Anilao Philippines Oct 4th to 10th, 2027

Anilao is one of the many famous dive areas in the Philippines. It is about a 2 and a half hour drive from Manila (south) and is fairly close to the port that would take you over to Puerto Galera (another famous area).

Your trips leaders (Matt and Sheila)  took a short trip there in early 2025 to check out a few resorts. We actually liked all of them we visited, but we stayed and Buceo Anilao and got to know the family and staff there and are looking forward to going back there and having Red Horse’s in the bar with Dave (Dad).

The diving was really good, with a excellent mix of reef and macro diving. The wreck we did there was really fun too, so many small things swimming around in the old barge’s skeleton – macro heaven.

Food was really good too. You order your food one meal ahead of time off the menu, and it then a pretty short wait for your meal when you get back from diving. It is a good system.

The resort is built on a hill side, and some of the rooms are a climb, but we booked this one far enough ahead of time that we have the lower rooms. We are including a message in the package though, and the message room is on the highest level. Leave a few extra minutes to get there so you don’t arrive sweaty!

Here is a video we made about the resort from our site visit:

 

Accommodation

We have booked both both Deluxe and Superior room types. Deluxe is the bigger one at about 475 sq ft and Superior has same amenities but smaller (about 270 sq ft) and higher up the hillside. Everyone gets balcony and AC (bathroom of course, we are not animals!). Minibar, safe, ceiling fans in every room and Pax (Mom) has done all the resort artwork. It is really good!

Getting there

Fly into Manila and get picked up. Depending on your flight times and arrival times it may make sense to get an airport hotel prior to doing the 2.5 hours drive. Up to you, this is almost certainly what your trip leaders will do. Transfers are included. This is a stand alone trip and can be booked that way.  Many of us will be traveling to Magic Ocean in Bohol and we’ll pick a reasonable middle of the day flight to get there.  Not to early, so we can do morning dives the day before.

The first of three weeks in the PI

This trip is the first in a string of 3 trips in the Philippines. Of course you can book it separately, but most of the group will probably be doing at least 2 of 3. PI is a long way to go. I can say for sure that Anilao diving is different from the other 2 places enough that it is worth a look if you have not done it before. You will like the place we picked as well. Not over the top luxury, but very comfortable and feels like a home away from home.

Use this website to see the next two trips and book them separately – Magic Oceans in Anda Bohol, and Magic Island in Moalboal Cebu