Looking for a diving resort near Manila

[shugar]

@olyvtx: you probably stayed at deep blue sea inn (or something like that) w/c is a sister hotel to OOTB...

NO COMPARISON! zee and i were supposed to share a room and it barely fit his suitcase much less me! we saw and moved in w/ the guys at OOTB - amazing rooms and worth the extra $$

@rrrrrrjjjjjj: not to worry too much about either anilao or PG... as the others have pretty much said, they're both excellent diving

anilao - more laid back, no night life, you basically stay in a resort and live, eat, dive out of there...

caters mostly to local manila divers so most people are there on the weekends and you practically have most reefs to yourself on the weekdays

PG - more touristy, night life, carnal pleasures (if you need them), not all hotels/ resorts have dive ops and vise-versa so you can stay in 1 place and dive an op you prefer, much more dining choices but service can sometimes to take forever

generally populated all week so in many cases (YMMV) you'll have companions on the boat... but rarely more than 8 divers in a boat as ops don't want to run cattle boats (although i don't know about the korean resorts... they run on a whole totally different wavelength )

Jag

 

[Tortuga68]

For PG I'd also suggest you check out LBC (Laguna Beach Club) for accomodation - it's on Big La Laguna, a short walk around from Sabang - and Dive Dojo or Capt'n Gregg's for diving (both on the waterfront of Sabang Beach), ask for Trendy (DD) or Mark (CGs)

The Point bar on the point (duh) between Sabang Beach and Little La Laguna is run by El Galleon and is a nice place to have some cocktails (2for1 during happy hour) or shots (don't forget to ask about a free t-shirt) in the evening, and you can also go out to the Floating Bar for apres dive fun

There are almost always night dives running on the Sabang reef - you can see the torch lights from the Floating Bar - just ask around to see who has the numbers to make it happen

The best part about diving Sabang is most of the sites are literally a 5 minute boat ride away!

A day trip to Verde Island is also well worthwhile - a lot of the ops will do a 2 dive day trip with a BBQ lunch for very reasonable prices (don't forget your sunscreen!)

 

[CODMAN]

I definetly have to second La Laguna Beach Club as accomodations. Very nice, but pricier (about 60$ per night). I didn,t recommend them at first because they don,t have a view of the sea from the rooms, but they are beach front on the best beach in PG (Big La Laguna). I also have to second the recommendation of Divedojo for diving. They are friends... :cool2: Not the cheapest, but very good operation!

As for the 1 on 1 DM/guide thing that was brought up before... yes it is nice to have that personalised guide, especially if you are a photographer. But the truth is, unless you are the only diver, Dive OPs aren't going to send 1 DM off with each client! Which means the DM has to lead the dive to suit the most customers of the group as possible! And obviously, when you go for the cheaper dive operation (saving some $$) they are going to cram in more divers with each guide. If you want 1 on 1 service, most of the good small dive operators can arrange it. But it is going to cost you! This is something you should talk to the dive operator about in advance before you choose. See how many people he'll send with each DM and if you can get more personalised service.

Just some extra food for thought!

 

[h2odragon1]

thanks h2odragon1......

from looking over the links....i think i would like to go to Puerto Galera and stay at the Banana Moon Beach Resort located at Small Lalaguna next to Action Divers.

sounds good and easy.......what do you think? have you seen this hotel before?

are they on the same island as Manila? or is there a boat ride involved?

plus you said this operation is first class, right?

RJJJ; I dove with Action divers in 2005 and stayed at the Deep Blue Sea Inn. It appears that they have changed their name to the Banana Moon Resort. I did not mind the thin foam mattress. We had a fan room closest to the beach and the tide came in around bedtime, and provided a great lullaby to help fall to sleep. We may try the Out Of The Blue Villas next time, or the PG Bungalow's.

 

[rjjj111]

Shugar, thanks for the information, if i go to PG, what hotel do you suggest i stay at ($50 -$100 a night price range) and what comapny do you suggest i dive with....?

is it safe for an american in PG?
anything i need to be aware of before i go there?

i am planning on going to Donsol to snorkle with the whale sharks.... is there anything else like that to do in PG? anything super off the wall must do while i am in PG? sharks???? anything like that?

 

[CODMAN]

PG is very safe. It's very tourist oriented; no problems there. for 50-100$ a night, you can pretty much choose any hotel! Most are below that price... List what is most important for you (in order): price, comfort, proximity to diving OPs, proximity to bars/restaurants, Nice beach, seaside, view, etc... There is a lot of choice for 50-100$, so if you clearly let us know what is most important to you, maybe we can help a bit more...

Off the wall in PG? Apart from the transvestite midgets (why do you think the PPDers love PG so much!!!), you should do the Hash run! It's a friendly run every Sunday starting from Captain gregs. It's a great way to see the real people and countryside, meet cool people, and drink all you want after it's over! Worth it!

Cheers!

Shugar, thanks for the information, if i go to PG, what hotel do you suggest i stay at ($50 -$100 a night price range) and what comapny do you suggest i dive with....?

is it safe for an american in PG?
anything i need to be aware of before i go there?

i am planning on going to Donsol to snorkle with the whale sharks.... is there anything else like that to do in PG? anything super off the wall must do while i am in PG? sharks???? anything like that?

 

[rjjj111]

what does PPDers mean? i have no clue??

i think i would like to have a seaside room, you know look right out the hotel room and look at the water. so that is #1, atleast for a night or 2.

seaside, safe, clean, comfortable, nice beach, proximity to diving OPs, proximity to bars/restaurants.....

how is that?

 

[Cabbie]

Philippine
Paradise
Divers

 

[chip104]

is it safe in PG for an American?....depends from what. Since you're traveling single I'd watchout for the marriage proposals!

 

[rjjj111]

i am not planning on getting into anything in PG. it is the unknown situations sometimes you need to be aware of...... just want to make sure things are calm and OK there. i do not want to walk into a foreign country and things are going crazy......

am i going to get proposed to?