Question Recommendations for recertifying in Visayas

[Leftcoaster7]

Hi there in mid-November I will be in the Philippines for two months. My plan is to recertify for OW as I last dove in 2016 and have only 15 recorded dives. I will be travelling around the Visayas for diving and will save diving in the northern Philippines for another trip. I will also certify for AOW if possible.

I will fly into Cebu City, so in a sense that will be my "hub". I have previously dived at El Nido and Panglao so would prefer to try other places.

Below is a list of sites I have researched a bit and am heavily interested in.

Dumaguete/Dauin
Malapascua
Moalboal
Cabilao
Sogod

Additional places I know very little about but I have come across in my research are:

Siquijor
Mactan
Camotes
Camiguin

My question is this: what places / dive schools have a good reputation for recertifying and getting to AOW after sufficient extra dives? My initial preference is Dauin for OW.

If it matters, I am in my early 40s but extremely active. I strength train and ruck every week, and get at least 10k steps every day. I am also cleared by my doctor to dive.

Many thanks in advance. I have read other threads here but wanted more region specific advice.

 

[Centrals]

@Leftcoaster7
1. I assumed you will obtain the 59 days visa before your arrival. Because the usual visa free entry is only for 30 days.
2. Your original ow certification is valid for life and there is no reason to pay for the same course again. You can save those money for several fun dives and get yourself familiar with scuba diving.
3. Get the map out and plan your trip carefully because some of the places eg. Camiguin, Camotes and Sogod, are slightly off the beaten track. Travelling in the country is slow and can be frustrating.
Have a nice trip.

 

[eagleray180]

If you are landing in Cebu, then you might want to consider just staying on Cebu island for the first part of your trip. Maybe travel up to Malapascua first, do a basic scuba review with your chosen dive center and get in some dives. Thresher Sharks does a nice job - Thresher Shark Divers, Malapascua Island in the Philippines ..but there are quite a few other good operators. After that make the long trek to Moalboal for a few more days. From Moalboal you can bus down the coast to the ferry over to Dumaguete. Somewhere in there you can maybe complete your AOW and maybe a Nitrox certification. (Nitrox is very important for the Thresher shark dives)

As far as Dauin goes, I just spent 6 nights at Liquid. It is a nice small resort that is pretty easy on the wallet and very chill. Super cool owners. Liquid Dumaguete: Philippines Dive Resort - PADI 5 Star CDC Dive Center. It is a bit further north of the Dauin town central area, but there is not much to do in Dauin anyway and what couple of restaurants you want to go to (Finbar, LoKal, Frontemare Pizza) are a 10 min/P50-100 trike ride. There is a proper motorcycle rental owned by an American (Bob) with drop-off and pick-up. U-Ride Bike Rental

If you do not apply for your 59 day visa prior to arrival, just make sure when you are traveling that when you are in the last week of your 30 visa free entry you are somewhere where you can go to an Immigration Field Office to extend..or..you can take your chances with the new Bureau of Immigration e-extension. E-SERVICES | Bureau of Immigration

As @Centrals stated, traveling in the country can be challenging. Patience is definitely a virtue and always have a plan B.

 

[Leftcoaster7]

If you are landing in Cebu, then you might want to consider just staying on Cebu island for the first part of your trip. Maybe travel up to Malapascua first, do a basic scuba review with your chosen dive center and get in some dives. Thresher Sharks does a nice job - Thresher Shark Divers, Malapascua Island in the Philippines ..but there are quite a few other good operators. After that make the long trek to Moalboal for a few more days. From Moalboal you can bus down the coast to the ferry over to Dumaguete. Somewhere in there you can maybe complete your AOW and maybe a Nitrox certification. (Nitrox is very important for the Thresher shark dives)

As far as Dauin goes, I just spent 6 nights at Liquid. It is a nice small resort that is pretty easy on the wallet and very chill. Super cool owners. Liquid Dumaguete: Philippines Dive Resort - PADI 5 Star CDC Dive Center. It is a bit further north of the Dauin town central area, but there is not much to do in Dauin anyway and what couple of restaurants you want to go to (Finbar, LoKal, Frontemare Pizza) are a 10 min/P50-100 trike ride. There is a proper motorcycle rental owned by an American (Bob) with drop-off and pick-up. U-Ride Bike Rental

If you do not apply for your 59 day visa prior to arrival, just make sure when you are traveling that when you are in the last week of your 30 visa free entry you are somewhere where you can go to an Immigration Field Office to extend..or..you can take your chances with the new Bureau of Immigration e-extension. E-SERVICES | Bureau of Immigration

As @Centrals stated, traveling in the country can be challenging. Patience is definitely a virtue and always have a plan B.

Many thanks for your advice! I will likely skip Moalboal and head directly to Dauin for training. Malapascua I will reserve towards the end of my trip so I have sufficient experience. I will also spend Christmas there. Do you recommend staying a couple nights on Apo island?

 

[Leftcoaster7]

@Leftcoaster7
1. I assumed you will obtain the 59 days visa before your arrival. Because the usual visa free entry is only for 30 days.
2. Your original ow certification is valid for life and there is no reason to pay for the same course again. You can save those money for several fun dives and get yourself familiar with scuba diving.
3. Get the map out and plan your trip carefully because some of the places eg. Camiguin, Camotes and Sogod, are slightly off the beaten track. Travelling in the country is slow and can be frustrating.
Have a nice trip.

Many thanks for your advice, I think I will do a refresher and get AOW at bongo bongo in Dauin. Regarding the visa situation, if I get a 59 day visa before I arrive, can I also extend it another 30 days in Cebu City to get 80+ days total? Or would I have to exit and reenter the country on a multi entry visa?

 

[eagleray180]

Many thanks for your advice, I think I will do a refresher and get AOW at bongo bongo in Dauin. Regarding the visa situation, if I get a 59 day visa before I arrive, can I also extend it another 30 days in Cebu City to get 80+ days total? Or would I have to exit and reenter the country on a multi entry visa?

Yes, after your first 59 days you can extend "up to" two months at a time at an immigration field office. You can continue doing this up to your three year mark before you have to leave the country. Your extension this time (after the initial 59 days) will also include your Alien Certificate of Registration ID. (ACR-I Card)

For your cost...a one month extension with the ACR-I Card fee you would be looking at around ₱5000 - ₱6000 ish. Unfortunately you may not ever see your ACR-I card as they take about 2 - 3 weeks before they can be picked up. But..if you stop by the originating immigration office prior to your leaving the PI they may have it and it is good for a year. At least it's a nice souvenir if you are not returning soon. It will also be asked for on your departure at immigration, but your paperwork will suffice if you do not have it.

Renewing a tourist visa in the Philippines is very easy. Just show up at the Immigration office with your passport and the receipts that you received for past extensions. Make sure you keep all your receipts and paperwork from your transactions. You will need it on your exit from the country. (They do not stamp your passport or put in a sticker any more as they ran out a few years ago . All immigration offices require you to wear closed toe shoes (no flip-flops) and a collard shirt, some also will not allow shorts.

You can also have a travel agency do this for you. They would have advertisements for visa extensions. The extra cost is usually around ₱500 - ₱1000. It is so easy, plus faster and of course, more secure, to just do it yourself though, I always do it myself.

With all this said, you can see how easy it is to live in the Philippines for a foreigner.

 

[gng4life]

Malapascua is on my list when I go back next Summer. If you end up going, please let us know how it goes. My family is mostly in Luzon so most of my diving is centered around there but diving in Cebu is also amazing.

For the visa thing, it's usually not a big deal. By any chance, are you married to a natural born Filipino? If you were, you can get a Balikbayan visa good for a year at a time or better, get a spousal visa if you decided to live there.

Enjoy your time there!

 

[Nedster]

Hi there in mid-November I will be in the Philippines for two months. My plan is to recertify for OW as I last dove in 2016 and have only 15 recorded dives. I will be travelling around the Visayas for diving and will save diving in the northern Philippines for another trip. I will also certify for AOW if possible.

I will fly into Cebu City, so in a sense that will be my "hub". I have previously dived at El Nido and Panglao so would prefer to try other places.

Below is a list of sites I have researched a bit and am heavily interested in.

Dumaguete/Dauin
Malapascua
Moalboal
Cabilao
Sogod

Additional places I know very little about but I have come across in my research are:

Siquijor
Mactan
Camotes
Camiguin

My question is this: what places / dive schools have a good reputation for recertifying and getting to AOW after sufficient extra dives? My initial preference is Dauin for OW.

If it matters, I am in my early 40s but extremely active. I strength train and ruck every week, and get at least 10k steps every day. I am also cleared by my doctor to dive.

Many thanks in advance. I have read other threads here but wanted more region specific advice.

Hi, you should also add Panglao to your list. It's one of the top diving destinations in the Philippines.