Explore Ticao Island
Ticao Island, the Philippines, is a tropical dreamscape of aquamarine waters alive with a wide range of marine life. Sharing the same ocean as Donsol, famous for whale shark sightings, divers have the chance to spot manta ray, thresher shark and hammerhead shark at diverse sites.
A short trip by traditional boat from Donsol and visitors can find themselves staying at Ticao Island’s only dive resort, delving into pristine reefs. Donsol dive centres, located on mainland Luzon, also offer day trips to Ticao Island diving sites or liveaboards offer the chance for divers to fully immerse themselves in the incredible underwater world.
Dive Activity
Diving in Ticao Island
Ticao Island is known for its incredible drop-offs, swim-throughs, and ridges carved into limestone rock. In Ticao Pass, where manta rays thrive, rushing currents cause divers to drift effortlessly through the underwater landscape while there are also calm sites with pristine reefs. At the fringing reefs of Ticao Island, dive courses are often held. Nearby the island, several deep wrecks offer technical divers a chance to descend into the unknown.
Top Wildlife Sightings in Ticao Island
Being in such close proximity to Donsol, and sharing many of the same dive sites, it is common to see majestic whale sharks gliding through the water. Strong currents surrounding the island bring phytoplankton to the area which invites a number of small fish and hunting pelagic to feed, including thresher shark, hammerheads and tuna. Manta rays also come to feed and to be cleaned in the nutrient-rich water by parasite-hungry wrasse.
At Ticao’s reefs, divers will delight in a wide range of macro life with robust ghost pipefish, frogfish, seahorse, nudibranch, and stonefish all sheltering within the flourishing coral.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
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Giant Oceanic Manta Ray
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Whale Shark
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Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
Green Turtle
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iStock-crisod
Reef Manta Ray
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 600
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
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Alamy-WaterFrame
Common Seahorse
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 3000
SSI-Peter-Schinck
Nudibranch
25 Sightings
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 28
Udo Kefrig
Clownfish
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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 12
iStock/cinoby
Lionfish
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The best Months to dive in Ticao Island
Scuba diving in Ticao Island is possible all-year-round but there are times when you are more likely to see certain species than others. To spot whale sharks, visit in November through to June with February and May seeing the highest population of whale sharks in the area. Thresher sharks are best seen from July to October while manta rays are witnessed year-round but December to June is known as the prime time when conditions are at their best.
