Philippine Fun Divers, Inc. — Local services in Panglao

I'm an inexperienced diver (only 11 dives before I dived with Philippine Fun divers) and was looking for a dive shop that would take good care of me and Philippine Fun Divers delivered. I ended up doing 8 dives (with 3 days at Balicasag) with them and would have gladly done more.

Lisa is in charge of the front office and was friendly and responsive from the get-go, even when I had day before dive requests. I communicated using both email and Facebook Messenger.

Dan was my dive guide for my first 3 dives. He proactively asked about my experience and paid special attention to my air usage, buoyancy etc. during the dive, which I appreciated. He was very calm and professional, which came in handy when an experienced diver got separated from the group (and more importantly, his wife and buddy) on our last dive in shallow waters near shore . After Dan made sure the "lost" diver's wife and I were safe on the boat, he personally looked for the other diver and found him quickly (he was still happily exploring the ocean when found so I don't think he realized that he was "lost").

Ole was my dive guide for my last 5 dives. Ole seemed to juggle everything effortlessly: giving thorough pre-dive briefings, keeping track of everyone, finding interesting animals and making sure everyone has a chance to see them up close, taking photos and videos for those who want them, finding ways to accommodate for different people's abilities and rescuing coral from anyone who might be accidentally floundering into them (me). He also went out of his way to take us to find the big sights - e.g. he took us into the blue so that we can swim inside the schools of jackfishes (we were part of two schools!), which we probably wouldn't have experienced staying by the reef. He made it a point to chat with and get to know every one of his clients, and was really good at giving newer divers like me pointers on improving our diving.

The rest of the crew were very friendly too (even when I accidentally dropped my weight belt on someone's foot). (Also thanks to Jiford for sharing some...

We had an incredible experience with Philippine Fun Divers, thanks to our amazing instructor, Ole. My husband started with his Open Water Course, while I did a Refresher Course, and we were so impressed by Ole’s instruction that we extended our stay to complete our Advanced Open Water Course with him.

Ole has a well-earned reputation for being very strict about safety, which we deeply appreciated. He is an exceptionally skilled and experienced instructor, giving clear and precise instructions while also spotting areas for improvement underwater. His emphasis on safety and proper training made all the difference in our diving confidence.

Between our Open Water and Advanced course, we had to dive with another shop to visit Balicasag, as Philippine Fun Divers was fully booked. That experience was an eye-opener—the dive guide there was reckless, leaving us behind in low-visibility waters during our safety stop. Thankfully, thanks to Ole’s training, my husband and I remained calm and collected, following our training to ascend safely without panic.

That moment made us realize: there are experienced divers, and then there are experienced divers who genuinely care about your well-being.

When we recounted our experience to Ole, his response summed up his teaching philosophy: “Always safety first. Don’t trust other people—check your equipment yourself. Remember your training.”

There’s a reason why divers keep coming back to Ole for their Rescue Diver and Divemaster training—he is truly an exceptional instructor. We feel so lucky to have trained with him and highly recommend Philippine Fun Divers to anyone looking for a dive shop that prioritizes skill, safety, and professionalism.

Thank you, Ole, for an unforgettable...

Let's be honest. We hired to go to Balicasag to snorkel and we joined the group of divers. Everything is fine. But the experience, at least in snorkeling, has been strange.

Nobody has said anything like "hello, I'm the person in charge. The guide. The instructor" whatever. You get on the boat and you don't even know how many dives you're going to do, or where, or anything. When you arrive at the first point they tell you: you can snorkel there. Do not go too far. We pick you up "there". "There" as a word in the middle of 10 boats and with a strong current does not help much once you are alone in the water. We swam back against the current. OKAY. no problem. From there we spent 40 minutes collecting the divers who were going little by little. okay. no problem. We reach another point and no one says or explains anything. After spending 10 minutes seeing that everyone was drinking coffee, we asked. And they told us that if we wanted we could swim (snorkel) there. okay. so we did. From there we spent 40 minutes collecting the divers who were going little by little. okay. no problem. And from there directly to panglao.

I don't doubt that the diving activity with them is great, but snorkeling makes no sense. It's my third time in the Philippines and it's the first time I've felt like "I don't know what I am doing in this boat." I feel like I've been transported and no one cared if I snorkeled, if not, if there were turtles, if everything went ok....etc....

Not recommended for snorkeling. Not everything goes in tourism. You have to demand a...