Apo Island Snorkeling Tour — What to Expect

If you’re in the Visayas region of the Philippines, love snorkeling, and dream of swimming with turtles, the Apo Island snorkeling tour is an experience you’ll absolutely love. In this article, we’ll give you all the info you need about snorkeling with turtles at Apo Island and share our personal experience to help you decide if it’s worth it (yes, it is!) and what to expect.

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Table of Contents

In this guide we’ll cover the following topics:

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Where is and Why Visit the Apo Island?

The Apo Island is located southwest of Siquijor, just off the southeastern coast of Negros Island. The Apo Island is known for its protected area with beautiful and healthy coral reefs and a large population of sea turtles.

This is great for snorkeling and diving and it is not as commercialized as other popular destinations like Coron and El Nido. This was the best snorkeling spot we went to during our time in the Philippines.

How to Book the Apo Island Snorkeling Tour?

This tour is available from nearby islands like Siquijor and Dumaguete (Negros). Alternatively, you can also stay in the Apo Island and arrange a guide to go snorkeling from there.

Siquijor

We did the Apo Island Tour from Siquijor. There are only two tour providers of the Apo Island Tour in Siquijor: Coco Grove Beach Resort and Island Vibes Explorers right next to the Tubod Beach.

This is a popular tour and the spaces are limited, so make sure to book it as soon as you arrive at the island or contact them in advance to book the tour. We tried booking the tour at the Coco Grove Beach Resort and it was already sold out. Then, we found out that we could book at the Island Vibes Explorers and we were lucky to get a spot for us.

We paid 2450 PHP per person. The price was similar in the Coco Grove Beach Resort.

Dumaguete

From Dumaguete, there are several tour providers that do snorkeling tours to the Apo Island. You can find it in Klook (Click here to check the Apo Island Snorkeling Tour on Klook) or GetYourGuide.

Staying in Apo Island

You can also stay in Apo Island and arrange a tour from there. There are many local guides available and you can rent snorkeling gear at your accommodation. Additionally, there are also Scuba Diving Centers.

The accommodation is limited, so make sure to book with some advance. This should also be a great experience even though most places are pretty basic. Here are some suggestions:

• Elnor’s homestay
• Ling Ling Homestay
• Mario’s Scuba Diving and Homestay

About the Apo Island Snorkeling Tour

We did our tour with Island Vibes Explorers, but tours with other providers should be similar. Here’s a quick list of things about the tour:

• Snorkeling equipment is included (doesn’t include fins)
• The tour takes the whole day;
• It includes two stops for snorkeling and swimming with the turtles;
• It includes lunch at the boat (buffet-style);
• Water and coffee was also included;
• Snacks (crackers) were also available;
• In our boat, there was also a diving tour;
• It takes around one hour to one hour and half to arrive to the first snorkeling spot;
• Because the Apo Island is a protected area, you need to snorkel with a guide.
• You can explore Apo Island and see the local community.

What to Bring on The Tour

I really recommend that you bring the following items on the tour:

• Long-sleeve swimwear (I really recommend using a long-sleeve water shirt—the sun is very strong and you’ll be snorkeling in the midday hours. Even with sunscreen you may get burned—even though most of the people in our tour used sunscreen, they were burned at the end of the day.)
• Reef-safe sunscreen to protect your legs and face.
• Action waterproof camera: I took our DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro Camera (the camera is amazing). We bought it specifically for this trip to the Philippines. I’m so glad we did because we got so many great shots and underwater videos. Additionally, the guides are very good at taking awesome underwater pictures and videos.
• Smartphone waterproof case if you don’t have a waterproof camera.
• Water shoes can be practical but not necessarily needed in this tour.

Is the Apo Island Snorkeling Tour Worth it?

If you like snorkeling, marine life, and you would like to swim with turtles, it is absolutely worth it. It was the highlight of our trip to the Philippines.

Apo Island Snorkeling Tour—What to Expect

Here’s the program of the tour we went to. It might be slightly different depending on the season and weather conditions:

• 7:30 AM – Meeting Point at Sunset Glamping Village and departure for Tambisan Port
• 8:15 AM – Boat departure from Tambisan Port
• 9:20 AM – Snorkeling at Chapel Point
• Lunch on the boat (1 hour)
• Visit to the Apo Island (45 minutes)
• Snorkeling at Rock Point (1 hour)
• Return to Tambisan Port (4:00 PM)
• Transfer to the Siquijor Sunset Glamping Village (with a free drink at the bar)

Apo Island Snorkeling Tour—Our Experience

We did the Apo Island Snorkeling Tour with Island Vibes Explorers from Siquijor. Here’s how the tour went.

Pick Up from Siquijor Glamping Village

The pick up point was at the Siquijor Sunset Glamping Village at 7:30. We were picked up by a small van that drove us to the Tambisan port. This took around 10 minutes.

We were 16 people on the boat, and there was plenty of space for everyone. Compared to other tours we did in the Philippines, the boat was quite spacious.

We waited on the boat while the staff were preparing it. Crackers, coffee, tea, and water was available for those that didn’t had the time to have breakfast or wanted to have a second breakfast.

Snorkeling at Chapel Point

The boat ride was peaceful, and around 9:30 AM we arrived at our first snorkeling spot: Chapel Point.

We were grouped in threes, with a guide assigned to each group. We jumped off the boat and started swimming toward the coast. The water had incredible visibility. Even in the deeper part where the boat stopped, we could clearly see the bottom.

I was amazed by the massive corals we saw along the way. Our guide led us closer to the shore, where there’s a better chance of spotting turtles, as they often come to the shallow waters to feed on seaweed.

This snorkeling session lasted about an hour, and I think we saw four different turtles. We were able to swim really close to them. They seemed peaceful and completely unbothered. One thing I liked about the tour was that there weren’t too many people, and each turtle wasn’t surrounded by a big crowd.

Lunch on the Boat

Then, they anchored our boat in the Apo Island and we were served a buffet-style lunch on the boat with drinks. The food was not the best, but not bad either. I advise you to not eat too much because you’ll be snorkeling again after.

Visit to the Apo Island

After lunch, we were given some time to explore the island. It’s quite small, with narrow paths, and you can see the local people going about their daily activities.

There is a viewpoint you can climb for a nice view, but instead, we walked to the other end of the island, where there was a beach covered in broken corals. We didn’t have time to visit the viewpoint afterwards.

Even though it was interesting to explore the island, I felt like we were invading the locals’ privacy. In some areas, it felt like we were walking through their homes and terraces. There isn’t much to do on the island itself.

Snorkeling at Rock Point

After exploring Apo Island, we went back to the boat for another snorkeling session—this time at Rock Point. I think we saw six different turtles, along with plenty of big, colorful, and healthy corals, anemones, and many species of tropical fish. We even spotted a black and white striped sea snake—it was our first time seeing one! This snorkeling session also lasted around an hour and was amazing.

Finally, it was time to return to Siquijor. One of the moments that will be kept in my memory is watching the snorkeling guides jumping out of the boat, all at the same time and swimming their way to the island and waving at us while we were leaving. It was such an incredible and unique moment. I regret not having any videos or pictures of it.

Our guide, Eduardo, was great, so we thought it would be a nice gesture to give him a good tip at the end. If you’re satisfied with your guide, I think it’s a thoughtful thing to do.

Returning to Siquijor Sunset Glamping Village

At around 4PM, we were back at the Tambisan Port and they left us at the Siquijor Sunset Glamping Village at around 4:30PM. As part of the tour, we were given a free drink at the bar of the Glamping Village.

This place was a great surprise. It was located right on the Salangon Public beach. There were plenty of sunbeds, swings, and places to relax. We spent a great time there relaxing and watching the sunset.

What a great day!

Apo Island Snorkeling Tour – Wrapping Up

We absolutely loved this snorkeling tour. It was super well organized, it was not rushed, not too many people on the boat, and plenty of time in the water.

If you dream about snorkeling and swimming with turtles in a beautiful area with lots of marine life and healthy corals, clean water and not too much comercialized, I really recommend doing this tour.

You won’t regret it.

If you’re planning a trip to the Philippines, we have more guides that will be useful:

• Three Weeks in the Philippines – Our Itinerary
• How to Spend Four Days in El Nido: Travel Guide and Best Things to Do
• El Nido Island Hopping Tour A – Is it Worth It? What to Expect?
• El Nido Island Hopping Tours A, B, C, D — Which One to choose?
• How to Spend Two Days in Coron: Travel Guide and Best Things to Do
• Moalboal Travel Guide: Best Things to Do & 3-Day Itinerary
• Siquijor 3-Day Itinerary & Travel Guide: Best Things to Do
• Bohol 3-Day Itinerary & Travel Guide: Best Things to Do
• Manila One Day Itinerary (or Less) — Ideal for a Layover or Short Stay
• How to Plan a Trip to the Philippines: 33 Essential Travel Tips

Finally, you can use our links to book accommodation and activities and find cheap flights. You won’t pay more for it and you’ll be supporting our work.

Thanks for reading.