Romblon · Philippines · Channel & pass · Drift · Reef
Alad Island
Often-strong current turns the channel into a drift
Area photo: krokodiver · CC BY 2.0
Alad is a small island 20 to 30 minutes by boat from Romblon town, dived as a set of sites rather than one. The channel between it and the shore often runs strong enough to be worked as a drift over sandy bottom, with lobsters and moray eels in the coral formations, while the fish sanctuary on the same island holds soft coral fields, barrel sponges and reef fish.
Also known as Channel of Alad, Alad Sanctuary.
Where it is and how deep
12.6070° N, 122.2525° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The channel is the dive Alad is named for. The ground is sandy bottom broken by coral formations, and there are often strong currents through it, which is what makes it a drift rather than a site you swim around. No depth is published for the channel itself, so the current and the boat crew's read of it on the day set the plan, not a target profile. Along the sand, lobsters and moray eels are what the channel is known for, tucked into the coral heads rather than sitting out in the open.
The sanctuary sites on the same island are usually dived on the same trip, and they are where the published numbers come from. Wikivoyage's route for the Alad Sanctuary Slope starts in the shallows and grades down to a maximum of 35 metres, with 40 metres listed as the site maximum; the slope is described as soft coral fields and barrel sponges. The sanctuary garden alongside it adds puffers, groupers, lobsters, cuttlefish and ribbon eels, and Alad South holds a large field of garden eels. Coral around Romblon, Logbon, Alad and Cobrador is described as almost undisturbed hard and soft coral.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Pristine corals
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Romblon: Nov–Jun is the settled season; typhoons and the south-west monsoon make Jul–Oct unreliable for the boat crossing.
Know before you go
- Currents through the channel are often strong; dive it as a drift with the boat following, rather than trying to hold position against the flow.
Dive videos
Alad Island - Romblon Philippinen · PeuserPictures on YouTube
Crown of Thorns Cleanup Alad.mp4 · Sonofareef Scuba Diving on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Alad Island a drift dive?+
The channel at Alad is. There are often strong currents through it, and it is run as a drift over the sandy bottom with the boat following the group. The sanctuary reefs on the same island are dived on the slope instead.
How deep is diving at Alad Island?+
No depth is published for the channel itself. On the same island, the sanctuary slope is routed from the shallows down to a maximum of 35 metres, with 40 metres given as the site maximum.
What is there to see at Alad Island?+
Sandy bottom with coral formations, lobsters and moray eels in the channel. The sanctuary sites on the same island add soft corals, barrel sponges, puffers, groupers, cuttlefish, ribbon eels and a field of garden eels.
Sources
More dive sites in Romblon
Reef
Reef from two metres down to sand at twenty
Blue hole
A chimney from 5 m to an opening on the reef near 30 m
Fields of big gorgonians at the 35-metre end of the slope
Coral garden
Ghost pipefish, odd shrimps and nudibranchs in the coral
Coral garden
Anemones and coral formations on a reef that drops to 30 m
Sand slope
Giant clams scattered across the sand of a protected bay
Coral garden
A shallow coral canyon on the tip of a rocky islet
Wall
A wall to 40 m that turns a corner into a coral field
Similar dives elsewhere
Drift the channel either way, depending on flood or ebb
Every manta in or out passes through one narrow restriction
Occasional scalloped hammerheads on the deep edges of a tidal channel
Swim-throughs in volcanic rock and cuttlefish hunting in sandy channels