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Aerial view of Pescador Island, a rock covered in green vegetation with its white lighthouse, surrounded by about ten dive bancas on a dark blue sea

Pescador Island

PhilippinesVisayas: Cebu, Bohol and NegrosReefOpen Water

Pescador Island is a limestone islet 4 km off Panagsama Beach, ringed by a plateau and then walls that plunge beyond 60 m. It's Moalboal's flagship dive: turtles show up on every dive, and you swim up the Cathedral chimney from 28 to 16 m.

Why dive Pescador Island?

  • Vertical walls that start from a plateau at 5 m and drop beyond 60 m
  • The Cathedral, a chimney in the rock you swim up from 28 to 16 m into the light
  • Green and hawksbill turtles on every dive, up to seventeen counted on the east wall
  • Fifteen minutes by boat from Panagsama Beach, PHP 1,600 to 1,950 a dive
  • Frogfish, nudibranchs and ghost pipefish for macro, barracuda and tuna in the blue

The dive site on the map

Base: Moalboal, 4 km as the crow flies.

See nearby dive sites on the map

Pescador Island in pictures

The gray, undercut limestone cliff of Pescador Island, two snorkelers and a yellow banca in turquoise water
Pescador Island seen from the sea, covered in green bushes, its white lighthouse on top and three dive bancas moored at the foot of the cliff

What will you see at Pescador Island?

Pescador is above all a turtle island: greens and hawksbills graze on the plateau and along the east wall, where up to seventeen have been counted on a single dive. The walls, covered in hard corals, elephant ear sponges and sea fans, shelter giant and painted frogfish, morays, lionfish in groups, nudibranchs and ghost pipefish; anthias and fusiliers dress the wall, and butterflyfish work the plateau. Schools of barracuda, tuna and trevally pass in the blue, and whitetip reef sharks hold on the deeper parts of the wall. The sardine run, once based here, has moved in front of Panagsama Beach. Thresher sharks aren't seen at Pescador: that's Malapascua's business, in the north of the island.

Sighting calendar
SpeciesJFMAMJJASONDNote
Green turtlepeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonon the plateau and the east wall, up to seventeen turtles counted on one dive
Hawksbill turtlepeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonon the sponges of the east wall, with the greens
Great barracudapossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossibleschooling in the blue, especially early in the morning
Lionfishpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonin groups in the crevices of the wall
Giant moraypeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonin the holes in the wall
Whitetip reef sharkpossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossibleon the deeper parts of the wall
Frogfishpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasonpeak seasongiant and painted frogfish, sitting on the sponges of the wall
Tunapossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepassing in the blue, off the points
Bigeye trevallypossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepossiblepassing in the blue, off the points

peak seasonpossiblerare

What is diving like at Pescador Island?

A narrow plateau rings the island between 5 and 10 m, then the wall drops vertically beyond 60 m: the dive follows the wall between 10 and 30 m, as a gentle drift when the current runs, most often from south to north, between zero and three knots. The Cathedral, on the south side, is a vertical chimney in the rock: you enter at 28 m, rise through a chamber 12 m high lit from above, and come out between 16 and 18 m. The east wall, from 5 to 65 m, has the most turtles; the north face, from 7 to 30 m, is the calmest and least crowded. Visibility 10 to 40 m, water 27 to 30°C. Open Water is enough for the plateaus and walls; Advanced is recommended for the Cathedral and below 30 m.

When to dive Pescador Island?

idealgoodnot recommended

The island can be dived year-round. The best period runs from November to May, during the amihan: calm seas in the Tañon Strait, 20 to 40 m visibility, 27°C water in February. From June to October, the southwest monsoon and typhoons bring rainy days and visibility that drops to 10 or 15 m, without closing the site, which is sheltered by the Cebu coast; the water is then at its warmest, 29 to 30°C. Turtles are there in every season, as are frogfish; barracuda and tuna show up mostly early in the morning, when boats are still few. Trips leave in the morning to make the most of the calm and of the light that falls into the Cathedral chimney.

How to get to Pescador Island?

Moalboal is 90 km southwest of Cebu City, about three hours by bus from the south terminal, and the dive centers line Panagsama Beach. Pescador is 4 km offshore: 10 to 15 minutes by banca. At Moalboal Dive Center, on the beach, a boat dive costs PHP 1,600 (€23), guide, tank and weights included, plus PHP 100 for the sanctuary fee and PHP 300 a day for gear; at Pescador Diving Center, a boat dive is PHP 1,950 with fees included, the three-dive package of Pescador, the sardines and Talisay Wall PHP 4,700, ten dives PHP 14,500, full gear PHP 800 a day and Nitrox PHP 500 a tank. The other centers on the beach charge between PHP 1,500 and 1,900 per boat dive. Prices checked on October 13, 2026.

Stay in Moalboal

Where to stay near Pescador Island?

Hotels, apartments and rooms around Moalboal, with current prices.

Where is Pescador Island in the Tañon Strait?

Pescador is a limestone islet sitting 4 km off the Moalboal coast, in the Tañon Strait, the channel that separates Cebu from Negros. A white lighthouse crowns it, swell-carved cliffs line it, and below the surface the base drops away at once: a plateau at 5 or 10 m, then the wall. Dive centers go there by banca from Panagsama Beach, usually for two morning dives: the Cathedral on the south side, then a drift on the east wall or the north face. The island is a marine sanctuary of the municipality of Moalboal, and the PHP 100 fee per dive pays for its monitoring.

How do you dive Pescador Island, dive by dive?

The Cathedral starts with a descent along the south wall to 28 m, where the chimney entrance opens. You swim up it slowly, in single file, through a 12 m high chamber lit from above, and come out on the wall between 16 and 18 m to finish the dive on the plateau, among the butterflyfish and turtles. The east wall is dived as a drift, from south to north: elephant ear sponges, sea fans, frogfish to look for on the sponges, turtles grazing between 5 and 20 m, whitetip reef sharks deeper down. The north face, from 7 to 30 m, mixes hard and soft corals in water that is often calmer; it's the dive for macro photographers and divers who want time.

What are the photo and etiquette tips for Pescador Island?

In the Cathedral, shoot upward with the strobe off to keep the light rays and the silhouettes of the divers ahead; on the wall, a wide-angle lens renders the sponges and sea fans, a macro lens the frogfish and nudibranchs. Pescador's turtles are used to divers: approach them from the side, at their pace, without pinning them against the wall or cutting off their way up to the surface. Touch nothing on the wall, and watch your depth: there's never a bottom to stop a descent.

Our tip

Take the first morning trip: the sea is flat, boats are few and the light falls into the Cathedral chimney. Keep enough air for a comfortable safety stop. On the east wall, stay two meters from the turtles and let them come to you.

Other dive sites nearby

Stay in Moalboal

Image credits

Photos under free licenses, credited to their author; the link leads to the source.