Scuba Diving Vacation at the Buceo Anilao Dive Resort in the Philippines

There are many world renown destinations in the Philippines for scuba diving, but Anilao is the one that is best known for macro and for nudibranchs. Finding tiny critters hiding in anemones, corals, or simply in plain site is something we truly enjoy so this was definitely a plus.

How we selected Anilao

We had attended the Beneath the Sea scuba and travel show and to be honest we simply stopped at the booth and met Dood, the resort manager who told us a bit about the Buceo Anilao and showed us some pictures of the local nudibranchs. We later looked at online reviews and customer photos and videos and saw that this was the real deal. Before we knew it, we had made up our minds to go. We were basically wowed into trying it out!

As far as exotic dive vacations, we had travelled to Indonesia once before to see the famous Wakatobi Dive Resort as well as a few other faraway places such as Phuket and Zanzibar. Most of our dive holidays have been close to our home base in Miami but it is always interesting to see the different creatures in distant places. We couldn’t wait to check out the Buceo Anilao in the Philippines.

Getting to Anilao

One nice thing about Anilao is that it’s on the mainland with Manila so it’s possible to get an international flight there and a land transfer. Some may say that’s bad because of Manila traffic and Manila airport chaos but there is something reassuring knowing that you can reach the airport for your international return flight by car.

The Buceo Anilao Resort is on the southernmost tip of the mainland in the Batangas region. It’s about 2.5 hours by car from Manila and the transfer is completed with a short 5-minute boat ride at the end to get to the secluded resort. It’s possible to walk from the road too but the boat ride is a nice way to make an entrance.

As for flights, there were a number of options, but we found a great deal with Turkish Airlines through Istanbul. Unfortunately after many months there were some operational flight changes and we were left with an 8-hour layover both ways. Ultimately there is no easy way to get to Manila from North America and no matter what you chose it will be long. But if your layover timing works, you can take advantage of Turkish Airlines’ Touristanbul program to get out and pass the time.

To help acclimate, we added a couple of nights in Manila on the way and organized a short tour of the city. An extra day may have been nice to adjust but we felt we got a good overview of the tourist highlights, and we were ready to go diving!

Buceo Anilao Beach & Dive Resort

We must have exchanged two dozen emails with the resort regarding transfers, getting info, making payments, etc. The whole team were superb throughout and we tailored our dive holiday with everything from à-la-carte dining options, getting my husband a larger tank, and ensuring nitrox for us.

This time we even splurged for a private guide and private boat which, while costing a little more, allowed us the flexibility to set our own schedule and to chase after the critters we wanted to see.

In retrospect the extra cost was minimal and we had no regrets about the added expense. It was really convenient and much more relaxing. We could take our time heading out and getting ready and leave after the morning rush.

We could linger while diving the site and stop to observe what we spotted. In the past we’ve had various guides and guests that were like reef rockets and we spent much of our dive trying to keep up!

With experience, we have come to realize that the slower you go the more you see. We got a great guide (Romnick) and boat crew (David, Jon, and Jods) with a good roomy boat.

The diving

Our trip was January 20-29, and the water temperature was a steady 78-79 so we were fine with our 3mm. Others at the resort were in 5mm or even 7mm wetsuits but with air temperature in the high 80s that can also become uncomfortable.

We rarely had visibility over 50ft with some dive sites being as low as 15ft. This surprised us but repeat guests told us that this was quite normal. One lady we met said they had 100ft at one of the reef dive sites, but we didn’t experience that ourselves. Even the best sites were 50-60 feet at most.

We had scheduled a morning pickup in Manila so even on our day of arrival, we were in time for diving in the afternoon. We quickly saw why they call Anilao the nudibranchs capital of the world. After our first dive we were already amazed at the number and the variety of nudibranchs (or as I like to call them “Jewels of the Sea”) we saw!

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Sites were typically either rubble areas, sandy patches, or reefs. There was also one beautiful wreck which had a good 30 years of growth on it. An old casino houseboat which was now just a frame and easy to dive through and around. It was one of our favorites.

Our guide Romnick had eagle eyes and pointed out nudibranchs that were just a couple of millimeters in size. In many cases I couldn’t even get my camera to focus on the subjects and could barely see them with my prescription mask.

We didn’t see anything big at all except for a couple of turtles and some blue spotted rays. But that’s ok, as we came looking for macro subjects and were not disappointed.

The rubble sites rewarded us with mantis shrimps (some with eggs), flying gurnards, pipefish and various jawfish.

The reef areas were teeming with life, and we saw many eels, octopuses and squids and a huge variety of shrimps and crabs. We even saw the amazing Shawn-the-Sheep nudibranch which I thought would be bigger. We found pigmy seahorses and lots and lots of different nudis.

The sandy patches revealed some of my bucket list creatures such as the male blue and yellow ribbon eel, a juvenile frogfish, and a tiny cuttlefish. We also saw a Napoleon snake eel burry itself in the sand by backing in. Lots of great sightings and many fine memories.

Our dives lasted an hour, occasionally a little longer, and all were quite close to the resort. Many were just 5 or 10 minutes by boat and maybe 50 ft from shore. The slope was quite steep however and even jumping in at 20ft depth we were quickly down to 60, 80, and 100 ft. We generally spent most of the dive around 60-80 ft and then worked our way up gradually allowing for a 3–5-minute safety stop exploring corals at 15-20ft. We added a minute or two for both safety and to have an extra minute or two exploring the reef which was beautiful.

We always did an hour surface interval on the boat and then headed back for a 3-hour interval before the afternoon dive. After our first day we got lazy and often contented ourselves with the two morning dives and just relaxed in the afternoon looking at pictures. Others did all three and even a fourth night or twilight dive. The resort was happy to cater to all.

Some memorable sites and sightings

Bubbles: This was our first dive site. So named because of the volcanic activity underneath that warms the bottom of the site (you can feel it). There is a constant stream of bubbles coming up from the floor like you’re in a glass of champagne.

Right after diving in we saw nudibranch after nudibranch. A real nudi-colony! We also saw porcelain crabs, orangutang crabs, and many other species of small critters. It was a wonderful start to a week of great diving.

We also dove on nice sites across the bay next to Marikaban Island which was only 15 minutes away. And we did multiple dives in rubble-like areas where we saw octopus, and even two mantis shrimps guarding their eggs. We saw a wide variety of beautiful shrimps, crabs, and even some banded pipefish. And of course: More nudis!! In the sandy areas we saw sea robins, a seahorse, more porcelain crabs and even a small cuttlefish. There was one site with a beautiful pinnacle reef that we dove twice in a row.

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Over the 9 days we dove 2-3 times a day and our days were really just made up of diving, eating, and sleeping with any spare time put into looking at pictures in between. One day led into the next and before we knew it, we were packing and getting ready for our return.

In retrospect, if we were to do this again, we would likely change locations after 4-5 days for something different.

In many respects a lot of the dive sites reminded us of our local Blue Heron Bridge dive site. Rubble and sandy patches with 20-30 ft viz. Of course, there were also healthy and lively reefs which we don’t see much of in Florida anymore and we really enjoyed these. Regardless of the site, seemingly wherever you looked there were nudibranchs! All colors and all sizes. Our guide Romnick pointed out grain of rice size ones but there were many that were 3-4 inches long too.

More than once we had taken a picture of something, and as we looked at it on a bigger screen in the room a small nudibranch or shrimp could be seen photobombing it. In one case a tiny skeleton shrimp was hitching a ride on a little nudi!

The dive boats

Traditional Bangka boats are used for diving and we saw the same style used all over Anilao at the dive sites. This had us concerned initially when booking but we quickly got used to them and they worked well. You climb up a narrow plank, yes it sounds intimidating, but they take your gear for you and hold your hand and it’s an easy 3-4 steps into the boat.

On board there are benches and ample room (well in fairness we had the boat to ourselves, (again, something we think is worth splurging for).

To dive in, you back roll into the water from either side of the boat. We easily got the hang of it and in retrospect thought this may even be a safer entry than balancing on a wooden board in wet fins to do a giant stride like we’d done in Zanzibar or Thailand on slippery surfaces.

The crew was great and while we climbed up the ladder with the tanks and weights the first day, we quickly acquiesced to letting them take our BCD off in the water and haul it up for us. Lazy divers that we are, we found it quite nice shedding the 50-60 pounds of tank, gear and weights.

Our boat had a crew of three that provided support for us while we dove with our guide. That included getting us there and following our bubbles to pick us up as well as doing all the gear on and off and even making coffee or tea and providing snacks. We didn’t see any oxygen kit, marine radio, or life jackets but all dives were close to shore.

The resort had 4 boats that we could see and would contract out additional boats as needed. We had a dedicated boat and crew from the village for our 8 days of diving.

Dive shop and operation

There is no real shop as such but rather a dive preparation area with a tank filling room where our tanks magically appeared in the mornings.

There is an open equipment room where each guest has a bin and hangers for their BCD and regulator. After each dive the crew rinses the gear and leaves it there for the night. Next morning it is assembled and placed on board your boat.

As we were diving nitrox, the divemaster analyzed and labeled our tanks in front of us each morning before bringing our gear to the boat.

There is also a camera room where each guest has a station with an air gun. A nice touch to dry off the cameras after diving. Many left their cameras there to charge but we were keen to bring these to the room to upload and look at pictures.

There is a big, long rack to place boots to dry overnight and surprisingly the boots were quite dry after doing two morning dives and going back the next day. When doing afternoon or night dives of course one had to settle for wet boots the next morning.

A couple of large racks with homemade PVC pipe hangers attached by tie wraps to a wooden rail is provided for hanging up wetsuits. Again, our 3mm wetsuits were surprisingly dry between consecutive dive days when doing just the morning dives.

Large rinse bins that are filled and replaced regularly are provided for suits and boots. Separate bins for each of BCDs, masks and fins, and multiple bins for cameras are provided.

Finally, a white board outlining each group on each boat and what dives were made is up on the wall and updated by the dive guides for tracking your sites. If you want a Buceo Anilao stamp there is one in the office along with a small store selling t-shirts and nudibranch toys. We could not resist a small nudibranch key chain (for the cat of course)!

We brought our own gear, but I believe rental gear is also available although we didn’t see a large stockpile so best to ensure you have what you need.

A nice touch was that after our last dive they washed all our dive gear thoroughly and rinsed it in a separate bucket. They even stored it overnight in the equipment room to dry.

More about the Buceo Anilao Resort

Nestled into the hillside, the resort is made up of only 23 rooms in a 5,000 sq. meter area from the coast up the steep slope of the hillside on the Mabini Peninsula.

The stone waterfront area is where the traditional Bangka dive boats are launched from for the dive trips. The restaurant and bar are right on the water and have a great sunset view. Just above that there is a nice sized swimming pool with plenty of loungers and umbrellas.

As you climb the cement stairs on either side of the pool you get to the cabanas. The design of the cabana we stayed in seemed to be a single room at the bottom with a deluxe room with balcony above that. They are all aptly named after the local sea life. We had the Frogfish room and were across from the Ribbon Eel. The Blue Ringed Octopus and Ghost Pipefish standard rooms were below these bungalows. There were also some superior rooms.

As you climb up the hill, the view gets better, the Wi-Fi gets weaker and the legs get more tired, but it’s worth it to head up to the top to visit the spa where you get a superb view.

We also loved the Filipino ingenuity and creativity. The restaurant lamps were repurposed bottles, there were numerous decorations made from old lighters and used Nespresso capsules, the wetsuit hangers were PVC piping hung up by tie wraps, and so on. Everything worked quite well and we admired how they made practical art and tools out of everyday items that would surely end up in the trash at home.

That said, we did look with disappointment at the bottle caps and plastic wrappers along the beach as we boarded the boats and wished a little more effort were put into cleaning that up. Ultimately there is no beach for swimming here and this is just a rocky area that we walked along to get into the boats. An hour or two of effort and a garbage bag would make it look that much better and help with first impressions. Unfortunately it was not uncommon to encounter garbage on some of the dive sites too.

Accommodations

We had opted (and would recommend) a deluxe room with a balcony and an ocean view. A great place to relax and do the dive logs and watch spectacular sunsets.

Tip: We had the Frogfish room which was close to the office. We didn’t have to hike up the hill to the upper units (and also had pretty good Wi-Fi in the room, which may not reach as well into the far away rooms).

The room itself was quite basic with two twin beds and a single bed which we used as a place to organize our dive gear. The mattresses were firm and comfortable, and we slept well.

Each unit has a wall mounted AC system which is efficient and did a good job of keeping the room cool even on really hot days. A small desk and a dresser drawer and two night tables completed the furnishings. On the balcony we had a couple of comfortable wicker chairs and a small table as well as a small drying rack. Practical for bathing suits and dive gloves.

There were ample plugs in the room and it was great that these were universal in that both European and North American plugs would fit. There are also lots of additional USB charging plugs.

A safe is provided, albeit loose in the dresser. A kettle with instant coffee is also provided with a small mini-fridge and two large pitchers of purified water. We drank both of these daily and didn’t have any problems. There are also additional water stations at the restaurant and dive shop area to fill portable bottles. We received two as gifts on arrival. A nice touch!

The bathroom had two sinks and a shower with ample hot water. While not air-conditioned, the cold air from the bedroom can cool it off a bit and it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Good to know

• There is body wash and shampoo in the room with hand soap. No hair conditioner or lotion was provided and no box of Kleenex. The front desk was kind to send someone to purchase these items for us the first day. I also borrowed a hairdryer at the front desk.
• Bring slippers, as the floor can be slippery when wet and none were provided. We brought the ones we got at our Manila hotel and were happy to have them.
• Someone came to make the beds, empty the trash cans, leave fresh towels and that was about it for the housekeeping.
• While there was no bag or sign, laundry service was provided and was very reasonable and efficient. You just pick up a laundry bag at the office and it’s returned the next day. A 20 Philippine peso per piece charge (35c!) is charged so more than reasonable.

Quite honestly, despite having done this before we again brought too many clothes. Most of the time you’re in your dive gear, shorts and t-shirt. Putting these on for just an hour or two in the evening allowed us to reuse many of the clothes.

Restaurant

The restaurant formula can be a fixed menu or an à-la-carte option. We had previously had bad experiences with fixed menus and found that there were always more choices when you went à-la-carte. So we picked that. The menu had about a hundred items on it, and many Filipino dishes as well as international choices. To help the small kitchen plan and reduce waste, you order lunch when you finish your breakfast and then you order dinner when you finish lunch.

Breakfast is always included and consisted of fried eggs or omelets and toast with a couple of alternating sides, a bit of fruit and some jams. Nothing fancy and we usually just had a banana and toast before our dives with an occasional omelet.

Lunch was at 1pm and we sampled quite a few dishes. The food was satisfactory, and prices were affordable. There were a lot of Filipino dishes that the more adventurous might sample. One delicious surprise was the ube ice cream, a delicious concoction made from purple yams. A must try! We had some surprises such as a chicken parmesan that was basically a fried cutlet with some ketchup and a kraft single cheese slice on top, hmm! But our usual became the club sandwiches, pizza, mango salad, and sweet and sour chicken. Of course everyone’s tastes will vary.

Conclusion

So I guess the question is: Was it worth the long flight, the expense, and difficulty to come? Ultimately, I think we must say yes and that Anilao in the Philippines is without a doubt a bucket list dive destination for macro photographers and nudibranch lovers.

Would we come back over and over again like some of the other guests we met? We don’t think we would. Maybe it’s just us, but we like to try and experience new places and rarely have that must come back feeling. Of course, some spots such as Cozumel and Bonaire or Curaçao are so much closer and so much easier to organize that we could safely say we will most likely be back. Perhaps as the memory of the long travel fades, the pictures of the nudibranchs will start to call us again. We shall see.

Tips

• Get a room near the restaurant to have good Wi-Fi and avoid lots of steps daily.
• Bring some snacks, we were happy to have some chips be brought along. Not much sold or available between meals.
• Go for the à-la-carte menu for more choices and prices are reasonable.
• Remember that despite the small items that may be lacking with the room or the food, the diving is great and that is why you’re here.
• Check the water temperature as it varies through the year. We might have enjoyed the slightly warmer water at a different time. Although they say you see more creatures in the cold water.
• See our scuba diving vacation packing list.