Anilao is one of the many famous dive areas in the Philippines. It is about a 2 and a half hour drive from Manila (south) and is fairly close to the port that would take you over to Puerto Galera (another famous area).

Your trips leaders (Matt and Sheila) hadn't been to this region yet so in early 2025 we took a short trip there to check out a few resorts. We actually liked all of them we visited, but we stayed and Buceo Anilao and got to know the family and staff there and are looking forward to going back there and having Red Horse's in the bar with Dave (Dad).

The diving was really good, with a excellent mix of reef and macro diving. The wreck we did there was really fun too, so many small things swimming around in the old barge's skeleton.

Food was really good too. You order your food one meal ahead of time off the menu, and it then a pretty short wait for your meal when you get back from diving. It is a good system.

The resort is built on a hill side, and some of the rooms are a climb, but we booked this one far enough ahead of time that we have the lower rooms. We are including a message in the package though, and the message room is on the highest level. Leave a few extra minutes to get there so you don't arrive sweaty!

We have booked both both Deluxe and Superior room types. Deluxe is the bigger one at about 475 sq ft and Superior has same amenities but smaller (about 270 sq ft) and higher up the hillside. Everyone gets balcony and AC (bathroom of course, we are not animals!). Minibar, safe, ceiling fans in every room and Pax (Mom) has done all the resort artwork. It is really good!

Fly into Manila and get picked up. Depending on your flight times and arrival times it may make sense to get an airport hotel prior to doing the 2.5 hours drive. Up to you. Transfers are included. This is a stand alone trip of course, but I'm guessing most of us will be traveling to Magic Ocean in Bohol and we'll pick a reasonable middle of the day flight to get there.

Nitrox is $5 per tank, and they charge extra for black water dives and dives to Verde Island. We'll organize all of that while we are there, no reason to book it in advance.

This trip is the first in a string of 3 trips in the Philippines. Of course you can book it separately, but most of the group will probably be doing at least 2 of 3. PI is a long way to go. I can say for sure that Anilao diving is different from the other 2 places enough that it is worth a look if you have not done it before. You will like the place we picked as well. Not over the top luxury, but very comfortable and feels like a home away from home.

You can skip this section if you have been on a trip before, you know us already.

For those of you thinking about your first trip with this dive family, welcome! One of the best reasons to come along is the other people that will be there. Good people and fun - and mostly (but not all!) divers.

The only people that will be there for sure though are Matt and Sheila. While we do take input, the travel group is mostly "where do Matt and Sheila want to got, and let's invite our friends!". This leads us to the world's best diving destinations, and some non diving trips that are bucket list worthy!

Matt grew up in Friendswood outside of Houston, went to TexasA&M, got a Ph.D in molecular biology at USSD, then started Island Divers Hawaii in Honolulu and ran it for 25 years and is retired except for this travel program. Sheila grew up in California, moved to HI at 19, worked in maritime industry with many hats (including boat captain at Island Divers) until she retired with Matt in 2024.

We welcome everyone to try traveling with our group of dive friends. Return invitation is curated, but all reasonable people are welcome back - be nice to local staff, hold off on political rants, dive reasonably safe, no incessant complaining if things don't go your way. We call our return guests/friends Dive Travel Alumni and keep a special email list for them. Would love to put you on it!