Romblon · Philippines · Reef · Coral garden
San Pedro Sanctuary
Romblon's turtle reef, with whale sharks on the record
Area photo: krokodiver · CC BY 2.0
The reef Wikivoyage credits with some of the best coral formations and marine life on Romblon Island, and the site it calls famous for the large numbers of turtles living there. Whale sharks have been spotted here too. It is listed to 40 metres and sits 10 minutes by boat from Lonos or 20 from Romblon Town, close enough to run as an ordinary morning dive.
Where it is and how deep
12.5330° N, 122.2499° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The crossing is 10 minutes from Lonos, 20 from Romblon Town. Turtles are what the site is known for: Wikivoyage calls the large numbers living here its biggest attraction, and they are found over what the same source rates as some of the best coral formations on Romblon Island. The useful approach is to stay over the coral rather than push for depth, because the site is listed to 40 metres but nothing in the description puts the interest at the bottom of that range.
Whale sharks have been spotted here as well, so it is worth glancing out into the blue between coral heads, though nothing about the site makes that a reason to plan the dive around it. Treat it as a turtle and coral dive with the possibility of something large passing through, work the reef slowly, and save the last of the gas for the shallows.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Whale sharks
- 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.
Questions divers ask
Are there turtles at San Pedro Sanctuary?+
Yes. Wikivoyage describes large numbers of turtles living at the site and calls them its biggest attraction, which is what the sanctuary is known for.
Can you see whale sharks at San Pedro Sanctuary?+
Whale sharks have been spotted at the site according to Wikivoyage, but there is no evidence of a reliable season or aggregation here. Plan it as a turtle and coral dive and treat a whale shark as a bonus.
How deep is San Pedro Sanctuary?+
Wikivoyage lists the site at 40 metres and calls it suitable for all levels. The turtles and the coral formations are the reason to dive it, so most of the dive can be spent well above that maximum.
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
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
Similar dives elsewhere
Hard coral grown over lava that reached the sea in 1988.
A no-take reef since 1982, with turtles on nearly every dive
The protected shallows where Balicasag's turtles are thickest
Fish fill the water before your BCD is finished deflating