Sand Island Beach and Dive Resort

Sand Island Beach and Dive Resort is situated on its own stretch of Chindonan Island, positioned between Coron and Culion in the Philippines. This isolated setting provides a level of privacy and quiet that is difficult to find elsewhere in the region, offering over 300 metres of private beach and immediate access to the surrounding waters.

The resort operates as an official PADI Dive Resort, focusing heavily on the world-renowned wreck diving of the Coron area. Being solar-powered and equipped with Starlink, it maintains a modern infrastructure despite its remote island location, making it a practical base for those looking to explore the Palawan maritime history.

The resort is managed by hosts David and Genny, who are on-site to oversee operations. As a PADI Dive Resort, the team is geared towards providing structured training and guided excursions for both recreational and certification-seeking divers.

Service is conducted in English, ensuring clear communication for international divers throughout their training or guided wreck itineraries. The resort's focus on privacy and individualised service is reflected in its approach to hosting guests on the island.

The centre offers a comprehensive range of PADI courses for all experience levels. Beginners can start with Discover Scuba Diving or work towards their Open Water Diver certification.

For those looking to advance their skills, the resort provides Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, and Refresher Courses to ensure dive proficiency and safety. All training is conducted within the PADI framework, following international standards for certification.

The resort operates a fleet of 6 speedboats to transport divers to the various wreck sites and island excursions. These vessels are used for daily dive trips, night dives, and island-hopping excursions.

When heading towards the more distant wrecks, the speedboats facilitate access to the legendary sites scattered throughout the Coron archipelago. The resort is also preparing for the 2027 launch of the Sand Island Cat, a 135-foot diving catamaran featuring 16 cabins and Nitrox availability for liveaboard-style cruises to Tubbataha and the Visayas.

Full equipment hire is available on-site for divers who prefer not to travel with their own kit. The resort provides all the necessary components for a complete dive, including regulators, BCDs, and fins.

Nitrox is available for divers looking to extend their bottom times, particularly useful when planning multi-dive days on the wrecks. The resort is also equipped to support night diving, with the house reef being a primary location for nocturnal exploration.

The house reef, located directly in front of the resort bungalows, is an exceptional site for night diving. You can find a variety of macro life here, including seahorses, cuttlefish, violet bobtail squids, and decorator crabs, as well as frogfish and turtles.

In the wider area, the wrecks and reefs are home to larger pelagics and reef fish. You will regularly encounter schools of Jacks and various species of reef fish amongst the hard corals.

For those with a keen eye for detail, the marine life includes stonefish and various species of angelfish and butterflyfish (Chaetodon) navigating the coral structures.