DIVING AT THE BLUE HOLE ON TABLAS ISLAND, ROMBLON

Before arriving in the Romblon region, I had heard a rumor about a blue hole. There wasn’t much written about it online so it remained a bit of a mystery. I found it it was in the north and could be accessed via a Calatrava Island hopping expedition with Deo’s Adventures. We spent the day exploring all over Calatrava but the Blue Hole was the highlight of the day.

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Where is the Blue Hole on Tablas, Romblon?

The Blue hole is at the very North of Tablas Island. Once you pass Lapus-Lapus you follow the coast around until you reach Gorda’s Point. There is a small cliff with a flag on it and below this cliff is, in fact, the Blue Hole of Tablas.

I have marked the exact point on a screenshot of the map below as it is not yet available on Google Maps. The bay to the left of the Blue Hole had crystal clear water and big schools of fish, so definitely check it out after diving at Blue Hole.

Free diving at the Blue Hole on Tablas Island

It’s possible to scuba-dive at the Blue Hole or to free-dive as we chose to do with Deo our guide. We aren’t very experienced free-divers, in fact, we are about as amateur as they come.

The beauty of the Blue Hole is that it is only about 10 meters below the surface. That means you can free-dive down even a few meters and get a great look into the depths of darkness within the hole. Of course, if you are a gun like your guide, Deo, you will be able to reach the top of the hole and explore the deep blue!

We floated above the hole taking turns diving down for what was probably at least 45-minutes. It’s quite an atmospheric spot. You are literally floating over a black hole that seemingly leads to nowhere pleasant. However, our guide Deo told us that there is actually a tunnel out of the hole and it has been explored by scuba-divers.

Contact Deo’s Adventures

To contact Deo you can reach him by clicking the link to his Facebook Page and shooting him a message: Deo’s Adventures Facebook Page
You can also contact Deo directly at his local number: +63 9990020806

Scuba Diving at the Blue Hole, Tablas Island

If you are looking to scuba-dive at the Blue Hole, unfortunately, there are currently no scuba centers operating on Tablas.

Several scuba centers on Romblon, Romblon run trips to Blue Hole but it is not a common occurrence. It is possible but will take some leg-work to organize the trip. A scuba center may be in the works soon for Tablas. This information is correct as of April 2018.

All of the photos in the blog post where taken on GoPro 6 with PolarPro dome. Below is our guide Deo diving down into the Blue Hole of Tablas. Continue reading below these photos to find out about the snorkeling spot Gorda’s Point near the Blue Hole and also about the Blue Hole cliff jump. But first here are my GoPro photos of the Blue Hole in all of its glory!

Gorda’s Point snorkeling spot

After we finished diving at the Blue Hole, we continued swimming around the corner to Gorda’s Point. It’s a huge bay and Deo told us it is possible to spot a turtle here if we are lucky.

On this occasion, we didn’t find a turtle but we did encounter something amazing. A huge school of fished swarmed in unison, twisting and turning in tune. It’s incredible how organized and synchronized such a huge school of individuals can be.

We dove down with the school and watched as the school expertly evaded us. The water at Gorda’s point was crystal clear with lots of coral and marine life to observe.

Blue Hole Cliff Jump

After snorkeling at Gorda’s Point, I told Deo I was going to climb up the rocks near Blue Hole and do a cliff Jump. It seemed about 12 meters but I’m not sure. Deo wasn’t sure either. But he knew I was experienced at cliff jumping. I managed to climb out of the water and scale my way up the cliff.

The guys in the boat watched on as I lept off the cliff and seemingly jumped into the Blue Hole. Of course, I didn’t go down deep enough but it felt like I was jumping into the hole itself while I was on the way down. It was a great way to end an awesome day of adventuring on Tablas Island with our guide Deo.