Mystic Coral Garden is a walk-in shore dive where roughly 50 metres of shallow approach ends at a reef that drops off and then slopes gently from 6 metres to 30. Divers usually split it into two dives, left and right of the entry, because the topography either side is completely different.
Where it is and how deep
9.1501° N, 123.4984° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The entry is a walk. From the beach the approach stays shallow for approximately 50 metres before the coral reefs start to drop off, and what lies beyond is a gentle slope running from 6 metres down to 30. Nothing about the descent is abrupt, which is part of why the site works as a two-tank day from one entry point rather than a single dive out and back.
Those two dives are left and right of the entry, and they are worth treating as separate sites: both are completely different in topography, so doing only one is doing half the place. The cast is generally seen on both sides - clownfish and shrimps in the coral, barracuda and trumpetfish over it, pufferfish, triggerfish, eels and flounder lower down, nudibranchs for anyone looking closely, and both hawksbill and green sea turtles.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Barracuda
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Siquijor: Nov–Jun is the main season; the south-west monsoon brings swell to the western walls from July to October.
Questions divers ask
Why is Mystic Coral Garden dived twice?+
The dive can be done in two sessions, left and right of the entry, and the two sides are completely different in topography, so each is effectively its own dive from the same walk-in.
Sources
- Mystic Coral Garden - Scubago — Scubago (SSI)
More dive sites in Siquijor
Wall
A sloping wall from 5 m, entered on foot south of San Juan
Seagrass, dense reef and wall on one protected slope
Pinnacle
An offshore pinnacle topping out at 5 m
Staghorn fields at depth, and frogfish after dark
A wall from 5 m, with the depth below it optional
Wall
Sea fans on a vertical face, dived as a guided drift
One of the island's easiest entries, and a night-dive regular
Seamount
A submerged island from 12 m to 40, with current and big fish
Similar dives elsewhere
Black coral garden on a gentle slope from 6 m to 25 m
Ghost pipefish, odd shrimps and nudibranchs in the coral
A calm coral garden at 5–20 m, the island's easiest dive
Sponge-studded coral slope from 4 m to 25 m, usually currentless