DESTINATION OVERVIEW | Tiny Cabilao island sits just off the north-west side of Bohol and facing Cebu island. Many of the islands near Bohol are joined to it by bridges but Cabilao can only be reached by boat so has remained a quiet and traditional sort of place – there are no cars and local communities still farm and fish.
Scuba diving is the island's only tourism business and even that is a small industry with just three dive resorts. All are located right on beaches that lead to the impressive reefs that suround the island. Across the northern coast, the reef tops are shallow with patchy seagrass, corals and sandy areas that lead down across sloping reef walls. These are fabulous hunting grounds for all sorts of small critters – one minute you can be eyeballing the smallest of shrimps hiding in a mushroom coral and the next you realise a sea snake has slide beside you to do the same thing.
In contrast, the south west of the island is affected by currents that run through the channel so that the reefs are rich and thick with hard corals. It has been said that you can see schools of hammerheads here, but sightings are rare.
Flight to Cebu City then 2-3 hours by road and ferry
Dive operators, liveaboards and accommodation
We have not stayed on Cabilao (there are a handful of dive resorts) but visited from Panglao and with Philippine Siren.
PROS AND CONS | The Philippines are a long way from Europe or the USA but everything is good value once you arrive. Resorts tends towards the mid-range with many dive centres run by Europeans. All island destinations are charming and many of the ones near Bohol are close enough together to allow day trips to others.
SCUBA DIVING | Being located just to the north of Bohol and slightly closer to Cebu, visibilty tends to be a little lower here and dives along Cabilao's west coast are subject to slightly stronger currents. However, that all dependis on the the day and weather patterns and whenever we have been the currens have been minimal and the visibilty was good.
OPINION | With shallow topped reefs and nice drop offs, the diving around Cabilao isn't so different to other parts of the Visayas but the incredible number of critters in the shallows are a delight. However, what really differentiates it from others nearby are the pristine hard corals around the southern coast.
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This video is 3 minutes long. For the full length video with diving right across the Visayas, click here.
