I don't travel well.

[Centrals]

The best sites in PG are Canyons, Kelimar drift and Verde island Drop-off.
Without the current, Canyons is very very ordinary.
Atlantis is using "speed boat" at PG. The only thing that concern me is during low tide when you have to trot on those filthy water to get to the boat.
Anilao probably suit you better and it is closer to Manila(no ferry crossing) as well BUT Atlantis does not have any resort there!!!
Dumaguette and PG are pretty good BUT there are better places in the country(my opinion).

 

[Terryb]

I say the trip is worth it for the diving. My buddy and I (60 & 54) are heading out to PI, Bail and Sipadan this coming Feb. Definitely worth taking a few days after arrival to acclimatise. I also walk the plane a number of times to keep the legs going and definitely prep before you go by swimming and exercising. The other main issue I found is staying very well hydrated (drink enough water to keep your urine whitish in colour), this will greatly decrease your chances of a DCS hit from all the multi diving you will do. Have a good trip and post a trip report when you get back.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I say the trip is worth it for the diving. My buddy and I (60 & 54) are heading out to PI, Bail and Sipadan this coming Feb. Definitely worth taking a few days after arrival to acclimatise. I also walk the plane a number of times to keep the legs going and definitely prep before you go by swimming and exercising. The other main issue I found is staying very well hydrated (drink enough water to keep your urine whitish in colour), this will greatly decrease your chances of a DCS hit from all the multi diving you will do. Have a good trip and post a trip report when you get back.

@Terryb: It's one thing to stay properly hydrated for a sports activity or a plane flight. That's a good thing. It's quite another to say that keeping one's urine white will "greatly decrease your chances of a DCS hit." That ain't true.

I don't mean to be contentious on this point. It's just that I've seen this repeated on numerous occasions here on ScubaBoard.

Apologies for the digression...

 

[daniel1948]

Bubbletrouble: I think I understood what Terryb meant about hydration: Not that clear urine would prevent DCS, but that clear urine is an indication that you are not dehydrated, and dehydration is a risk factor for DCS. Clear urine is removing one potential risk factor. Anyway, I always do my best to stay hydrated, whether diving, hiking, flying, or just riding the exercise bike at home.

As another alternative, if time is not an issue, why not find a direct flight to somewhere else in South East Asia that you'd like to see (Hong Kong is probably a good choice because ), spend a couple of days there enjoying non-diving sites, and then take a short shuttle flight to the Philippines (Hong Kong to Manila is maybe 2 hours?).

I think this is probably a good idea. Especially on a trip where activities are scheduled by the clock, and jet lag is severe.

Also, forgive me, I had to go look up a transom and couldn't find a satisfactory answer - I assume you are talking of a dive platform?

A transom is the little (or not so little) shelf at the back of a boat. For diving it can serve as a step for getting into the water.

You'll be wade to board and exit the boats at the Atlantis resorts. The boats will be either bacnqas or "speed boats." Most of the time, you'll have your gear lying on the center of the deck and you'll be sitting on the gunwales. The DM or the boat guy will lift your gear and help you get geared up. Then, the entry is almost always via a backroll.

Exits are by doffing your gear in water and handing up. Then, you climb out via ladder.

This is how we dived at Off the Wall dive resort on Long Caye Wall off Belize. I quite liked it, the rides there being short (5 minutes).

With some help, which has always been offered, I can walk from the bench to the back of the boat with all my gear on. The problem at Fiji was having to step up onto the gunwale, which was narrow and sometimes slippery, before striding into the water.

 

[vladimir]

Clear urine is removing one potential risk factor.

That is a factual statement. Clear urine indicates adequate hydration, and dehydration is a potential risk factor, or, as DAN describes it, one for which evidence is not conclusive.

factors thought to increase the risk of DCI but for which evidence is not conclusive are obesity, dehydration, hard exercise immediately after surfacing, and pulmonary disease.

The other main issue I found is staying very well hydrated (drink enough water to keep your urine whitish in colour), this will greatly decrease your chances of a DCS hit from all the multi diving you will do.

That statement is unsupported, except, apparently, by anecdote and popular sentiment on ScubaBoard. Staying very well hydrated (or, perhaps, just adequately hydrated) may decrease your chances of a DCS hit.

 

[Mike Boswell]

That is a factual statement. Clear urine indicates adequate hydration, and dehydration is a potential risk factor, or, as DAN describes it, one for which evidence is not conclusive.

That statement is unsupported, except, apparently, by anecdote and popular sentiment on ScubaBoard. Staying very well hydrated (or, perhaps, just adequately hydrated) may decrease your chances of a DCS hit.

Back when I was growing up, we used to just drink when we got thirsty. Poor benighted us.

But that was before the Hydration Industry discovered that they could market and sell a plastic one-liter bottle of tap water for more money than a liter of gasoline! Since that discovery, we now know that we should never be without our backpacks, squeeze bottles, hip flasks, etc. etc.

Thank God for Madison Avenue!

 

[daniel1948]

One need not buy those one-liter bottles of water, or any other bottled drinks. Any old bottle, filled with any clean, uncontaminated water will do when a tap is not handy, or in places where the tap water is not reliable. I personally prefer tap water run through a pitcher-type water filter to remove the horrid tap water taste. Pretty much every dive boat I've been on provides drinking water as part of the package.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

One need not buy those one-liter bottles of water, or any other bottled drinks. Any old bottle, filled with any clean, uncontaminated water will do when a tap is not handy, or in places where the tap water is not reliable. I personally prefer tap water run through a pitcher-type water filter to remove the horrid tap water taste. Pretty much every dive boat I've been on provides drinking water as part of the package.

If you do end up going on this trip to the Philippines, please don't drink the tap water. You will get sick.
If bottled (safe) water is not available, you can boil the tap water and then chill it. At least that's what I do when I'm there. It is, after all, a third world country.

And, FWIW, I don't believe that a Brita-style pitcher-type filter is going to rid the water of all the "wee beasties" that need to be removed/inactivated. Make sure that whatever filter you select has a pore size which keeps out viruses.

 

[DonCebu]

If you do end up going on this trip to the Philippines, please don't drink the tap water. You will get sick.
It is, after all, a third world country.

That is NOT true every where in the Philippines.

Davao City’s tap water has been tested internationally for quality against all the major bottled waters sold in the market and was adjudged the best in terms of cleanliness, safety, mineral content, and taste. No need for boiling, distilling, purifying, adding of minerals. It is absolutely perfect. And no less than the World Health Organization has certified that it is the best in the world.

 

[daniel1948]

Thanks. I have traveled internationally, and I always ask about the safety of the tap water. I use the brita filter ONLY to remove bad taste from otherwise safe water. High-class resorts often have their own purified water, clearly labeled, sometimes a separate drinking-water tap, and otherwise sell purified bottled water. I am well aware that poorer countries cannot afford to treat tap water to drinking standards.