Diving in the Philippines in August?

[Gypsydiver]

I'm planning to go to Manila with my non-diving siblings for perhaps the entire month of August. I know it's monsoon now but I was wondering if diving is still a possibility (choppy seas?, visibility?). I am willing to island hop if there's better diving conditions in the Cebu area. Any advice for dive shops and locations would be appreciated as well. It would be great to meet local divers!
Thanks.

 

[Scuby Dooby]

Hi Gypsy,

I do a lot of diving in the philippines through the summer months (for me June - August) and the conditions in the philippines are still pretty good then. The biggest problem wouuld be a typhoon or the likes that brings a prolonged period of rain, obviously the seas get choppy and it usually wipes out the vis for a few days.

Seeing as you 'll be there a full month I'm sure you'll find plenty of opportunities to dive in good weather. Some of the places close to you would be puerto galera, anilao and subic bay. If you are willing to head further away from Luzon there are loads of possibilities around cebu / bohol, palawan (coron), boracay, etc. Do a search for any of these here on scubaboard and i'm sure it will turn up some information.

If you are looking to meet up with local divers give a call to AquaOne, possibly listed in the phone book as Aquaventure still. They have a pretty lively dive club of sorts and i'm sure you'll be able to hook up with some people. Ask for the manager Louie Bernardo.

I'll be diving in and around cebu for the last week of July and will probably make a weekend trip or 2 to anilao during the month of August. If you are looking to dive with someone then let me know and I'd be happy to meet up with you.

Good luck,

Joe

 

[jedidiver]

HI there! I have been to Anilao once.I would recommend AquaTropical sports,NIce resort.30 bucks a night all 3 meals included,buffet style all you can eat.That is only tropical place I ever been diving.So I cannot compare it to others,but I enjoyed it alot and the there is plenty to see.I hope this helps.By the way,if you make it to La Union,please post info when you get back as that is on my next list when I return to Phils one day!!! Safe Diving!

 

[Hory]

Hi,

I live in the Philippines. Earlier posts say that it is the monsoon season around June-August, but you could certainly find a weekend where the weather and the sea will be nice.

I'd recommend you go to Planet Dive. It's the last resort (no pun intended) along the Anilao coast line. Overnight stay is P2750/person, which includes overnight stay, 4 buffet meals, 2 boat entry dives on Saturday and another 2 boat dives on Sunday. Unlimited shore entry dives (good for night diving). Tank refills at P70. If you have a car, they have a parking lot just before the rough road begins where you can leave the car and have a van pick you up and the family (for free). If you have kids that would like to snorkel, they can do that right in front of the resort. They even have a SASY which will teach kids what it's like to use a BC and a regulator. My 8-year old loved it!

I'll be going diving on August 9 and 10 with my family and a bunch of officemates. August 22-24 will be a long weekend, that's another opportunity to dive. Drop me an email if you're interested.

Hory

 

[Vyper]

Hi Gypsy!

I'm doing a liveaboard trip to Apo Reef from August 20-24. Apo Reef is a marine sanctuary located southwest of Mindoro island (where puerto galera is). One can expect to see large marine creatures such as Tuna, Mackerel, Manta Rays, Turtles and Sharks in this protected area.

Just PM me if you're interested.

Dive safely!

 

[DeepSeaFox]

Just back yesterday.

Best diving I have ever experienced, despite having to wait a few days for the typhoon to pass.

Threasher sharks at Monad Shoal are fantastic, we had 8 circling us on one occasion occasionally coming withing 1-2m.

Also saw 3x Mantas, 2x Eagle Rays, 1 Devil Ray and didnt have time to concentrate on all the macro which was plentiful.

Gatao Island is also a great dive with Whitetip, Turtles, Frogfish, Cuttlefish and even a Pigmy seahorse.

Island is nice and quiet, plenty of good beaches and on average better food than I have encountered in Phil.

Accomodation is expensive and not very good and it is a rather tiring drive/boat trip from Cebu.

Good instrustors, Divemasters are Darren nobsdivers@atlas.cz or Gary garymckenna@ireland.com.

 

[LOGAN602041]

You could try the Japanese WWII wrecks at Coron Bay, Palawan, Phillipines, fantastic wrecks - It is well worth the trip (especially Akitsishuma - Flying Boat tender) Maybe try Discovery divers !

 

[Gypsydiver]

Sooo sorry for not responding sooner. (My computer died a rather quick death).
Thanks for all the incredible advice, recommendations & invitations! Unfortunatley however, my trip has been delayed until January '04. ;-0 Bummer. Well, at least then I won't have any problems with typhoons. Keep the tips coming as I'll be recording them for my trip in January. I can't wait! If anyone else is planning to go during that time, let me know. I'm a darn good dive buddy! Thanks again.

 

[Gypsydiver]

I wanted to thank everyone again for their input last fall. I'm finally going to the Philippines in less than a week! It will be tricky for me to get away as this is a family trip, but as much as possible I would like to get a few dives in somewhere. HELP! ... need recommendations & dive buddies!

For most of the trip I will either be in Manila or Tarlac (doubt there will be diving there!) ... but is there diving near the 100 islands (Pangasinan)? I may also be going to Cebu (january 14-18th) for the Sinulog (with my non-diving siblings) and was hoping someone can recommend a good diving area near Cebu city where I can escape for some diving and still make it back in time to spend time with them. With enough information I can possibly convince them to go somewhere besides Cebu City for a few days before the sinulog but I am having a hard time finding a place for both divers & non-divers. I hear Moalboal is nearby, but is the area fun for non-divers as well? Recommended Dive ops & resort specials (low to moderate level)? Also a chance to go to Boracay for a few days ... though I'm not sure of the dates yet.

Thanks again. Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet fellow scubaboard divers!

~jennifer

I will also will be going to Thailand solo to get my real dive-fix (ko samui area) from Feb 2-18th & will post a seperate thread for any suggestions there. Thanks in advance!

 

[Scuby Dooby]

Hi Jennifer,

I answered quite a while back when you first posted - great news that you'll finally make it to the philippines!

OK, your requests:

- Tips on places / dive buddies

I will be in the Philippines from Jan 16 - 21 and be diving in both Anilao (Batangas) and Puerto Galera (Mindoro). Anilao is about a 3 hour trip from Manila and lots of people do it as either a day trip or a quick overnight trip. I usually stay at Aquaventure Reef Club and recommend it highly. If you are looking to dive during this period send me a message and we can meet up in Batangas!

- Diving near 100 islands

I've heard that there is some diving in La Union, can't give you the name of a divew operation but i'm pretty sure an internet search will turn something up. PM me if you draw a blank and still want info, i'll search a bit harder (it's midnight and i'm sleepy )

- Diving near Cebu City

I spent a few days in Moalboal this summer, can't really recommend the diving so much and I don't think it is a great place for non divers either (very sloooooow . . .). Do a scubaboard search on Moalboal and it will turn up a recent thread. If I were there and had a few days to kill I'd head over to Bohol (Panglao Is.). I have to admit that I haven't been there (it was habagat and the conditions weren't so good there so we went to Moalboal instead . . .) but I've heard very good things about the diving.

- Thailand

Have a great time in Thailand, it's a great country to visit. I have to say though that if a diving fix is what you are looking for you could do a lot worse than staying put in the phils and touring on your own a bit before you leave!

Whatever your choices, I hope you have a wonderful trip! The diving is great this time of year, though a little bit cold.

cheers, Joe