Diving Tonga South in Moalboal, Philippines

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September 23, 2026

In September of 2026, I dove Tonga South with Dive In Amigos, by boat out of Moalboal, Philippines.

It was the third dive of the day, after Pescador Island and the famous sardine run.

Dive Log · Moalboal, Philippines

Tonga South

Dive Data from my Garmin Descent MK3i

Max Depth

91ft / 27.7m

Avg Depth

45ft / 13.7m

Dive Time

52min

Water Temp

84.2°F / 29°C

Visibility

90ft / 27m

Entry

Boat

Recommended Certification

Advanced

Reef Asia 9.936712, 123.371648

The Dive

The Dive In Amigos boat at the surface off Tonga South, Moalboal — Giant stride off Dive Amigos boat on top of the dive site.

The wall at Tonga South dropping into blue water, Moalboal — Diving along the edge of the cliff.

Garmin dive computer reading 56 ft and 85.5 degrees at Tonga South, Moalboal — Descending along the wall.

Garmin dive computer reading 88 ft at Tonga South, Moalboal — Getting deeper!

Descending along the wall at Tonga South, Moalboal — I logged 91 ft (27.7 m) at the deepest, with an average of 45 ft (13.7 m) across 52 minutes.

The wall is part of the Tañon Strait, the channel between Cebu and Negros, which bottoms out around 1,640 ft (500 m).

The rock itself is old coral reef that was lifted up out of the sea, which is what the whole Moalboal coastline is built out of.

Visibility was 90 ft (27 m), and you can see a long way down the face.

Coming after Pescador and the sardines, this was the quietest of the three tanks and the one with the most structure to it.

What Marine Life I Saw

Butterflyfish on the dark wall face at Tonga South, Moalboal — Two butterflyfish and a royal angelfish.

Spotted nudibranch on the colourful wall at Tonga South, Moalboal — First time seeing this nudibranch.

Banded sea snake crossing the rubble at Tonga South, Moalboal — Two banded pipefish.

Fish at a cave opening in the wall at Tonga South, Moalboal — Cool looking blenny hovering off the reef.

Green turtle resting on the reef at Tonga South, Moalboal — We saw lots of turtles resting on the wall.

Yellow crinoids on the reef at Tonga South, Moalboal — So many yellow ornate ghost pipefish. This time there was two, one being much smaller!

Green turtle under an overhang at Tonga South, Moalboal

Green turtle on the reef in blue water at Tonga South, Moalboal — Looks like a comfortable spot to rest.

A field of anemone tentacles at Tonga South, Moalboal — Anemone drifting in the wind.

Long thin animal standing off the reef at Tonga South, Moalboal — Sea cucumber reaching up to the surface.

Ornate ghost pipefish among yellow crinoids at Tonga South, Moalboal — More pipefish.

The Dive & Conditions

For most of the dive, we faced the reef wall, but occasionally if you looked down or out into the blue you could see some cool things.

Working down the wall face at Tonga South, Moalboal

Along the wall at Tonga South, Moalboal — Visibility was 90 ft (27 m) on my dive and the water was 84.2°F (29°C).

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Austin Tuwiner

I'm a PADI Divemaster based in South Florida.

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