Cebu is an island province that is undoubtedly among the best tourist destinations in the Philippines. It is centrally located and relatively easily accessible to international airports. Additionally, it boasts a host of historical sights and city comforts and has top-class facilities that attract travelers for both business and leisure. Its island-hopping destinations, historical sights, beaches and other top tourist locations are easily accessible from the city. As such, Cebu is a great option for first-time explorers of the Philippines. Cebu diving is among the best adventures in the surrounding islands of the Philippines. This is a host of beautiful dive spots in Cebu and is included among the best diving locations in the Philippines.

Typically, dive sites in the Philippines are accessed through double outrigger canoes called bangkas, which are traditional boats. Below are two of the best Cebu diving spots that can be explored on a trip to this spectacular island province:

Moalboal

Moalboal is a town located approximately two hours from the city. It serves as the gateway to some of the finest Cebu diving locations as well as some of the best spots in all of the Philippines. For divers, Pescador Island is the top draw; it is basically an islet found at the Tañon Strait. It is a protected marine park and home to the world-renowned sardine run and hammerhead sharks. The marine sanctuary reaches a depth of over 600 meters and it is known for its wealth of sardines. This fish specie surrounds divers in schools of over 1000.

The mass and diversity of reef fish are breathtaking and simply surreal, which leads to extremely rewarding dives. The region offers an undersea playground for divers with a variety of caverns, tunnels and swim-throughs. These bring you up close and personal to varied marine life which will have you swimming among lionfish, corals, anemones and more. With the rich marine life, divers can be found swimming along with schooling barracudas, white tip reef sharks, jacks, sardines and even thresher sharks on rare occasions.

Mactan Island

In all of Cebu, this is among the most popular dive sites and it is also among the most popular diving locations in the Philippines. This small island is found in Central Visayas and separated but bridges connect it by the Mactan Channel from the Cebu mainland. The diving sites are found on the east side and is reachable by shore or boat, depending on the diving center.

Due to its convenient location, a Mactan sanctuary tour is a great adventure for first-time visitors to start off their underwater voyage in the Philippines. Visitors are not required to travel far to relish the rich, underwater sanctuary. Mactan and its neighboring islands provide a vibrant and distinct marine life that makes divers want to keep coming back.

There are marine sanctuaries on Mactan Island containing easy-to-access sites that are teeming with hard tree corals, underwater caves and barracuda, tuna, surgeonfish and squirrelfish. From deep walls, sheer drop-offs, coral mounts and even two wrecks, diving on Mactan Island is a remarkable experience.