Have you ever been scuba diving in the Manila Channel in Puerto Galera? This is another great dive spot that our guests love to visit as you’ll see below.
One of the nearest dive sites in Puerto Galera is the Manila Channel. Just a 5-minute boat ride from Muelle Pier, this is also a favorite of BADLADZ Scuba Diving staff as well. As you will see, it has an abundance of marine life for you to enjoy.
Manila Channel
Situated on the west side of Medio Island and separated from Boquete Island. This is one of the busiest channels for sailors and cruisers. If you are at Muelle Pier and looking toward the ocean, you will be able to see it beyond the moorings of Puerto Galera Yacht Club.
This channel also serves as the main route of public transport for Motorized “Banca” coming from Batangas to Puerto Galera and vice versa.
In the shallow portion towards the white sandy beach is a great area for snorkeling. Every weekend, there are clusters of smaller “Banca” (outrigger boats) scattered all over the shallow reef while tugging the snorkelers on both outriggers to cover the entire reef while looking at the different fish.
Manila Channel is a favorite destination for local tourists from nearby cities like Manila, enjoying their weekend break from the traffic and congested environment of the cities.
Scuba Diving in the Manila Channel
Here are some tips on Scuba Diving in the Manila Channel. The entry point can be done near the island rock. If the current is flooding and during the rising tide, you should make an adjustment to going inside the channel near the mangrove area to begin your dive.
There is a mooring line where you can follow down to a depth of 5 meters. A mild current is always present here at Manila Channel where you need to swim over the gradual slope along the rock formation covered with healthy flora and fauna that inhabits here.
There are two series of short walls and the first one is at 12 meters while the second is at 18-20 meters. There large gorgonian sea fans and barrel sponges along the wall and whip corals have grown here. Snapper, batfish, sweetlips, wrasses, and school of Fusiliers are very common in this area.
The bottom composition of this site is of sand, rubble, and stony hard corals. Crabs, mantis shrimps, and nudibranch are found crawling along the bottom. You can also find some blue dotted stingray, moral eel, and banded sea snake here at the Manila Channel dive site.
The local government completely banned all types of fishing inside Puerto Galera Bay and towards Manila Channel around Long Beach. Now you will be able to see the massive increase in the population of common house reef fishes. From the anthias, damselfish, cardinals, blackfish, unicornfish, and many more. And sometimes in the shallow part, you’ll see some sea turtles.
Manila Channel Wreck
Another possible entry point is the blue water descent in the middle of the channel at about 21 meters in-depth. In the sandy bottom lies a sailboat 12 meters in length encrusted with hard and soft corals. Surrounded by soft tree corals, coral whips, barrel sponges, and gorgonian sea fan. Sometimes people call it the Manila Channel Wreck.
Along the hull, there are nudibranch, lionfish, stonefish, and scorpionfish that have great camouflage, so it’s hard to see to the untrained eye. There are frogfish along the hull but usually, they are found in the bow area. You need a well-trained eye to spot them due to their ability to camouflage really well.
Once done, you can swim to the nearby reef progressing to shallower depth water. Sometimes at the bottom, you’ll find common rays and some huge volcano sea cucumber feeding.
Manila Channel dive site is great for diving all year round and excellent for all levels of divers. From novice to photography enthusiast. You can bring your non-diver friends when we have available space. You will definitely enjoy the beautiful underwater scenery of the Manila Channel dive site.
Video of Scuba Diving in the Manila Channel Puerto Galera
I took a video of our dive at the Manila Channel in Puerto Galera. This video will show you the abundant marine life and watch the fish swim freely right before your eyes, enjoy!
This is just one of many scuba diving sites you can enjoy and discover here at Puerto Galera. There’s actually a lot more, you can read more about Puerto Galera dive sites here.
But reading is always not enough, it’s always better to see it with your own eyes and experience it first hand. Come and visit us at BADLADZ Beach & Dive Resort and we’ll go scuba diving in the Manila Channel and show you all the beautiful dive sites here in Puerto Galera.
You can check the available package for you here.
After your dive, you can relax and have some cold beverage, lay down on one of the hammocks along the beach out front.
Cheers,
Sean
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