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Scuba Diving
Boracay Philippines

Boracay in the Philippines along with nearby Indonesia's Bali are consistently voted by scuba diving magazines and publications as amongst the top 10 scuba diving destinations and resorts in the world.

There are quite a few diving operators offering dive safaris to hard to reach locations in Boracay such as Sibuyan Sea, Tablas, Romblon and Semirara. Closer to Boracay are also some world class dive sites catering to divers of varying diving skills.

If you are not a scuba diver, you will find snorkeling in Boracay just as exhilarating because of its rich marine life. For example, at Friday's Rock, which lies close to the island's west shore, you can find a variety of brilliant colored soft and hard corals, butterfly fish, wrasses, damsel fish, blue tangs, stingrays and snappers, often along with big scorpion fish and lion fish hiding in rocks and crevices.

There are 2 dive sites nearby called Punta1 and Punta2. Punta 1 is shallower dive which is a drop off to about 24m (80ft) Punta 2 starts at 30m and goes down to 50m (170ft). Groupers, trigger fish, angel fish as well as sweetlips, tuna, barracuda and the occasional reef shark populate these two interesting dive locations.

Just southeast of Boracay lies the Crocodile Island (so named because of shape of the island and not after the scaly reptile) which is a very popular scuba diving site. It is wall diving here of about 25m(80ft) in depth at its bottom. This diving destination is so rich in marine life that many species of fish and corals make its residence here. There are even a few poisonous banded sea snakes here and some are as long as two meters (6.4ft) long. Do be careful because all sea snakes are poisonous and their bites can be fatal.

Another excellent dive site nearby is the Laurel Island. This dive site is for the more experienced scuba divers as the undercurrent here can get quite strong. Because of this fact, drift diving can be a pleasure here. It is also these strong currents that encourage corals to open up their beautiful yellow and orange polyps to feed on microscopic planktons and marine creatures, festooning the walls of an 8m (25ft) tunnel at the tip of the island. You can also find big sponges and handsome gorgonian sea fans here.

At northern Boracay is Yapak, which is a deep wall diving starting at around 30m(95ft) and descending the depth of 60m (190 ft). Again, the undercurrent here can be rather tricky. This area is the domain of larger pelagic fish such as barracudas and various species of sharks. Occasionally, a hammerhead shark will swim by and giant manta rays are also frequently sighted. Other interesting dive spots in the Boracay are Carabao (buffalo), Cathedral Cave, Buruanga, Black Rock and Dog Drift. So if you are going to the Philippines for a scuba diving vacation, why not try scuba diving in beautiful Boracay.

Chris Chew have been scuba diving for 3 decades. More articles at Scuba diving blog and Hawaii diving holiday vacation.
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