Wall
down to 40 m
Kasai Wall
Wall off Tuble with big hard corals, canyons and small caves, plenty of nudibranchs, razorfish, squid and whale shark sightings.
- Open Water
- Whale sharks
Moalboal
Diving in Philippines
9 documented dive sites, 5 of them for Open Water divers. Known for turtles, tuna and sardine.
- Best months
- Jan–May
- Water
- 25–30 °C
- Levels
- Open Water, Advanced
When to go
Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.
Pick a month
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Moalboal in October
Possible- Sea
- 30 °C
- at the surface
- Air
- 30 °C
- 26 °C at night
- Rain
- 330 mm
- one of the wettest months
- Wind
- 10 km/h
- on average
The warmest water of the year.
Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.
All sources say Moalboal is dived year-round. Zubludiving names Nov–May as best (dry season); Liveaboard.com says the rainy season runs July–December; Scuba Diving magazine suggests avoiding September–December for storms. When sources disagree we keep the more cautious reading: Jan–May shown as best (no source contradicts), Jun–Aug rainy (shown as good), Sep–Oct shown as possible (rainy + storm advice, no source calls them good), Nov–Dec shown as good (Zubludiving says best, but two other sources give storm/rain advice).
Dive sites in Moalboal
From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.
Open Water friendly
usual dive down to 18 m5 sites
Panagsama Sardine Run (House Reef)
A sardine ball that spreads from 2 to about 15 m off Panagsama Beach, hunted by mackerels and tuna, with a thresher shark if you are lucky.
- Open Water
- Wall
- Whale sharks
Wall
down to 40 m
Ronda Bay Marine Sanctuary
A marine sanctuary with a turtle cleaning station where up to 10 turtles can be seen in a single dive.
- Open Water
- Blacktip reef sharks
Wall
down to 30 m
Tuble Reef
A wall dive to 25 m where big parrotfish, a school of razorfish and turtles are the likely sightings.
- Open Water
- Turtles
Wall
down to 55 m
Tongo Point (Tongo Marine Sanctuary)
- Open Water
- Whale sharks
For Advanced divers
usual dive down to 30 m4 sites
Pescador Island
A protected island off Moalboal known for swim-throughs and tunnels that split the reef, with schooling fish, reef sharks and turtles.
- Advanced
- Wall
- Whitetip reef sharks
Marine life
When the big encounters happen, month by month.
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SardineSource: liveaboard.com |
- Peak season
- Seen
Sardine: All year
Also reported here, season not documented yet:
- Turtles
- Tuna
- Barracuda
- Trevally
- Frogfish
- Ghost pipefish
- Mandarinfish
- Nudibranchs
- Pygmy seahorses
- Sea snakes
- Whale sharks
- Thresher sharks
- Whitetip reef sharks
- Eagle rays
- Blue-ringed octopus
Where is Moalboal?
Moalboal: frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to dive Moalboal?
- The best months to dive Moalboal are Jan–May. All sources say Moalboal is dived year-round. Zubludiving names Nov–May as best (dry season); Liveaboard.com says the rainy season runs July–December; Scuba Diving magazine suggests avoiding September–December for storms. When sources disagree we keep the more cautious reading: Jan–May shown as best (no source contradicts), Jun–Aug rainy (shown as good), Sep–Oct shown as possible (rainy + storm advice, no source calls them good), Nov–Dec shown as good (Zubludiving says best, but two other sources give storm/rain advice).
- Is Moalboal good for beginner divers?
- Yes, partly: 5 of the 9 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Kasai Wall, Panagsama Sardine Run (House Reef) and Ronda Bay Marine Sanctuary. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
- What is the water temperature in Moalboal?
- The water is usually between 25 °C and 30 °C over the year.
- What marine life can you see in Moalboal?
- Divers regularly see sardine (all year), turtles, tuna, barracuda, trevally and frogfish.
About this page
Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.
Your next dive is somewhere out there.
Find my next dive tripPhoto credits
- Green sea turtle on the reef at Moalboal, Iampjanz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sardine school over the reef at Panagsama, Moalboal, Iampjanz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pescador Island off Moalboal, P199, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash
