Help me plan my ''Crazy trip Version.2.0''

Well first i want to thanks you all for the great information you guys put in this section of the board ,Thanks to the creators of The PPD Philippines Main Dive Map

It have been a great tool to help me do the planning and figure whats where etc

So i am now vaccinated, my visa is on the way, And My ticket is bought
I have 1 month
i do have a 3.5k-4k Cnd Budget ,
I am looking for cheap budget rooms/accommodations 12-50$ i am not fancy neither my wallet
I want to dive a lot
I want to visit many places as possible, and avoid expensive spots traps
I am trying to figure out bad surprises

Is there a site for buses schedules ?

Any good place to surf ? i know its hard and ill probably suck , but its something i always wanna try..

Whats the best way to convert money , ? should i get usd from local banks ??
Should i wait to be in Phils and simply go to a Atm ?

I heard if i pay whit my cc they take a quote on converting it to usd and then another quote on converting it to ph ?

Anyways here a scketch of what i plan to do ..
basically i am looking for reviews, recommendations
Feel free to comments or give tips, criticize etc...

Land in manilla taxi to
Paco Park Oasis Hotel, Manila (anyone have a another hoter remommendation nearest the airport ??)

(1)Next morning taxi Airport via cebupacificair to Cebu , bus , ferry to Malapascua
now i am hesitating where to stay (Hippocampus Resort or Blue Coral Resort??)
I think ill dive whit Thresher Shark Divers , anyone deal whit them ?

I think to spend a few days in Malapascua

(2)Then plan to go to Moalboal by bus and stay at Malapascua Exotic Island Dive & Beach Resort

(3)Then head south to Dumaguete how can i get to Apo Island Beach Resort looking for some recomendation here

Dumaguete Airport to manilla

(4)Then i plan to Go Portulano Dive Center in anilho Portulano Diving Dive Resort in Batangas
/homepage.HTM i just instantly fall in love whit their place ....

(5)After that PG Whit action divers i plan to stay at PG Bungalows since at that time i think ill be pretty broke
airport manilla , back to reality...

So what do you think ?
Is it too much (place , transport) for one month?
Am i gonna bust my budget ?

Comments in blue

Well first i want to thanks you all for the great information you guys put in this section of the board ,Thanks to the creators of The PPD Philippines Main Dive Map

It have been a great tool to help me do the planning and figure whats where etc

So i am now vaccinated, my visa is on the way, And My ticket is bought
I have 1 month good start
i do have a 3.5k-4k Cnd Budget , decent budget, good so far
I am looking for cheap budget rooms/accommodations 12-50$ i am not fancy neither my walletplenty in that category
I want to dive a lot well, naturally...
I want to visit many places as possible, and avoid expensive spots traps get to the point
I am trying to figure out bad surprises well, then they wouldn't be surprises, would they?

Is there a site for buses schedules ? ask Caloy, he'll be along soon

Any good place to surf ? i know its hard and ill probably suck , but its something i always wanna try..not really the place for that - keep to diving

Whats the best way to convert money , ? should i get usd from local banks ??
Should i wait to be in Phils and simply go to a Atm ? Banks won't always be available. FWIW I've only lost money once in over 100 visits. USD is convertible just about anywhere. There will be an ATM charge, but it's minimal. Only PITA is that many bank limit your withdrawal to P4,000 per transaction

I heard if i pay whit my cc they take a quote on converting it to usd and then another quote on converting it to ph ? Plastic fanastic again, is not always available, and there are nasty stories of card fraud fairly regularly. If you stick to using it only for dive centres and hotels, you're pretty safe, and again, the card charges are negligible. The bugger is the surcharge laid on top by the operators themselves - try to find this out in advance

Anyways here a scketch of what i plan to do ..
basically i am looking for reviews, recommendations
Feel free to comments or give tips, criticize etc...my pleasure

Land in manilla taxi to
Paco Park Oasis Hotel, Manila (anyone have a another hoter remommendation nearest the airport ??) Good enough place, I prefer the Heritage, opposite the Entertainment Complex for the uh, entertainment :cool2: over the road, but that's just me. It's also quite expensive. Bayview Park on Roxas Boulevard (15 mins along the road) is good for a budget place close to the Airport

(1)Next morning taxi Airport via cebupacificair to Cebu , bus , ferry to Malapascua
now i am hesitating where to stay (Hippocampus Resort or Blue Coral Resort??)
I think ill dive whit Thresher Shark Divers , anyone deal whit them ? I've never made it to Malapascua, but many here have - to a quick search on this forum and you'll be suitably confused within seconds.

I think to spend a few days in Malapascua

(2)Then plan to go to Moalboal by bus and stay at Malapascua Exotic Island Dive & Beach Resort I really can't recommend Moalboal's diving. It's been a few years, I admit, but I don't expect it to have improved. Given the time you have, give a bit of thought to Cabilao. Really, really impressed me, and if you time it right, you get to dive with the jacks on Alona Beach along the way, Mucho cool.

(3)Then head south to Dumaguete how can i get to Apo Island Beach Resort looking for some recomendation here Better call, Matt Reed can probably help you there, he's on this board under the login of, um, Matt Reed.

Dumaguete Airport to manilla

(4)Then i plan to Go Portulano Dive Center in anilho Portulano Diving Dive Resort in Batangas
/homepage.HTM i just instantly fall in love whit their place ....Pretty, isn't it. Very good diving and another great call.

(5)After that PG Whit action divers i plan to stay at PG Bungalows since at that time i think ill be pretty broke Action Divers is fine, I dive elsewhere when in PG, but that's habit. Don't know PG bungalows, but Sunsplash is clean, relaxed, and cheap too.
airport manilla , back to reality...grim, I know

So what do you think ? I think I want to kill you and take your place
Is it too much (place , transport) for one month? I'm really not sure about the Moalboal bit, but Cebu, Malapascua, Bohol, Cabilao, Anilao & PG is doable in a month
Am i gonna bust my budget ? Probably, but most prices in Phils are "negotiable", apart from my bar tab, alas, so it shouldn't be that painful.

am not a surfer but siargao's cloud nine is supposed to have world class waves. am not sure though if there is good diving nearby.

Really? Learn something every day, I suppose!

THE Hammerhead:

Really? Learn something every day, I suppose!

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yup. they've been holding international competitions there annually and i hear resorts are starting to sprout. its in mindanao though and not really that accessible.

jigo:

yup. they've been holding international competitions there annually and i hear resorts are starting to sprout. its in mindanao though and not really that accessible.

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siargao is about 3 hours from surigao or was it butuan... yeah, it's a beyatch to get there unless you're a real surfer

if you want to try surfing out just for the heck of it and have about 3 days in w/c to off-gas you could take the bus north of manila to La Union... it's about 6 hours by bus at about P700 one way... i take partas transit although there are other buses going there

you can take a pre-dawn or midnight run, be there in the morning, check in (there are a number of surf resorts in san juan town... many budget as it's more a backpacker's haunt for manila surfers)... surf 2-3 days, take the bus back to manila...

Jag

shugar:

siargao is about 3 hours from surigao or was it butuan... yeah, it's a beyatch to get there unless you're a real surfer

if you want to try surfing out just for the heck of it and have about 3 days in w/c to off-gas you could take the bus north of manila to La Union... it's about 6 hours by bus at about P700 one way... i take partas transit although there are other buses going there

you can take a pre-dawn or midnight run, be there in the morning, check in (there are a number of surf resorts in san juan town... many budget as it's more a backpacker's haunt for manila surfers)... surf 2-3 days, take the bus back to manila...

Jag

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another vote for la union via partas.. have not been to myself, but my sister goes. she's all rave about it.

i hear partas has that "special" us.. mighty comfy. a bit pricier, but you're sure to be able to sleep tight during the trip.

isn't there a few dive spots in la union? i'm curious though if there are any operators there..

THE Hammerhead Major Salamat Po (For taking the time its reallyyyyy appreciate i own u a guiness , Heeurrr a San miguel i guess )

So the best thing is to get usd , here (Canada) locally for common expense (bus food , water etc ) right ? and pay hotel , diver whit cc ? i dont want to transport large amount of liquid

How the criminaly , risk ?

Concerning Moalboal , do you mean its not worth while , diving or hotel wise , both ?

''you get to dive with the jacks on Alona Beach along the way, Mucho cool.''
what do you mean , by jacks , you mean peoples /diving club ? Sorry as you probably notice English is not my first language

What place do you recommend in PG ?

''So what do you think ? I think I want to kill you and take your place''plz dont kill me lets just dive togheter instead

''apart from my bar tab, alas, so it shouldn't be that painful.''' Do you mean u have a loaded tab or Do you have a bar in PH ?

Should i Bring my laptop , its an old p3 bulky and heavy ... for backing up photo , i mean is it worth bringin it or should i just go to internet cafe , and send them to a FTP ?

Will my cellphone work in phils , its a virgin mobile canada ?
THANKS


jigo, Sugar and glenver thanks guys for the surf places , ill sure consider it since its somthing i wanted to do since ever i can remember ...Did lot of skateboard and snow ... i guess its similar maybe not lol

SALAMAT EVERYONE lol

Comments again in blue

technobro:

THE Hammerhead Major Salamat Po (For taking the time its reallyyyyy appreciate i own u a guiness , Heeurrr a San miguel i guess ) No problem, san miguel is like currency to me

So the best thing is to get usd , here (Canada) locally for common expense (bus food , water etc ) right ? and pay hotel , diver whit cc ? i dont want to transport large amount of liquid Understood, USD is probably the best way to go, but consider topping-up when near an ATM. Almost everywhere has a safety box, so I'd use it whenever the chance is there.

How the criminaly , risk ? I've been ripped-off before, but never with established businesses, so what you're doing by asking in advance is the best way I can see to cut the risk of that hapenning. Where possible, as for a person to contact when you get there. It's also more firendy that way.:blinking:

Concerning Moalboal , do you mean its not worth while , diving or hotel wise , both ? Hotels & beach fine, diving poor by PI standards as far as I'm concerned

''you get to dive with the jacks on Alona Beach along the way, Mucho cool.''
what do you mean , by jacks , you mean peoples /diving club ? Sorry as you probably notice English is not my first language Don't worry about the language, I understand just fine. Anyway, jacks are fish! It looks like this: -

What place do you recommend in PG ? Sunsplash and Carmrob are very reasonably-priced, and close to Action Divers

''So what do you think ? I think I want to kill you and take your place''plz dont kill me lets just dive togheter instead Whenever I get the chance!

''apart from my bar tab, alas, so it shouldn't be that painful.''' Do you mean u have a loaded tab or Do you have a bar in PH ? I've been going to the same place for so long that they no longer bother charging me on a nightly basis, but give me the bill (also called a bar tab) at the end of my stay. Sometimes I don't have enough cash and then it's just "OK, no problem, pay it when you come back"!

Should i Bring my laptop , its an old p3 bulky and heavy ... for backing up photo , i mean is it worth bringin it or should i just go to internet cafe , and send them to a FTP ? I'd bring the laptop. A lot of the places you'll go will have very slow internet if it's available at all. A storage device might be good, but it's good to be able to view your photos while travelling...

Will my cellphone work in phils , its a virgin mobile canada ? No idea at all - anyone else?
THANKS don't mention it. My pleasure.


jigo, Sugar and glenver thanks guys for the surf places , ill sure consider it since its somthing i wanted to do since ever i can remember ...Did lot of skateboard and snow ... i guess its similar maybe not lol

SALAMAT EVERYONE lol

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@larry: fantastic shot!!!

@techno: sorry can't help on the cellphone thing...

Jag