Sunken Island
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
South of Moalboal's shore reefs, a seamount climbs from serious depth to a plateau in the mid-teens, and everything about diving it feels bigger than the house reef routine: the blue descent with no wall for reference, the current pushing schools of jacks and rainbow runners over the crown, barracuda hanging upcurrent like weathervanes. Whitetips cruise the flanks, and the coral on top stays surprisingly lush for a spot with this much water movement. It is Moalboal's advanced-ticket dive, weather-dependent and occasionally humbling, the one local divemasters do on their days off.
The moment you come for: Blue-water seamount descent, schooling pelagics over the crown, big-dive atmosphere minutes from town
Topography: Coral-capped seamount rising from deep water
Current: Exposed to open-channel flow; the dive is planned around slack windows and aborted without shame when it rips.
Entry: A blue-water descent onto the plateau, usually via negative entry when current runs; dived from Moalboal and Badian boats in good weather.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Strong current, no fixed reference on descent, and depths that invite overstaying; surface marker mandatory.
Nitrox: Worth it here — profiles sit in the range where enriched air meaningfully extends no-stop time (with the training to use it).
Who you'll meet
Dogtooth Tuna
Giant Trevally
Great Barracuda
Whitetip Reef Shark
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★☆ · Macro: ★★☆☆☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting