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If Anilao has a flagship dive site, it is Kirby's Rock. The seamount's combination of dramatic topography, rich invertebrate life, and regular pelagic visitors makes it the site that divers plan entire trips around — and the site most likely to produce a memory they will describe to friends for years.
Site Overview
Kirby's Rock is a submerged seamount located approximately 15 minutes by banca from the Anilao shoreline. The main structure rises from a sand plateau at 30 metres to just 3 metres below the surface, with secondary walls and swim-throughs extending along a 60-metre length. The site is exposed to open-ocean currents, which is both its greatest asset (nutrients, visibility, marine life) and its primary hazard.
Marine Life by Depth
- 3 – 10 m (summit): Dense school of glassfish, juvenile fusiliers, long-nose hawkfish on sea fan tips, resident titan triggerfish defending a nest in March–May.
- 10 – 18 m (upper wall): Black coral trees hosting colonies of Dendronephthya soft coral; hairy squat lobsters; regular nudibranch activity on the southeast face.
- 18 – 30 m (base): Giant trevally and schooling bigeye trevally patrol this depth band; occasional thresher shark sightings reported October–March; sea fans up to 2 metres diameter.
Currents and Planning
The current at Kirby's Rock runs strongly on a flooding (incoming) tide and can exceed 2 knots at its peak. The best dive window is the last two hours of the ebb tide, when flow slows to 0.5–1 knot and visibility tends to be at its clearest. Our dive desk checks tide tables daily and adjusts boat departure times accordingly — trust the guide's read on conditions.
Safety note: An SMB is mandatory at Kirby's Rock. If separated from the group on the drift, surface deploy your SMB and await pick-up — do not attempt to swim against the current.