Apo Island – Marine Sanctuary
The original community-run sanctuary on Apo's southeast shore, protected since 1982. Calm, shallow coral gardens with green and hawksbill turtles make it the island's most reliable turtle dive. One guide reports a daily diver cap and a mandatory guide.
Facts
- Region: Dauin, Apo Island & Bohol – Philippines
- Area: Apo Island
- Depth: 5–25 m
- Level: beginner
- Current: low
- Type: reef, marine sanctuary, slope
- Coordinates: 9.0735, 123.2775 (approximate)
- Highlights: green turtle, hawksbill turtle, hard coral, reef fish
- Permit: Apo Island is a community-managed marine sanctuary (Apo Island Protected Landscape and Seascape). Visitors pay an island entrance/conservation fee and a diving or snorkelling fee in the sanctuary, and a licensed guide is mandatory for the turtle sanctuary. Reported amounts differ and are not official: around PHP 300 for entrance (docking, swimming and snorkelling), a diving fee of about PHP 300, and a guide of about PHP 300 per group. Dive operators from Dauin normally pass these on and ask for cash. Access to the sanctuary (southeast side) can be restricted, with a daily diver cap reported.
- Issuer / contact: Apo Island Protected Area Management Board / Apo Island community (fees usually collected via your dive operator)
- No official phone or e-mail for the fee office was found; ask your dive operator.
- Unverified: The sanctuary's exact open zone is not published; position approximate on the southeast side. Fee amounts are not official.
- Tips: Only officially open areas may be dived; access may be restricted. Follow the sanctuary guide and keep a respectful distance from turtles.