According to 800zipcodes.com, the small island of Mactan (Mactan) off the east coast of the island of Cebu, strictly opposite the capital of the same name Cebu – the happy owner of excellent beaches and many hotels, as well as the second most important airport in the Philippines. The cultural attractions on Mactan are an aquarium and a couple of monuments: Magellan and his killer, the leader Lapu-Lapu. For the most part, the beauty of the island is natural and underwater: diving is developed there “by five”.
Diving in Mactan
The best diving is in the channel off Hilutangan Island, which separates Mactan from the neighboring island of Olango. The walls there reach 300 meters in depth and are popular with technical diving enthusiasts. Average visibility is about 18 m, strong currents are possible.
Shangri-La’s house reef is a sandy slope from 5 to 20 m deep where you can see elephant ear coral, nudibranch clams, seahorses, eagle rays. Any tourist with an Open Water certificate will be able to dive here and enjoy underwater macro photography.
Mar y Cielo (“Sea and Sky”) also refers to hotel sites – in this case, the Vista Mar hotels. There, at the wall of 35-40 m depth, you can meet triggerfish, eagle rays and two-colored angels.
Climaco – a wall up to 40 m deep with a weak current, angler fish and dragon fish.
Another “private” dive site is Tambuli, which is known for the fact that at a depth of 22 m there is a small plane. Even in Tambuli, you can meet pomacentric fish, sergeant fish, anglers, crocodile fish, blue-nosed moray eels (sounds scary!) And small barracudas. Warning: since the site is located near the shore near a fairly popular hotel, divers there should not lose their vigilance and beware of all kinds of jet skis and boats with tourists that cut through the waves nearby.
Costa Bella (up to 30 m) offers divers an assortment of nudibranch clams, orange clownfish and triggerfish.
The Whale Rock site (aka “Dakit-Dakit”) is most interesting at a depth of 10-22 m. Hard corals, sponges, nudibranchs, reef fish, barracudas and even striped anglerfish are found in this “layer”. And since the dive starts from a shallow depth in the sand, snorkelling is also common at this dive site.
The cultural attractions on Mactan are an aquarium and a couple of monuments: Magellan and his killer, the leader Lapu-Lapu. For the most part, the beauty of the island is natural and underwater: diving is developed there “by five”.
The wall of Marine Station (up to 35 m) is famous for its picturesque hard corals, nudibranchs, anglerfish and seahorses. Thanks to good visibility (up to 30 m) and a gentle current, snorkelers are also in abundance here.
The Kon-Tiki site opposite the Maribago Bluewater hotel is the proud owner of its own “rack”, namely: an excavator bucket lying at a depth of 7 m. It is good for beginner divers, as it allows you to dive directly from the shore.
At the Ludo wall, the best views open at a depth of 10-20 m: this is a titanium triggerfish, a sergeant fish, and a wrasse.
The Hadsan hotel has a dive site of the same name, where you can see parrot fish, rarely whale sharks, as well as dive at night or just lazily surf the water surface with a mask and snorkel.
Marigondon Cave is rightfully considered one of the best sites in Mactan. Located in front of the Plantation Bay Resort at a depth of 30-38 m, it goes 40-45 m deep, so you can’t do without lanterns there. And already inside the cave, divers are asked to turn off their flashlights to watch the amazing flashlight-eyed fish that can “semaphore” with bright light sources under their eyes.
Olango Island also has a couple of dive sites: these are Bas Coral (Cathedral) a 15-minute swim from the Shangri-La hotel (they say that during this sea trip it is not uncommon to meet dolphins), Santa Rosa with soft corals, seahorses, sand eels and fox sharks, as well as Tauma and Tingo Point, where three-meter fox sharks are found in the mornings.
