Southern Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Maasin City is the capital of the province.

Sogod Bay Scuba Resort is located in the municipality of Padre Burgos, a small fishing and agricultural community at the southwestern tip of Leyte.  The area possesses outstanding natural beauty and open, friendly people.

From Manila

Flights are available to Tacloban, Leyte throughout the day.  From Tacloban we can arrange at anytime a transfer to our resort which takes around 3 hours.

Airlines that service Manila to Tacloban, Leyte: Philippines Airlines ; Cebu Pacific Air ; Air Phil Express ; Zest Air

From Cebu

There are a number of ferry services from Cebu to Leyte.  Please contact us before you come so we can check the schedule of ferries as they can change seasonally and without notice. We can arrange your transfer from Leyte ferry terminals in Bato, Hilongos, Ormoc or Maasin.

The Roble ferry leaves from pier 3 in Cebu arriving in Hilongos, Leyte and takes around 4 hours.  The land transfer to the resort from Hilongos takes around an hour and a half.

The Cokaliong Shipping ferry leaves Cebu from pier 1 and arrives in Maasin, S. Leyte.  The land transfer to the resort from Maasin takes around 45 minutes.

The SuperCat ferry leaves from pier 4 in Cebu arriving in Ormoc, Leyte and takes around 2.5 hours. The land transfer to the resort from Ormoc takes around 3 hours.

From Bohol

Ferries are available from Ubay, Bohol to Maasin, S. Leyte.   The land transfer to the resort from Maasin takes around 45 minutes.

Map of Southern Leyte

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	Resort Manager Ron Parkes is an Englishman of indeterminate age. He has been diving in excess of eighteen years and has been diving in Sogod Bay since 2001. Indeed, the quality of the diving here persuaded Ron that he ought to do the sensible thing and live here permanently! Ron believes passionately that divers visiting Southern Leyte deserve a resort as impressive as the diving
	Dive Shop Manager  PADI instructorPhil McGuire was born in Sydney, Australia, Phil has lived most of his life in the Pacific and SE Asia. He likes living in the tropics, diving and playing rugby. If you find yourself with any time on your hands here at the Resort Phil has a fantastic collection of photos of local marine life. He is an all round nice guy although he does like diving in a silly hat.
	Pedro Batestil, Padi Instructor/Divemaster Pedro was born in Ichon, Southern Leyte, Philippines. Pedro is an experienced dive master and instructor and has years of local diving knowledge in Sogod Bay. In September 2008 he became a Padi instructor. He is hugely enthusiastic and is an expert in finding great aquatic life – if pygmy seahorses or whale sharks are about he will find them
	Bar manager and Reservation managerDarlene and Annalyn will look after you while you stay with us and make your diving holiday an enjoyable one.
	Resort staff  The ladies of the kitchen (from the left chef Vicky, Myrna( house keeping) Darlene (Resort manager), Annalyn (reservation manager), (Shello house keeping) Chef Alica, Michelle (Assistant Chef). If you want a great meal or just a snack these ladies will cook you up a treat you will never forget
	The boat crew of Sogod Bay Scuba Resort From the left Poloy (boat captain), Dave (dive guide)  Pawex (dive guide) andRonnie (logistics manager)

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House reef dives:

We have 5 great dives right outside the resort. The dives range from 15 up to 40 metres and comprise of: Max’s Climax 1 and 2 (wall dives); Voltaire’s Rock; Bulawarte and a wreck dive. All these dives have plenty of big fish action when current is moving. We’re also lucky enough to have pygmy seahorses, frogfish and hawksbill turtles. Diverse soft and hard corals abound including huge gorgonian fans and a massive number of developed whip corals.

Sunok:

Sunok is one of our more established dive sites but has become very popular with whale sharks between early November until May. Last season we had 100% success rate diving with the whale shark hopefully it will be the same this season. The whale shark follows plankton and jelly fish and for that reason we cannot promise they will be there all of the time!

To the North:

To the north of our resort (about 20 to 30 mins boat ride away) we have 4 great dive sites: Bunga Bend, Whip City, Cantamac and Malitbog wreck. These sites vary in depth from 15 to 35 metres and have diverse fish and coral life: nudibanches, ribbon eels, pigmy seahorses, ghost pipe fish and manta shrimp.

To the South:

To the south of the resort (about 10 to 30 mins boat ride) we have Medicare and Limasawa Island. Tankan and Santa Sofia has fantastic array of colourful soft corals and huge barrel corals. Mandarin Fish, turtles, eagle rays, batfish and frogfish are frequent visitors to thiese sites. The famous Limasawa Island is not only famous for Magellan’s visit but also for the incredible diving. Adrian’s Cove and Zack’s Cove dive sites are 20 to 50 metres deep and have dark eerie steep walls with gorgonian fans and massive table corals. We often see nudibranchs and occasionally the odd hammerhead!

To the East:

Directly across Sogod Bay from our resort lies Panoan Island and Napantao dive site. The dive is also a marine sanctuary with a large wall dropping to depths of 50 metres. Giant gorgonian fans are abundant on the wall. It is spectacular on a sunny day and looks absolutely majestic. When the current is ripping hard large pelagic fish are often seen here. This is one dive you must not miss while your visiting our resort!

Night Dives:

Padre Burgos jetty and Malibog wreck are our two first class night dives. Both dives are in shallow water. If you are a photographer or want to see something unusual come along on these dives. Seahorse, frogfish, nudibranch, reptilian eel, octopus, razor fish, slipper crabs are only just a few of the creatures you will see while diving at these sites.

More about Sogod Bay divesites

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We offer state of the art diving equipment and our dedicated staff can give you professional and friendly advice on all of your dive needs. We have something for all divers: whether you are a beginner or a more advanced diver we will customize your diving adventure to suit your needs. Enjoy the diving delights of Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte!

Dive Facilities and Services

• Guided dive tours – our locally experienced dive instructor Pedro (“Pecs”) Basteskil and divemaster Ron (“Sir Ron”) Parkes have extensive local experience and you can choose from over 20 untouched dive sites
• PADI dive instructors Phil McGuire and Pedro Batestil are available to guide dives or to teach an array of PADI courses (please see the relevant section below)
• We have 2 dive boats: a 72ft banka dive boat named Kermit and a new 57ft banka dive boat called Gamay Kermit. Both have been fitted out to make you diving experience an enjoyable one.
• Dive gear includes Cressi Sub BCDs and Regs, Luxfer aluminium tanks and a Bauer and L&W compressor
• Nitrox facilities
• Cascade air filling system

Dive Rates 

• Air dives 1350 Peso per dive (Drinks and snacks included if doing 2 dives or more)
• Nitrox dives 1400 Peso per dive (Drinks and snacks included if doing 2 dives or more)
• Full dive gear rental 400 Peso a dive includes BCD, Regs, Wetsuit, Mask, Fins and Booties
• Snorkelling gear 300 Peso per day includes Mask, Snorkel, Fins and Booties
• We do competitive group diving rates minimum 6 divers maximum 16 divers. Please contact us for rates.
• We do daily whale shark trips for 3500 peso per diver during the season from November through until April.

Please note there is a marine sanctuary fee of up to 100 pesos (~$2) per day on marine sanctuary dive sites, this is for the local authorities to maintain the marine sanctuaries

PADI Courses

Discover Scuba  If you are short of time this option will allow you to try scuba under strict supervision!

Open Water Diver  Take this course and go from non-diver to certified open water diver in only 4 to 5 days (Includes pic card and manual)

Advance Diver  This course enables you to try a number of specialities from night diving, wreck diving, underwater naturalist, photography, navigation and deep diving. (Includes pic card and manual)

Enriched Air Diver Nitrox Course  Maximize your time with the upgraded PADI Enriched Air Diver course. Enriched Air Diver saves you time by allowing you to:

• Stay underwater longer
• Get back into the water sooner
• Get your certification while simultaneously completing dives for other PADI courses

Plus, by diving with enriched air you may feel less tired on your vacation. (Includes PADI pic card and manual)

Specialty Courses  We offer a variety of Specialty courses. There are many benefits of taking Specialties. They are a way of engaging in new activities and trying new equipment under the guidance of an experienced instructor. You will extend your dive abilities and have increased awareness of the dive environment. If you have already done one of the specialty dives as part of the Advance course, you can credit this towards the specialty if you wish, and vice versa, saving you time and money.

Rescue Diver   The rescue course teaches you the basics of self-rescue and dealing with dive emergencies. (Includes pic card and manual).

Dive Master   The first step to becoming a dive professional. This course can be tailored to the individual’s schedule but as an intensive course we recommend a minimum of a four week stay to complete the course. (Note this includes accommodation, manual and unlimited diving for 4 weeks)

(Published Rates are subject to change without notice, however we will endeavor to notify our reserved guests of any changes ASAP)

New, Cressi BCDs and Regs, Aropex wetsuits and Luxfer tanks all serviced and maintained to a high standard.

Our newly installed nitrox and cascade systems will ensure a quick and efficient filling service for our customers

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