Nestled 200 miles south from Manila in the Philippines is the Boracay island.
This tropical paradise is renowned for scuba diving and is regularly voted the best global destination by readers of scuba diving magazines.
A lot of divers are attracted by the existence of large manta rays and hammerhead sharks although sometimes a diver must be wary of who he is sharing the warm waters with.
For example Crocodile Island has snake residents that are deadly poisonous and over six foot in length.
Happily most visitors will only be faced with colorful fish and intricate coral in the many dive sites throughout the island. Several of these like Tablas and Romblon are accessible only by prevailing one of the many operators working on Boracay.
Puntal 1 and 2 are very near the main island and are home to multitude of species. Divers will able to experience trigger and angel fish, barracudas and even, if they are lucky reef sharks.
Depths reached can range from 80 to 170 feet. For visitors not confident enough to tackle diving, snorkelling is a great alternative.
More advanced scuba divers are attracted to the Laurel Island which has an undercurrent that needs to be managed. This drift diving is only for the most experienced who are rewarded by opened corals, massive sponges and waving sea fans. The latter is a result of the strength of the changing tidal flow.
With so many varied sites available to all levels of diving capabilities you can see why Boracay is considered by many as the scuba diving centre of the world.
