There are many animals from seabed that many people want to see. You can see clownfish in its anemone, rays, morays which rearing its head out from under a rock or reef, sharks …(it is really exciting). There are species that make you get out your head from the water for a few miliseconds to talk about it… and other species like triggers or snakes that makes you run away… but turtles are very special for us: its beauty, the peculiar anatomy, its form of swimming, its fragile appearance… They are beatiful and mesmerizing…. but nevertheless it was a bit more difficult to see from our list of “sightings”.
The first place where we went was Koh Tao, (turtle in Thai), Koh Tao, but we were unlucky and we did not find any turtle… we went to Perhentians Perhentians, people says you can see them, but we were not lucky… We saw the first turtle in Tioman Tioman , but it was far away ( around one of the snorkel point)… then, we watched one of them at close quarters, in Port Barton … Port Barton but finally we watched a lot of them in an island called Apo Island, Philippines…
We had read about this place many times… Everybody say that it was really easy to see sea turtles… but, it would be true?… so, we decided to visit that beach to check with our own eyes… We took a ferry to go to Dumaguete. The things that we saw there, blow us away.
Apo island is located a half an hour from Malatapay by bangka, south of the province of Negros Oriental. It is so small that accommodation can be counted on the palm and for that reason the atmosphere is quiet calm. Despite its small size, it is a popular tourist attraction for diving and snorkeling lovers due to the beauty of its seabed, but specially it is a place where the turtle watching is incredibly easy… and that´s because right in front of the main beach there is a “marine reserve” , a protected area covered by grass, food for these animals, and for that reason for why they are around that area.
The first time we got into the water, we thought if would be a matter of luck finding a turtle. After crossing fingers, touching wood and ask being fortunate, we were ready for searching. However, we saw the first turtle when we got into the water. We were surprised how it was swimming so close to us and how it ignored us… it seemed very relaxed. It stopped where it wanted and began to eat without loaning minimal attention. We kept staring hypnotizeed when a few meters from us, appeared another one, this time much larger issue. We watched to admire them floating with silly face while they were doing their daily life: eat, swim, go breathe, eat more… and we gradually found more and more of them .
The protected area where people are looking for turtles is not deep (not cover), and luckily, there are not coral in this area… (it is a crowed area and many people are not environmentally friendly…). You do not need to be a good swimmer to enjoy the turtles, you can stay afloat and the turtles.. will appear.
Despite of the “big stars” are those shelled reptiles, there are a lot of species that can be enjoyed…. there are hundreds of fishes and different corals around the reserve. Also you can see sea snakes easily…
You must enter accompanied by a guide to the area bouded by bouys, in the marine park and you must pay a fee for maintenance of the site (100 pesos)… but you can see turtles if you swim by the sourroundings, because the turtles does not know about where are the limits. For that reason, if you want to see them again, you can dive wherever you like, there are deeper and beautiful areas where you can see them too.
Diving is one of the star activities and there are two centers where you can hire dives. Apart from the underwater activities you can rest and enjoy beaches, even short trekkings around that area ( but you must keep in mind that the highest point is only 120 meters).
There are small private beach located on the right hand from the main beach, which belongs to a small resort, where you can enjoy the sun and snorkelling by 50 pesos (It is included one drink, such as a shake or beer), so it is worth it if you wnt to have a privacy.
Main beach…. If you like to see sunsets sitted on the sand, you can not miss the sunsets from this beach… They are awesome.
If you are staying at the Liberty Lodge resort, you can enjoy the same views from high above.
Is Apo island a recommended destination?
Yes, of course… Can tourism harm turtles?… If you do it irresponsibly, yes. Therefore, as always, we recommend that you learn about how to do it in a respectful way. Do not step on the coral, do not touch the turtles, do not feed the animals… many behaivors can be damaging to the ecosystem. We wrote an article about recommendations (under our point of view). If you want you can read “Responsible snorkel: do not put the scuba fin”. Snorkel responsable: no metas la aleta.
Basic information
- How to get: You will find all the information about how to get to Apo on the following link: How to get to Apo island quickly and comfortably. Cómo llegar a Apo island de forma rápida y cómoda
- Where to sleep: Como ya os hemos dicho, el alojamiento en esta isla es bastante limitado. Nosotros nos quedamos en Liberty lodge, pero la verdad es que en la habitación hacía un calor terrible (no hay electricidad durante la noche) y la comida, que estaba incluida en el precio, era insípida. Pagamos 2150 pesos por una habitación doble con baño y con las 3 comidas para ambos incluidas, los 3 días que estuvimos allí, pero no lo recomendamos especialmente…
