Reefwander
A broadclub cuttlefish hovers face-on beside a coral head off Romblon.

Romblon · Philippines · Reef · Night

Salvo Beach

Walk-in house reef that doubles as the training and night dive

Area photo: krokodiver · CC BY 2.0

The house reef of The Three P Holiday & Dive Resort, entered straight off the beach a few metres from the shop. It is shallow, 20 metres at most, with low currents, varied underwater landscape and several species of moray eel, and it doubles as the local training site and one of the better night dives.

Also known as Three P's House Reef.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Salvo Beach: typical dive to 20 m (to 66 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit20 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

12.5555° N, 122.2491° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

You walk in from the beach in front of the resort, and that sets the tone for the whole dive: no boat, no schedule, and as long in the water as your gas allows. The bottom shelves gently to a maximum of 20 metres, and the ground in between is varied enough underwater landscape to keep a slow dive interesting rather than a flat run out over sand and back again.

Moray eels are the animal to look for, with several different species along the reef, and the abundant life here makes it a fair first look at what Romblon holds. It also works as a night dive: the shore entry means you can go in at dusk without booking a boat, and the low currents and shallow maximum are why the same ground is used for dive training and beginner diving.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Salvo Beach
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodFairFairFairGoodPrimePrime

Season follows Romblon: Nov–Jun is the settled season; typhoons and the south-west monsoon make Jul–Oct unreliable for the boat crossing.

Questions divers ask

Can you dive Salvo Beach from the shore?+

Yes. The site is entered from the beach at The Three P Holiday & Dive Resort on Salvar Beach, about 10 to 15 minutes from Romblon Town, with no boat needed.

Is Salvo Beach good for beginners?+

It is. The maximum depth is 20 metres, currents are low and the entry is from the beach, which is why the site is used for dive training and beginner diving as well as for night dives.

Sources

  1. Diving in the Philippines — Wikivoyage

More dive sites in Romblon

Coral garden

A shallow coral canyon on the tip of a rocky islet

3–15 m · max 40 mbeginner

Reef from two metres down to sand at twenty

2–20 mbeginner

Giant clams scattered across the sand of a protected bay

to 25 mbeginner

Romblon's turtle reef, with whale sharks on the record

to 40 mintermediate

A field of garden eels below vertical walls and boulders

to 40 madvanced

Muck & macro

A rich sand slope for cephalopods and nudibranchs

to 30 mintermediate

A coral-covered submerged island from 10 metres down to 30

10–30 mintermediate

Similar dives elsewhere

Reef

Boulder Point

Batanes · Philippines

Moray eels and lionfish tucked into crevices between volcanic boulders

8–22 mintermediate

Reef

Chocolate Island

Malapascua · Philippines

Blue-ringed octopus and frogfish among coral boulders

to 16 mintermediate

Reef

Pulau Pandan

Kota Belud · Malaysia

Bobtail and pygmy squid on night dives around a tiny island

3–16 mbeginner

Reef

Manta Sandy

Raja Ampat · Indonesia

Reef mantas queue over the sand in 8-15 m of water

8–15 mbeginner