Batangas Channel

Batangas Channel is a shallow reef dive site located near Medio Island, west of Mindoro Island and north of Puerto Galera town, reached by a roughly two-minute boat ride. The site features a mix of shallow coral gardens and deeper sections with rock formations, with depths ranging from around 5 m down to 15 m. The terrain is characterised by unusual sponge and coral formations, twisted shapes and undulating plains, and rock formations adorned with green tree corals and table corals.

The reef holds a rich variety of life: shoals of jacks, sweetlips, fusiliers and snappers move through the site, while blue-ribbon eels, crocodile fish, frogfish, nudibranchs and pipefish are found among the formations. Large colourful sponges add to the macro and wide-angle photographic appeal, and larger pelagic species cruise through the blue water of the channel.

Entry is by boat, with divers back-rolling in shallow water around the channel's mouth. On the right tide it becomes a gentle drift dive, best done on an ebbing tide, drifting along the shore toward the open ocean at an average depth of around 15 m. Current is otherwise light, water temperature ranges from 26–29°C, and conditions are generally calm.