Need some recommendations given specific itinerary limitations

Hi folks,

I am very excited. I have the opportunity to come to the Philippines in January for 3 weeks. For 2 of those weeks, I will be in Malapascua doing my part for marine conservation. After the 2 weeks in Malapascua I have a bit of flexibility to do some recreational diving. My free time starts leaving from Malapascua early on a Saturday morning and I have to be back in Cebu on the following Thursday at 5am for my flight home (Cebu-Manila-Sydney). So basically I imagine I could have 3 days of actual dive days, allowing for a day of travel on either side of that. I could consider taking the Cebu-Manila leg earlier in the week (like even as early as Saturday) if it means better dive opportunities in other parts of the Philippines.

I've always wanted to swim with whale sharks, so I am considering Donsol though it seems quite long and convoluted to get there from Cebu. I'm also really worried that Donsol will be so overcommercialized that I will be disappointed by the experience (too many people, etc). Any thoughts as to what I could do for these days in terms of great diving and / or whale shark interaction? Would be up for hammerheads as well if there's a good place for them - I hear sometimes they are found in the Philippines?

Any help is much appreciated!

I say - Stay there and do the Threshers, Gato Island, and relax. The weather will be cooler north.....stay there and have a blast until you leave.

its not the time for whalesharks in donsol yet. you may get a chance to dive with them if you go to sogod bay in southern leyte. check out the site of sogod bay scuba resort on how to get there by ferry from cebu. another option will be to take the fast ferry from cebu to either bohol or dumaguete for some great diving without having to fly or losing too much time traveling.

jigo:

its not the time for whalesharks in donsol yet. you may get a chance to dive with them if you go to sogod bay in southern leyte. check out the site of sogod bay scuba resort on how to get there by ferry from cebu. another option will be to take the fast ferry from cebu to either bohol or dumaguete for some great diving without having to fly or losing too much time traveling.

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Thanks Jigo - I was reading in a couple other posts that the last couple of years haven't been good for whale sharks in Southern Leyte. Have you heard anything recent about if there have been sightings?

Babydamulag:

I say - Stay there and do the Threshers, Gato Island, and relax. The weather will be cooler north.....stay there and have a blast until you leave.

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Thanks Babydamulag. I think I'll be pretty much done with Monad Shoal after 10 days of diving there (though who know, maybe you can never tire of seeing Threshers), but you are right that there are other places there too that I could check out as well. Hmmmm I'll definitely consider that. Do you think I can make this decision once I'm there or is it important to book accomodations in advance? I'm talking about basically the last week in January so I'm hoping the holiday rush will be over.

If we can be of any assistance to you please do not hesitate to contact us on either cebudivecentre@yahoo.com or info@cebudivecentre.com.

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Cheers

Carl

rramaley:

Thanks Babydamulag. I think I'll be pretty much done with Monad Shoal after 10 days of diving there (though who know, maybe you can never tire of seeing Threshers), but you are right that there are other places there too that I could check out as well. Hmmmm I'll definitely consider that. Do you think I can make this decision once I'm there or is it important to book accomodations in advance? I'm talking about basically the last week in January so I'm hoping the holiday rush will be over.

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I was there for 9 days last year, and I can tell you that yes, you'll be ready to leave I loved Malapascua, but after 9 days of listening to the roosters and showering in brackish water, I was ready for some civilization Having said, that I'm sure I'll go back at some point, but maybe only for 4-6 days on the next trip.

Bohol would be a good choice and easy to get to in one day. I wouldn't rule out Southern Leyte as the diving is good from what I hear, even if you don't see whale sharks. You have limited time as you say. You don't always see Threshers on every dive in Malapascua either

After leaving Malapascua last year I spent a couple of days in Cebu City, and then went to Moalboal where I had a really good time. Pescador Island is great. Nice walls, lots of turtles, frogfish, tremendous schools of fish (early morning and early evening). Do a search here on scubaboard for trip reports to give you some ideas. Just put in the place. If you put in Malapascua or Moalboal my trip reports from last year (I was there late October/early November) will come up too, although there will be more recent ones.

Contact different operators in the areas you're thinking about. I can't comment on if you should get reservations as I haven't really been during the season. I've always left the end of my trips open, so I can be flexible, but the season was either just ending or just starting when I've been there before. I'm sure some of the people who live there could advise you better on that. I do recommend that you talk to more than just one operator though. Good luck, I'm sure you'll have a good time