Mactan & Olango · Philippines · Reef · Wall
San Vicente
A wide shield reef with the wall starting at 5–7 m
Area photo: ＤＡＶＩＤ · CC BY-SA 3.0
San Vicente is an extensive shield reef in 3 to 10 metres of water, with corals and soft corals running out to around 5 to 7 metres where the wall begins. Below the lip the depth exceeds 40 metres and the current can run strong on an outbound tide. Turtles, jacks, emperors, trevally, barracuda and sardines all pass along the edge.
Where it is and how deep
10.2590° N, 124.0256° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The shallow part of the site is an extensive shield reef in 3 to 10 metres, broad enough that a whole dive can be spent on it without repeating ground. Corals and soft corals run out to around 5 to 7 metres, and that is where the reef ends and the wall begins — a short swim from the drop rather than a long transit out to the edge, which is what makes the site work for teams of mixed experience.
Below the lip the depth carries on past 40 metres, and the current can run strong on an outbound tide, so the wall half of the dive is timed against the water. The animals divide the same way the ground does: turtles, jacks, emperors, trevally, barracuda and sardines along the edge and out in the blue, and on the reef itself the macro this coast is worked for — nudibranchs, harlequin shrimp and mantis shrimp among the small reef fish.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
- Sardine baitballs
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Mactan & Olango: Mar–May, the hot dry season, is the usual window; the Jun–Nov rains cut visibility on the house reefs, and typhoon risk runs highest around Nov–Dec, as Typhoon Rai showed in December 2021.
Know before you go
- The current can run strong on an outbound tide, so the wall is dived inside the tide window and the shallow shield reef is kept as the way back to the boat.
Questions divers ask
How deep is San Vicente?+
The shield reef sits in 3 to 10 metres, the wall starts at around 5 to 7 metres, and the depth below it exceeds 40 metres, so the profile is chosen by the team.
Sources
- San Vicente — Scubago
More dive sites in Mactan & Olango
Reef
Table corals from 3 m down to 40, and nudibranchs on all of it
Wall
A wall from 20 m to about 73 m off Olango's north-west side
Wall
A channel wall to 35 m with a current that runs hard
Sharks at 35 m off Olango's northern tip, hammerheads among them
A blue opening in the wall at 25–27 m, depending on the tide
Cave & cavern
A 29 m roof, a 40 m floor, and a chamber full of flashlightfish
Wreck
A ship at 50 m that a typhoon stood back upright
A drop-off at 15 m running down to 50, off Olango's pier
Similar dives elsewhere
Walls from 7 m to beyond 40 m under a seabird island
A drop-off 80 m off the beach, from under 2 m to past 40 m
The island's most reliable edge for grey reef and whitetip sharks
The protected shallows where Balicasag's turtles are thickest