Small Ligid

Small Ligid 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.

The source names Small Ligid. Its relationship to Buenavista or Ligid Gamay has not been established by this review; island-centre coordinates are not substituted.

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 Small Ligid

PADI's dive-site page for Small Ligid, fetched in October 2026, describes "a popular dive site known for its rich marine biodiversity" whose "shallow reef is home to a variety of colorful corals, tropical fish, and sea creatures such as sea turtles, cuttlefish, and nudibranchs". It gives a maximum depth of 18 meters, says the site "is accessible by boat and is often combined with neighboring dive sites for a full day of diving", and lists the entry as shore, which is not reconciled with the boat-access sentence here. The listed position is 7.20573, 125.72247, the point this guide uses. PADI's text is a catalogue description and none of its figures have been confirmed locally.

The earliest dated mention found is a ScubaBoard post of January 26, 2007 by a California-based member in a Samal Island thread, who wrote, "The best dive sites are at least an hour by Banca." and that "Small Ligid and Big Ligid, Audanao sanctuary are my favorite." The post recommends local operators of that time and records a personal preference, not a site profile.

Dive Happy's Davao article, first published in Scuba Diver AustralAsia in 2008, describes the islands rather than this site: "Big Ligid and Little Ligid are located around the other side of Samal on the north eastern tip. Little Ligid is a private island that's available to rent by the day". The article's diving detail concerns Big Ligid, which it calls "one of Davao's signature sites", with a wall, a cave and a pinnacle. Whether that "Little Ligid" is the island beside PADI's Small Ligid point has not been established by this review, in keeping with the note above about Ligid Gamay.

The Scubago destination page for Davao, which is also where the SSI MyDiveGuide entry redirects, says, "At Ligid Island, there is a vibrant reef dropping down to two limestone caves, where divers can make their way through interesting passageways"; that describes the Ligid group, not Small Ligid specifically. A When In Manila article of January 31, 2015 lists "Big Liguid" among Samal's coral-wall sites and places the Pinnacle site "south of Big Liguid", without mentioning the smaller island. No dated dive log from Small Ligid itself was found in this review.