I Changed My Travel Plans Mid-Holiday to Dive More – This One Thing Made It Easier

Our resident underwater woman, Julia, only had glowing reviews for her diving trip to the Philippines (and the handy travel insurance she used to cover herself while she was there).

I love diving. And I’ll harp on about it to anyone who’ll lend an ear; about the way it’s truly another world down there, the feeling of being weightless, the sense of slowness and peace, and of course, all the cool shit there is to see under the surface.

So late last year, when I was itching for a solo escape, I hunted for a spot that’d allow me to get neutrally buoyant for a good chunk of the trip. It’d been a busy year, and I’d just gone through a bad breakup (yeouch), so the priority was to head someplace new, but not overly complicated.

One impulsive flight purchase later, the Philippines (AKA God’s Country) was locked in. I whipped out the old PADI license, stashed my dive mask and Tevas in my pack, and kissed my pooch goodbye for the next week and a half.

Before leaving, I sorted out travel insurance through Freely, a provider that lets you manage your cover via app. Freely offers optional activity add-ons, so I included extra coverage for all the scuba diving planned on my trip. I could customise my plan based on my itinerary, and I appreciated being able to set the extra cover for just the days I’d be underwater. Philippines, let’s go!

A Brief Love Letter to Palawan

After a delayed flight, a missed connection, and a fancy (free) stay at an airport hotel, I stepped off flight number two into the sticky heat at Busuanga Airport.

Freely’s app came in handy during my flight delay saga, allowing me to easily pull up my policy. The app’s chat function got plenty of use, and the lightning-quick responses were appreciated during an otherwise stressful stop at Cebu airport.

But no matter, I’d landed on Coron and Busuanga at the urging of a mate who had nothing but platitudes for the Philippines province of Palawan. One quick shuttle ride through lush tropical terrain, and I was in Coron town.

Read more: Remember to leave no trace

My plans were loose. All I had confirmed was a bit of time at a hostel in Coron, and a short stay up the coast in Concepcion. The experiences that followed knocked my wetsuit booties off. Diving took up the lionfish’s share of my time, but the adventures in between didn’t disappoint.

I jetted around Coron Island by boat, hiked to inland lakes, snorkelled at protected marine reserves, and kayaked in water so vividly blue it looked like it was glowing.

A local tricycle driver I befriended clued me into lesser-known spots like Kingfisher Park, a conservation area where a serene moonlit boardwalk takes you through trees dotted with thousands of fireflies.

Later on, when I decided to rent a scooter for a coastal ride, I added the scooter bundle through the Freely app and took a dreamy ride on a rented scooter down the coastal road to Concepcion before hiking to the local falls for a cooling dip. The weather was always hot, the local Filipinos ever-cheeky and ready to crack a joke, and the locations a wild splash of colour. I left soul-enriched.

Read more: Staying Safe Around Swimming Holes and Waterfalls

Diving in the Philippines

With literally thousands of dive sites across the thousands of islands that make up the Philippines, there’s a reason it’s considered a premier dive destination; frankly, it’s a bit bonkers how good it is. The Philippines boasts incredible biodiversity, from 500+ species of coral to Whale sharks, manta rays, and turtles. I couldn’t wait to check it out.

I gained my Open Water license back in 2017, and it’s since had a good workout, mostly on recreational dives around the world. When planning the trip, I specifically chose the location for the dive potential.

We started the day with a dive on the Malpadon Reef, a sloping site teeming with beautiful hard and soft corals and a tonne of ocean life. I surfaced with the biggest, cheesiest grin on my face, and immediately started mentally reshuffling everything I’d planned for the remainder of my trip. I needed to spend as much time under the surface as I could.

Back on land, I adjusted my insurance through Freely’s app again to cover a few more days of diving and was set to tick off a few more dives towards my Advanced cert. Down we go!

Wrecks Ahoy

Coron is renowned for being home to some of the best wreck dives in the world. The combination of warm, relatively shallow waters and the dozen or so Japanese warships sunk during a US air raid in 1944 means perfect conditions for diveable wrecks.

It’s hard to explain just how cool a wreck dive is. You’re in a silent world, floating amongst huge looming structures from another time. They’re eerie and a little spooky (especially inside), but also beautiful.

Some of the wrecks we dove included the Lusong Gunboat (a 25m long WWII submarine chaser), the Teru Kaze Maru (a 30m long WWII patrol boat), the Kogyo Maru (a ~150m long WWII freighter) and the Okikawa Maru (a 160m long WWII oil tanker).

The best parts of these dives came from swim-throughs or penetrations, in which you navigate through partially open structures on the surface of the vessel, or enter inside. The Kogyo Maru lies on its starboard side, meaning broken portions of the superstructure and parts of the deck can be swum through like a coral-encrusted corridor. Parts of the wrecks seem frozen in time – one of the cargo holds on the Kogyo is scattered with cement bags, still in the positions they tumbled to as the ship sank.

Wrecks are also incredible artificial reefs, as the ships provide ideal structures for coral, sponges, and algaes to attach to, attracting all sorts of marine life that use the wreck for food and shelter. Every wreck dive is a two-for-one – haunting historic behemoths and diverse aquatic life in equal measures.

Clownfish in particular were everywhere (territorial little buggers as it turns out, ready to throw fins with anyone who comes too close to their anemone). We also spotted a Scorpion fish, although we happily viewed this little guy and its venomous spines from a safe distance.

It’s worth noting that wreck diving, especially penetrations and swim-throughs, is something you should only ever do with the right level of certification, expertise, and a qualified instructor/guide as necessary. Diving is a lot of fun, but safety should always be the number one priority.

The Okikawa Maru

Be still, my beating heart, there’s a vessel in these here waters that’s captured my affections. The Okikawa Maru deserves its own shout out, as my new favourite dive site of all time.

This wreck was unlike anything I’d ever seen. It was partway through a day of diving that we made the descent, and I’d already completed a number of partial penetrations on previous dives (cracked hulls and larger interior areas on ships with easy exits). But for this one, we were going inside inside.

Once at depth, with torches at the ready, we descended through the propeller shaft to the engine room and began exploring this 160m-long beast. Dropping in, I felt small instantly. The engine room yawned open beneath us, with plenty of daylight still filtering through to show the scope of just how massive the ship is. We carefully navigated through sections of the vessel, eventually reaching internal passageways and cabins so dark that our torch beams provided most of the light to guide the way.

By the time we’d navigated out, done our safety stops, and surfaced, I was exhilarated. It certainly won’t be my last full wreck penetration.

Adventuring with Peace of Mind

In the end, eight days wasn’t enough. I came for a few casual dives and left with some new skills and a heart full of wrecks and reefs. The Philippines has well and truly hooked me, and when I head back, I know it’ll be Freely that once more has my back across adventures on land and below the surface.

This was some of the simplest and most adventure-minded insurance I’ve ever used, and knowing what I was covered for meant I could lean harder into spontaneity and unique experiences. It’s the reason I could say yes to an Adventure Diver course, do the Okikawa Maru dive, and hop on a scooter for the coastal ride that ended up being a trip highlight.

If you’re planning an adventure of your own, check out the Freely website for info on cover options, activity boosts, and what’s included. So get salty and head out for that next dive trip with peace of mind! Book your insurance with Freely before the end of September and use the discount code EXPLORERS15 for 15% off the cost of your cover.

This article provides general information only and is based on personal experience. Any advice is general advice only. Remember that limits, sub-limits, conditions and exclusions apply. We may receive a commission if you visit Freely via links in this article. Freely Travel Insurance is administered by Cover-More Insurance Services Pty Ltd (ABN 95 003 114 145, AFSL 241713) on behalf of the product issuer, Zurich Australian Insurance Limited (ABN 13 000 296 640, AFSL 232507). Please be sure to read the PDS and TMD available at freely.me before deciding if the product is right for you.