8 Best Places to Work in the Philippines as a PADI Divemaster

Published On: November 4th, 2024

Situated in SE Asia between the warm South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7100 islands, some inhabited and unnamed but all boasting beautiful landscapes and surrounded by amazing clear waters. With main cultural influences from Spain and America, it has a rich diverse culture being the only catholic country in Asia and currently the 3rd largest English-speaking country in the world. Overall there’s much to offer in the Philippines, making it one of the top travellers destinations in SE Asia.

It is also a great location for diving professionals, Divemasters and Instructors worldwide to live and work in and a country you should consider moving to in your diving career. The Philippines has many diving possibilities to offer. With multiple dive locations spread over different islands, each has its own niche tropical underwater landscape and habitat, attracting a large biodiversity of fish and other marine wildlife. It is also one of the most budget-friendly countries to live in as a dive professional. Cost of living is low and diver wages are very decent especially during peak tourist seasons. Quality of teaching is not compromised as well due to large diving communities in particular areas generating competitive career progression and opportunities between numerous PADI and PADI 5 star dive shops, CDCs (Career Development Centres) and IDCs (Instructor Development Centres) alike, all offering teaching mainly in English but multiple other languages and on request.

So, interested in starting or progressing your PADI dive career as a Divemaster in the Philippines? Here a small guide on the 8 best diving locations in the Philippines, what there is to offer diving there, it’s PADI dive shops and additional information on generally living there including some recommendations

Moalboal, Cebu

  • Nearest big city: Cebu city
  • Nearest airport: Mactan-Cebu International Airport
  • Nearest recommended hospital: Badian District Hospital (8km away)

  • Accommodation price range: 800 PHP – 2 300 PHP

  • Total number of restaurants and average price of a meal: Over 80 restaurants and around 300 PHP for a meal.

  • Vibe of the town: Lively and fun. Some great nightlife including the following recommended bars/clubs: ‘Moho’ with free drinks between 8pm-8:30pm, ‘Esters’ for sunset drinks and lastly the renowned ‘Chilis’ for a wild night.

  • Extra activities: Canyoneering in Kawasan Falls in Badian, Climbing up Osmena Peak for beautiful views of the island.

Home of the infamous Sardine run, the small town of Moalboal is the main diving hub of the island of Cebu. Located on the west coast and an around 3 hour car journey/ 4 hour bus from Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Moalboal is a popular choice for tourists and divers worldwide, providing great underwater experiences and a lively and fun atmosphere. Unlike South Africa’s sardine run, diving with the sardines here is not a seasonal event and the spectacle can be seen in the same location everyday of the year. Peak times here are between December to April during the dry season, however there is rarely a dry month with customers as water temperatures are pleasant and consistent all year long reaching highs of 30 degrees. Great for work prospects for a PADI Divemaster and work-life balance.

Moalboal, although is an established location for diving in the Philippines, is developing rapidly and with the number of PADI dive shops/resorts totalling 11 as of August 2024, with 2 being PADI 5 star IDCs and 1 being a PADI 5 star CDC.

Interested in doing your PADI Divemaster Course in Moalboal, Philippines?

Find out more about the best and the most comprehensive PADI Divemaster program in Philippines. Become a professional diver and change your life.

Malapascua Island

  • Nearest big city: Cebu city
  • Nearest airport: Mactan-Cebu International Airport
  • Nearest recommended hospital: Cebu Provincial Hospital- Bogo City (35 km away)

  • Accommodation price range: 560 PHP – 2 060 PHP

  • Total number of restaurants and average price of a meal: Around 26 restaurants and around 300 PHP for a meal.

  • Vibe of the town: Chilled though there is a small nightlife with beach bars, walkable everywhere, diver’s paradise.

  • Extra activities: Kalanggaman Tour, Malapascua food market, Beach hopping (Bounty, Langob, Secret, Lighthouse).

A tiny island in the north of Cebu, this small but mighty island is renowned worldwide for the one and only place guaranteed for you to get up close with the Thresher shark. Between December to April, you can see these beauties literally every morning chilling in their cleaning station of Monad Shoal. As well as this, the island provides lovely marco life and other very potential shark sightings, a few to name being white tips, black tips and even a tiger shark.

Malapascua is predominantly a diving island and has 7 dive shops/resorts. Out of these, 3 are PADI 5 star IDCs and 2 are PADI 5 star CDCs.

Click the following for: Malapascua’s PADI dive centres

Siquijor Island

  • Nearest big city: Dumaguete city
  • Nearest airport: Dumaguete–Sibulan Airport
  • Nearest recommended hospital: Siquijor Provincial Hospital (<1km away)

  • Accommodation price range: 670 PHP – 1 800 PHP

  • Total number of restaurants and average price of a meal: Nearly 100 restaurants and a meal costing around 400 PHP.

  • Vibe of the town: Very chilled, beautiful beaches with not much nightlife going on. Stunning scenery and a tranquil spot.

  • Extra activities: Chase remarkable waterfalls including Cambugahay falls and Lugnason Falls, go caving in Cantabon cave and of course visit a witch healer.

The smallest province of Central Visayas, this is widely known as the most spiritual place of the Philippines for its witchcraft and healing. Though, it is quickly becoming an up and coming diving hotspot especially for muck diving due to the biodiversity found here.

On the PADI website, there are 5 dive shops/resorts in Siquijor. None yet are IDCs or CDCs.

Click the following for: Siquijor’s PADI dive centres

Bohol Island

  • Nearest big city: Tagbilaran city
  • Nearest airport: Bohol–Panglao International Airport
  • Nearest recommended hospital: Clarin Community Hospital (18km away)

  • Accommodation price range: 900 PHP – 3 400 PHP

  • Total number of restaurants and average price of a meal: 190 restaurants with an average meal costing around 300 PHP.

  • Vibe of the town: Touristy with good amenities, not much of a party town but filled with a variety of restaurants.

  • Extra activities: The Chocolate hills is a must see here as well as visiting a Tarsier conservation area to get the chance to see the adorable, wide eyed Tarsiers.

Being the tenth largest island of the Philippines, the coast of this island is lined with superb coral reefs and is actually the best place to see Whitetip Reef Sharks in the whole of the country. Brilliant muck diving spots are also available here.

On the PADI website, there are 6 dive shops/resorts all mainly situated in Panglao, Bohol, 4 of which are PADI 5 star IDCs.

Click the following for: Bohol’s PADI dive centres

El Nido, Palawan

  • Nearest big city: Puerto Princessa
  • Nearest airport: El Nido Airport
  • Nearest recommended hospital: El Nido Community Hospital (13 km away)

  • Accommodation price range: 840 PHP – 3 070 PHP

  • Total number of restaurants and average price of a meal: Just over 180 restaurants with an average meal costing 400 PHP.

  • Vibe of the town: Bustling and popular tourist area. With a great nightlife and party scene.

  • Extra activities: El Nido is home to the archipelago of Bacuit, well known as one of the most beautiful bays in the world. Island hopping tours are popular here, also it’s worth paying a visit to Nacpan beach and maybe even try out the Zipline.

A popular backpacker destination, El Nido consists of incredible limestone cliffs and crystal-clear waters and is a great place for easy diving with beautiful coral reefs and great underwater life including macro life, schools of fish and even the odd sea turtle.

On the PADI website, there are 6 dive shops/resorts here, 1 being a PADI 5 star IDC.

Click the following for: El Nido’s PADI dive centres

Coron, Palawan

  • Nearest big city: Puerto Princessa
  • Nearest airport: Busuanga Airport
  • Nearest recommended hospital: Coron District Hospital (8 km away)

  • Accommodation price range: 840 PHP – 3 350 PHP

  • Total number of restaurants and average price of a meal: Just over 110 restaurants with an average meal costing 400 PHP.

  • Vibe of the town: Bustling though a bit more chilled than the nearby Palawan party town of El Nido. A popular beginner divers destination.

  • Extra activities: Coron is also great for island hopping. Maquinit Hot Springs is worth a visit and hiking up Hike Mt. Tapyas.

Another popular backpacker destination, Coron is most known worldwide for its awesome wreck diving, with eleven WW2 wrecks on offer all with varying depths. Also, Barracuda lake offers a very unique diving experience due to its mixture of warm volcanic salt waters and colder freshwater.

A highly recommended diving spot to note just outside, though accessible from Coron, is the stunning Apo Reef.

On the PADI website, there are 5 dive shops in Coron. 1 being a PADI 5 star IDC.

Click the following for: Coron’s PADI dive centres

Puerto Galera, Mindoro

  • Nearest big city: Calapan city
  • Nearest airport: Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila)
  • Nearest recommended hospital: Provincial Hospital of Calapan (28 km away)

  • Accommodation price range: 2 800 PHP – 8 400 PHP

  • Total number of restaurants and average price of a meal: Just over 90 restaurants with an average meal costing 500 PHP.

  • Vibe of the town: Peaceful and super relaxed. The nearest commute to/from Manila (the capital of Philippines) making it very accessible from any location worldwide.

  • Extra activities: Visit lovely white sandy beaches including Sabang Beach and White Beach or try out one of the many hikes on offer in the mountain ranges of central Mindoro.

Lap up in luxury in this diving town within the island of Mindoro. Puerto Galera is famous for being a natural harbour with a wide variety of diving terrain: reef, muck you name it. The Verde Islands are accessible from here and are known to have some of the richest biodiversity of marine life in the whole of the Philippines.

On the PADI website, there are 14 dive shops/resorts here. 3 are PADI 5 star IDC and 1 is a PADI 5 star CDC.

Click the following for: Puerto Galera’s PADI dive centres

Dauin, Negros

  • Nearest big city: Dumaguete city
  • Nearest airport: Dumaguete–Sibulan Airport
  • Nearest recommended hospital: Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (15 km away)

  • Accommodation price range: 840 PHP – 3 400 PHP

  • Total number of restaurants and average price of a meal: Around 20 restaurants with an average meal costing 300 PHP.

  • Vibe of the town: A peaceful beach village surrounded mostly with fellow divers and locals.

  • Extra activities: Check out the red rocks downstream of the Pulangbato falls and the hot springs nearby.

A muck diving lover’s paradise. Dauin is the place to go the wide selection of macro life the Philippines really has to offer and hand in hand great for macro photographers. A small town concentrating only on diving, this place is mainly known for its highest quality diving schools in the Philippines.

On the PADI website, there are 5 dive shops/resorts here. With 1 PADI 5 star IDC and 3 PADI 5 star CDCs.

Click the following for: Dauin’s PADI dive centres

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