Anilao

=Dive Anilao, Batangas=

Three hours south of Manila is **Anilao**, Batangas. Here one finds fantastic slope walls, sand bottom, and garden diving, with none to heavy current, lots of underwater life from nudibranchs to triggerfish, eels to sharks, fusiliers to turtles, frogfish to mantis shrimp, and too many other fish and corals to list. There are approximately 24 dive sites to chose from and all will please.

Getting out to the sites requires hoping onto a banka (local open wooden boats) from outside your rooms. The boat men know the waters and the reefs, they also know how to dive so there are never problems here.

Places to Stay
You can't go wrong at any of the sites in Anilao. I've included the 5 different places that I used over a 3-yr period. One thing to keep in mind is the cost of hiring a dive boat to take you to the sites is the same for one or for 6 people (per boat, not per person). The trip can be dirt cheap or a lot more. Either way, it's still much cheaper than anywhere else I've dived in SE Asia.

Getting There
Again, the more people the cheaper it is as this is a one-shot cost divided by the number of people who use the service...be it one or eight. You can hire a taxi or van to drive you for US$100 to US$150 return (3.5 to 4 hours each way). There are also local buses that can take you to Batangas City and then you can hire a taxi from there or take a jeepney (experience local Filipino travel). I don't know the exact cost but it will be only a fraction of the first option.

//Photo Credits:// Blue Ribbon Eel: [|http://www.advanceddivermagazine.com/PhotoG/Gallery.asp?Photog=tisg</span] Titan Triggerfish: http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/1263178.html

by: Lori