The TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award 2023 is in the Pocket!
We’re thrilled to share some incredible news with all of you! Once again, we have been honored with the prestigious TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award 2023, marking our 5th travel award!
Thank you to all our amazing customers for your unwavering support and glowing reviews. This recognition means the world to us and motivates us to keep delivering unforgettable adventures.
To TripAdvisor, we extend our heartfelt appreciation for acknowledging our commitment to excellence. We’re truly grateful for this recognition.
Join us in Panglao as we celebrate this remarkable achievement together. The dives, vibes, and experiences await you!
Thank you for being a part of our journey. To many more unforgettable moments!
Please continue sharing your feedback and photos on TripAdvisor, Facebook, Google, and don’t forget to give your instructor or coach some kudos. It will make their day for sure!
Freedive Academy Panglao Accommodation
An Eco-Friendly Bamboo Sports Resort in a Tropical paradise
It doesn’t matter what your motivation is for travelling to Panglao. Maybe you plan on taking a freediving course, perhaps one of the different freediving instructor programs. Maybe you come to Panglao for freedive training with near-perfect conditions at a high-level and fully equipped dive center. Perhaps you want to improve your swimming skills or take a break from everyday day-to-day life and have a great holiday. Regardless of your motivation, you will love the dive center, bungalows, and facility!
We developed the Apnea Sports Resort as part of our dive center in Panglao. We are based at a fantastic location, 10 minutes by scooter from the tourist area Alona, 300 meters from the ocean, and have all you could possibly need for a laid-back tropical escape. Our 5 bamboo bungalows and apartment are all built in front of our two-lane 25-meter pool. You’ll quickly notice the peace of the rooms when surrounded by mango, coconut, banana and papaya trees. Staying at the Apnea Sports Resort is truly staying in paradise.
The Freedive Academy and the Bamboo Bungalows
Having our own accommodation in Panglao was the missing link in the development of the Freedive Academy. When you walk through the bamboo gate or pass through the academy, you almost immediately experience the tropical island experience.
We wanted to make this a high-quality, high-level eco-friendly, tropical facility where guests find everything they could possibly need. Since not all our guests are freedivers (or scuba divers), we also wanted to make the resort a welcoming home for them.
We did this by developing beautiful bamboo bungalows, all isolated according to the highest standards. The bungalows each have a shower, standing fan, refrigerator, and mosquito net, and each bungalow has its own dedicated high-speed fibre internet connection. The bungalows are all poolside and built around a two-lane 25-meter pool with shallow water sitting and training areas. Underneath a beautiful bamboo canopy is a lovely lounge area for chilling out while listening to good relaxing music and a basic open-air gym with rowing and cycling machines, dumble sets, TRX and battle ropes.
Our apartment – the ‘Backhouse’, is ready for occupancy too.
Unlike the bungalows, the backhouse is more of an apartment with its own bedroom with air conditioning and a small kitchen. The apartment is nice and quiet, with its fibre connection for high-speed internet and perfect for guests staying a little longer with us or those who prefer air conditioning.
A Small Little Paradise
The Freedive Academy Panglao is a Freedive Instructor training center, Mermaid Instructor and Swim Teacher training center. We came to Panglao in 2015 and are now one of the global leaders in freediving education and training. In 2019 we decided to move location with the Freedive Academy Panglao, and did we build this small little paradise within Paradise Panglao. And this resulted in the building of the Apnea Sports Resorts.
As the Freedive Academy Panglao, we do so much more than breath-hold training and offering courses. We strive to be a full-service organisation that offers personalised packages, including airport pickups, freedive training, swim lessons, scooter rental, and organising (snorkelling) and freediving tours at Napaling Reef. Feel free to contact us anytime to see what package we can offer you.
The Perfect Location
The Freedive Academy and resort are located on the Northside of the island, which is the island’s nice and quiet non-touristic side. We are based right smack on the only access road to the famous Napaling Reef with the big coral wall, impressive drop-off into the ocean’s depths, and the incredible school of the Panglao Sardines.
We are located only 5 minutes away from the Panglao/Bohol International Airport. In about 10 to 12 minutes via scooter, you’ll reach the tourist hotspot Alona Beach where you’ll find all the bars, restaurants and big public squares. And because we’re located on the North road, central of the island, trips to Tagbilaran city, Loboc River and the Chocolate Hills are quite easy to organise.
The Apnea Sports Resort is perfect for guests who want to stay somewhere peaceful, surrounded by palm, coconut, banana and papaya trees but still want to have everything conveniently within reach.
Experience Freediving in the Philippines!
The Philippine archipelago with over 7000 islands – every single one more stunning than the other. The Philippines is a true freediving paradise in Southeast Asia, with year-round spectacular living and freediving conditions like nowhere else.
With palm- and coconut trees everywhere, access to a fantastic house reef and depth at swimming distance or a convenient short boat ride away, we can show you what the freediver lifestyle means. Contact us now and experience Freediving in the Panglao Philippines for yourself.
Fill in the form now – no strings. Just check our availability. Usually, you’ll have an answer within hours.
A Beautiful and Peaceful Place to Stay
A Great Location and all That you Could Possibly need at your Convenience.
Here’s an overview of the most popular facilities we had listed on booking.com, Agoda and Airbnb!
Outdoors:
Outdoor fireplace
Picnic area
Outdoor furniture
Sun terrace
Terrace
Garden
Services & Extras:
Tickets to attractions or shows [Additional charge]
Pets:
Pets are allowed. No extra charges.
Activities:
Live sport events (broadcast)
Bike tours [Additional charge]
Walking tours
Movie nights
Water sport facilities (on site) [Additional charge]
Snorkelling
Freediving [Additional charge]
Scuba Diving [Additional charge]
Cycling
Bicycle rental [additional charge]
Games room
Golf course (within 3 km) [Additional charge]
Food & Drink:
On-site Coffee
Fruits [Additional charge]
Bottle of water
Wine/champagne [Additional charge]
Snack bar
Bar
Parking:
Free private parking is possible on site (reservation is not needed).
Accessible parking
Secured parking
Wellness facilities:
Outdoor pool (all year)
Shallow end
Swimming pool toys
Sun loungers or beach chairs
Pool/beach towels
Sun umbrellas
Spa lounge/relaxation area
Personal trainer
Fitness classes
Yoga classes
Fitness
Fitness center
Massage [Additional charge]
Transport:
Airport drop off [Additional charge]
Airport pick up [Additional charge]
Public transport tickets [Additional charge]
Reception services:
Lockers
Private check-in/check-out
Concierge service
Luggage storage
Ticket service
Tour desk
Currency exchange
Express check-in/check-out [Additional charge]
Internet:
Each bungalow has its own dedicated high-speed fibre connection.
WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge.
Entertainment and family services:
Books, DVDs, music for children
Board games/puzzles
Cleaning services:
Daily housekeeping
Dry cleaning [Additional charge]
Business facilities:
Fax/photocopying
General:
Shuttle service [additional charge]
Pet bowls
Pet basket
Mini-market on site
Shared lounge/TV area
Airport shuttle [additional charge]
Air conditioning
Non-smoking rooms
Designated smoking area
Non-smoking throughout
Shops (on site)
Car hire [additional charge]
Languages spoken:
English
German
Dutch
Filipino
Chinese
The Academy and Resort – and it’s Future!
What kind of facilities do we offer, and what are we planning?
Teaching Areas:
2 ‘smaller’ classrooms suited for 4 students – but with plenty of space left to accommodate at least 8 students each.
1 Instructor Training classroom suited for 10 students build for our SSI Instructor Courses, Molchanovs Instructor Courses and Workshops.
We have a bamboo canopy with a big couch and relaxing area directly pool-side, which we use for our workshops and scheduled yoga classes, stretching sessions and occasional pranayama and meditation classes.
Pool Area:
We extended the pool to a two-lane 25-meter pool with a shallow water static area. The pool has two comfortable shallow-water sitting areas for spectators or those who want to chill out. From time to time, we’ll still travel to the 50-meter Olympic pool in Tagbilaran via a 20-minute scooter ride.
Open Air Gym and Exercise Area:
We have a small (but big enough) outdoor gym area equipped with several home trainers for apnea cycling and apnea rowing. We added a corner for dumbbell training and other basic strength training. The outdoor area has a TRX set up, gym and balancing balls, battle ropes and a pull-up bar. This gym is free to use for those joining us for master training or anyone who does a freediving course with us.
Lounge Areas:
For us very important is the family atmosphere at the shop. Everyone is hanging out together, talking about freediving, playing games, and sleeping on the couches 🙂 And for this, we did a lot of work in our outside area with a big sofa, garden tables and a yoga and stretching area perfect for athletes, seekers of depth and adventurers.
The Building, and What’s Next.
And, of course, the remainder of the facility is top-notch too. We have a big reception, lounge and shop area, a nice office, showers and locker rooms. Everything that a proper freediving center needs to operate efficiently.
Unfortunately, the pandemic messed up our schedules quite a bit, but we’re going strong and still working on some incredible developments – like a brand-new adventure center and super healthy restaurant just down the road from us 🙂 But when everything is finished – we’ll have the most incredible dive center and much more we could ever hope for.
9 Large Luxury Bamboo Bungalows:
The first five bamboo sport bungalows are finished, and they look incredible. The final four bungalows will be built during the low season of probably 2024 – we’re not in a rush with this. All bamboo bungalows have high-grade heat isolation, ventilators, a shower, a whiteboard for scheduling your training, and a mini-refrigerator. Each bungalow has its own dedicated high-speed fibre internet connection.
Obviously, COVID messaged up many of our plans, but luckily, we’re still going strong. Now that the Philippines has reopened its borders, the vibe around the shop is fantastic, we are diving every day, and most of our bungalows are occupied.
If you want to learn how to freedive or have questions, please contact us anytime. We teach freediving courses in the Philippines, but we also teach freediving online via nice and entertaining Zoom classes almost every week. The same goes for the freedive instructor courses that we teach every few weeks – online and offline – we offer different options, but they are all a lot of fun!
