Apo Island

Apo Island is one of the main reason divers come to this region. The12 hectare volcanic island is only 40minutes from Liquid Resort and is one of the world’s best known community-organized marine sanctuaries. With an abundance of healthy soft and hard corals, schools of jacks, trevallies and barracuda, turtles everywhere and the chance encounter with a large pelagic creature such as a whale shark or manta, Apo Island has little to offer all levels of divers, whether you a beginner diver or an experienced divemaster you will not leave disappointed.

Pristine Walls at Apo Island

The sanctuary project was started when Dr. Angel Alcala, a marine scientist from the Silliman University Marine Laboratory explained to the local fishermen the importance of creating a marine sanctuary in the area. Initially, there was hesitation on the part of the locals; but after a 3-year dialogue, Dr. Alcala was able to convince the island community to establish the sanctuary. Assisted by the staff of the SU Marine Laboratory in 1982, the local fishermen selected an area along 450 meters of shoreline and extending 500 meters from shore as the sanctuary site. Since then, the project initiated on the island led to the creation of hundreds of other marine sanctuaries in the Philippines.

At present, the island is home to over 650 documented species of fish and estimated to have over 400 species of corals. Visitors and tourists pay a fee to enter Apo Island and to snorkel or dive in the marine sanctuary. These fees are used to keep the sanctuary clean and in good condition. Consistently listed in the top 10 dive destination in the Philippines this is a must dive day trip for any diver visiting Liquid.

Although the whole island is a sanctuary there is one dive site called ‘the sanctuary’. This site is closed for a number of months each year to help rejuvenate the surrounding fish and coral populations without the interruption of divers and snorkelers.

We offer 2 and 3 dive day trips and snorkel tours to Apo Island on a regular basis. Our PADI instructors like to take their students to Apo Island during their Open Water dives 3 & 4 or as part of their Advanced course, this gives the student the opportunity to see two very different diving areas.