Honda Bay Starfish Reef

Puerto Princesa · Palawan · Philippines

Honda Bay Starfish Reef is the kind of dive site that reminds experienced divers why they fell in love with the underwater world in the first place. There are no dramatic walls, no big pelagics, no challenging currents. Instead, there is a shallow coral garden of exceptional charm where white sand channels between coral bommies are carpeted with thousands of blue sea stars in densities that seem almost decorative, as if someone arranged them for a photograph. The site sits on the southeastern edge of Honda Bay, a protected body of water dotted with small islands just north of Puerto Princesa. The bay's calm conditions and shallow reefs have long made it Palawan's most accessible marine area for day trippers and island hoppers, but the specific reef section known to local dive guides as Starfish Reef offers a focused underwater experience that goes beyond casual snorkelling. Descending to 5 metres, the sand flats between coral patches come alive with Linckia laevigata, the blue sea star that has become an icon of Philippine marine photography. Their vivid blue forms contrast dramatically against the white substrate, and their sheer numbers create patterns that stretch across the sand in every direction. Among them, chocolate chip sea stars add brown and cream accents, and the occasional cushion star brings orange to the palette. The coral patches themselves are modest but healthy, hosting the cheerful chaos of tropical reef life. Anemones with resident clownfish families occupy prominent positions, pufferfish putter between coral heads with their distinctive jerky locomotion, and blue-spotted stingrays rest on sandy patches between the coral, their electric blue spots providing yet more colour to an already vivid scene. For underwater photographers, the consistent subjects and excellent natural light at these depths make Starfish Reef a productive site. For new divers completing their first open water dives, it provides an encouraging introduction. Honda Bay Starfish Reef does not pretend to be world-class adventure diving. It is something equally valuable: a genuinely delightful dive in crystal-clear shallows that puts a smile on every face that surfaces.