Anilao

We visited Anilao in January 2026 and stayed at Solitude Acacia Resort. The trip was arranged through Infinite Blue Divers, run by a friend of Di’s who she knows from her trips to Lembeh. We booked our own flights and travelled with Emirates to Manila, where we stayed overnight at an airport hotel before being picked up and transferred down to Anilao.

Solitude Acacia is a beautiful resort, built into the hillside above the water. The setting is lovely, but it is worth knowing that there are quite a few steps. There are steps between the room levels, more steps down to the restaurant area, then more again down to the pool and dive centre, and finally further steps down to the beach. It was not a problem for us, but anyone with mobility issues, heavy camera gear, or tired legs after diving should be aware of the layout.

One nice feature of the resort was the sunset cocktail bar, which was a lovely place to sit and enjoy the view at the end of the day. The cocktails themselves were excellent, although service there was a little inconsistent, and it was not always easy to find someone available to come and serve you.

The dive centre was well organised, although there was no private storage area in the way some resorts provide. Most dive gear was kept in boxes in an outside area, which was locked at night. The camera room, however, was excellent. It was well laid out, well looked after, and locked up overnight. There was also a small air blower/compressor outside, fed from a cylinder, which was very useful for drying camera gear after dives.

Food was ordered from a menu rather than served as a buffet. Most of the menu was non-vegetarian, so as vegetarians we had to be a little creative. We managed well enough over the two weeks by choosing carefully, repeating a few reliable options, and speaking with the chef, who was able to modify some dishes for us. It worked, but vegetarian divers should not expect a wide range of ready-made choices.

Diving was from traditional dragon-tail boats, with two-dive trips going out from the resort. The boats did not have toilets on board, so on longer surface intervals it sometimes meant slipping over the side if needed. That is not unusual in this style of diving, but it is worth knowing in advance, especially for anyone used to larger day boats.

The water temperature was slightly cooler than we had hoped for at that time of year, and during the first week the air temperature also felt quite cool. By the second dive of the day, we did sometimes find ourselves getting chilly. During the second week, the air temperature warmed up and things became more comfortable. If travelling to Anilao in January, I would definitely think carefully about exposure protection. For some divers, a 3mm suit and rash vest may not be enough, particularly if doing repeated dives over several days.

The diving itself was excellent. We saw plenty of interesting macro life, and the dive guides were very good, consistently finding and pointing out small subjects for us to photograph. Anilao is exactly the kind of place where a good guide can make a huge difference, and we felt well looked after underwater.

Some dive sites were unavailable during our stay because of weather conditions, which was a little disappointing but understandable. That is one of the trade-offs of travelling in January. Even with those limitations, we had a very productive trip and came away with plenty of good macro encounters and photographs.

Overall, Anilao was a strong macro-diving destination and Solitude Acacia gave us a comfortable and well-run base. The resort is beautiful, the diving is excellent, and the camera facilities are very good. The main things to be aware of are the hillside layout, the number of steps, the more limited vegetarian options, and the possibility of cooler conditions and weather-related site restrictions in January.