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When to dive Dauin

Dauin is a year-round dive destination, and every season brings something different. Here's what to expect month by month, from water temperature and weather to sea conditions and what you might see, so you can choose the best time for your trip.

Build Your Dive TripGetting here

Diving in Dauin all year round

Dauin is good to dive all year, and our shore dives run every day. For frogfish, come between February and May, when there are lots of tiny ones growing up. For octopus and cuttlefish, come between September and November.

The water is coolest from late December to March, at around 25–26°C, when most divers wear a 3 mm or 5 mm wetsuit. It warms up in April, and from May to early December it's usually around 29°C, when many of our divers don't wear a wetsuit at all.

February to May are usually the driest months. From June to September most of the rain tends to fall at night, and the days are normally fine for diving. We're in the tropics, so the weather changes from year to year, and El Niño and La Niña years can be wetter or drier than usual.

The wind changes with the seasons, but we always have somewhere flat to dive. During the northeast monsoon (Amihan, usually from around November to March), our house reef is the sheltered side. During the southwest monsoon (Habagat, usually from around June to September), the El Dorado side is sheltered.

Month by month

Typical water temperatures on our dives, what the weather is usually like, and notes from our team.

The year at a glance

Dauin's seasons for the water, the rain and the critters. Every year is a little different, so treat this as a guide.

Cooler water Late December to March, about 25–26°C: bring a 3 mm or 5 mm wetsuit. It warms up in April, and from May to early December it's around 29°C.

Rain February to May is usually the driest time of year. From June to September, most of the rain tends to fall in the evening and at night, and the days are normally fine for diving.

Frogfish We see them all year round, and most of all from March to June (darker band).

Flamboyant cuttlefish Seen all year round. They come and go: they disappear for a while, then suddenly they’re back. When they’re mating, it’s not unusual to see six or seven together.

Octopus Seen all year round, and most of all from September to November (darker band).

Nudibranchs Seen all year round, and most of all from January to March (darker band).

  1. January

    Water25–26°C
    WeatherSome showers

    Nudibranch peakFrogfishCooler water

    One of the best months for nudibranchs. It’s also one of the cooler months, so bring a 3 mm or 5 mm wetsuit. In the northeast monsoon, our house reef is the sheltered side.

  2. February

    Water25–26°C
    WeatherMostly dry

    Nudibranch peakFrogfishCooler water

    Lots of nudibranchs, and frogfish numbers start to build, with tiny frogfish growing bigger by the week. Cooler water: 3 mm or 5 mm wetsuit.

  3. March

    Water25–26°C
    WeatherMostly dry

    Nudibranch peakFrogfish peakCooler water

    The start of the best frogfish months, with plenty of juveniles on the sand, and still lots of nudibranchs. Cooler water: 3 mm or 5 mm wetsuit.

  4. April

    Water26–28°C
    WeatherUsually the driest

    Frogfish peak

    One of the best frogfish months, and usually the driest month. The water starts to warm up, but a 3 mm wetsuit is still a good idea.

  5. May

    Water28–29°C
    WeatherMostly dry

    Frogfish peak

    Warm water again, and lots of frogfish.

  6. June

    WaterAround 29°C
    WeatherRain mostly at night

    Frogfish peak

    The last of the best frogfish months. In the southwest monsoon, the El Dorado side is sheltered.

  7. July

    WaterAround 29°C
    WeatherRain mostly at night

    FrogfishWarm water

    Frogfish are still around, just not in the numbers of March to June. Many divers don't need a wetsuit now.

  8. August

    WaterAround 29°C
    WeatherRain mostly at night

    FrogfishWarm water

    Fewer frogfish than earlier in the year, but they’re still about. Warm water, so a thin wetsuit or none at all.

  9. September

    WaterAround 29°C
    WeatherRain mostly at night

    FrogfishOctopus peak

    The start of the best octopus months. From September to November, keep an eye out for them on every dive.

  10. October

    WaterAround 29°C
    WeatherSome showers

    FrogfishOctopus peak

    One of the best octopus months, and the water is still warm.

  11. November

    WaterAround 29°C
    WeatherSome showers

    FrogfishOctopus peak

    The last of the best octopus months.

  12. December

    Water29°C, cooling to about 26°C
    WeatherSome showers

    FrogfishCooler water laterBook early

    The water is still around 29°C early in the month and cools to about 26°C by the end, so bring a 3 mm or 5 mm wetsuit for late December. Christmas and New Year are busy, so book your room early.

Water temperatures are what we typically see on our dives. We're in the tropics, so the weather is never quite the same from one year to the next, and El Niño and La Niña years can be wetter or drier than usual. Whatever the month, there's almost always somewhere sheltered to dive.

What you might see, season by season

Frogfish, seahorses, nudibranchs and octopus live on Dauin’s sand all year, but some seasons are special. Frogfish season runs from February to around June to August, and from February to May there are lots of tiny frogfish growing bigger by the week. Octopus and cuttlefish are busiest from September to November, and octopus are often active again around May and June.

Apo Island days

Apo Island trips run all year and are rarely cancelled. When they are, it’s usually because a typhoon is sending big swells our way and the Coast Guard has issued a warning. Plan a few days in Dauin around your Apo day, so there’s room to move it if the weather changes.

Plan your Apo Island day

Storms, busy times and quiet times

Like the rest of the Philippines, Negros Oriental can be affected by tropical storms, more often in the second half of the year. Typhoon Odette crossed the province in December 2021, for example. If the Coast Guard issues a warning, Apo Island trips wait for a calmer day, and we’ll do our best to rebook you on the next available date.

Christmas and New Year and Holy Week (Easter) are among the busiest times in Dauin, so book your room early for those dates.

Biodiversity

More than 800 fish species on our doorstep

Our science officer, Bart Hazes of Biodives, led a survey of the fish of Dauin and Apo Island with our dive guides, funded by the PADI AWARE Foundation. It found two species new to science and added about two dozen species to FishBase’s list of Philippine fishes.

Face of a small nudibranch photographed against a dark background in DauinTiny orange fish sheltering inside a tube sponge in DauinSmall shrimp hiding among feather star arms in DauinSnake eel emerging from the sand on a Dauin dive

825+

coastal fish species recorded in Dauin by November 2023

560+

of them on our own house reef, Dauin North

2

fish species new to science found during the survey

How Dauin compares

For comparison, FishBase’s regional checklists list 484 fish species for Tubbataha Reef, 498 for the Verde Island Passage and 674 for the Calamian Islands. You can browse every species found so far, with photos, in the Biodives survey.

Dauin’s fish have been surprising scientists for a long time. After the 1931 Herre Philippine Expedition, fish scientist Albert Herre wrote that although Dumaguete lacks the great coral reefs found elsewhere, “no other place in the Islands has yielded so many astonishing novelties and rare species.”

Protected by the community

Dauin’s reefs are rich partly because they are protected. The municipality set up a chain of marine protected areas along its shore, and the sanctuary fees that divers and snorkellers pay are shared between local fishers’ associations (40%), the municipality (40%) and the barangays that host the sanctuaries (20%). The fees help pay for the Bantay Dagat, the sea wardens who patrol them.

Protection has paid off on land too: between 2000 and 2009, the municipality’s yearly income from diving fees and resort taxes grew from about PHP 800,000 to PHP 22–35 million. Our dive prices include the standard sanctuary fees.

Sources: Biodives fish survey (figures as of November 2023); FishBase regional checklists; and the case study “Municipality of Dauin, Negros Oriental, Philippines: A Global Bright Spot for Marine Conservation”.

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