8 Best Places to Work in the Philippines as a PADI Divemaster
Situated in SE Asia between the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean, the Philippines is an archipelago of over 7100 islands. Some are inhabited and unnamed, but each of them boast incredible landscapes surrounded by beautiful clear blue waters. The Philippines has historical influences from Spain and America which makes for its rich, diverse culture. It’s also the only catholic country in Asia and currently the 3rd largest English-speaking country in the world. All in all, there’s much to offer here and has quickly become one of the top travellers destinations in SE Asia.
The Philippines has many scuba diving possibilities which has made many diving professionals choose to live and work here. There are so many dive locations to choose from over different islands and each offering their own tropical underwater landscape and habitats. This attracts a large array of fish and marine species which makes the Philippines one of the most marine biodiverse places on the globe. It is also one of the most budget-friendly countries to live in as a dive professional. Cost of living is low and dive professional wages are very decent especially during peak tourist seasons. Quality of teaching is not compromised as well as there are numerous PADI and PADI 5 star dive shops, CDCs (Career Development Centres) and IDCs (Instructor Development Centres) all generating competitive career progression and opportunities here. Teaching is mainly in English but multiple other languages are available on request.
So, interested in starting your dive career and become a PADI Divemaster in the Philippines? Here is a small guide to help you. These are the 8 best diving locations in the Philippines, plus what is on offer diving there, it’s PADI dive shops and some recommendations and additional information on living there.
Moalboal, Cebu
Home of the infamous Sardine run, the small town of Moalboal is Cebu Island’s main diving hub. It’s located on the west coast of the island and is a 3 hour car journey/ 4 hour bus ride from Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
Moalboal is a popular choice for tourists and scuba divers worldwide as it provides great underwater experiences and a lively and fun atmosphere. The biggest highlight here is the Sardine run which can be seen in the same location all year round (unlike South Africa’s seasonal sardine run). Peak tourist times are during the dry season, between December to April. However, water temperatures are warm all year reaching no lower than 27°C / 81°F which attracts a consistent flow of diving customers and students every month. This means as a dive professional, you are guaranteed to have monthly work here. All in all, Moalboal offers great work prospects for a PADI Divemaster and work-life balance, a highly recommended place to start your dive career in.
Moalboal is an established location for diving in the Philippines and is developing rapidly by the day. The total number of PADI dive shops/resorts is 11 as of August 2024, with 2 being PADI 5 star IDCs and 1 being a PADI 5 star CDC.
Malapascua Island
A tiny island in the north of Cebu, this small but mighty island is renowned worldwide for the only guaranteed place for you to get up close with the Thresher shark. Between December to April, you can see these beauties every morning chilling in their cleaning station of Monad Shoal. As well as this, the island provides lovely marco life and other potential shark sightings, a few to name being white tips, black tips and even a tiger shark.
Malapascua is predominantly a diving island and has 7 dive shops/resorts. Out of these, 3 are PADI 5 star IDCs and 2 are PADI 5 star CDCs.
Click the following for: Malapascua’s PADI dive centres
Siquijor Island
Being the smallest province of Central Visayas, this is widely known as the most spiritual place of the Philippines for its witchcraft and healing. Though, it is an up and coming diving hotspot especially for muck diving offering a great diversity of macro sea creatures.
On the PADI website, there are 5 dive shops/resorts in Siquijor. None yet are IDCs or CDCs.
Click the following for: Siquijor’s PADI dive centres
Bohol Island
Being the tenth largest island of the Philippines, the coast of this island is lined with superb coral reefs and is actually the best place to see Whitetip Reef Sharks in the whole of the country. Brilliant muck diving spots are also available here.
On the PADI website, there are 6 dive shops/resorts all mainly situated in Panglao, Bohol, 4 of which are PADI 5 star IDCs.
Click the following for: Bohol’s PADI dive centres
El Nido, Palawan
A popular backpacker destination, El Nido consists of incredible limestone cliffs and crystal-clear waters and is a great place for easy diving with beautiful coral reefs and great underwater life including macro life, schools of fish and even the odd sea turtle.
On the PADI website, there are 6 dive shops/resorts here, 1 being a PADI 5 star IDC.
Click the following for: El Nido’s PADI dive centres
Coron, Palawan
Another popular backpacker destination, Coron is most known worldwide for its awesome wreck diving, with eleven WW2 wrecks on offer all with varying depths. Also, Barracuda lake offers a very unique diving experience due to its mixture of warm volcanic salt waters and colder freshwater.
A highly recommended diving spot to note just outside, though accessible from Coron, is the stunning Apo Reef.
On the PADI website, there are 5 dive shops in Coron. 1 being a PADI 5 star IDC.
Click the following for: Coron’s PADI dive centres
Puerto Galera, Mindoro
Lap up in luxury in this diving town within the island of Mindoro. Puerto Galera is famous for being a natural harbour with a wide variety of diving terrain: reef, muck you name it. The Verde Islands are accessible from here and are known to have some of the richest biodiversity of marine life in the whole of the Philippines.
On the PADI website, there are 14 dive shops/resorts here. 3 are PADI 5 star IDC and 1 is a PADI 5 star CDC.
Click the following for: Puerto Galera’s PADI dive centres
Dauin, Negros
A muck diving lover’s paradise. Dauin is the place to go the wide selection of macro life the Philippines really has to offer and hand in hand great for macro photographers. A small town concentrating only on diving, this place is mainly known for its highest quality diving schools in the Philippines.
On the PADI website, there are 5 dive shops/resorts here. With 1 PADI 5 star IDC and 3 PADI 5 star CDCs.
Click the following for: Dauin’s PADI dive centres
