A 2-day Wreck & Cave Diving Expedition

There is nothing like the excitement of diving into a sunken ship. Wreck diving is truly one of the most exhilarating things a diver can do. So join us on a 2-day wreck dive expedition.

The MV San Juan is a classic shipwreck, a large ferry that has sunk in relatively undamaged condition. It's surrounded by abundant marine life and is truly an exciting, and due to the depths involved, challenging dive.

The ship sunk in bad weather in 2000. There was an explosion and the water pumps didn’t work properly. It went down with tremendous noise as the air was pushed out of the ship. Now It rests at the bottom of a bay in 50m of water on its starboard side (see videos and pictures below).

Nobody was hurt in this maritime disaster; the crew swam safely to shore. Until now, only very few divers entered the wreck, it is nearly in virgin condition.

The Wreck: MV San Juan Ferry

The Phillipines ferry M/V SAN JUAN FERRY (821 gross) had explosion in her engine-room and sank off Cebu Island, while undergoing sea trials following repairs Aug 14. All crew rescued. (Thurs. Aug. 17 2000)

MV San Juan Ferry:

Built 1969 in Japan
L=63.0m
B=13.6m
D=3.5m
GT=821.19
NT=533.9
DWT=703.93.
Passengers = 400
Engines: Daihatsu

2 Day Wreck and Cave Dive Expedition - Itinerary

1. Day: Wreck Diving at the San Juan Ferry & Airplane Wreck

Wreck & Cave Dive Expedition: Join us on a 2 day wreck and cave deep dive expedition in Cebu.

We will start from Savedra Dive Center at 7:30 am in the morning and head with our bus to Mactan Island. After arrival we have some snacks while our crew loads our dive equipment on the boat.

The boat ride to the wreck takes about 45 – 60 minutes. The wreck lies inside a protected marine park.

A mooring buoy leads us straight down 35m to the bridge of the San Juan Ferry.

The first dive is conducted usually to 40m, the second to 35m.

In between we have a 2 hours surface interval and our lunch.

After diving the San Juan Ferry we we had back to Mactan Island.

Tambuli Airplane Wreck

We are loaded with Nitrogen now, but still we can dive a shallow wreck at Tambuli near Marigondon Beach.

A small airplane rests in a depth of 22m, giving us the perfect opportunity to end our day with a nice but shallower dive on an easy wreck.

After the dive we check-in in an aircon room in one of several accommodations offered at the Kontiki facility in Maribago Beach.

2. Day: Diving Marigondon Cave and Wreck Diving San Juan

The next morning we dive the Marigondon Cave, a huge cave, 10 meter wide cave, leading 40-50m inside the reef.

The top of the cave is 27m deep, the bottom about 40m. Inside this amazing cave the water is crystal clear, with some nice formations and schools of soldier fish and flash light fish. Be aware of some lion fish often hovering upside down at the entrance of the cave.

The Marigondon Cave is one of largest known caves in the Philippines. Even if the cave is fairly easy to dive and you can see the wide exit from the end of it, a memorial at the bottom of it reminds us on the divers who were not careful enough and perished inside.

After the cave dive we head back to the San Juan wreck for another exciting wreck dive. After the dive we have lunch and slowly ride back to Mactan Island. After our arrival in Maribago and after 2 days of mostly deep diving we hop in our bus and head back to Moalboal.

Wreck Diving Specialty Courses

wreck diving certification A wreck dive specialty course is offered in combination with this expedition. Do the theory part in our dive center and the diving on the wreck. Add 130 US$ for SSI Wreck Diver Specialty Certification or 190 US$ for PADI Wreck Diver Specialty Certification.

Restrictions

Notice that

This tour is not for beginners; minimum is 50 dives and an Advanced Open Water Certification.
Minimum no. of participants is 6 divers.
This trip can be arranged also on a short notice.

Itinerary & Costs