepest one at 27 meters. You can see schools of jacks, Spanish mackerel and batfish. The delicate soft corals that cover the reef are beautiful soft pinks, purples and orange in color. The large sea fans quiver as the currents rush through them with pygmy seahorses clinging on for dear life. Hiding from current are oriental sweetlips, scorpion fish and moray eels. As you get to the last canyon there is an old anchor embedded into the reef, look out in the blue for spotted eagle rays and tuna before heading up for your safety stop.
  3. The Alma Jane wreck was sunk in 2003 and has become one of the best dives in Puerto Galera. This artificial reef is down at thirty meters and is encrusted with some great coral growth. There is a resident school of a hundred or so batfish that are always facing into the current. Around the prop shaft you see large snappers. You can explore inside the wreck very easily, look out for banded sea snakes living in the celling. There are some large lion and scorpion fish. There is a high chance that you will see a few giant frog fish.
  4. The Giant Clams are one of the best muck diving locations in the Philippines. If you would like to see mimic octopus, thorny seahorses, ornate ghost pipe fish, Dragon sea moths, Hairy frogfish, wunderpus, harlequin shrimp, blue ring octopus and the flamboyant cuttlefish then you will have to visit this magical macro playground.
  5. Kilima Steps creeps in at number 5, we chose this site not only because of its beautiful stepped topography but this is place where you can see the majestic thresher shark. If the sharks don’t show up then you can still find the Palate surgeonfish otherwise known as Dori from Finding Nemo. You can discover many tropical reef fish and a number of nudibranch species.

So what do you think about our choice of the top 5 dive sites? You are welcome to let us know what your top 5 dives are from Puerto Galera. Thanks for reading this blog and we hope you can share it with your friends.

Puerto Galera Dive Sites

UNTV’s “The Dive” visits Scandi Divers to explore the Verde Passage

Posted on by Scandi Divers
untv the dive verde passage
02
Jan

This episode of The Dive is a great introduction to Puerto Galera, and the incredible dive sites of the Verde Passage, “The center of the center of marine biodiversity”, with Scandi Divers as hosts and guides to the UNTV team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8wpm2okTrQ

Puerto Galera Dive Sites, Puerto Galera Marine Life, Scuba Diving in Puerto Galera

Scandi joins the Blackwater Revolution

Posted on by Scandi Divers
blackwater diving puerto galera scandi divers resort
26
Feb

A new craze has ripped through the scuba diving world. Blackwater diving has grown dramatically becoming a new and exciting way to see many new species and also to see fish in their early larval stages.

We were lucky to have the professional guidance of Jerome Kim to help us with our blackwater education. Jerome has already taken hundreds of world class blackwater images from locations around the world so were in very capable hands.

As we prepared the line our guides became wide eyed at the thought of hanging out in the Verde Island passage with two hundred meters of water below during the night. We measured out twenty meters of rope, fixed 5000 lumens of lights at the end of the line with some lead weights.Smaller lights were attached at five-meter sections of the rope, gallon containers were attached with plenty of knots to make sure our equipment didn’t drop to the ocean floor.

As the sun started to drop Jerome briefed our team, we would be a mile away from shore before dropping the line with all the lights switched on. Its important to leave it down for a while as the lights attract all the weird and wonderful creatures that live in the open water.

blackwater diving scandi divers resort philippines

With darkness descending we kitted up and pushed thoughts of sharks and barracuda to the back of our mind. You question your sanity a little bit as you see the lights of Big La Laguna way off in the distance. Looking out into the black water the dive lights were giving off a tremendous glow, we back rolled into the water and descended down into the abyss.

It’s a strange feeling at first, you feel yourself holding the line tightly, staying next to the safety of the glowing lights. After a while you get comfortable, weird little creatures float into your view, things you have never seen before that blow your imagination to pieces. Before you know it all those pre-dive scary thoughts disappear and you finally let go of the line and follow these creatures in the dark waters.

The plankton population was picking up due to the effect of the lights, our light beam focused on a small creature that was about the size of a small pea, as it come closer to us you could see its beautiful round blue eyes that were reflecting in the light. It landed on top of my hand, after a while its legs unfolded and crawled along. After doing some research we figured out it was a larval stage zoea crab.

As the water became darker it felt like being in space, little aliens were all around you, amazing jelly fish with little flashing lights resembling a UFO drifting through the galaxy. The amazing finds continued with a larval scorpion fish about half an inch in size. One of the most common sights was what looked like tiny transparent manta rays that are called sea butterflies, these would swim by flapping their wings, the beauty of these creatures really was something else.

Atlanta Peroni

The dive was a great success, we were happy to see so many exciting critters. Jerome took so many images. One of his favorite images was of a beautiful mollusk called an Atlanta Peroni which you can see on this post.

If you would like to try black water diving then speak to the dive team on your next visit to Scandi divers.

Life is too short not to try out new things, they say that scuba diving is the nearest thing to being in space, add the blackwater effect to that and you are one step closer to the moon!