| To give it its full name, The Republic Of The | | | | Philippines, means that they are constantly enriched |
| Philippines is made up of over 7,000 separate islands, | | | | by the currents of the South China Sea, the Indian |
| and covers an area of just over 300,000 square | | | | Ocean and the Celebes Sea. |
| kilometers (115,000 square miles). Its population of 77 | | | | The diving in the Philippines can be split into five main |
| million people makes it one of the larger South East | | | | regions, Luzon, Palawan, Puerto Galera, the Sulu Sea |
| Asian countries, but recent political unrest, and | | | | and Visayas. The diving ranges from fresh water |
| sporadic outburst of militant activity have resulted in | | | | cave dives in the inland lakes, through to some of |
| the tourist figures for the Philippines being lower than | | | | the best drift diving available along one of the |
| for many of their South East Asian neighbors. The | | | | Philippines numerous coral reef walls. |
| main island groups in the Philippines are Luzon, Visayas | | | | The best diving in the Philippines is considered to be |
| and Mindanao and the capital city is Manila, where | | | | at the Visayan Islands, which are towards the centre |
| over 10 million of the Philippino population live. | | | | of the archipelago. Popular dive sites within the |
| Due to the size of the Philippines, the weather | | | | Visayan Islands include Bohol and Moalboal. The is also |
| patterns are relatively diverse, however they can be | | | | excellent diving to be in the multitude of dive spots |
| roughly divided into the dry season, which runs from | | | | around Puerto Galera, where the Canyons is rated is |
| September through until May, and the wet season, | | | | widely rated as a 'must do' dive. Drift diving through |
| which runs from June to September. The average | | | | the three deep canyons, accompanied by a multitude |
| temperature across the Philippines is 78 degrees F | | | | of barracudas, tuna, jacks and trevally, make this a |
| (25 degrees C) ranging up to 90 degrees F (32 | | | | truly enthralling dive. Add to this the common |
| degrees C) in the drier months. | | | | sightings of giant manta rays, hammerheads and |
| Diving in the Philippines is possible at any point in the | | | | white tips, and you'll see why many people dive the |
| year, although it may be wise to avoid the monsoon | | | | Canyons more than once. |
| months which run from July to September. When | | | | Overall, the diving in the Philippines is of the highest |
| considering whether or not to go diving in the | | | | standards, and the difficult traveling between the |
| Philippines, the figures are very compelling. 34,000 | | | | various sites is more than compensated for on the |
| square kilometers of coral reefs, and over 400 | | | | actual dive sites. It caters for all standards of scuba |
| species of fish means the Philippines undoubtedly | | | | diver, from novice up to the most experienced pro's, |
| holds a great deal of potential for novice and expert | | | | and undoubtedly leaves all wishing they had booked |
| divers alike. The unique location of the waters of the | | | | their stay in the Philippines for longer. |