One of the top activities in El Nido is diving. Whether you are a divemaster with 1000+ dives or this is your first dive to log in to your dive book – El Nido will not disappoint.
Best El Nido Dive Sites
The dive sites in El Nido are generally close to town with some sites as close as 15-30 minutes (even with the slow boats).
Since El Nido is a popular destination with tourists you get many first time divers and certification courses here – which is great to have more people diving, but the downside is it can be more challenging to find dive shops to take you on more advanced dives because their boats a filled with people without those certifications.
So, if you have your eyes set on a certain dive you should get to your preferred dive shop the very first day in El Nido to arrange your dives.
Another very annoying thing about the dive shops in El Nido is that no one will commit to what sites they are diving until the morning of the dive. They give a lot of maybes and we’ll see – so again leave yourself plenty of time to find a shop that will take you to your preferred sites.
- South Miniloc – Large Schools of Yellow Snapper, nice structures, and plenty of reef fish.
- Helicopter Island – Impressive dives site with large quantities of marine life.
- NatNat – Common dive site with a chance for nudibranchs.
- The Dilumacad Underwater Tunnel – One of the most interesting dives sites in El Nido, however hard to find a dive shop to take you here because the currents can be strong and unpredictable at times.
Related Article: El Nido to Coron Ferry
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Recommended Hotel in El Nido – Cuna Hotel
El Nido Dive Shops
There are more than a dozen dive shops to choose from when visiting El Nido. Picking the right one can be challenging. For me, I would personally visit a few and get a sense of where they might be going and see if you get a good vibe from the staff. Check over some of the equipment to make sure the safety side of diving is up to standard.
Recommended Dive Shops:
- Palawan Divers – map – +63 917 774 3210
- Aquanauts El Nido – map | +63 916 491 8188
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