Destinations  /  The Coral Triangle  /  Dauin & Dumaguete
Destination

Dauin & Dumaguete

Philippines

Shore-entry muck twenty minutes from the airport. Apo Island is a separate day trip.

Season
Nov–Jun
Water
26–29 °C
Visibility
8–18 m
Typical depth
5–25 m
Species recorded
467 of 1316
Sites
14 named
DE-01
dauin & dumaguete · black sand shore entry · sunken structures · wide
16:10 · min 2400px

What the diving is like

Shore diving, which is what makes it different. The muck sites run along a black sand coast south of Dumaguete and are entered from the beach through light surf, walked in with a guide who knows the entry. The ground is fine volcanic sand off the massif behind the coast, on a gentle even slope; depth is a function of how far out one swims rather than of any drop, and it is easy to spend a dive shallower than intended. Lines of concrete pyramids, tyres and sunken car bodies have been set across the sand to give the animals somewhere to be, and they double as the navigation, so a dive tends to be a slow crawl from one structure to the next rather than a route. Between them the sand looks empty and is not. Surf is the variable. The beach faces the channel towards Cebu and Siquijor, and a swell that would be nothing from a boat makes an entry, and more particularly an exit, awkward. Boat diving exists but is not the point.

The shape of a day

Two shore dives in the morning, a break, and a third in the afternoon or after dark. Entries are short walks from the road and the tank is carried for you at most operations. The artificial reefs are the navigation, so a dive tends to be a slow crawl from one structure to the next rather than a route. Apo Island, a marine reserve with genuine reef and current, is a separate boat day and worth one.

Getting there

Sibulan airport at Dumaguete is twenty minutes from the Dauin resorts, with several flights a day from Manila and Cebu. It is one of the easiest muck destinations to reach in the region, which is a large part of its appeal.

When to come

November to June. The northeast monsoon can put swell on the beach in December and January and make some entries awkward rather than impossible. July to October is wetter and the sea is often flatter, so the shoulder months are underrated.

Fees and what is not included

The Masaplod and Dauin sanctuaries charge entry, collected on the beach, and Apo Island charges separately. Shore diving means a lower daily cost than a boat destination, and unlimited house-reef diving is common.

Named sites

14 sites, described by ground and depth. What is found on each one is not published — naming the exact spot a rare animal sits on is how it gets crowded and moved on. The species recorded at this destination are listed below, and the reasoning is set out in the editorial policy.

The other 14, named and not yet written up

Site names are as the operators and guides here use them. Descriptions are drafted and need correcting by someone who dives them. Tell us what is wrong and it will be corrected.

Recorded here

467 of the 1316 species in the index have a confirmed record at Dauin & Dumaguete, ordered by how hard each is to find here.

Bubble-tip anemone
Entacmaea quadricolor
Rubble and coral heads · 2–25 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Checkered snapper
Lutjanus decussatus
Rubble and reef edges · 3–30 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Clark's anemonefish
Amphiprion clarkii
Sea anemones on sand and rubble · 1–35 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Coconut octopus
Amphioctopus marginatus
Silt · 5–25 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Eightband butterflyfish
Chaetodon octofasciatus
Branching coral and rubble · 2–20 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Leopard flounder
Bothus pantherinus
Open sand · 2–30 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Mushroom coral
Fungiidae
Sand and rubble slopes · 3–30 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Mysid shrimp
Mysida
Rubble and reef slopes · 2–30 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Red lionfish
Pterois volitans
Rubble, wrecks and jetty pilings · 1–45 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Saddleback anemonefish
Amphiprion polymnus
Carpet anemones on sand and rubble · 3–30 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Snapping shrimp
Alpheus spp.
Sand and rubble burrows · 1–30 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Tomato anemonefish
Amphiprion frenatus
Bubble-tip anemones on rubble · 2–25 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Variegated lizardfish
Synodus variegatus
Sand and rubble · 1–30 m
1 star of 5, found on most dives
Barrel sponge
Xestospongia testudinaria
Reef slopes · 10–40 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Cockatoo waspfish
Ablabys taenianotus
Sand · 3–20 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Crescent-tail bigeye
Priacanthus hamrur
Overhangs and wrecks · 5–40 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Emperor shrimp
Zenopontonia rex
On sea cucumbers · 5–25 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Filamented flasher wrasse
Paracheilinus filamentosus
Rubble slopes · 5–30 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Flamboyant cuttlefish
Ascarosepion pfefferi
Sand · 3–18 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Mandarinfish
Synchiropus splendidus
Rubble · 3–15 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Peacock mantis shrimp
Odontodactylus scyllarus
Burrows · 3–25 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Pink anemonefish
Amphiprion perideraion
Sea anemones on rubble · 3–30 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Red-cheeked anthias
Pseudanthias huchtii
Reef slopes · 5–35 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Royal dottyback
Pictichromis paccagnellae
Rubble and reef edges · 5–45 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Salp
Salpida
Blackwater, open water at night · 0–25 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Skunk anemonefish
Amphiprion sandaracinos
Sea anemones on rubble · 3–30 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Tiger cardinalfish
Cheilodipterus macrodon
Overhangs and wrecks · 2–30 m
2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week
Bobtail squid
Euprymna berryi
Sand · 5–20 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Common ghost goby
Pleurosicya mossambica
Sponges and soft corals · 3–30 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Copperband butterflyfish
Chelmon rostratus
Rubble and reef edges · 3–25 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Crinoid shrimp
Laomenes amboinensis
Feather stars · 5–30 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Hairy frogfish
Antennarius striatus
Sand · 5–20 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Larval flounder
Bothidae
Blackwater, open water at night · 0–25 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Longtail seamoth
Pegasus volitans
Sand and seagrass · 2–25 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Magnificent shrimpgoby
Mahidolia mystacina
Black sand and rubble · 4–25 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Pegasus sea moth
Eurypegasus draconis
Sand · 3–20 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Redfin butterflyfish
Chaetodon lunulatus
Coral heads on reef edges · 3–20 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Rose petal bubble shell
Hydatina physis
Black sand · 1–20 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Soft coral ghost goby
Pleurosicya boldinghi
Soft corals on volcanic sand · 5–25 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Spine-cheek anemonefish
Premnas biaculeatus
Bubble-tip anemones on rubble · 2–20 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Stargazer
Uranoscopus sulphureus
Sand · 5–25 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Teardrop butterflyfish
Chaetodon unimaculatus
Reef edges and rubble · 3–30 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Thorny seahorse
Hippocampus histrix
Silt · 5–20 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Urchin clingfish
Diademichthys lineatus
Urchin aggregations on slopes · 2–20 m
3 stars of 5, a good week should turn one up
Blue-ringed octopus
Hapalochlaena lunulata
Rubble · 3–20 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Box jellyfish
Cubozoa
Open water near the surface · 0–20 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Comet
Calloplesiops altivelis
Volcanic rubble and boulders · 5–25 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Coral rabbitfish
Siganus corallinus
Coral patches on reef slopes · 3–25 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Favorinus
Favorinus
Egg ribbons on rubble · 3–25 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Fire urchin
Asthenosoma varium
Sand and rubble · 10–40 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Lanternfish
Myctophidae
Blackwater, open water at night · 0–25 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Mimic octopus
Thaumoctopus mimicus
Volcanic sand slopes · 5–15 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Sea apple
Pseudocolochirus violaceus
Rubble slopes · 5–30 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Snake blenny
Xiphasia setifer
Volcanic sand · 5–25 m
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Dragon shrimp
Miropandalus hardingi
Wire corals on slopes · 12–30 m
5 stars of 5, a handful of records
Eschmeyer's rhinopias
Rhinopias eschmeyeri
Rubble · 10–30 m
5 stars of 5, a handful of records
Greater argonaut
Argonauta argo
Open water over volcanic slopes · 0–25 m
5 stars of 5, a handful of records

The other 410, recorded here but not yet photographed

Every one has a page and a record at Dauin & Dumaguete. They are listed rather than shown because nothing has been photographed or logged for them yet.

Also in The Coral Triangle

More reef fish and more coral species than anywhere else on earth, and the birthplace of muck diving: volcanic sand and silt in sheltered straits, dived slowly and close to the bottom for animals a few centimetres long. Warm all year, rarely clear, and the reason most of this index exists.

Lembeh Strait Indonesia A narrow channel of black volcanic sand between mainland Sulawesi and Lembeh island. Sheltered water, short boat rides and a high density of cryptic species. Anilao Philippines Nudibranch diversity, and the most photographed muck sites in the Philippines. Two to three hours by road from Manila. Ambon Indonesia Harbour muck, psychedelic frogfish, and rhinopias in season. Shallow and rarely crowded. Bali Indonesia Black sand on four coasts, from the Tulamben shore dives to Secret Bay in the far west. The muck is spread across the island, not gathered in one bay. Papua New Guinea Milne Bay, Tufi, Kimbe Bay, Rabaul and Kavieng. Black sand in sheltered bays, wartime wrecks, and reefs that are among the healthiest in the region.