Freediving in Philippines,
the best freediving spot in Asia
Camotes Freediving Center
Inaugurated in June 2022, Camotes Freediving opened its doors to freedivers of all levels, from beginners, to professionals and top athletes. Camotes Freediving provides a complete freediving guide, with a personalized training plan under the Molchanovs curriculum.
It is the freediving training headquarters of Thibault Guignés, who ranks 5th in the world, and 1st in France for his Free Immersion record of 117 meters. With Thibault also on the Molchanovs education board, freedivers will definitely receive top expert training with priority on safety.
Thibault envisions Camotes Freediving center to be Asia’s, if not the world’s premier location for the sport. He has been training and residing in Cebu, Philippines since 2015, and he found the best freediving spot in Camotes Islands, just off the coast of Cebu. With its flat sea, calm currents, no drift, average visibility of 25 meters and depths going as deep as 150 meters, he knew in a heartbeat that this was one of the best freediving training locations he had witnessed.
Whether you’re on a discovery dive, on your way to becoming an instructor, or an athlete for training to compete, Camotes Freediving offers in depth training to freediving, with the world class facilities, including:
25m swimming pool for your DYN and STA training
Calm, blue waters with access to more than 100m depth close to shore
Large equipment room to store all of your equipment safely
Spacious classroom with the latest training tools
Equipment retail section for high quality freediving equipments
150m+
Depth available
Molchanovs Freediving School
Established 2022
Instructor Trainer Training Facility
Thibault Guignés (France)
Unless you are new to freediving, you will most likely already know who Thibault Guignés is. As one of the best freedivers in the world, he holds the French Record in his favorite discipline, Free Immersion, with a dive to 117 meters. But success alone doesn’t make one a great teacher: when it comes to his training methods, Thibault doesn’t have any secrets. He is extremely helpful and always willing to share his experience that he gained over the past years in teaching, training and competing. Thibault is one of the few divers that almost never struggles with equalization making him an expert in the field.
117m
FIM French Record Holder
Molchanovs Education Board Member
Freediving since 2014
Instructor Trainer
Camotes, Philippines freediving paradise
The Camotes Islands are a group of three islands and an islet located in the Camotes Sea in the Phillipines. Being located only 63km east of Cebu City makes them easily reachable by ferry. Once arrived, you will find a peaceful, quiet and green paradise, perfect for your freediving training!
What Our Guests Say
Al tener instructores del más alto nivel no solo te ayuda a perfeccionar tus habilidades en la apnea más rápido sino que también sabes que estás 100% seguro en sus manos. Me ha encantado hacer apnea en esta isla paradisíaca con apneistas de nivel Top. He mejorado aprendiendo de ellos y es gente muy simpática también fuera del agua
I first met Thibault during a workshop he organized in 2016 at FreediveHQ, his former freediving club. Everything was perfectly planned and executed: training setup, time management, equipment, content, meals and the vibe he brought during these 3 days was amazing. Thibault was always available, smiling and thoughtful. When I decided to embrace freediving full-time, I spent one year with him to train. It was a natural choice for me, I have never been disappointed. Thibault and his team were always on top of things. This is where I met Ben who was heading the Master program. The quality of his coaching during the open-water sessions or dry training helped me achieve incredible results in competition. Ben is a highly skilled professional mastering every aspect of the freediving practice from training plan implementation to safety. Two great professionals in and out of the water with both considerable human and professional qualities
Do not be blinded by the freediving skills and achievements of Thibault and Ben. Their teaching approach, on how to make a Freediver confident is just as personal to them as their own training. World class athletes with a kind, humble approach to teaching
J’ai eu la chance de faire plusieurs longs séjours apnée avec Ben et Thibault. 2 super apnéistes (et compétiteurs) mais surtout d’excellents formateurs et coach. Beaucoup d’expérience, de compétences et de connaissances qu’ils transmettent afin de vous faire progresser : dans l’eau bien sûr, mais aussi en dehors avec des apports très variés (aspects théoriques, entraînements à sec, préparation complémentaire au sens large : physique, mentale, yoga…). Tout cela en privilégiant la sécurité et le plaisir, et en s’adaptant au niveau et attentes de leurs élèves (que cela soit sur le plan physique, technique ou tout simplement en termes d’envies et d’objectifs…). Pour résumer : très sympas, très compétents et très pédagogues?
I have worked and trained with both Thibault and Ben for long periods, they are dear friends, and I can vouch for both of them. Both are extremely experienced instructors, able to adapt to all levels, from complete beginners to top athletes. They are patient and very generous with their time and their vast knowledge. They are also both experienced deep diving athletes and competitors, with also experience as competition safety divers, so they can help prepare anyone for their future freediving competitions. Both have managed/owned successful freediving schools before, so they know what works, what freedivers want, and how to make a school run smoothly and be well-organized. Finally, they are simply awesome people, funny, outgoing, generous, and kind, who know how to enjoy life and not take things too seriously 🙂 You’ll for sure have an amazing time with them! Can’t recommend highly enough!
You can never get bored freediving with Ben, whatever taking his courses or just training sessions, joys and laughter is guaranteed. As a young, however very experienced instructor, Ben almost always has an answer to a problem you might encounter in freediving. He will never say ‘I don’t know, you can just keep trying’ instead he will always try to figure out a solution and say ‘let’s try something else’. Before joining his master program, I’d been stuck at 40 meters for 5 years cause mouthfill was not working for me. He quickly diagnosed what the problem was, with one small exercise he gave, my mouthfill started working after 2 training sessions. And with his program, my depth was improved by 30 meters in just 5 months
Do it right! It was just great being trained by Thibault and Ben! I did not have an easy start as a beginner freediver, and now thanks to the coaching of Thibault I am a proud freediving instructor. I had been training regularly, but the moment I decided to start my training with Thibault a new door full of opportunity has opened to me. Thibault took the time to break down all the fundamentals, and allows me to build trust, improve my technique and develop a consistent training. Thibault is a very professional, precise, supportive coach putting a lot of passion into his work. He is still today my coach and mentor. Besides the fact that Freediving in the Philippines is magic, Ben and Thibault are very experienced and talented freedivers, and their coaching is tailored to the individual, I always feel very supported in all my dives. I really recommend them for anyone who loves freediving, from beginner to competitor you will learn everything in the right way
I’ve had the opportunity to train with Ben and Thibault a few times at FreediveHQ, Thibault’s former dive center. That place was always special because of the vibes and environment created by them, but also by all the other instructors they trained. The skills and techniques I learned from them really helped to improve my diving, my teaching abilities and also prepare me for competitions. Having organized a training camp with Thibault, I’ve also had the chance to see him in action as a coach and trainer. A meticulously attentive teacher, always ready with the correct advice, and at the right time. It’s a pleasure having worked with him, having him as a friend and mentor. I highly recommend spending a few weeks with Ben and Thibault if you’re looking to improve specific aspects of your freediving.
Thibault is no doubt the most talented freediver I’ve ever known, and an amazing instructor. I was very lucky to have taken his instructor course. If you want to learn, learn from the best. That’s no kidding! The course was informative, practical, responsive, very strict, but lots of fun at the same time. Not only I’ve learnt the skills of how to teach, refined my freediving techniques in all aspects, the most important thing was how he helped digging out my confidence to become an instructor and a better freediver. And as a world’s top freediving athlete and successful dive shop owner, Thibault was never stingy with sharing his great knowledge, experience, passion and fun of freediving.
Awesome wave 3 with a super skilled instructor (Ben) who knows what he’s talking about. Special thanks for the mouthfill tips!