Subic scuba diving · Scuba Diving in Subic
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Scuba Diving in Subic
Scuba Diving in Subic
The tourism office for the area calls Subic Bay the “Pearl of the Orient” and much like a pearl inside an oyster, its true value is hidden unless you know where to look.
Scuba diving is incredibly popular throughout the Philippines and more international divers are arriving each year. The growth of diving in Subic Bay, whilst increasing, is doing so at a slower rate - so this area still remains a hidden gem, with unspoilt sites and lack of crowding.
Subic Bay offers some of the world's best shipwrecks, all within recreational diving depths, as well as tranquil coral and artificial reefs that explode with marine life. Unlike Coron, and other international wreck diving locations, where you ride for hours to get to a wreck site, the majority of Subic Bay dive sites are a quick 15 minutes boat trip from the dive centres.
The bay is a unique 'wreck heaven' because its sheltered waters allow calm year-round diving (except in the strongest Typhoons), with short duration transits to the dive sites and a fantastic collection of exceptionally well-preserved historical wrecks.
Just how many wrecks are there in Subic Bay and around its entrance? That is a very difficult question. Unlike Coron or Truk, whose wrecks occurred over a relatively short period, Subic’s WWII wrecks covered almost the entire war period. No less than 25 Japanese ships were reported sunk during the war years. Some of these may have been removed in the late fifties as salvage operations were done to open up the bay for shipping Additional ships were sunk after the war either as targets or victims of mother nature. It is widely believed that an additional ten large ships may lie within the Bay. The area is not limited to WWII wrecks, at the entrance to the bay alongside Grande Island, is the remains of the Spanish American war wreck San Quintin. Outside the bay in deep water lie the remains of a Spanish Galleon as well as a 16th century Chinese Junk (beyond diving range).
The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 did an enormous amount of damage to Luzon and the Zambales/Subic Bay area was very hard hit. A meter of ash covered the area including homes and business. Within days, a typhoon entered the area turning the ash into mud. Many homes and business collapse under the weight. One resident stated that the river looked just like the cement coming out of a cement mixer. A large percentage of the coral was killed lying under the ash.
When the Navy occupied the naval base at Subic, many of the wrecks were closed to diving. Divers however had the advantage of diving in water that was crystal clear with 40 or more meters of visibility on the wrecks that were open. The bay was the home of different varieties of sharks, dolphins, and turtles. While a few turtles still nest on the beaches the visibility, sharks and dolphins are no longer here. The visibility is returning slowly and the coral is recovering. Hopefully the turtles, sharks and dolphins will return in abundance also. More turtles and rays have been seen this year than last and the number of sharks just outside the bay also seems to be on the rise
In recent years, there have been increasingly more common spottings of Bull Sharks around the deeper wreck sites, along with Eagle Ray around the USS New York, LST and El Capitan... and Black Tip Reef Sharks around the outside of Grande Island.
Underwater Photographers have been reporting success with Macro critters, such as Harlequin Ghost Pipefish and many species of Nudibranch
The last few years have seen a dramatic growth in the number of dive operators in the Bay area. In 1998 there was only one fledgling full time operator at Subic - today there are more than 10. These dive operators serve a variety of scuba training agencies, including; PADI, SSI, ANDI, PSAI, BSAC and DSAT. They provide a collection of entry-level and specialist scuba training courses, including (of course!) basic and advanced/technical wreck diver training.
Scuba Tech Philippines [ ]runs PADI and TecRec technical courses [ ] from a luxury dive boat based in Subic Freeport Zone. The instructor, Andy Davis[ ], is a highly qualified and experienced UK-trained instructor with PADI, SSI, BSAC and DSAT TecRec. Daily scuba diving trips are offered to the wrecks and reefs of Subic Bay. These trips can be tailored to fulfil divers requirements at any level. Accomodation can be booked at any hotel inside SFZ, with pick-up/drop-off included.
Boardwalk Divers is located on the free port so benefits from quick access to the wrecks. It is run be George AngDyPay an experienced TDI and PSAI technical rebreather instructor. Set up to cater to both recreational and technical divers it has quickly become the dive center of choice for most tech divers. Guding is done by local staff members who are all trained as divemasters and technical wreck guides. [ ] Accommodation is at the nearby hotels - Herbie's Mansion, Boardwalk Inn and Mango Valley
Johan’s on Baloy Long Beach, Barrio Barretto, Olongapo has very nice simple rooms to service it dive clients and their friends. Located on the beach you are just steps away from the beach to your rooms
2N2 dive center in Olongapo. This center with its hotel caters mostly to Korean Divers
Inside the Subic Freeport, Vascos, a restaurant and hotel combination. They purport to be the most experienced wreck divers in the Philippines and have a museum (free entry) of artifacts to prove it.
Ocean Adventure also has a dive center. Grande Island has just opened a dive center
Area Wrecks
USS NEW YORK - A 120m-long hull. 27m of water between Alava Pier and the northern end of Cubi Point runway.
EL CAPITAN - A 3,000-ton freighter, about 130m long that crashed down the mouth of Ilanin Bay.5m below the surface.
SAN QUENTIN - The oldest known wreck in Subic, a wooden gunboat scuttled by the Spanish in 1898.
LANDING SHIP TANK (LST) - Situated between Grande Island and the southern tip of the runway. 32m deep.
ORYOKU MARU - Located 400m off Alava pier. 20m (60ft) deep.
PATROL BOAT - In Triboa Bay at a depth of 20-25m (60-75ft).
LANDING CRAFT UTILITY (LCU) - Triboa Bay. 5-20m (25-60ft).
Further details of Subic Bay Wreck Sites can be found at:
Subic Bay and Its Wrecks by Scuba Tech Philippines [ ]
Area Dive Shops
Boardwalk Divers - The Boardwalk, Subic Bay Freeport - [ ]
Blue Rock Dive Center - Baloy Long Beach.
Scuba Tech Philippines - Subic Bay Freeport - [ ]
Dive Vacations
Seahorse Tours & Souvenirs- Times Square Cinema Complex, CBD, SBFZ (6347) 252-5617 [email protected] provides dive and vacation packages using the areas leading hotels and dive operators. [ ]
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Subic
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Subic - updated Apr 2024
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Subic Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.