Our dive operation

Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort offers PADI and VDST/CMAS courses by accredited PADI and VDST/CMAS instructors. Whether you are complete novice, an experienced diver who wants to broaden his/her diving skills or even a dive enthusiast who wants to become a professional dive instructor, Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort can accommodate your wishes with a broad range of dive courses ranging from Discover Scuba Diving up to professional level. Our training facilities are amongst the best; we have a big training pool, avail over a dedicated training room with A/V facilities and have ample space to store your private equipment.

We use 12 litre aluminium tanks with INT connectors (please remember DIN adaptor, if required) and can supplz Nitrox.

All our guided tours to the amazing dive sites at Dauin, Siquijor Island and Apo Island are done under the direct supervision of our experienced multilingual Dive masters.

Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort and the dive shop are both owned and operated by the exact same management team:

Peter, a Dutch PADI Staff Instructor with 14 PADI specialities and VDST/CMAS instructor

Silke, Peters’ German wife and an experienced PADI MSDT instructor with 14 PADI specialities and VDST/CMAS instructor

Since our diving staff has lived and worked abroad for many years, there will always be a staff member who can communicate with you in your mother tongue. We can communicate with you in English, German, Danish, Dutch, and Norwegian, and, with a bit of patience, even in Italian, Spanish and Swedish.

Amontillado avails over several dive boats, amongst others our ‘Speed boat’ which can accommodate up to 8 passengers on the trips along the coast of Dauin, our traditional 'Banca' for up to 6 divers or our large ‘Banca’ which can accommodate up to 16 passengers for the longer trips to Apo Island, Sumilon, Liloan or Siquijor.

Diving is our passion, and we hope that you will become as thrilled as we are about diving in the amazing underwater world off the coast of Oriental Negros. We will do our utmost to give you total dive satisfaction!

 

General diving info

Diving in the Philippines and specifically diving in Oriental Negros off the coast of Dauin is a truly amazing experience. Oriental Negros is situated outside the typhoon belt and allows for year round diving. Water temperatures are between 27 and 31 șC all year round so a thin wet suit or a shorty is generally sufficient. Visibility is normally good to excellent.

The aquatic life off the coast of Oriental Negros is tremendously varied and numerous. Did you know that there are more than 3000 species of fish and 448 species of corals in the Philippines (compared to 700 species of fish and 100 species of coral in the entire Caribbean), many of them to be found off the coast of Oriental Negros?

So during your visit to the dive sites of Dauin, the dive sites of Siquijor or the numerous dive sites at Apo island you will undoubtedly meet up with huge Turtles, Rays, Bump Head Napoleon Wrasses, Sea Horses, Harlequin Ghost Pipe Fish, Star Gazers, many different Nudibranches, a huge variety of beautiful soft and hard Corals and Sea Fans, large schools of Jack Fish and Fusiliers, Mantis Shrimps, juvenile Bat Fish, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Frog Fish, Mandarin Fish, Scorpion Fish and much, much more.

The sea straight between Oriental Negros, Siquijor and Cebu is furthermore known for the passing of large groups of dolphins and whales. In fact, we regularly organise sighting trips for interested guests. Here you get a chance to see up to 5 different species of whales and up to 6 different species of dolphins.


Almost all dive sites are easily accessible and there are many excellent dive sites not more than 5-10 minutes away from Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort. In fact you can dive down into the new marine sanctuary right next to our resort! Only the world famous dive sites at Apo Island, Sumilon and Siquijor Island are a bit further away. But even the dive sites at Apo Island and Siquijor Island can be reached by boat within approximately one hour.

We promise you, you will not get bored; drift dives, deep dives, wall dives and amazing coral gardens are all part of the program. Furthermore, we offer diving at a dive site, that rapidly has become one of the world-class dive sites in the Philippines; The Pier! Here you will find on a very small area more macro life than you could ever imagine. We restrict the diving in this exclusive area to experienced PADI AOW divers (or equivalent) and never take more than six guests at a time. Muck-diving at its  best!

Note: presently the Pier is closed for diving due to maintenance works.

Actually we at Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort intend to keep all our dive groups on all dive sites small. This, combined with the fact that the coast of Oriental Negros in general still is unspoiled by tourism, assures that you rarely encounter other divers during your dive, and therefore will be able to enjoy this amazing underwater experience quite undisturbed.

Dive sites at Apo Island

The dive sites at Apo Island are a 40-50 minutes boat ride away from Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort, and are a definite must for all serious divers.

There are 11 large and distinct dive sites around Apo Island and several of them can be graded as world-class! There are several great walls, some steep slopes and several gradual slopes and platforms, all teeming with life! Absolutely spectacular are the huge coral gardens with its enormous variety of healthy corals.

6 sites are suitable for Open Water divers, the remainder are for advanced divers. Several sites have a moderate current.

Cogon (*****)
Depth: 12 – 30 meters. Cogon is suitable for more experienced divers due to its occasional fierce currents, making it an exhilarating drift dive.

The site starts on a sloping reef with amazing mixed corals and sponges and finishes along a wall with masses of luxurious soft corals. The strong currents guarantee remarkable marine life activity with all kinds of fish cruising the reef and hundreds of big eye trevallies (jacks) stealing the show. You will usually meet with one or more turtles and the occasional Manta Ray. When the currents abate you will be able to explore the crags and overhangs to find fish, shrimps and eels hiding there.

Olo (****)
Depth: 15 – 35 meters. Olo literally means ‘the Head’ in Visayan and lies obviously at the head of the island. The site is definitely only for advanced divers since the current can be quite strong, when it splits to Coconut Point in one way and Cogon to the other.

You normally enter at the north point and swim south-east. You will experience a definite ‘aquarium’ feeling with thousands of fish mulling around you. At the entry point you will swim over a slope with many beautiful corals, pass a great wall and plunge down to a virtual wood of staghorn corals. The end of the dive will take you along yet another beautiful coloured wall. On your way you’ll meet an amazing variety of fish and occasionally you will spot some sharks cruising in the deep. One of the most impressive dives around Apo island!

Coconut Point (****)
Depth: 12- 30 meters. Coconut Point is strictly for advanced divers with drift dive experience, since it is subject to very strong currents and can be a challenging due to both up and down currents! Its nick name is therefore the ‘Washing Machine`!

On the positive side: strong currents mean unbelievable numbers of fish and Coconut Point never disappoint in this respect! After submerging, the coral covered sloping reef turns into a steep wall, which later gives way to interesting rock formations. Half way the dive you can expect a narrow sand slope and the shallow “Tarzan” wall where you will fly over. Even whale sharks have been spotted here!

Rock Point West (****)
Depth: 12 -30 meters. The first part of the site offers many amazing soft coral formations with loads of smaller fish, then progresses into a rocking bottom structure. The current is acceptable at the start, but increases rapidly towards the tip of the point. Here you will usually find large groups of fish, cruising in the current.

Rock Point East (****)
Depth: 12 – 40 meters. Rock Point is a large finger-shaped reef protruding from Apo Islands’ south east corner, which opens up to the open sea. Its exposure to open sea currents ensures an incredible rich fish life, creating the ‘aquarium’ feeling, and truly amazing coral formations as well as occasional visits from large fish and predators!

The steep wall leads to a plateau at the tip of the point. Depending on currents divers have the choice of continuing to the west side and explore the plateau or returning along the east wall. You will experience colourful clouds of schooling fish and specifically smaller reef fish. The hard and soft coral formations are really impressive and filled with interesting macro subjects. You’ll most likely meet up with a turtle and possibly the occasional small white tip shark.

Marine Sanctuary , also called Clown Fish City (****)
Depth: 5 – 40 meters. The marine sanctuary is a no-fishing area and the number of divers is restricted to maximum 15 people per day. This high level of protection benefits the whole of Apo Island, since it allows fish stocks to regenerate.

You can start the dive at a steep wall covered in hard and soft corals with many interesting overhangs and small caverns. The shallow plateau is covered in mixed corals and is home to the famous 'Clown Fish City' a unique area completely covered in anemones and literally thousands of clownfish!

Mamsa Point (****)
Depth: 12 – 40 meters.
Mamsa actually means jack fish in the local Visayan dialect. And Mamsa Point is indeed crowded by big schools of hundreds of jacks.

You might sometimes see them swimming in a ring for group protection against larger pelagics, like tunas! The sloping reef and steep wall are covered in hard and soft corals and sponges and are crowded by maritime life.

There is often a strong current so this site is generally only suited for advanced divers with experience in drift diving.

Largahan (***)
Depth: 6 – 22 meters. At the exit point of Coconut Point starts the easy dive at Largahan. There is usually little current, so you can also enter further south and swim towards Coconut point.

Starting at Coconut Point you will swim over a relatively flat slope covered with corals. You will see a huge variety of fish, ranging from small gobies to huge manta rays.

On the flat sandy slope towards the end you can experience the curious phenomenon of gas exits, where earth gas is escaping in small bubbles!

Chapel (***)
Depth: 12 – 40 meters.
Chapel is a site right in front of the islands’ chapel and starts as a very gentle slope of the purest white sand and mixed coral heads, changing into a very steep slope, which ends in an impressive wall with many overhangs and small caverns.

A great dive to conclude your day at Apo island, since there is virtually no current and generally excellent visibility. Chapel is also great for night diving when you’ll probably meet with basket stars, Forsskals’ slugs and painted rock lobsters.

Katipanan (***)
Depth: 7 – 20 meters. Diving at Katipanan is generally easy with the moderate current taking you over a soft coral garden with lots of marine life. Turtles, big cuttle fish, dart fish, harlequin sweetlips, trigger fish, butterfly fish, goat fish, angel fish, bat fish, surgeon fish and loads of damsel fish crowd the corals.

Kan-Uran (***)
Depth: 5 – 40 meters. Kan-Uran offers very nice diving with some exceptionally good corals, starting at a steep slope with a wall at depth, gradually changing into a flat slope.

You can find many varied nudibranches, razor fish, rubble pipe fish and spot-faced moray eels. Unfortunately the visibility is not always good, so be prepared to find an alternative site.

Boluarte (**)
Depth: 8 – 35 meters. Boluarte is the name of a huge rock formation right in front of the coast and the site is suited for beginners.

The bottom is sandy with several scattered coral blocks. Lots of fish are moving around the coral blocks. Also here you can observe the curious phenomenon of earth gas escaping from the sandy bottom in small bubbles.
 

 

Diving at Dauin

None of the dive sites at Dauin is further away than a short 5-10 minutes drive from Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort. All dive sites at Dauin are positioned right in front of the beach and easily accessible.

There are many good sites, amongst them several marine sanctuaries. The variety of fish is truly amazing and you will spot rare species, you probably haven’t seen often before. Since recently it is also possible to dive on the world-class dive site “The Pier”, particularly known for its abundant macro life. There are quite a few more dive sites, but they have not yet been explored fully.

The Pier (*****)
Depth: 3 – 24 meters. The Pier of Dumaguete Coconut Mill (officially called Ducomi Pier) is a very unusual dive site and is rapidly achieving world class acknowledgement. It actually consists of several piers laying no more than a couple of meters from each other. Even though The Pier geographically only covers a small area, it has the potential to captivate you for several days! It primary function is a shipping pier, used for the loading and unloading of coconut products, rice etc. The pier is densely overgrown with sponges and soft corals in all colours and shapes and is a true heaven for critter hunters! The pillars throw eerie light patterns and silhouettes and are thereby great objects for wide angle shots. You will also see different types of frogfish in all colours, many nudibranches, scorpion fish, leaf fish, devil fish, pipe fish, bat fish, seahorses, juvenile travellies, octopus, harlequin ghost pipe fish, harlequin shrimps, whiskered pipe fish, flamboyant cuddle fish, moray eels, sea snakes and juvenile bat fish.

At one stage The Pier became so popular, that the owners got concerned regarding possible damage to the eco-structure. They therefore restricted access to The Pier and appointed Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort to organise access to the site. We have now limited the number of divers per group, require PADI AOW (or equivalent rating) from the divers and never have more than one dive group at a time. We thereby assure that divers have good opportunities to explore this extraordinary dive site undisturbed and simultaneously protect the fragile eco-system.

Note: presently the Pier is closed for diving due to maintenance works.

Masaplod North Marine Sanctuary (****)
Depth: 5 – 22 meters. This is a truly incredibly active reef, teeming with maritime life. It actually is so crowded with fish that it sometimes feels like swimming in a fish soup! Seahorses, double ended pipefish, large mangrove snappers, big schools of yellowtail snappers, blue spotted stingrays, many types of nudibranches, scorpion fish, adult and juvenile sweetlips, porcupine puffer fish, ringed pipefish, batfish, large schools of juvenile travellies, moray eels and many more are fighting for your attention. Once in a while you will even spot truly enormous turtles, harlequin ghost pipefish, sea snakes, mantis shrimps, big barracudas, stargazers and thorny cow fish. Somehow the fish here recognise divers as being harmless creatures and therefore let you get within touching distance!

Masaplod South Marine Sanctuary (****)
Depth: 5 – 22 meters. A bit further south you will find another amazing dive site with beautiful coral formations and basically the same maritime population as Masaplod North. The site is so varied and lively, that one dive definitely will not be enough!

Lipayo Marine Sanctuary (***)
Depth: between 5 and 20 meters. This reef is a gentle slope, covering an area too large to explore in one dive. Large beds of stag horn coral and many smaller mixed coral blocks are homes for a multitude of marine life. There are many small cracks and overhangs where smaller fish, shrimps and eels are hiding. Overhead you will often notice large schools of snappers. You will be astounded by the variety of fish.

Sarahs’ Place Marine Sanctuary (***)
Depth: between 5 and 20 meters. The south end of this reef is made up of mixed coral blocks and a couple of artificial reef structures that by now have been nicely overgrown. Here you will find some of the biggest frogfish you’ve ever seen! You will also find other types of frogfish, banded pipefish, many nudibranches, different types of snappers, scorpion fish, moray eels, flounders, snake eels, many types of crabs and shrimps. With a bit of luck you’ll find flamboyant cuttlefish, stargazers, ghost pipe fish, seahorses, crocodile fish and juvenile harlequin sweetlips.

Dauin Marine Sanctuary East Side (***)
Depth: between 5 and 30 meters. The east side of this very big sanctuary consists of 2 large reefs areas which are densely covered with hard corals divided by a sandy channel. Each area has its own character with different types of coral and fish.

Dauin Marine Sanctuary West Side (***)
Depth: between 5 and 30 meters. The west side of Dauin Sanctuary is also made up of two large areas of quite amazing corals separated by a sandy channel. There are several elevated coral formations in the shallows, while you will find several small walls and overhangs in the deeper end. There is a healthy amount of varied kinds of fish, and you will most probably see a turtle or two on each dive.

Dauin Banca Wreck (***)
Depth: 30 meters. This wreck of a traditional Philippino fishing boat is visited by a huge variety of marine life. The boat is slowly falling apart and provides shelter for a huge group of very large lionfish, but you will also see hinge beak shrimps, white eyed moray eels, nudibranches, sand divers, pavo razor wrasse, schooling snappers and possibly also batfish, frogfish, seahorses, harlequin ghost pipefish, robust ghost pipefish and banded pipefish. On the steep sandy slope and the shallow sea grass areas you will always be able to find smaller critters.

Dauin Car Wrecks (***)
Depth: 30 meters. This is a small but rewarding dive site just 10 meters from the Banca wreck. There are 2 car wrecks surrounded by many tires and other forms of debris. Although this doesn’t said so attractive, it is a great site to find Durban dancing shrimps, banded boxer shrimps, nudibranches, moray eels, sand divers, juvenile emperor angelfish, blue spotted stingray and possibly crocodile fish, clown frogfish, harlequin ghost pipefish, banded pipefish, double ended pipefish and small cuttlefish.

Amontillado Marine Sanctuary Mainit (****)
Depth: between 3 and 30 meters. This dive site is situated directly next to the resort.  Please be aware that there might be quite a strong current; so normally the site is advisable only for advanced divers.

This  is an beautifully open site situated on a slope with numerous elevated rock formations with sandy patches in between. The variety of corals and anemones is huge. You will see many puffer fish, rabbit fish, cat fish, garden eels, leopard sweetlips, juvenile bat fish, ribbon eels, shrimps, crabs, flounders and nudibranches.

Try to join the early morning dive, when you will see large groups of barracudas circling around you!

Special attractions are the underwater hot springs that are continuously emitting mineral enriched hot water.
 

 

Diving at Siquijor

The dive sites around the island of Siquijor are further away from Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort, but still not more than a 60 minutes boat ride away. We mainly dive on the West side of Siquijor. A few dive sites around Siquijor were badly damaged by dynamite fishing in the past, but most reefs have recovered remarkably well and are again teeming with life. None of the below dive sites shows signs of dynamite fishing any more. Almost all dive sites are suitable for Open Water divers.

Paliton Wall (****)
Depth: 5- 40 meters. Yet another easy site, where you initially dive along a steep wall which slowly turns into a sandy slope. You’ll see interesting comet fish in some of the smaller caves and schools of snubnose drummers and some chequered snappers between beautiful coral formations and larger barrel sponges. Also look out for mantis shrimp on the sandy slopes.

Paliton Staghorn (****)
Depth: 10 – 30 meters. A beautiful and easy dive along a long wall, which dissolves into a steep slope. Here you’ll see some really big staghorn coral formations and bucket sponges. You’ll meet with plenty of reef fish, specifically midnight snappers, snubnose drummers and in the shallows blue ribbon eels.

Coco Grove (***)
Depth: 3 – 15 meters. This is specifically a nice dive during the night. You can then for example meet some big and rare nudibranches, like the dark red forsskal’s slug, basket stars and colourful flat worms. During the day there is a good chance to find seahorses in the shallow parts.
 

 

Other destinations

We also offer on request day trips to the Sumilon and Liloan, which are about 1,5 hours away from Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort.

We furthermore can arrange 'island hopping' in the Visayan archipelago. Here we specifically cater for dive groups and dive clubs who wish to travel for several days or weeks through the archipelago and explore new dive sites. Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort can offer several attractive packages or we can tailor-make the plan together with you. Please contact us if you wish to receive more information.
 

 

Dive courses and other services

Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort offers PADI and VDST/CMAS courses by accredited PADI and VDST/CMAS instructors. Whether you are complete novice, an experienced diver who wants to broaden his/her diving skills or even a dive enthusiast who wants to become a professional dive instructor, Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort can accommodate your wishes with a broad range of dive courses ranging from Discover Scuba Diving up to professional level. Our training facilities are amongst the best; we have a big training pool in the area, avail over a dedicated training room with A/V facilities and have ample space to store your private equipment.

Amontillado Beach & Dive Resort is both owned and operated by Peter, a Dutch PADI Staff Instructor with 14 PADI specialities and VDST/CMAS instructor, and Silke, Peters’ German wife and an experienced PADI MSDT instructor with 14 PADI specialities and and VDST/CMAS instructor.

We have an in-depth knowledge and experience in teaching Introductory courses, Advanced courses, Speciality courses, Rescue and Emergency First Response courses and professional courses from Dive master to Assistant Instructor.

Peter is an enthusiastic UW-photographer and Silke a professional UW-videographer.



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