Isla Reta

Isla Reta is listed as a Davao-area dive site in a South Shore Divers contribution to PADI. This partial guide uses the site name and map position from that source. The location has not been independently confirmed by a local diver.

PADI and a community directory place Isla Reta about 1.23 kilometres apart. The directory point is near resort and ferry infrastructure. This guide uses the PADI point, but the exact dive entry and the relationship between the positions remain unconfirmed.

Current access, entry arrangements, depth limits, currents, visibility and seasonal conditions remain unconfirmed. Confirm the exact site, current local conditions and a suitable dive plan with a local operator.

What the sources say about the place

PADI's entry, credited to South Shore Divers and read in October 2026, describes Isla Reta as a shallow coral reef with colourful coral gardens, names clownfish, seahorses and nudibranchs as creatures divers may encounter, gives a maximum depth of 18 metres, calls it suitable for all levels, and says access is by boat with a guide recommended to avoid damaging the fragile ecosystem. Its fields list PADI Open Water Diver as useful training and a dive computer and surface marker buoy as suggested equipment. The Zentacle community directory, read in October 2026, rates the site beginner, gives a maximum depth of 49.2 feet, boat access and the note that it lies on the eastern side of the small island near Davao. No firsthand dive report from Isla Reta was found for this guide.

Other sources know Isla Reta mainly as a beach stop. Philippine Beach Guide's quick guide to Talikud Island, published in January 2015 and updated in August 2021, lists Isla Reta Beach Resort among the island's resorts with a day-tour entrance fee, puts the boat from Davao's Sta. Ana Wharf at 60 to 80 minutes, and recommends bringing snorkelling gear for the clear water; its list of dive sites around Talikud names Angel's Cove, Mansud Wall and the Coral Gardens, not Isla Reta. Lakwatsero's Samal diving itinerary from October 2008 places Isla Reta on an afternoon Talikud loop after Coral Garden, as a tour stop. A Davao Today article of November 2005 does include Isla Reta in its list of Davao Gulf dive spots 45 to 120 minutes from the city.

Samal or Talikud

PADI labels the site Samal Island, while Philippine Beach Guide places Isla Reta Beach Resort on Talikud, the small island behind Samal within the Island Garden City of Samal. The two statements are compatible but they are not reconciled here, and together with the 1.23-kilometre gap between the PADI and directory map points already noted, they leave the exact dive entry open. A DivePlanner Pro listing read in October 2026 repeats the 18-metre, beginner-friendly profile, describes a gentle slope and says sea turtles occasionally visit; it reads as a derivative summary rather than a dive report and is not counted as independent evidence here. Treat the reef as a shallow site on the Talikud day-trip circuit until a local operator confirms the entry and conditions.