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If Oslob is world-known for swimming with whale shark (see report here), it is also home to decent fringing reefs. Bangcogon Reef, in particular, has easy shore access and is just a few fin-kicks from the beach. Even if the corals are pretty damaged, you can see a nice diversity of fish here, including anemonefish, surgeonfish, butterflyfish and lionfish.

Bangcogon Resort Beach
Bangcogon Resort Beach.

How to get to Bangcogon Beach snorkeling spot?

Bangcogon is a small village located in Oslob, in the southeast of Cebu Island. This spot is located in front of the Bangcogon Beach Resort. You can access the beach either from the resort or by taking the small path that leads to the Island Vue restaurant (free access).

Bangcogon Reef is less than 1 mile south of the world-famous Oslob whale shark watching area.

Bangcogon Beach Resort snorkeling map, Oslob
Bangcogon Beach snorkeling map, Oslob.

Water entrance for snorkeling Bangcogon Beach

Recommended water entrance is from the beach.

Bangcogon Beach snorkeling exploration tips

Bangcogon snorkeling location begins in front of the Bangcogon Beach Resort and extends more than 500 meters towards the south. It is protected by a line of buoys preventing boats from entering the area (see map).

The coral reef at Bangcogon Resort
A pair of sunburst butterflyfish photographed next to a soft-coral colony.

From the beach, after snorkeling above 30 to 40 meters of sand and seagrass, you will reach the first coral areas. These are very damaged, with a few living corals except some colonies of soft corals in places.

Zebra lionfish at Bangcogon
A juvenile zebra lionfish at Bangcogon.

Despite these coral-poor bottoms, many reef fish can be spotted in Bangcogon. The tomato clownfish, for example, is very easy to see almost everywhere, never far from its sea anemone. Also common at reef are the pink-skunk anemonefish and the Clark’s clownfish.

Tomato anemonefish at Bangcogon
The tomato anemonefish is the most abundant anemonefish species at this location.

Also look for butterflyfish (around ten species live on the reef, see list at the bottom of the page), sweetlips, or the semi-circle angelfish.

Restaurants and accommodation nearby

There are several restaurants on the beach, including Island Vue and the restaurant at Bangcogon Beach Resort.

 

  • Level required Beginner
  • Maximum depth12 ft/4 meters on the reef
  • Water entranceFrom a sandy beach
  • LifeguardNo
  • Visitor numbersMedium
  • Access costsFree
  • Restaurants nearbyYes, a few options on the beach

MAP Spot

These snorkeling spots are accessible to beginners and kids. You will enter the water gradually from a beach, or in a less than 3ft. deep area. The sea is generally calm, shallow, with almost no waves or currents. These spots are usually located in marked and/or monitored swimming areas. It is not necessary to swim long distances to discover the sea life.

This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.