Dauin · Philippines · Muck & macro · Sand slope · Artificial reef
Dauin Sur
Coleman shrimp on fire urchins, and the coast's smallest finds
Photo: Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0
Dauin Sur is the muck slope off the poblacion: sand with seagrass patches and scattered artificial reef modules, no deeper than 18 metres. It is the site divers come to for the smallest animals on the coast, the commensal shrimps and crabs that live on urchins and hydroids, and it is shore accessible.
Also known as Dauin South.
Where it is and how deep
9.1898° N, 123.2658° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The slope bottoms out at 18 metres, sand with seagrass patches and artificial reef modules scattered across it, and the dive is a slow zigzag rather than a route. Nothing here is large: Dive The World calls Dauin South the place for the very small stuff, and most of what a guide points out is commensal, living on something else. Coleman shrimp on fire urchins, zebra crabs on sea urchins, skeleton shrimp on hydroids.
Robust ghost pipefish appear on this stretch from October to March. Harlequin shrimp turn up as well, sometimes dragging a starfish across the sand, and blue-ringed octopus are reliable if your guide knows the exact rubble patches to check. That last point is a fair argument for diving the site with someone who works it regularly rather than searching an unmarked sand slope on your own.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
- Octopus & cuttlefish
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Dauin: Diveable year-round on the sheltered coast; December–February trade winds can raise chop on the shallow sand slopes.
Know before you go
- Blue-ringed octopus live on this stretch of sand: look and photograph, and keep your hands off the rubble patches your guide is checking.
- The bottom is sand and silt at no more than 18 m, so a careless fin stroke ends the visibility for everyone behind you.
Photos from Dauin Sur
Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0
Dive videos
Scuba Diving the Philippines - Dauin Sur, Dumaguete, June 2016 · WATERLOGGED! on YouTube
Questions divers ask
When can you see robust ghost pipefish at Dauin Sur?+
Dive The World reports them on this stretch from October to March. The site's other finds - Coleman shrimp on fire urchins, zebra crabs on sea urchins, skeleton shrimp on hydroids, harlequin shrimp and blue-ringed octopus - are described without a season attached.
Sources
- Dauin Diving, Dumaguete - Philippines — Dive The World
- Dauin Dive Sites & Day Trips — Sea Explorers
- Scuba Diving in Dumaguete — Atlantis Dumaguete
- Dauin Plaza — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- A giant frogfish, mottled tan, perched on an orange sponge and facing the camera. by Dan Schofield, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A peacock mantis shrimp with a green shell and red legs at the mouth of its burrow in rubble. by Dan Schofield, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Cheapest places to scuba dive, and the catchTrip planning · 15 min read
- The best muck diving in the worldMacro & muck · 6 min read
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
More dive sites in Dauin
Muck slope and coral bommies ten metres apart
Sand slope
Metal and concrete structures set on a seagrass flat
Artificial reef
Mimic, wonderpus and blue-ringed octopus under the pillars
A decade-old tyre reef, grown in and dived after dark too
Muck & macro
Muck and healthy reef on the sanctuary's southern edge
Blue-ringed octopus and wonderpus on the rubble
Mandarinfish spawning over black sand in the last light
Muck & macro
A sunken jeepney and a Mustang on black sand
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