Anilao or Dumaguete/Dauin (in April)?

[BuceoFilipinas]

What's a good Anilao resort with a nice house reef . Want to avoid high cost of boats when not with groups. Was at Dive an trek years ago and they have a nice house reef. Problem with Dive and Trek is you need a boat transfer to get there.

You may want to check this post Divetech99 http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ph...ywhere-else-world-even-if-you-come-alone.html

 

[Divetech99]

Thanks Buceo. Do you have a house reef? Are you before or after aquaventure so I have an idea of your location. What's the name of the closest dive site to your resort? Do you have a secured parking area?

 

[BuceoFilipinas]

Thanks Buceo. Do you have a house reef? Are you before or after aquaventure so I have an idea of your location. What's the name of the closest dive site to your resort? Do you have a secured parking area?

Thank you for your reply Divetech99,

We are in Balanoy, San Teodoro (Anilao) Mabini, right after Planet Dive and before Sea Springs. Our house reef (Buceo Point) is known as Secret Garden, between Twin Rocks and Mainit. Please check this map http://www.buceofilipinas.com/index.php/destinations/anilao/diving-dive-map

Yes, there is a secure pay parking area beside Balai Resort where we fetch most of our guest with our Bangka and bring you in a short 2-3 minutes boat ride to the beach front of Buceo…

Thanks and please let us know if you need any other info

 

[Luko]

Our house reef (Buceo Point) is known as Secret Garden, between Twin Rocks and Mainit.

You have an excellent house reef, but you once replied you didn't want your customers to go and dive it from the shore, which I think is a pity since the 5 or 6 times I dived secret garden we landed our bangka to start and finish it from the shore.

 

[nudisusie]

From what I can gather, is seems like the diving in Dumaguete/Dauin area has some similarity with Tubbutaha in terms of marine life whereas Anilao has more macro and smaller tropical fish. Is that correct?

No that is not correct.

Dauin has a huge diversity of macro critters, much like Anilao. In fact I'd believe Anilao and Dauin have more in common in terms of dive sites and marine species than Dauin would have with Tubbataha. Dauin is not in the least like diving Tubbataha - which is predominantly steep coral walls, fish schools and large pelagics, whilst Dauin's coastal sites are mostly dark sand slopes, with a few coral bommies or artificial reefs and an abundance of macro life from blue rings to froggies and tons of nudis

Anilao is easy to get to from Manila and combine with a Tubbataha trip but I think Dauin is worth the effort.

 

[Hintermann]

Anilao is easy to get to from Manila and combine with a Tubbataha trip but I think Dauin is worth the effort.

Thanks Nudisusie. Tubuttaha is fixed and I can only add either Anilao or Dauin but not both. I am a nudibranch lover and even though both those land based destinations have them in abundance, it seems (from what I have read), Anilao is especially known for them. As that will be my last diving trip, I want to make it memorable and go mad with my camera finding and photographing as many nudies as possible (you can pose too, if you like )

 

[BuceoFilipinas]

You have an excellent house reef, but you once replied you didn't want your customers to go and dive it from the shore, which I think is a pity since the 5 or 6 times I dived secret garden we landed our bangka to start and finish it from the shore.

Thank you very much Luko, I am glad you appreciate our house reef ! Of course it can be dove from shore without bangka, but sometimes there is enough current to move divers away from the front and come out away...; to avoid having to walk back by the shore line (some times can be a bit far) we use the boat to follow the divers and bring them back to our resort after the dive. Its for them to make the dive and getting in/out the water easier and for safety purposes in case someone get a bit too far with the currents

---------- Post added December 2nd, 2014 at 10:08 AM ----------

Thanks Nudisusie. Tubuttaha is fixed and I can only add either Anilao or Dauin but not both. I am a nudibranch lover and even though both those land based destinations have them in abundance, it seems (from what I have read), Anilao is especially known for them. As that will be my last diving trip, I want to make it memorable and go mad with my camera finding and photographing as many nudies as possible (you can pose too, if you like )

Thanks Hintermann, you are right, the species count of nudibranchs and their relatives was 863 in Anilao and the nearby Verde passage and rising. This is the highest on the planet according to scientist Dr Gosliner. Over half of these are new species that have not been recorded anywhere else.

Depending on what live aboard trip you have booked, usually, the first and last of the season (March-June) departs/arrives from/in Anilao Pier, which makes it a even easier or perfect combination with Tubbataha (Location & Map)

 

[Hintermann]

Thanks Hintermann, you are right, the species count of nudibranchs and their relatives was 863 in Anilao and the nearby Verde passage and rising. This is the highest on the planet according to scientist Dr Gosliner. Over half of these are new species that have not been recorded anywhere else.

Depending on what live aboard trip you have booked, usually, the first and last of the season (March-June) departs/arrives from/in Anilao Pier, which makes it a even easier or perfect combination with Tubbataha (Location & Map)

Thanks for that information and the reply to my PM. I also got a very quick response from Buceo to the direct mail sent.

So far, everything that I have leaned and heard about Buceo seems very positive. Having received a provisional and very acceptable quote from them, I have bumped Buceo up to #1 choice for my trip. But having sent a similar query to Crystal Blue, it only seems fair to wait and see what their response is before making my decision.

 

[Hintermann]

Just thought that I'd update on this thread since I started it.

First off, I'm going to Anilao and not Dumaguete.

Next, I have gone with Buceo Anilao Beach & Dive Resort. They seem a very professional and friendly outfit; I got a turnaround response to all my queries, every one of them answered specifically and with an excellent Accommodation & Dive package including the add-ons that I requested. Their terms are very reasonable and I intend to pay the deposit and confirm my booking this weekend. I think the 5 out of 5 Tripadvisor score is going to be justified.

Just for the record, after 5 days I still have not received any response from Crystal Blue, despite the fact that I used both their on-line form and the personal e-mail contacts. Not that it will make any difference now, but I thought people here should know, especially those planning to go to Anilao in the future.