Dauin, Apo Island & Bohol – Philippines
This region joins two Visayan dive areas. On the Negros Oriental coast, Dauin offers shore-accessible black-sand muck diving with frogfish, octopus and other critters, and is the usual base for day trips to Apo Island, a volcanic island with a community-run marine sanctuary created in 1982, known for turtles and drift walls. Across the Bohol Sea, Bohol is dived from Panglao (Alona Beach): Balicasag Island is a marine sanctuary with walls, turtles and big jack schools, Pamilacan is more pelagic and current-swept, Doljo Point is a deep wall, and Cabilao on the west coast has gorgonian walls and macro. Apo Island and Balicasag charge conservation fees that dive operators usually collect, often in cash; amounts differ by source and over time, so confirm before you go.