Transfer Anilao to PG - worth it?

[cetacean]

I stayed at Blue Ribbon Resort in December of 2022 , a decent well reviewed Resort. Nothing remarkable about the weather then. I took for granted that they're going to take me to decent sites. Very disappointed.

I like all the usual places in the Philippines. Southern Leyte is good but has been discovered recently.
Another seldom visited place is APO reef (not Island) accessible from Pandan Island (thru Batangas port also). An excellent place
I work in the scuba industry so when I go on vacation I don't go on dedicated dive trips and don't do four dives a day. That's why I don't like get stuck in a hotel. I'll do two or three dives in a day then hop on a motorbike for a cruise or go look for a golf course.
Simple fact of the matter , and what this other person in the thread doesn't understand , is that not everybody likes muck diving. I would much rather see a whale shark than a flamboyant cuttlefish and finding this elusive rhinopia isn't on my bucket list of Apex creatures to find.
Furthermore I'll stand by my contention that Puerto galera is less than half the cost of Anilao.
Three dives and a room at Tina Villa for 75 bucks versus $175 at Blue ribbon for three dives and a room. Those prices were on the same trip in the same month.
I deliberately avoided anilao for 35 years but eventually broke down and went there just to see what all the fuss was about. Now I know and don't need to go back
Enjoy your trip wherever you end up

I completely understand... you suggested Anilao was not "great," because you argued PG is cheaper, the dive sites are less trashy, and you didn't like the "muck..."

Whale sharks? Go to Cenderwasih Bay, Triton Bay, or Sumbawa, or even Galapagos, or Malpelo. Or if you are really desperate, Sogod Bay.

"I would much rather see a whale shark than a flamboyant cuttlefish" - that says all that needs to be said.

You tried to suggest that Anilao wasn't a great option, yet clearly, your preference for diving is much of the issue here (it's fine for you, but maybe not express it as strongly to others who may be interested in seeing the incredible bio diversity in the region, as well as the target rich (for photographers) environment of Anilao).

Tell us what you think of black water dives?

 

[bmag78]

I completely understand... you suggested Anilao was not "great," because you argued PG is cheaper, the dive sites are less trashy, and you didn't like the "muck..."

Whale sharks? Go to Cenderwasih Bay, Triton Bay, or Sumbawa, or even Galapagos, or Malpelo. Or if you are really desperate, Sogod Bay.

"I would much rather see a whale shark than a flamboyant cuttlefish" - that says all that needs to be said.

You tried to suggest that Anilao wasn't a great option, yet clearly, your preference for diving is much of the issue here (it's fine for you, but maybe not express it as strongly to others who may be interested in seeing the incredible bio diversity in the region, as well as the target rich (for photographers) environment of Anilao).

Tell us what you think of black water dives?

My aversion to Anilao has nothin to do with the cost in Puerto galera. Cost was the original theme of the post
I know it's very popular place. To be fair tho I've met more than a few people all over the dive world who were very disappointed with anilao for the same reasons so it's not just me.
I'm not talking anyone out of enjoying the whole region. I've done hundreds of dives all over Philippines and it's fabulous
(Except .....)
My intention was to answer the OP's question about traveling between the two places and to have a realistic expectation of Anilao. It's a target rich environment for photographers but it's not for everyone.

 

[cetacean]

My aversion to Anilao has nothin to do with the cost in Puerto galera. Cost was the original theme of the post
I know it's very popular place. To be fair tho I've met more than a few people all over the dive world who were very disappointed with anilao for the same reasons so it's not just me.
I'm not talking anyone out of enjoying the whole region. I've done hundreds of dives all over Philippines and it's fabulous
(Except .....)
My intention was to answer the OP's question about traveling between the two places and to have a realistic expectation of Anilao. It's a target rich environment for photographers but it's not for everyone.

What you wrote ("I wouldn't go back to anilao for free lol.") was sugjective and not informative. And your comment about trash was not very accurate... Lembeh is worse, Ambon is worse... Anilao is actually relatively clean, and most of the dives (other than in front of the villages) have little to know trash.

"disappointed in Anilao" - then they would hate Rombon, Dauin, etc. as well, right?

 

[bmag78]

What you wrote ("I wouldn't go back to anilao for free lol.") was sugjective and not informative. And your comment about trash was not very accurate... Lembeh is worse, Ambon is worse... Anilao is actually relatively clean, and most of the dives (other than in front of the villages) have little to know trash.

"disappointed in Anilao" - then they would hate Rombon, Dauin, etc. as well, right?

I was going to apologize for coming on strong but your condescending attitude is really irritating. I'm out

 

[cetacean]

I was going to apologize for coming on strong but your condescending attitude is really irritating. I'm out

Your choice...

 

[Centrals]

I was going to apologize for coming on strong but your condescending attitude is really irritating. I'm out

There are quite a few of them around here and I would return with compliment.

 

[Centrals]

"disappointed in Anilao" - then they would hate Rombon, Dauin, etc. as well, right?

"Disappointed" is an understatement for me!!!

 

[jjmochi]

@diveUAE
I did this back in 2022. Spent 10 days split half in Anilao and half in PG. It was my 2nd time in Anilao and 1st time in PG. I am going back to Anilao for another 9 days (blackwater workshop at Crystal Blue) tomorrow. I have no plans to return to PG.

Looking back at my notes,
A private car to Anilao ran ~6k php and took 2.5 hours w no traffic
Private boat from Anilao to El Galleon was quoted at 20k php and ~45min, a cheaper alternative is to do a car to Batangas port for 2k ~45min, and private water taxi to El Galleon (10k php, ~30min) - I did the latter
Private car back from Batangas to the airport was 4.5k php
Going back I was lucky to share the water taxi w 5 other people and the van w 3 the people, but definitely very pricy if you can't find anyone to share. But the upside of private transport is you don't lose any time diving - I was picked up at Blue Ribbon at 7am and arrived at El Galleon ~9am w plenty of time to make the 10.30am dive.

Anilao is world class for macro, the only place I like better is Lembeh. There is some trash but that's normal. I don't remember it being too excessive. There is nothing to do but I go there to dive 4x/day and barely have time to eat/nap/edit photos as it is. Most resorts there have spas and bars if you want a massage or a drink after diving. Most folks there were experienced / photographers.

PG also had really good macro, I actually saw more there than I did in Anilao, but there's only 3 really good macro sites, and not a lot of people want to go so it's not dived that often. The wide angle sites were disappointing. I even did the trip to Verde island and felt underwhelmed. It doesn't compare to Tubbataha or the good places in Indo (Raja, Komodo, etc). It is cheaper - El Galleon had unlimited diving 5x/day for like $80-something. It also felt like they only catered to big groups and I did not feel particularly looked after as a solo photographer. Groups are 6:1 and a lot of folks were pretty newly certified / floppy in the water. I didn't go off the resort there either but I gathered there's a bit more to do in the town (bars and restaurants) in PG.

If it was me I would just spend the 12 days in Anilao. Everything you can find in PG (macro-wise) you can find in Anilao. Anilao has better conditions for blackwater. There were no standouts in PG (wide-angle or big stuff wise) that I can recall. Verde is good but just that for me - good not amazing. Imo PG isn't worth the added hassle. If you want to see the best diving in the Philippines go to Tubbataha for wide and Anilao for macro.

 

[clownfishsydney]

Thank you for the details! Very appreciated. So if we could get a fast boat from Batangas price would be: 60$ for the car, 35 $ each for the fast boat= 130 for 2? But then we would still need a trike or car to the resort? Otherwise it's 170 $ more to take the convenient direct water taxi.

The fast boat goes to Sabang, so no trike needed. Just walk the rest of the way.

 

[Tadpole Frogfish]

PG also had really good macro, I actually saw more there than I did in Anilao, but there's only 3 really good macro sites, and not a lot of people want to go so it's not dived that often. The wide angle sites were disappointing. I even did the trip to Verde island and felt underwhelmed. It doesn't compare to Tubbataha or the good places in Indo (Raja, Komodo, etc).

Out of all those places, would Raja be your first pick in terms of soft corals/colors or Tubbataha? Big pelagics can be seen elsewhere like Malapascua or Cocos/Galapagos.