End July/early August

[divv]

Hello all.
I am hoping to go to the PI end July/early August for around 2 weeks. I would appreciate suggestions for the best places at that time ie not affected by typhoons etc?
I do enjoy wrecks so was thinking Coron for some of it, Malapascua has also been recommended.
I have done muck diving and like the weird stuff found but honestly prefer more colourful stuff and not grubbing in the muck.
Budget - lower end.
BTW travelling alone so places that are better for single female preferred.
Oh, not a party animal - prefer peace and quiot!
Thanks

 

[OZE]

Hello all.
I am hoping to go to the PI end July/early August for around 2 weeks. I would appreciate suggestions for the best places at that time ie not affected by typhoons etc?
I do enjoy wrecks so was thinking Coron for some of it, Malapascua has also been recommended.
I have done muck diving and like the weird stuff found but honestly prefer more colourful stuff and not grubbing in the muck.
Budget - lower end.
BTW travelling alone so places that are better for single female preferred.
Oh, not a party animal - prefer peace and quiot!
Thanks

Hi,

It is hard to tell you which place to go for diving that is not affected by typhoons. These months are usually the rainy season and we could catch some typhoons on those weeks. We'll never know.

Since you enjoy wrecks, might as well dive in Subic, not an expensive place to dive. It is a quiet place and clean.

Or you can do the Batangas dive sites.

 

[CODMAN]

Divv, from what I know (other PPDers correct me if I'm wrong), the Visayas are less affected by typhoons... But still... That time of year is a gamble... The Visayas are not known for their wreck diving. But Malpascua does have a nice one apparently, plus the chance for pelagics (thresher sharks and mantas), as well as the usual marvelous marine life of the Philippines! And apparently it's pretty laid back and budget oriented. Probably a pretty good choice for what you are looking for!

Cheers!

Hello all.
I am hoping to go to the PI end July/early August for around 2 weeks. I would appreciate suggestions for the best places at that time ie not affected by typhoons etc?
I do enjoy wrecks so was thinking Coron for some of it, Malapascua has also been recommended.
I have done muck diving and like the weird stuff found but honestly prefer more colourful stuff and not grubbing in the muck.
Budget - lower end.
BTW travelling alone so places that are better for single female preferred.
Oh, not a party animal - prefer peace and quiot!
Thanks

 

[kwhkg]

Bring your rain gear!!!!. check out www.typhoon2000.com for history of storms

 

[Rogersea]

The typhoon belt essentially ends at 10 degrees North so anything south of that is a good bet. You may get rained on but your two choices are as good as any. Recommend Bohol, Cebu, APO Island for colorful things......

 

[swisstrav]

this time of the year?
go as far south as possible. i would suggest malapascua. one wreck for sure - i guess there are 2.
but in general malapascua offers good diving and quiet evenings with a kind of "maledives feeling"

or study the weather carts if ok go for a week to coron. lots of wrecks. if the weather turns bad or after one week transfer to malapascua.

 

[slowhands]

I'd avoid Luzon, and the northern islands, they get the worst of it but there could be rain everywhere. This is the rainy and typhoon season until November. I usually try the western sides of Negros, Cebu, or anywhere on Bohol. The typhoons are broken up by the northern islands and not so bad in these visayan islands. I'm going soon, and will focus on Negros, with perhaps a trip to Alona for memory's sake. Love that place.

You are wise to be flexible. If the weather is awful, go somewhere else that is calm. I was in Moalboal one January, pretty stormy, but not as bad as at Malapascua at that moment. One guy I dove with had just abandoned Malapascua after two days of storm and no diving allowed. He had paid for the stay but gave up and came south. The weather was not great at Moalboal, but we did go out each day on short runs.

 

[Centrals]

Davao and General Santos are pretty immune from typhoon.
Fly to Cebu first and if weather favourable, go to Malapascua(land and sea) FIRST.
Other places of interested from Cebu are eg. Bohol(ferry), Camotes(ferry), Dumaguette(ferry or flight), Moalboal(2-3 hrs by public bus/shared mega taxi), Siqujor(ferry) and Southern Leyte(ferry and bus).
Coron is nice BUT getting there and out can be tricky if the weather is foul.
Two weeks are NOT enough to dive all those places.
If you really want to dive wreck then Subic would be fine as long as you do not mind the tedious bus journey from Manila or paying US$100.00 for a taxi/van(one way).

 

[neopluredon]

avoid batangas as there are places which are directly hit by southwest monsoon.. since i've only done bohol in the south, i'd suggest it. i am a single female diver and just traveled solo there last weekend.

have fun

 

[Karl_H]

I'd agree with the general advise on sticking to the Visayas at that time of year, although a Typhoon is unlikely to wipe out anything more than a day or two of diving if you're keen so you'd still fit in quite a bit over two weeks.

One of the best accessible wreck dives in the Philippines is actually just off Mactan if you get a chance to visit, the San Juan Ferry - it's a little deeper 35-50m but well worth the trip.

I've not been to Malapascua (yet!) but it seems to get good reviews every time! The location is not really in the typhoon zone - once again even if a typhoon is nearby you'll only be likely to loose a day or two of diving.

Hope that helps!

Karl