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a diving destination.
And yet, despite its growing
popularity, Anilao has somehow
managed to hold on to its small-town
charm. Maybe part of it is geography.
What we know as Anilao is actually two
areas — Anilao town proper and Anilao
East — though most visitors would
really have a vague awareness of the
borders. Anilao proper isn’t known to
tourists at all; it is a fisherman’s town
with a picturesque port that welcomes
fishing boats, rather than dive charters
or passenger ferries.
PHOTOS
JOREM CATILO
AccessibleAnilao
Of course, even then, I knew
that most visitors were in
Anilao for the diving. Resorts
like Planet Dive and Dive &
Trek were quietly thriving,
and this underwater sport was
already popular among those
from Metro Manila.
In the past decade, things have
changed by leaps and bounds for this
once-secret divers’ paradise. The STAR
tollway has cut the drive time by half,
so you can now leave Metro Manila
and be in Anilao in a comfortable two
to three hours. There are also dozens
of resorts to suit varying preferences
and budgets; there hasn’t been a year
that has gone by without a major
development going up. Paved roads
have greatly improved access for
weekenders — SUVs are no longer a
necessity — and allowed even more of
the shore to be developed as resorts. It’s
now in the thick of a beneficial cycle,
which will only push its prominence as
An awesome
underwater
world, in living
color
