Aiyanar Beach & Dive Resort

Aiyanar Beach & Dive Resort is a super fun and stylish resort just 3 hours south of Manila in Anilao. One of the world's best macro photography destinations. Aiyanar was designed with the needs of serious underwater photographers, fun divers and even non-divers alike. With 24 well laid out rooms, this seaside getaway is fully equipped with all the amenities you would expect from a modern day dive resort. There are 12 deluxe rooms, 4 suites and 8 casita rooms spread along 2 floors with air-conditioning and balconies providing grand panoramic views of the sunset against the ocean's vast expanse.

Aiyanar’s Dive Shop prides itself on its Scuba Diving support as well as Underwater Photography services. Diving is usually by a small open boat (bangka), which is comfortable for up to 4 divers plus a crew of 2-3 friendly and efficient guides. Dive sites are usually 10-25 minutes away from the resort. The general schedule is 2 dives early in the morning, enjoying lunch and rest in the afternoon at the resort, and then 2 more dives in the late afternoon, with the last dive being a night dive. Frequent night dives are a must in Anilao and no visit would be complete without a muck dive at the pier! Amazing shore diving is available at Aiyanar’s House Reef.

Virtually every variety of juvenile fish and critter imaginable can be found in Anilao. Shrimp, crabs, nudibranchs, small squid and cuttlefish are arguably more plentiful than any other dive destination. Frogfish, pipefish and seahorses are also fairly common and Rhinopias and Hairy Frogfish have been spotted. Wonderpus, mimic and blue-ringed octopus can also be seen. Bobbit worms and many other critters await patient muck divers. Anilao has a large number of species of hard and soft corals - perhaps more than anywhere else in the world. Local guides take pride in locating even the smallest macro subjects living on the corals, oftentimes leaving photographers with a tough decision on which subject to shoot. Larger marine life is also found in Anilao, including large schools of jacks, the occasional turtle and giant seahorses. At Mainit point, which has strong currents, great barracuda are often found hunting, along with giant and bluefin trevally. Reef sharks are occasionally seen down deep at dive sites with stronger currents and on very rare occasions people have seen small whale sharks.

Playtime is very important at Aiyanar. The resort provides watercraft activities and toys such as jet skiing, wake boarding, banana boats and more. There’s often a game of volleyball, badminton, table tennis or football to join. Need some relaxation time? The resort has a gorgeous infinity pool, cozy lounge areas and spa. Sumptuous meals are served up at the open air Clubhouse by Sweet Bella.