Romblon · Philippines · Coral garden · Reef
Coral Garden West
Anemones and coral formations on a reef that drops to 30 m
Area photo: krokodiver · CC BY 2.0
The western of Romblon's two coral gardens, 30 to 40 minutes out by boat from Romblon Town or Lonos. Wikivoyage names the site for its anemone and coral formations and describes the reef dropping to 30 metres in calm water, inside a listed maximum of 35. What it asks for is a qualification appropriate to that depth rather than any particular skill.
Where it is and how deep
12.6534° N, 122.2303° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The run out is 30 to 40 minutes from Romblon Town or Lonos, long enough that this is a scheduled departure rather than something slotted between house-reef dives. The ground is a coral garden, anemones and coral formations rather than wall or big structure, and Wikivoyage describes the water here as calm. It is dived the way gardens usually are: slowly, close in, and with the deeper part of the site taken first.
The reef drops to 30 metres and the listed maximum is 35, so the deep section is a short one. Take it early, then spend the bulk of the dive working back up through the coral where the light is better and the no-stop clock is not the constraint. Coral Garden East lies alongside on the same 30-to-40-minute run from town, so the two pair naturally and one crossing buys two dives instead of one.
Marine life and season
- 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.
Sources
- Diving in the Philippines — Wikivoyage
More dive sites in Romblon
Channel & pass
Often-strong current turns the channel into a drift
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
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
Black coral garden on a gentle slope from 6 m to 25 m
Sponge-studded coral slope from 4 m to 25 m, usually currentless
Three coral blocks on a garden falling from 3 m to sand at 30 m
Currentless coral slope from 3 m to 25 m, macro the whole way