“Muck diving” might not sound like the most appealing adventure, but for me, it’s a dream. Instead of exploring coral reefs, muck diving focuses on sandy, silty, or muddy bottoms where the real magic lies in spotting small, strange, and beautiful marine life. David and I first tried it in Komodo, where we spent part of a dive over seagrass discovering stunning nudibranchs and even a rare ornate ghost pipefish. I was instantly hooked.

Since then, I’ve spent over a year researching muck diving spots in Southeast Asia. Anilao kept coming up as one of the top locations—but I quickly learned that it’s popular and books out fast, especially over long weekends (which is when we usually travel). After reading tons of reviews and comparing resorts, I ended up booking Blue Ribbon Dive Resort—our first choice, Buceo, was already full. In the end, we loved Blue Ribbon and had an incredible long weekend. Highly recommend Anilao if you’re into diving!

We left Singapore late after work on a midnight flight. Because it was just before a long weekend, the airport lounge was packed, but we waited it out and eventually got in for a quick meal before boarding. We caught some sleep on the 4-hour flight to Manila, landing around 6 AM. I’d pre-arranged transport, and our driver met us at the airport for the 3–4 hour drive to the resort. The staff were lovely and let us check in early—very early, actually, since we arrived by 9 AM. After a chill breakfast with ocean and pool views, I couldn’t wait to get in the water and test out my new camera setup. I’d just bought an Olympus 60 mm macro lens for capturing crisp close-ups of tiny critters.

We did a quick snorkel right in front of the hotel, where there was pretty decent coral and even some cool shrimp and nudibranchs. Our first dive wasn’t until 2 PM, so we grabbed a nap and some lunch (vegetarian options were limited, but fine—we came for the diving, not the food).

Our first dive was at a classic muck site called Matu Point, and we absolutely loved it. Muck diving feels like an underwater treasure hunt—there’s something magical about scanning the seafloor for tiny bursts of color and movement. We saw a whispy nudibranch, a mantis shrimp, and a beautifully ornate crab. Our dive guide, Jeff, had incredible eyes for spotting things. I think the nudibranch was a species of blue dragon—a cryptic species complex, meaning they look identical on the outside but are genetically distinct. These nudibranchs feed on hydroids and store symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) in their tissues, just like corals, allowing them to photosynthesize. Jeff always seemed to know exactly where to look, and we also lucked out with small dive groups, which made the experience even better.

That evening, we did a night dive at the famous Anilao Pier—muck diving heaven. The highlight? Octopuses—lots of them! Most notably, the coconut octopus, which I’ve dreamed of seeing ever since watching Planet Earth years ago. These incredible creatures use coconut shells or large seashells as armor, and at this site, they mostly carried shells to hide in as they hunted. They were especially active thanks to the critters attracted to our dive lights, giving us front-row seats to their intelligent, tool-using behavior. Octopuses are incredibly smart, known for their problem-solving skills and curiosity.

The site was shallow—around 6 meters—so we could stay down for ages. We also saw tiny bobtail squid, glowing bright blue and blending into the sand. One of my favorite facts: they glow using bioluminescent bacteria housed in special light organs, and can filter this light to change their brightness. They’re only about half the size of your thumb (maxing out at 4 cm), but have an impressive brain-to-body ratio. Basically, they’re tiny geniuses.

Night dives can sound intimidating, but for me, as long as my buddy’s close by, I feel completely at peace. Honestly, my anxiety disappears underwater—I’ve always felt that way. There’s no better feeling than surfacing after a night dive, endorphins flowing, soaking in the stars and moonlight from the boat. We were welcomed back with delicious hot chocolate to warm up, and just like that, our first dive day in Anilao was a 10/10.