Marissa

Marissa, Samal Island

Marissa is a dive-site name used around Samal in Davao Gulf. PADI lists it under the spelling “Marirssa”, with contributions credited to South Shore Divers. That entry describes a coral-covered wall, boat access and possible strong currents, and reports a maximum depth of 40 metres.

Confirm the numbered site

Asia Dive Site instead discusses Marissa 1, 2 and 3 together on Samal's west coast, describing reefs descending to 30 metres. These accounts do not establish that every numbered site has the same terrain or depth. This guide has not matched the unnumbered listing to a particular numbered route.

Ask your operator which Marissa site is intended, where the dive starts and what profile is planned. Do not choose a route solely from the shared name. The source reports of corals and reef fish describe potential interest rather than guaranteed encounters.

Current visibility, departure arrangements and suitability for your experience remain to be confirmed locally. Island-wide travel times, seasonal summaries and depth ranges have not been adopted here as measurements of this individual site.

Dated observations from the Marissa area

The AH6HY dive diary names Marissa I specifically in its entry for 29 June 2008. It records a maximum reached depth of 55 feet, approximately 16.8 metres, and 32 minutes underwater. The writer describes an underwater seamount around 50 feet, or 15.2 metres, below the surface and mentions nearby Marissa II and III. Those figures describe that outing and a reported feature, rather than the maximum depth of the unnumbered listing.

During that visit, the diarist found corals, starfish with a bumpy appearance and small reef fish, and photographed corals and anemones at close range. Recent heavy rain and runoff accompanied reported visibility of only 10–20 feet, approximately 3–6 metres. This dated observation is useful context for why a visit may differ from clear-water photographs, but it does not establish a seasonal visibility range. The report concerns Marissa I; it cannot automatically describe all three numbered reefs.

Rowena Bautista-Alcaraz's separate May 2009 article, available in a retained reprint crediting the Manila Bulletin, describes a visit to an unnumbered Marissa Reef during a tourism-sponsored diving trip. She describes an underwater mountain with an abrupt drop and says she reached 15 feet, about 4.6 metres. The article does not resolve which numbered reef she visited. Read together, these accounts illustrate different reported experiences under the Marissa name while leaving the precise route identity to be confirmed before booking.

A 2009 introductory-dive account

A Pasyalera post of 28 June 2009, read through a Wayback Machine snapshot, recounts a February 2008 introductory dive at "Marissa Reef", "approximately a 30 to 45-minute boat ride from Sta. Ana Wharf Davao" and "near the Pearl Farm Beach Resort". It calls the reef "very much ideal for beginners" and says it was named after Marissa Florendo. That beginner wording is the writer's impression and sits beside PADI's 40-metre maximum above; it is not reconciled here, and the post does not say which numbered spot was dived.