BeginnerReef · Wall · Drift · Wreck
Talima Marine Sanctuary
Mactan
Best Season: Dec – May
Difficulty
Intermediate
Difficulty level
Depth
16 ft
Maximum depthInformation under review
Check the source context before using these values to plan a dive.
One source says both things. It reports this value and also contradicts it.
Contrary evidence
beyond 50m
Read source context
The accepted record states a maximum depth of 50 meters, but multiple sources indicate that deeper sections of the wall can extend beyond 50 meters, with some mentioning depths up to 165 feet (approximately 50 meters) in some parts, and the wall continuing past 45 meters, decorated with gorgonian fans and soft corals.
Mactan Dive Guide · 2026-09-23T13:12:08.159Z
Same source as the recorded value
past 45 meters, up to 50 meters in some parts
Sources indicate that the wall at Talima Marine Sanctuary extends past 45 meters, with some sections reaching up to 50 meters, contradicting a strict 50-meter maximum.
Mactan Dive Guide · 2026-09-23T13:14:18.938Z
Same source as the recorded value
Depth range
Access
Boat
Reported by one source · DivePlanner Pro
Documented months
Dec
May
Reported by one source · Divebooker.com
Visibility
33 ft82 ft
Typical visibility
Current
Variable
Good buoyancy control advised
Temperature
81°F86°F
Minimum water temperature
Reported by one source · Divebooker.com
Water temperature
Reported by one source · Seven Seas Dive Center
About This Dive Site
A wall on Olango
Seven Seas Dive Center places Talima Marine Sanctuary on Olango Island and describes a wall with fishing-boat remains and artificial reef structures. Mactan is the wider departure area; the named dive is on the neighbouring island.
A feature depth, not the site's limits
Emerald Green reports wooden boat remains around 18 m. That is the depth of a feature, not a complete minimum-to-maximum range. Different sections can form different outings, so the wreckage does not define the entire dive.
Choose the section with your operator
Seven Seas also mentions small passages. Their presence does not mean they are appropriate to enter on every visit. Ask which part of the wall is planned and whether the route remains in open water. This partial guide does not establish current conditions, entry fees or universal training requirements.
A protected plateau in a busy channel
An Adrenaline Romance dive report of 5 February 2018 places Talima Marine Sanctuary at the fringe of a busy shipping lane in front of Olango Island, on an underwater plateau with a gentle slope whose edge drops to around 165 feet, and says Bantay Dagat personnel monitor the sanctuary. A Philstar feature of 9 July 2009 quoted the Talima resort website for a 14 hectare sanctuary and found the current pretty strong while snorkelling. SunStar reported on 23 September 2025 that an ocean sunfish had been photographed in the sanctuary and reported that Lapu-Lapu City has established ten marine sanctuaries since 2005, including one in Barangay Talima, and quoted a city agrifishery technician saying such sightings were once common in the Olango-Hilutungan Channel before dynamite fishing. SunStar's 30 December 2023 report lists Talima Sanctuary, Mamsa Point, Hole in the Wall and Grouper's Nests in Talima among the 53 sites named in the city's 100 peso environmental-fee ordinance, then awaiting the mayor's signature; a philippinedives.com guide captured in March 2026 quotes 100 to 250 pesos and a strict ban on collecting marine life. Treat all fee figures as dated and confirm them locally.
Plateau, wall and wreck in operator accounts
Scotty's Action Sports Network's page, captured by the Wayback Machine on 29 February 2024, describes a sandy plateau from about 5 metres sloping to 18 metres, where the wall begins and drops to 45 or 50 metres in places, with eels and morays among scattered corals, big sea fans and gorgonians on the wall, and a residual wooden wreck at the edge. Kontiki Divers' site list gives a sandy, seagrass-covered reef at 10 to 15 metres and a wall from 15 to 50 metres with the skeleton of a small wreck; Joe's Scuba Shack, which follows Kontiki's wording, adds swim-throughs and small caverns and says there are not as many big sea fans, probably because of the current. A Scubago shop entry puts the wall start at 12 to 17 metres and the wooden wreck memorial around 12 metres. The 12 metre and 18 metre wreck depths and the sea-fan descriptions are not reconciled here.
What visitors have seen
The 2018 Adrenaline Romance writers photographed gorgonians, a soft-coral restoration plot grown from buds tied to metal frames, hundreds of foot-long reef fish including curious black triggerfish, and the keel timbers divers call The Shipwreck. Scotty's names groupers, snappers and schooling sweetlips on the wall, and Seven Seas Dive Center's 2020 list mentions artificial reefs and small grottos. Locals told the 2018 writers that turtles, sharks and rays had left the channel decades earlier as vessel traffic grew. None of these dated reports promises a sighting.
Not yet independently cross-checked. · Adrenaline Romance blog, 2018-02-05 · Emerald Green Diving Center · Joe's Scuba Shack, updated 2022-08-10, Wayback snapshot 2025-10-06 · Kontiki Divers / 7 Seas, undated page · Philstar.com, 2009-07-09 · Scotty's Action Sports Network, Wayback snapshot 2024-02-29 · Scubago aggregator, undated · Seven Seas Dive Center · Seven Seas Dive Center, page dated 2020-06-19, Wayback snapshot 2024-06-14 · SunStar Cebu, 2023-12-30 · SunStar Cebu, 2025-09-23 · philippinedives.com Mactan dive guide, page dated 2026-02-19, Wayback snapshot 2026-03-16
Current Conditions
Typical current strength at this dive site
Variable
Current strength changes with tides and conditions. Check local conditions before diving.
Strength Scale
None
Mild
Moderate
Strong
Best Time to Visit
Monthly conditions and seasonal highlights — tap a month
OctGood
Shoulder season with generally good conditions. Some variability in weather and visibility.
BestGoodLess FavorablePeak
Marine Life
25 species recorded at this site
Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse
Labroides dimidiatus
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Adrenaline Romance, Talima dive report (2018-02-05) · Observation date not documented
Soft Coral (assorted)
Dendronephthya sp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Adrenaline Romance, Talima dive report (2018-02-05) · Observation date not documented
Nudibranch (assorted)
Nudibranchia spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Adrenaline Romance, Talima dive report (2018-02-05) · Observation date not documented
Butterflyfish (assorted)
Chaetodon sp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Adrenaline Romance, Talima dive report (2018-02-05) · Observation date not documented
Moorish Idol
Zanclus cornutus
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Damselfish (assorted)
Pomacentridae spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Adrenaline Romance, Talima dive report (2018-02-05) · Observation date not documented
Parrotfish (assorted)
Scarus sp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Philstar, "Adventure Olango" (2009-07-09), quoting the Talima Beach Villas and Dive Resort website · Observation date not documented
Sea Whip
Junceella fragilis
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Adrenaline Romance, Talima dive report (2018-02-05) · Observation date not documented
Soldierfish (assorted)
Myripristis sp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Staghorn Coral
Acropora sp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Adrenaline Romance, Talima dive report (2018-02-05) · Observation date not documented
Mandarinfish
Synchiropus splendidus
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Philstar, "Adventure Olango" (2009-07-09), quoting the Talima Beach Villas and Dive Resort website · Observation date not documented
Painted Frogfish
Antennarius pictus
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Anemonefish / Clownfish (assorted)
Amphiprion spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Adrenaline Romance, Talima dive report (2018-02-05) · Observation date not documented
Lionfish (assorted)
Pteroinae spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Batfish (assorted)
Platax spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Scorpionfish (assorted)
Scorpaenidae spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Snapper (assorted)
Lutjanidae spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Grouper (assorted)
Epinephelinae spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Philstar, "Adventure Olango" (2009-07-09), quoting the Talima Beach Villas and Dive Resort website · Observation date not documented
Sweetlips (assorted)
Plectorhinchus spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Trevally / Jack (assorted)
Carangidae spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Green Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Scubago (SSI) Talima Marine Sanctuary page · Observation date not documented
Sardine (schooling)
Sardinella spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Scubago site-page description (text supplied via Scubago, author not named) · Observation date not documented
Fusilier (schooling)
Caesio spp.
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Bohol-Philippines.com, Olango Island dive sites (Polaris Dive Center text; Wayback snapshot 2024-11-08) · Observation date not documented
Barrel Sponge
Xestospongia testudinaria
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Adrenaline Romance, Talima dive report (2018-02-05) · Observation date not documented
Trumpetfish
Aulostomus chinensis
Documented site occurrence
Source reviewed on 2026-10-14 · Source: Scubago (SSI) Talima Marine Sanctuary page · Observation date not documented
Hazards & Safety
Be aware of these potential hazards at this dive site
Current
Severity: MediumCurrents can be strong on an outbound tide, and tidal flows through the channels surrounding Olango Island create conditions that demand experienced handling. Drift diving techniques apply.
Dangerous marine life
Severity: MediumTriggerfish are known to attack divers to protect their eggs and territory, and can inflict bites.
Sources
- Adrenaline Romance
- Adrenaline Romance blog, 2018-02-05
- Divebooker.com
- DivePlanner Pro
- Emerald Green Diving Center
- Joe's Scuba Shack, updated 2022-08-10, Wayback snapshot 2025-10-06
- Kontiki Divers / 7 Seas, undated page
- Lauderdale Divers
- Mactan Dive Guide
- philippinedives.com Mactan dive guide, page dated 2026-02-19, Wayback snapshot 2026-03-16
- Philstar.com, 2009-07-09
- Scotty's Action Sports Network, Wayback snapshot 2024-02-29
- Scubago
- Scubago aggregator, undated
- Seven Seas Dive Center
- Seven Seas Dive Center, page dated 2020-06-19, Wayback snapshot 2024-06-14
- SunStar Cebu, 2023-12-30
- SunStar Cebu, 2025-09-23
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16 ft
Maximum DepthInformation under review
Check the source context before using these values to plan a dive.
One source says both things. It reports this value and also contradicts it.
Contrary evidence
beyond 50m
Read source context
The accepted record states a maximum depth of 50 meters, but multiple sources indicate that deeper sections of the wall can extend beyond 50 meters, with some mentioning depths up to 165 feet (approximately 50 meters) in some parts, and the wall continuing past 45 meters, decorated with gorgonian fans and soft corals.
Mactan Dive Guide · 2026-09-23T13:12:08.159Z
Same source as the recorded value
past 45 meters, up to 50 meters in some parts
Sources indicate that the wall at Talima Marine Sanctuary extends past 45 meters, with some sections reaching up to 50 meters, contradicting a strict 50-meter maximum.
Mactan Dive Guide · 2026-09-23T13:14:18.938Z
Same source as the recorded value
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