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Mindoro is quickly shedding its identity as a mining province to a tourism magnate. Its name was derived from the Spanish word Mina de Oro meaning Gold Mine. For scuba divers, the real motherload of gold is found underwater–and is best left to flourish undisturbed. Mindoro is in the heart of the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity with healthy reefs, schooling fish, and grand pelagics.
In this guide, we’ll help you plan your dive trip to Mindoro by revealing the best dive sites, where to stay, and what to do in this incredible region.
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Planning your scuba dive trip to Mindoro
Where is Mindoro? Mindoro is 165 km (102 mi) south of Metro Manila and 445 km (276 mi) northeast of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, it is the 7th largest island. Mindoro is divided into 2 provinces (Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro).
How to get to Mindoro: There are many ways to get to Mindoro depending on where you’re coming from.
- Fly in from Metro Manila to San Jose (Mindoro Occidental). There is also a sea plane that connects Manila Bay to Puerto Galera.
- Ferry/boat ride from Batangas to Perto Galera or from Coron to San Jose.
Cost of scuba diving in Mindoro: Expect to pay around $20-40 USD per scuba dive, with the price dropping as you commit to more dives. Most dive resorts offer package deals.
The best time to go scuba diving in Mindoro: Generally, diving in Mindoro is a year-round activity. But if you want to dive in the best water conditions like a 32°C (89°F) water temperature and a 30 meter (100 feet) water visibility, visit Mindoro from March to August. During these months, wetsuits are just hung inside the dive shop as you only need to wear board shorts and rash guard. There is an exception though when you go diving in Verde Island where you are required to wear a wetsuit to protect yourself from accidental reef scratch due to strong water current.
Apo Reef in Occidental Mindoro has a special case where it is only accessible outside the southwest monsoon months from October to June where the waters are generally calm and clear.
Why visit Mindoro?
When it comes to ecotourism, Mindoro is famous for the sandy beaches of Puerto Galera where crowds gather on weekends and holidays. But if you want to get away from the crowd, Mindoro has some of the country’s best unspoiled beaches, unexplored islets and islands that features an amazing underwater habitats.
Mindoro is surrounded by the Mindoro Strait, Sibuyan Sea, Sulu Sea, Tablas Strait, Verde Island Passage and the West Philippine Sea, scuba diving in Mindoro is very popular and it is quickly becoming one of the top diving destinations in the Philippines. Mindoro is dotted with dive sites–many of which are reserved for adventurous divers only thanks to their remote location.
Read: The Best Liveaboard Trips in the Philippines
What you can expect to see in Mindoro
Diving in Mindoro allows you to primarily see vast coral reef areas because it houses the world’s secnd largest reef, Apo Reef of Occidental Mindoro. Moreover, the reefs of Mindoro (particularly in the side of Oriental Mindoro) are healthy, abundant, and diverse where it has been categorized as the epicenter of the world’s marine biodiversity. You can see the most number of species of fish and corals per square meter of reef. Name it, Mindoro has it: tropical reef fish, small pelagics, big pelagics, sharks, rays, sea turtles, dolphins and whales to name a few.
The best dive sites in Mindoro, Philippines
Puerto Galera
Location: 43.4 kilometers (27 miles) west of Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro
Level: All levels of certification
Max depth: 20 meters (60 feet)
Puerto Galera is your main jump off point when you go diving in Mindoro. Located on the eastern coast of Sabang Beach along the Escarceo Point is the Hole in the Wall. Your dive profile involves descending in multiple limestone wall with small drops offs at 3 meters (10 feet) deep interval. Descending further will take you to a conspicuous depression at 13 meters (45 feet) deep where the hole has a diameter of 1.25 meters (4 feet) fully encrusted with soft corals, sponges and a thriving population of sweetlips, jacks and moorish idol.
Wreck diving is popular in Puerto Galera where newbies can explore a series of shipwrecks in just one dive in a site called Sabang Wrecks. Either doing it by shore entry or boat diving, your entry point will usually start on a shallow reef that has a gentle slope and ends up in a sandy seafloor that has an average depth of 18 meters (60 feet). You need to swim further out in the sand to see the first shipwreck which is an open timber ship. While most its structure have collapsed, the main attraction here are the reef fish like moray eels, cardinalfish and the large batfish that usually goes in school. The second wreck that you will see are the remains of a yacht encrusted with black corals and sponges. The last wreck is pretty old and the only remaining structure that you can see is the timber hull where reef fish like lionfish, moray eels and pipefish had taken refuge in its artificial structure.
Apo Reef
Location: Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro: 114 kilometers (70 miles) southwest of Calapan City
Level: All levels of certification
Max depth: 30 meters (100 feet)
Do you want to explore a pristine reef often touted as the second largest coral reef system in the world? Then head out to Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro where your scuba diving playground involves a vast 34 square kilometers (13 square miles) of coral reefs that has been declared a natural park.
In general, the dive sites in Apo Reef are located in the northern coast of this triangular-shaped reef system that has 2 lagoons and narrow reef platforms. Made from a limestone ledge, Apo Out is one of the popular sites in Apo Reef where you can go wall diving along a garden of sea fans and barrel sponges. The reef crest of Apo Out is a popular area for marine reptile interaction where many have seen sea turtles. If your fad is multilevel diving, then you should check out Apo Menor. Located in Binangaan Island, diving in Apo Menor will take you to explore 3 unique underwater topography in various depths: a shallow slope, a reef plateau and a limestone ledge. While you will be exploring 3 unique reef topography, the climax of your dive in Apo Menor is when you reach the reef plateau. Also called as Shark Airfield, this plateau is famous for shark interaction where you might spot whitetip reef sharks.
Verde Island
Location: in between Batangas and Puerto Galera
Level: Advanced
Max depth: 20 meters (60 feet)
Technically under the jurisdiction of Batangas City, Verde Island can be accessed via Puerto Galera and is considered a major dive site in Mindoro. While there are several descriptions given to Verde Island, one description stands out that is fully supported with scientific data: that the reef of Verde Island is one of the most highly diverse in the world since it is located at the center of marine biodiversity. On top of this, since Verde Island is in a passage known for huge tidal fluctuation, hardcore divers will enjoy drift diving along sweeping currents that may reach 4 knots (2 meters/second).
Washing Machine is the main drift diving site in Verde Island. When you dive during the ebbing of tides, you need to do a negative entry and directly descend towards the reef. Once at the reef and although the water current is generally in one direction, you will observe that the current may pull you randomly towards the left, right, forward and backward. This is caused by the deflection of current as it touches multiple small canyons that is abundant within the site. Another major drift diving site is the Pinnacle which is a rocky protrusion that comes out of the seafloor at 20 meters (60 feet) and rises all the way up almost to the surface.
Where to stay in Mindoro
Lalaguna Villas
Address: Sabang, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro
A short walk from the popular Sabang beach of Puerto Galera is an exotic beach resort back-drafted by lush green forest. Their accommodation are private style villas where you can choose from a long selection of room types: the standard 20 square meter (215 square foot) studio type, the 100 square meter (1,076 square foot) Penthouse, the 2-bedroom luxury villa and the premium suites. On top of the 24/7 room service, take note that they offer free laundry service. They have an in-house dive shop that offers PADI certification courses and guided dive tours to 30 dive sites in Puerto Galera that includes Hole in the Wall and Sabang Wrecks.
Atlantis Dive Resort
Address: Sabang, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro
If you are a hardcore diver and want to meet hotel guest that deeply talks about diving, then we highly recommend you should stay in Atlantis Dive Resort. After a long chat with fellow divers at the beach front bar, you can recharge and have a nice accommodation where your room selection includes the Family Suite, Premier Seaview Suite, Deluxe Room and the Coconut Terrace.
Aside from having an in-house dive shop that offers PADI certification courses from open water way up to instructor level, Atlantis also has their own liveaboard ship, the Atlantis Azores that charters to major Philippine dive spot like Bohol, Mindoro’s Apo Reef, Monad Shoal of Malapascua in Cebu, Tubbataha Reef and the wrecks of Coron in Palawan.
Apo Reef Club
Address: Concepcion, Occidental Mindoro
If you wish to explore Apo Reef, Apo Reef Club is a top pick. This 5 hectare (12 acres) Swiss-managed facility is one of the few resorts in Occidental Mindoro that is fronting the world famous diving site of Apo Reef. Your accommodation in Apo Reef Club includes 4 choices: the Beachfront Bungalow, Beachfront room, Garden Bungalow and the Backpackers room. Sanctioned under SDI and PADI, they have an in-house dive shop that offers Open water to divemaster certification course and guided boat diving tours to Apo Reef.
The best dive schools in Mindoro
Atlantis Dive Center
Certifying Agency: PADI
Address: Sabang, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro
Seriously into diving, Atlantis Dive Center in Puerto Galera will provide everything you need, from gear rental, storage of special equipment like camera, certification courses from open water diver all the way up to Instructor’s Development Course, guided underwater tours and liveaboard dive safari to major Philippine diving destinations.
Sea Rider Dive Center
Certifying Agency: PADI and SSI
Address: Sabang, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro
Located at the heart of Sabang beach in Puerto Galera is a dive shop manned by English and Chinese speaking instructors, Sea Rider Dive Center. They offer both PADI and SSI certification courses from Open Water, Advanced, Specialty Diver, Rescue and Divemaster. Go on guided dive tours to Puerto Galera’s dive sites where they specialize in handling small groups and offer special trips for underwater photographers.
Apo Reef Club Dive Center
Certifying Agency: SDI and PADI
Address: Concepcion, Occidental Mindoro
One of the highly reputed dive shops in Occidental Mindoro that specializes diving in Apo Reef is the Swiss-managed Apo Reef Club Dive Center. They offer certification courses from open water diver to divemaster under PADI and SDI diving agency. They usually offer a 2-day guided dive tours in Apo reef onboard their banca-based liveaboard plus an optional visit to 7 local dive sites outside Apo reef.
Freediving in Mindoro
In cooperation with Freediving Philippines, Badladz Adventure Resort is one of the few resorts in Puerto Galera that offers freediving certification course. You can undergo AIDA trainings. They also offer guided tours where you can choose a shallow site often preferred by newbie freedivers or the deep abyss which is designed for the highly experienced.
FAQs about scuba diving in Mindoro
One of the major hubs for scuba diving in Mindoro is Puerto Galera, which has a range of dive resorts and dive centers to choose from.
Ready to explore more of the Philippines?
We’ve got you covered! Check out our guide to the best dive sites in the Philippines (plus what you need to know). We also have guides on incredible dive spots like Apo Island, Donsol, Bohol, Anilao Batangas, Palawan, and Cebu. Plus, don’t miss our top picks for Tubbataha Reef liveaboard trips.
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