Honda Bay

Puerto Princesa · Mimaropa · Philippines

Honda Bay spreads across the sheltered waters north of Puerto Princesa, Palawan's capital city, a collection of small islands and shallow reefs that offers some of the most accessible diving in the entire Philippines. This is not a destination for hardcore deep divers chasing pelagic encounters. Honda Bay is about easy coral reefs, warm calm water, and the simple pleasure of drifting over healthy marine ecosystems that start in knee-deep shallows. I took a bangka from Sta. Lourdes Wharf and headed for Pandan Island, where I geared up for a shore entry into the house reef. The coral garden began immediately, with staghorn and table corals covering the gentle slope from 2 to 12 metres. Schools of parrotfish crunched through the reef in noisy gangs, rabbitfish darted between coral heads, and clownfish defended their anemones with the disproportionate aggression that makes them endlessly entertaining. A banded sea snake threaded through the coral, its striped body moving with the hypnotic undulation unique to these venomous but docile creatures. Moving to Canon Island for a second dive, the reef character shifted to larger coral bommies on a sandy bottom at 18 metres, with better visibility and slightly more current bringing passing schools of surgeonfish and fusiliers. A green turtle rose from the sea grass fringe to breathe, its shell speckled with remora passengers, before descending back to its feeding grounds. The diving here would not challenge anyone with more than a handful of logged dives, but the abundance of life in such accessible conditions is Honda Bay's strength. Starfish Island lived up to its name on the third stop, with blue starfish visible in the shallows as the boat approached. Giant clams sat wedged between coral heads, their mantles glowing in shades of electric blue and emerald under the afternoon sun. Honda Bay is the dive destination for families, for couples combining diving with Palawan's other attractions, and for anyone who believes the best diving is not always the deepest or the most dangerous. It is reef diving distilled to its most welcoming essence.