Romblon · Philippines · Blue hole · Cave & cavern · Reef
Blue Hole
A chimney from 5 m to an opening on the reef near 30 m
Area photo: krokodiver · CC BY 2.0
The Blue Hole is a vertical chimney about 8 metres across, cut into the reef off Gorda Point on northeastern Tablas Island below the Gorda Point Lighthouse, and Wikipedia records it as the only known blue hole in the Philippines. Divers drop in at 5 to 7 metres and follow the shaft down to around 27 to 32 metres, where a large opening leads back out to the reef.
Also known as Tablas Island Blue Hole, Blue Hole of Tablas.
Where it is and how deep
12.6601° N, 122.1559° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The run out is 45 to 60 minutes from Romblon Town or Lonos, which makes this a planned departure rather than a short hop. The entrance sits in shallow water at 5 to 7 metres, a vertical chimney roughly 8 metres in diameter cut into the reef; the top of it is shallow enough to free-dive. The descent is the first act of the dive, dropping through the shaft with the rock walls close on all sides instead of swimming out over open reef.
The shaft runs down to about 27 to 32 metres, where a large opening leads out to the reef. Cutouts along the sides form caverns and small caves, and sharks sometimes hide in the ones below the reef opening. Cracks at the bottom shelter hundreds of Durban dancing shrimp and large lobsters, and schools of cardinalfish take cover in the rocks on the way down. Wikivoyage lists the site depth as 40 metres, deeper than the hole itself, so plan gas for the reef outside as well as the shaft.
The dive finishes with a slow swim over the shallow reef next door. Stonefish and humpback scorpionfish hold on the structure and there are coral features with small life sheltering in them, but parts of this reef still carry the damage from dynamite fishing, illegal now but visible in the broken ground. It is worth knowing before you settle anywhere for a photograph.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
| 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
- The cutouts along the shaft form real caves rather than swim-throughs; entering one is a penetration dive, not part of the normal route.
- The shaft bottoms out at 27 to 32 metres and the site is listed to 40, so watch no-stop time and gas rather than treating it as a shallow reef dive.
- Stonefish sit on the bottom here, so keep hands and knees off the reef and the rubble around it.
Dive videos
The Blue Hole of Romblon, Tablas Island (2016) · TheThreePDiving on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Blue Hole of Tablas?+
The entrance is in shallow water at 5 to 7 metres and the chimney runs down to about 27 to 32 metres, where an opening leads out to the reef. Wikivoyage lists the site depth as 40 metres.
How do you get to the Blue Hole?+
It is a boat dive, 45 to 60 minutes from Romblon Town or Lonos. It sits off Gorda Point on northeastern Tablas Island, below the Gorda Point Lighthouse.
Sources
- Tablas Island Blue Hole — Wikipedia
- Diving in the Philippines — Wikivoyage
- A Wreck, a Reef and a Blue Hole: Exploring Tablas and Romblon, Philippines — California Diver
- Tablas Island – The Blue Hole — The Three P
In The Logbook
- What is a blue hole, and what's down there?Caves & caverns · 13 min read
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