Apo Island is a 12 hectare island located off the southeastern tip of Negros Island, 30 kilometers south of Dumaguete City, Philippines. There are two small settlements on the island with about 1,000 total residents.
During the late 1970s a marine scientist, Dr. Angel Alcala, from the Silliman University Marine Laboratory in Dumaguete began efforts to create a marine sanctuary at Apo Island. After 3 years, Dr. Alcala was able to convince the local residents to establish the sanctuary in 1982. Since this time Apo Island has become known as one of the best community-organized marine sanctuaries in the world. Sports Diver Magazine placed Apo Island in their list of top 100 diving spots in the world.
650 different species of fish and more than 400 species of coral have been identified in the reserve.
With this information and rave reviews I have heard from other divers, I jumped on a chance to get out of Manila and get some bottom time of my own at Apo Island.
Saturday, July 3, 2010 around 7am Glenn from Private Residence VIP Resort picked me up from Dumaguete Springs Resort where I was staying for a day’s diving at Apo Island. It was a 15 minute ride to his resort in Dauin.
On the way there, Glen advised they had a lot of divers at his place that day, and he wasn’t kidding. There was a large group over from China. I’m guessing around 30 plus divers. No matter, there was plenty of efficient staff and three large bankas to carry us easily to the island.
It was a clear morning, and we had a pleasant 40 minute ride to Apo Island. A large pod of dolphins greeted us about halfway across, always a fun thing. Upon arriving to the island, the three boats each went separate ways, and the parties in each boat were divided into two. Thus the amount of divers per dive was around 6. I was buddied with a dive instructor from Korea.
The moment I dropped in the water, I knew this was going to be a good day of diving. No dive suit needed, the water was perfect temperature. Excellent visibility provided perfect conditions to view the pristine corals and large numbers of fish. We did three dives during the trip covering the northern part of the island and the southern tip.
The corals were in as good of condition I have ever seen. It was easy to see the conservation measures were paying off. We encountered several turtles, cuttle fish, reef fish and several schools of larger fish. I smile when recalling the several moments I had being immersed in a school of jacks.
Transportation from resort, three dives, non diving companion, large buffet lunch and tips for the staff was under 5,000php. Very good value. You can get more details regarding Glen’s dive shop at Dive Worx.
For full details on my trip to Dumaguete, visit my Dumaguete City post at Philippines Travel Online.
