Coron to Mindoro Reef Expedition

This expedition connects two of the Philippines' most celebrated dive destinations in a single two-day journey: Coron's legendary WWII Japanese shipwrecks (among the best wreck diving in the world) and Apo Reef Natural Park off Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro. The route crosses the Sulu Sea on a privately chartered speedboat or liveaboard bangka, combining history with biodiversity on a journey that serious divers have been piecing together independently for years — now available as a guided package.

Day one begins in Coron, Palawan, with 2–3 wreck dives on the Japanese imperial fleet sunk by US carrier aircraft in September 1944. The Okikawa Maru (a massive fuel tanker now encrusted with coral at 15–35m), the Kogyo Maru (intact bridge, engine room, and cargo holds with Zero fighter parts), and the Olympia Maru (shallowest wreck, ideal for photography) are typically included. The wrecks are so thoroughly colonized by marine life that they feel more like artificial reefs than disasters — lionfish, batfish, ghost pipefish, and enormous grouper are among the residents.

Overnight, the boat crosses to Occidental Mindoro and anchors in Apo Reef lagoon. Day two covers 2–3 reef dives on the North and South Atolls — the complete contrast to the wreck environment: pristine living reef, shark action, manta rays, and open-ocean pelagics. The expedition returns to Sablayan port by afternoon, where transport onwards to Manila or back to Coron can be arranged. This is an ambitious, rewarding combination for divers who want maximum variety in minimum time in the Philippines' most biodiverse waters.