Dauin · Philippines · Muck & macro · Artificial reef · Sand slope
Pura Vida House Reef
A sunken jeepney and a Mustang on black sand
Area photo: Austin Rex Lobaton · CC BY-SA 4.0
The house reef directly in front of Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort, on the black sand of the Dauin coast. It is a muck dive first, with frogfish, seahorses and ghost pipefish commonly found on the sandy bottom, and an artificial reef of sunken wrecks, concrete blocks and a steel pyramid gives it structure to work around. The bottom runs to 27 metres.
Where it is and how deep
9.1913° N, 123.2716° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You enter from the beach in front of the resort, or drop in from a boat, so the dive starts as soon as you clear the shallows. The bottom is black sand, dark and close to featureless, and it is worked the way muck is worked everywhere: slowly, zigzagging across the slope, with the guide stopping over things you would otherwise swim straight past. Frogfish, seahorses and ghost pipefish are the animals commonly found lurking here on the sandy bottoms and around the artificial reefs.
The structure is what separates this from a bare sand slope. Several wrecks lie on the sand, a jeepney and a Mustang among them, along with concrete blocks and a steel pyramid, which is why PADI lists the site for wreck, muck and sandy-bottom diving in one. They give the dive something to circle and hard surfaces for animals that will not settle on open sand. The slope carries on below them to a maximum depth of 27 metres.
Background
Pura Vida's house reef is a made site rather than a found one. Sea Explorers' guide to the Dauin coast describes what used to be an underwater "sahara" becoming a small oasis for marine life: an artificial reef of several wrecks, interesting concrete blocks and a steel pyramid. The vehicles are the parts divers remember it for. PADI's listing records a jeepney and a Mustang on the site, and Scubago's entry describes boats and cars sunk in the muck as what turned the black sand into an interesting dive.
Marine life and season
- Frogfish
- Macro critters
| 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.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Pura Vida house reef?+
PADI gives the site a maximum depth of 27 metres (88 feet). That puts the deep end past Open Water limits, and PADI lists both Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver as useful training for it.
Can you dive Pura Vida house reef from shore?+
Yes. The site is directly in front of Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort and is normally dived as a walk-in from the beach, though PADI lists boat entry for it too.
Sources
- Pura Vida House Reef - Dive Site Details — PADI
- Pura Vida House Reef — Scubago
- Dauin Dive Sites & Day Trips — Sea Explorers
More dive sites in Dauin
Muck slope and coral bommies ten metres apart
Sand slope
Metal and concrete structures set on a seagrass flat
Coleman shrimp on fire urchins, and the coast's smallest finds
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
Similar dives elsewhere
Two jetties over a steep sand slope to 30 metres
Coral-grown structures at nine metres, dived for shrimp and nudibranchs
Fine sand and rock past 30 metres, dived for the small stuff
Zebra crabs sheltering in the spines of purple heart urchins