Gato Island

Gato Island is a dive site located roughly one hour by boat from Malapascua, in the Philippines, reached on dedicated day trips that typically include two dives and lunch. The island is a marine protected area and is well known for its soft coral coverage — fields of purple and dusty rose soft corals coat the reef — alongside wall and reef terrain that supports both wide-angle and macro subjects. Maximum depth reaches around 23 m (75 ft), with shallower sections around 17 m (56 ft), making it accessible to beginners.

The signature feature is a tunnel roughly 20 m (65 ft) long, with its entrance at 5 m (16 ft) depth and exit at 10 m (32 ft); both ends remain visible throughout the swim-through, so no overhead-environment certification is required, though good buoyancy control is important to avoid silting up the passage for divers behind you. White-tip reef sharks are frequently found sleeping inside the tunnel. Beyond the tunnel, the reef extends to around 23 m (75 ft) and offers a mix of terrain suitable for both close-up and open-reef diving.

Gato Island is a breeding ground for the sea krait (banded sea snake), and encounters are common — treat them with care and distance. Other species recorded at the site include cat sharks, bamboo sharks, white-tip reef sharks, pygmy seahorses, seahorses, nudibranchs, stonefish, giant mantis shrimp, squid, electric clams, and shrimps. The best season runs from January through May.