Diving in Donsol is all about the Whale Shark, or Butanding as it is known locally. The plankton and krill rich currents waters are not the clearest, but they attract the the mammoth fish to the area, thus giving the area the name of “Whale Shark Capitol” of the world. As the gentle giants feed near the surface, you need only don snorkelling equipment to dive with them, in fact diving in the bay with the whale sharks is not permitted. The exact reason the whale sharks congregate is unknown though with the first recorded sightings of juvenile whale sharks under 24 inches, one can assume they are giving birth in the area. Because of this congregation, you can easily enocunter up to 20 whale sharks in one session.

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If you do decide to go to Donsol to get up close and personal to a whale shark, remember that as an endangered species, there are shark interaction rules in place that you need to follow.

Also, if would like to do more than snorkel with the whale sharks, you can scuba dive close by at Ticao Island. Manta Bowl is a dive site there which attracts whale sharks and mantas to its cleaning station, with even the occasional Thresher Shark and Hammerhead Shark. Another impressive dive site in the area is Tuna Alley, a busy highway for skip jack tuna and barracuda amassing the in a wall of fish over a kilometer long. The action starts when a shoal of sardines passes by and a feeding frenzy starts, a mini-version of the South Africa’s sardine run.