Transfer Anilao to PG - worth it?

[Centrals]

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

What is the schedule for the fast boat?
It is P10,000.00 per boat if there is no one to share the cost.

 

[clownfishsydney]

No idea, I just booked a ticket at Sabang for return trip. You could book the whole boat or a ticket.

 

[Centrals]

No idea, I just booked a ticket at Sabang for return trip. You could book the whole boat or a ticket.

Anyone can book the whole boat with preferred departure time through eg your resort. But if you want to share a boat then you have to book it through an agent or knowing someone who is also leaving the same time.
The cost of the whole boat is min P10,000.00(~US$175.00) not $35.00 pp.
You were saying the boat goes to Sabang and there is no need to take the trike. Could you explain where did you buy the ticket for a shared boat going to Sabang?
This thread is about going to Sabang not leaving.

 

[Madacub]

Hi diveUAE.
I'm coming a bit late to this thread, but I was in Anilao in Dec & PG in January and I enjoyed them both. You are thinking of going there in Feb. Looks like your plans are still fluid. My understanding is that the visibility and water temp/conditions are much improved March onwards. But it will likely get more crowded. But others with more experience can chime in on this.

You say "or Pick one of the 2 (PG or Anilao) and stay put for our 12 nights?" and you also say "we did Dauin (super) and Moalboal (Ok). Have been to Malapascua (fantastic) and Bohol (good). We've also been to Lembeh and loved it."

So I say: Pick Anilao and stay there for 12 nights. But if you are determined to split your time, 6 nights each is doable, without shortchanging either location. I would not recommend 12 nights in PG ..... unless you go back and spend 12 nights in Anilao next time!

In January this year, PG had poor visibility reefside (muckside it doesn't matter much). Anilao water was pretty much 26-27 celsius. PG varied more from 23 to 27. bmag78 has talked about prices. But one needs to keep in mind what you get - accommodation quality, cleanliness, a/c, food, guide:diver ratio, safety, boats, rinse tanks, etc whatever may or may not be important to you.

Sabang itself is crowded. Crowded, crowded, crowded. I stayed at Fishermen's Cove which is a bit away, closer to the muck sites, (closeby to the ferry) and I would recommend it. But I don't know what you look for when you go on a diving vacation. Sabang sure looked crowded - just looking at it from the boat. I've never stepped foot there, so I may be talking through my hat. (Now you know what I look out for....)

Garbage wise, Anilao (been there 2x) is clean compared to my experience in Lembeh (4x) and Ambon (3x). I would rate Anilao better than Ambon for critters based on my most recent trips to each of them. Also, regarding garbage, at some locations, the nearby rivers/streams sometimes bring in garbage after a rainstorm. This may explain differing experiences. Again, others with more experience can chime in on this.

You say "Where would you recommend for critters and reef if not PG". Meaning a combination of both at the same location? Try Sogod Bay. Also the chance of snorkelling with whale sharks in a natural environment, ie not like Oslob. But again, my understanding is that Feb is a bit too early for really good ocean conditions. And there may be some seasonality to the whale sharks as well, so do look into that.

Have you considered Romblon? Best way to get there is a night ferry from Batangas (so you don't waste daytime in transit). Huge ferry, really huge, seems very stable and slow. You can book a closed, lockable cabin that sleeps 2 or 3 and has an attached washroom, incl shower, for a very very reasonable price. But Romblon is tiny critters only. Really tiny. Plus the ghost melibe colemani, if you are interested in that. I stayed at 3Ps and would recommend it.

Sorry for the overly long post - hope it helps.

 

[jjmochi]

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.

Yes definitely. Raja in the south has soft corals, Tubbataha is all hard corals. Tubbataha had more sharks than Raja but nothing like Galapagos or French Poly, and no mantas.

 

[jjmochi]

I'm on day 5 of a 8 night stay in Anilao (CBR) right now and it's better than what I remember the last 2 times I've gone. I think it's partly the guides - I'm only doing 2 morning dives (+2 blackwater) and have found almost everything I've asked for. My guide asks me what I want to see every day and I'm struggling to come up with new requests because he knocks out 2-3 every dive! The blackwater is great too, so many paper nautilus, a couple wonderpus, and the guests saw a blanket octopus the other day which I sadly missed out on. I had put Anilao a step back behind Lembeh after my last trip in 2022 but this trip has convinced me it is just as good. Plus the roads have improved a lot and it only took less than 2 hours to drive here this time, vs 3 hours last time.

 

[Centrals]

Try Sogod Bay. Also the chance of snorkelling with whale sharks in a natural environment, ie not like Oslob. But again, my understanding is that Feb is a bit too early for really good ocean conditions. And there may be some seasonality to the whale sharks as well, so do look into that.

Feb is the good time to see whaleshark in Sogod Bay, season usually starts in Nov until May
I was there two months ago and the dive shop(Peter's) arranged four trips in 6 days and every time the snorkellers came back with a big smile. Two or three were usually sighted.

 

[cetacean]

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.

For soft corals Raja Ampat is significantly more prolific than Tubbataha (by quite a bit). Tubbataha is known for large schools of fish, healthy corals, and the occasional pelagic, not so much soft corals.

Keep in mind that the best soft corals in northern Raja Ampat (at least with the best vis) are found in the lagoons off a places like "the passage" - which are not diveable anymore because of the salt water crocs (and the accidents several years ago). Many of the early soft coral shots that came out of Raja Ampat (shallow water, shot with full sun overhread, etc.) were from this area - they will not let you dive these areas anymore.

There is some very nice soft coral in southern Raja Ampat (around Misool, sites like Boo Window), but these are not the locations for those iconic shots that first drew divers to Raja Ampat.

There are still many great dives with soft coral in Raja Ampat (including in the north) - I'm not trying to suggest otherwise. It really depends what you are looking for. Both the north and the south are great for the volume of fish life, the unique critters (like the tassled wobbegong sharks, walking cat sharks, etc), healthy reefs, etc, but all that life relies on a strong foundation of "stuff in the water" so just be prepared for the vis being slightly less than you may expect (not bad vis, just less than what some people expect).

I'm headed back to the Solomon Islands in August, in part because the fish like is prolific (like Raja Ampat), the reefs are in great shape, and the vis is a little bit better - there are several sites in the Solomons with very nice soft coral coverage (specifically in the Morovo Lagoon) as well (although you won't find the same diversity of critters).

 

[Tadpole Frogfish]

Yes definitely. Raja in the south has soft corals, Tubbataha is all hard corals. Tubbataha had more sharks than Raja but nothing like Galapagos or French Poly, and no mantas.

Mantas is Ecuador for sure. Easy to get to. Much more graceful animals.

I'm headed back to the Solomon Islands in August, in part because the fish like is prolific (like Raja Ampat), the reefs are in great shape, and the vis is a little bit better - there are several sites in the Solomons with very nice soft coral coverage (specifically in the Morovo Lagoon) as well (although you won't find the same diversity of critters).

That's in the same cluster as Fiji with the rainbow reef site. I have never been, but for soft corals the pictures are up there (if preservation efforts are upheld). It seems further east in PNG diving, reefs are said to be in better condition with less boat traffic and newbies kicking wreckage from resort pool sessions.

I cannot justify flying both long and pricey ($4000) for 1 week. Less allergic to air travel when significantly less time and dollars than actual diving/nice liveaboard especially long ones stopping over petri dish one after the next or worse sharing air in a cylinder . Not worth the money and risk to sit in the sun the whole time

 

[cetacean]

Yes definitely. Raja in the south has soft corals, Tubbataha is all hard corals. Tubbataha had more sharks than Raja but nothing like Galapagos or French Poly, and no mantas.

This is not quite true... Tubbataha does get mantas - just not often. There have been tagging efforts carried out specifically there for tracking manta movement patterns (from there to Palawan, etc.). I've seen at least 2 there. Raja Ampat has more sharks, however they tend to almost all be black tip reef sharks (along with the occasional wobby and cat shark). Tubbataha gets more white tip reef sharks, grey reefies, the occasional shovel nose ray, and the if you are lucky, whale sharks.