How much does it cost to live in Anilao?
Typical Month (Mid Range)
$1,997 (₱125,521)
Updated September 2026 · Sources cited: expedia.com, kingtolentino.com
Anilao is a niche scuba-diving destination, not an established digital-nomad base — a genuine furnished monthly-rental market does not exist here, so most housing figures below are estimates derived from dive-resort accommodation pricing rather than confirmed apartment listings.
- Typical Month (Lower End)
- $1,249 (₱78,496)
- Typical Month (Premium)
- $3,229 (₱202,970)
Good to know
Good to Know
- Anilao functions as a dive-tourism enclave, not a residential town — there is no real furnished monthly-apartment market, so a longer stay in practice means negotiating an extended-stay rate directly with a dive resort.
- There is no large supermarket directly in Anilao; most nomads/long-stayers do bigger grocery runs in Batangas City or Lipa, roughly an hour away by road, and rely on small sari-sari stores locally for basics.
- Resort restaurants are often the only realistic dining option right in Anilao — eating out for every meal adds up quickly compared to cooking, since there isn't a wide spread of independent local eateries like in a typical nomad city.
- Anilao is a small diving village, not a built-up town — there is no coworking space, gym, or cinema on site; nomads work from resort restaurants/common areas on in-house Wi-Fi, and travel to Batangas City (roughly 1-1.5 hours by road) for those services.
- There's no public-transit pass system here; getting around is by tricycle, habal-habal (motorbike taxi), or hired van, all paid per trip.
- The Philippines' new Digital Nomad Visa (created by Executive Order 86 in 2025) has inconsistent reporting on whether it's actually issuable yet — don't count on it; the tried-and-tested option for a multi-month stay remains the standard tourist-visa extension process at the Bureau of Immigration.
- Internet in Anilao runs on resort/property Wi-Fi rather than dedicated fiber lines in most cases, so speed and reliability can vary noticeably between properties — worth checking with a specific resort before committing to a long stay for serious remote work.
Monthly Totals
- Mid-range month
- ₱125,521
Includes 6 estimated components
2 components missing
- Lean month
- ₱78,496
Includes 5 estimated components
- Comfortable month
- ₱202,970
Includes 7 estimated components
2 components missing
Living Costs
- Where nomads live
- There is no documented digital-nomad or expat residential clustering in Anilao itself. The area (part of Mabini, Batangas, along the Anilao coastline covering barangays like San Teodoro, Solo, and Bagalangit) is built almost entirely around short-stay scuba-diving tourism — dive resorts, not apartment buildings or condos. Figures below are priced against extended-stay dive-resort accommodation along this coastline as the closest realistic proxy, since no independent long-term rental inventory could be found for Anilao.
Housing (per month)
- Mid-range 1-bed
- ₱110,000
Estimated
Estimated from mid-tier Anilao dive resorts listing roughly $60-90/night (e.g. El Galleon Beach Resort, Altamare Dive and Leisure Resort), discounted for a month-long stay.
- Budget studio / 1-bed
- ₱65,000
Off-season or holiday-rate price — not comparable with other cities
Estimated
No monthly listings exist; estimated by extrapolating a discounted long-stay rate from budget Anilao-area dive resorts (e.g. Sabang Oasis, CML Beach Resort) which list nightly rates around $46-59 on Expedia.
- Premium apartment
- ₱180,000
Estimated
Estimated from higher-end Anilao dive resorts (e.g. Pier Uno Dive Resort, listed around $287/night on Expedia) with an assumed heavy long-stay discount, since no monthly rate is published.
Groceries
- Groceries for one (month)
- ₱9,000
Estimated
No cost-of-living survey specific to Anilao/Mabini was found; figure is an informed estimate based on typical small-town Philippine provincial pricing for someone cooking most meals at home using sari-sari stores and the nearest small supermarket.
Sample prices
1L Fresh Milk
- 1L Fresh Milk
- ₱90
Estimated
Estimated from typical Philippine provincial retail pricing; no direct Anilao source found.
Dozen Eggs
- Dozen Eggs
- ₱100
Estimated
Estimated from typical Philippine provincial retail pricing; no direct Anilao source found.
1kg Rice
- 1kg Rice
- ₱55
Estimated
Estimated from typical Philippine provincial retail pricing; no direct Anilao source found.
1kg Chicken Breast
- 1kg Chicken Breast
- ₱180
Estimated
Estimated from typical Philippine provincial retail pricing; no direct Anilao source found.
1.5L Bottled Water (Store)
- 1.5L Bottled Water (Store)
- ₱25
Estimated
Estimated from typical Philippine sari-sari/convenience-store retail pricing; no direct Anilao source found.
Eating out
- Cheap meal
- ₱98
Estimated
Estimated price for a simple local carinderia (turo-turo) meal typical of small Batangas coastal towns; no Anilao-specific pricing source found. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 130 PHP reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
- High-end meal
- ₱1,350
Estimated
Estimated for a multi-course or fresh-seafood dinner at one of the nicer dive resorts along the Anilao coast (reviews mention resorts like Halo Dive Resort being known for food quality); no exact menu prices found.
- Mid-range meal
- ₱338
Estimated
Estimated for a casual sit-down meal at a dive-resort restaurant, based on general Batangas beach-resort dining patterns; no itemized menu pricing was retrieved. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 450 PHP reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Work, Transport & Essentials
Coworking
- Day pass
- Not available
Anilao (Barangay Anilao, Mabini) is a small dive-resort village with no documented dedicated coworking space; searches turned up coworking operators only in Batangas City, Lipa and Lemery, all well over 10 minutes away. Remote workers here typically work from resort common areas/restaurants using in-house Wi-Fi rather than a paid coworking desk.
- Monthly hot desk
- Not available
No coworking operator with a published monthly hot-desk rate was found in Anilao itself; nearest confirmed coworking brands (Regus, Spaces, HQ, One Business Central) are all in Batangas City/Lipa/Lemery, outside the local proximity radius.
Transport
- Single ride
- ₱20
Estimated
- Monthly pass
- Not available
Mobile & data
- Monthly plan
- ₱999
Estimated
Short Stays (per night)
- Seasonal pricing
- Yes
- Why
- Anilao has a pronounced dry season (November–May) with excellent diving conditions and calm seas that drives sustained tourism demand, contrasting sharply with the wet season (June–October) when monsoons, reduced visibility, and typhoon risk dramatically reduce diving and water-activity appeal.
Low season
- Budget
- ₱900
Traveloka mention of off-season lower rates (June–October); estimated 30–40% discount from high-season budget baseline
- Luxury
- ₱7,980
Estimated 30% discount from high-season luxury rate, consistent with Buceo's published low-season discount structure
- Premium
- ₱4,987
Buceo Anilao Sea View Deluxe Cabanas single occupancy low season rate of $87.5 USD (July–September 2026 official rate sheet, 30% discount)
- Standard
- ₱2,200
Buceo Anilao Sea View Superior Room single occupancy low season rate of $38.5 USD (July–September 2026 official rate sheet with 30% discount applied)
High season
- Budget
- ₱1,500
Traveloka budget hotel range (₱736–1,107), adjusted to high-season peak; typical 2–2.5 star homestay/basic hotels in dive resort areas during peak December–May
- Luxury
- ₱11,400
Anilao Awari Bay Resort (5-star, Booking.com) estimated high-season nightly rate; comparative positioning vs. Buceo's premium tier and regional 5-star luxury pricing
- Premium
- ₱7,125
Buceo Anilao Beach & Dive Resort Sea View Deluxe Cabanas single occupancy high season rate of $125 USD (Oct 2025–June 2026 official rate sheet)
- Standard
- ₱3,185
Buceo Anilao Beach & Dive Resort Sea View Superior Room single occupancy high season rate of $54–55 USD, confirmed in October 2025–June 2026 rate sheet
Low-season months
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
High-season months
- November
- December
- January
- February
- March
- April
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this cost of living research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Anilao
Data last updated September 2026 · Verify anything important.