With 23 dive sites surrounding tiny Siquijor, the island is a haven for divers. These sites are filled with healthy corals and plentiful macro making both day and night dives a game of treasure hunting.
Paliton Wall is a lively site that drops from 7m-40m. The wall is covered in soft corals and fans and offers a large overhang and cave. Visibility is usually fantastic. Residents include giant frogfish, ornate ghost pipefish and Spanish dancers.
Tonga Point is one of the more challenging dives. The reef begins with a gentle slope to 12m followed by a drop-off to 65 m. Leather coral, soft coral, fans and sponges as well as colorful fire hydroids can be found here. At deeper depths, schools of barracuda, turtles and blue-spotted rays are occasionally seen.
Diving in Siquijor is largely available year round due to the fact that the island is unaffected by the extreme monsoons found elsewhere in the island nation. On average, the air temperature ranges from 75 - 91°F (24 - 33°C) while the water temperature remains fairly constant at 79 - 86°F (26 - 30°C).
Generally, December to May are the dry months while June to November bring some rain and rough seas. Because most of the island’s dive sites are near the shore, this change in weather does not affect the diving. However, monsoon season will make the passage from Dumaguete to Siquijor an adventurous ride.
Getting to Siquijor is not as hard as it looks. Begin by flying into Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila or Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu and transiting to Dumaguete by local flight or bus. From Dumaguete, catch a local ferry to Siquijor. Alternatively, catch the fast ferry from Cebu to Siquijor. Once on the island, jeepneys and tricycles are available for hire.