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Guides · Price overview

Open Water Course in Moalboal: Price and Package Options

Two of our tracked Moalboal operators publish Open Water prices, and they're close: PHP 19,000 at Amigos Dive Center and PHP 19,495 at The Blue Abyss Dive Shop, a difference of PHP 495. This is a small sample, so treat it as a price check for these two shops, not a Moalboal average. The more interesting numbers are on the combined packages, where one shop saves you money and the other doesn't list a package.

Open Water and Advanced course prices at two tracked Moalboal dive shops, plus whether the combined packages actually save money.

Prices shown in

  1. Coral reef
    joakant · Pixabay Content License · source

    Cebu, Philippines

    Moalboal

    Beginner-friendlyBudget

    Open Water course from PHP 19,000 · Day trip from PHP 1,000

    Amigos Dive Center lists the PADI Open Water Diver course at PHP 19,000 and describes it as including e-learning, PADI certification, complete gear and boat trips; a Chinese-speaking instructor adds PHP 1,000. The Blue Abyss Dive Shop lists Open Water Diver at PHP 19,495 for 4 dives with equipment recorded as included. For Advanced Open Water, Amigos lists PHP 17,900 and Blue Abyss lists PHP 17,395 for 5 dives. Amigos also sells an Open Water plus Advanced package at PHP 35,000 and a version with nitrox at PHP 43,000.

Before you book

sea turtle underwater
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Moalboal

Season

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Also good: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

Getting there

  • Fly into Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB), then a road transfer to Moalboal (roughly 3-3.5 hours).
  • Budget options combine a bus/jeepney to the Cebu South Bus Terminal then a Ceres bus (under ₱500 total); private or shared-van transfers (₱2,500-5,200) are faster and more common for divers arriving with gear.

Minimum stay

3 nights

Good for your first trip if

Open Water minimum for most sites. Pescador Island's deeper sections and current-exposed channel dives are best done Advanced or with an experienced local guide.

Know before you go

  • Most diving here is calm house-reef and moderate-depth diving well within recreational limits.
  • The nearest recompression chamber is in Cebu City, several hours by road, so shops brief conservatively on the deeper Pescador and technical-diving sites.
  • Most centres carry oxygen on site.

Top dive sites

Top sites in Moalboal

Coral reef
MonicaVolpin · Pixabay Content License · source

The Sardine Run (Panagsama House Reef)

Beginner-friendly

Depth5–20 m

A dense, swirling bait ball of sardines a short swim from Panagsama Beach, diveable and snorkellable most days year-round -- Moalboal's signature sighting.

  • sardine bait ball
  • house reef
  • shallow, minimal current
blacktip reef shark underwater
Franziska_Stier · Pixabay Content License · source

Pescador Island

Intermediate

Depth5–40 m

A small island with dramatic swim-throughs and tunnels splitting the reef, dropping into exceptionally clear, very deep water. Schooling fish, reef sharks and turtles are regulars.

  • swim-throughs
  • reef sharks
  • schooling fish
  • exceptional visibility

Common questions

How much does an Open Water course cost in Moalboal?

PHP 19,000-19,495 at the two tracked operators that publish a price: Amigos Dive Center PHP 19,000 and The Blue Abyss Dive Shop PHP 19,495. Amigos adds PHP 1,000 for a Chinese-speaking instructor.

Is the Open Water plus Advanced package cheaper than booking separately?

At Amigos Dive Center, yes, by PHP 1,900: the package is PHP 35,000, against PHP 36,900 for Open Water (PHP 19,000) and Advanced (PHP 17,900) booked separately. Blue Abyss lists the two courses separately, which add up to PHP 36,890, and we haven't found a package price there.

Does the nitrox package save money?

Not on the published numbers. Amigos lists the Open Water plus Advanced plus Nitrox package at PHP 43,000, which equals the PHP 35,000 package plus the PHP 8,000 nitrox add-on listed separately, so the package price adds no discount on the nitrox part.

What is Advanced Open Water in Moalboal?

Amigos Dive Center lists PHP 17,900 and The Blue Abyss Dive Shop lists PHP 17,395 for 5 dives, the cheaper of the two.

How this guide was built

Every fact above is pulled live from the same destination and operator records used on Dive Curated's destination pages. It can never drift out of sync with what those pages say.

Beginner-friendly
Rated on the destination's own current strength, depth range, and visibility.
Budget tier
Verified accommodation, food, and diving costs; not marketing claims.
Price
Lowest tracked operator listing at time of publish. Check the destination page for current pricing.