Philippines trip

[Scuba_Shaner]

Hi everyone,

I'm doing a trip to the Philippines to dive and hike. I'm going January/Feburary/March. Looking for suggestions on places to visit, especially wrecks. Coron I hear is a must, and I'm going to do that for sure. Where else are spots I should check out? Puerto galera? Tubbataha (is this a liveaboard only dive site?)? Anilao? Moalboal?

Probably gonna do a liveaboard as well

If you can give recommendations on dive shops as well, that would be a great help. Thanks for all your recommendations and help in my planning of this trip.

 

[Centrals]

Too early for Tubattaha( mid Mar to mid June only).
Puerto Galera is too isolated.
Anilao across the channel is mainly for macro.
If you have time(30 days) and willing to travel from Island to Island then Visayas is the best.
Camiguin is great for hiking because of 7 volcanoes but diving is very ordinary.

 

[Scuba_Shaner]

Too early for Tubattaha( mid Mar to mid June only).
Puerto Galera is too isolated.
Anilao across the channel is mainly for macro.
If you have time(30 days) and willing to travel from Island to Island then Visayas is the best.
Camiguin is great for hiking because of 7 volcanoes but diving is very ordinary.

I was thinking of doing Visayas through a liveaboard

 

[Searcaigh]

Tubbataha (is this a liveaboard only dive site?)

Yes, but you are in the wrong season as mentioned by Centrals.

Wrecks at Coron but also Subic Bay. Never heard of a LoB operating around the Visayas, but I may be misinformed.

 

[Centrals]

I was thinking of doing Visayas through a liveaboard

You better start looking at the schedule of any LoB at that time of the year.
I certainly would not entertain the idea of LoB in Visayas because all the sites are NOT that difficult to get to.
Southern Leyte is rarely visited by LoB because of its remoteness but diving there is one of the best in the country.
You are better off to select couple of places and save tons of cash.

Good luck.

 

[Mango's Dive Center]

If you are looking for great wreck diving, easy boat trips and a short trip from Manila, we have a lot of wrecks in Subic Bay (the most diverse in the Philippines) and January through March is our best diving conditions.

There is some hiking in the area, along with some in Pampanga (Mt. Arayat), the Hash gets together quite often out of Barretto where we are. This can be a lot of fun.

Hope you can make it. If you have any questions, let us know.

 

[Andrea1]

Hi, I was in Coron 2018 and dove with Corto Divers. Diving 4 days, 3 dives a day, usually 2 wrecks followed a reef dive. We did 7-8 wrecks I think. We had a perfect guide for ourselves, and could go inside the wrecks. One of the best diving I have ever done, the wrecks are very beautiful.
And don't forget to go to Barracuda Lake, a thermal Lake you can dive.

 

[drrich2]

I was thinking of doing Visayas through a liveaboard

Never heard of a LoB operating around the Visayas, but I may be misinformed.

I don't know if this would be of interest, but I noticed these 2 posts browsing the forum, and just got through reading a trip report the past couple of days, so thought I'd mention it.

Trip Report: Philippines Siren 11D/10N Visayas & Malapascua route – by jjmochi. Aug. 2022 trip. Fine report, but note they had an interim cruise director, the incoming cruise directors had just arrived, a bunch of people got sick and the boat went into dry dock right afterward.

 

[Searcaigh]

@drrich2

Thanks for pointing that out.

There are so many dive sites accessible by land, which to me makes LoBs a bit redundant at times. However that said, a boat will get you to places beyond the beaten track.

Weather in the Philippines drastically reduces the period when LoBs can operate there unlike other areas of SE Asia such as Indonesia.

 

[Centrals]

@drrich2

Thanks for pointing that out.

There are so many dive sites accessible by land, which to me makes LoBs a bit redundant at times. However that said, a boat will get you to places beyond the beaten track.

Weather in the Philippines drastically reduces the period when LoBs can operate there unlike other areas of SE Asia such as Indonesia.

Majority of the dive sites in Visayas are pretty easy to get to. Cagayancillo is the only one that I can think of. There might be some hidden gems that very few people are aware of.

Cagayan - Sipalay Easy Diving & Beach Resort

Book your next dive safari in the Philippines.

www.sipalay.com

Biri Island in Northern Samar

BIRI ISLAND ON A BUDGET: Northern Samar Travel Guide & Itinerary

This Biri Island Travel Guide contains travel tips, a sample itinerary, breakdown of expenses, and hotel and tour recommendations. Last updated: June

www.thepoortraveler.net

LoB in Visayas is a niche market for some divers who want to cover many areas in relative short period of time.