Overwhelmed. Need trip advice!!

ScubaJay32:

Hello All,

My girlfriend and I are going to the PI in March for 3 weeks. She is Filipino and has not been home in ten years. This will be my first time visiting. We are COMPLETELY overwhelmed with planning the trip. We have read Lonely Planet multiple times and have put together a rough itinerary. We are traveling on a budget so cost is somewhat of an issue--we are thinking about splurging for el nido resorts. We will be spending time with family but otherwise we are focused on diving. Here is the rough itinerary:


march
15 - arrive in the evening; stay in cebu
try catch a flight directly to Cebu from Japan or HK.

16 - cebu (family)
sneak out and do some dives at Gilutugan Marine Sanctuary or Tambuli Reef.

17-18 - nalusuan beach resort--this is her dad's friend's resort
diving here is supposed to be great. Ask Subzero for more info.

19-21 - el nido resort
Traveling on a budget and el nido resorts don't go hand in hand. El nido is known more for the amazing scenery than the diving. If you're looking for similar scenery, non-touristy atmosphere, and better budgeting and diving, I recommend Coron, Palawan (just above El Nido). You can also go to Puerto Princesa too.

Spoiler

(unless you're planning to propose to your GF, then yeah El Nido would be nice... )

22-23 - boracay-diving whale sharks
You can go diving but no diving with whalesharks in Boracay. Sogod Bay or Ticao is where whale shark diving can be done. Have fun in the sun and beach-going.

24-25 - donsol-dive or chill??
No whale shark diving in the municipality of Donsol, just snorkelling with the whale sharks. Ticao Passage/Manta Bowl has the diving with whalesharks. Steady Eddie's dive center was recently discussed.

26-27 - iligan (family)
As in Northern Mindinao? That's close to Cagayan De Oro/Camiguin - supposed to be a beautiful place to go and the diving is decent too (never been).

28-april 4 (7 days): choice of several islands for diving - sipalay, dumaguete (apo island), moalboal, malapascua, siquijor, panglao, gato--HELP HELP

1)Is this too much for 3 weeks?
Yes.


2)How tough is the travel between the above islands?
Let's see....Cebu > El Nido, Palawan > Boracay > Donsol > Iligan.....that's pretty ambitious (re: uber tough). Throw in a trip to Vigan and Davao then you've hit pretty much all corners of the PI! Let me outline the amount of travelling you'll be doing:
* Travelling to El Nido will take about half a day and you only plan to stay there for 2 days. From Cebu there are flights to Boracay (Caticlan) and Puerto Princesa (but only twice or so weekly) (from PP, you take an 8 hour or so trip up to El Nido).
* To get to Donsol, you'll have to back track to Manila and fly out to Legaspi or take the overnight bus to legaspi. Just for two days in Donsol.
* From Donsol, you back track to Manila and fly to Iligan. From Iligan, you back track to Manila and go somewhere for 7 days.

3)Any recommendations on dive outfits?
Depends where you want to go.

4)Please feel free to suggest itineraries to make the trip flow smooth.
Ok, let me summarize what you want to do and please tell me if I got it correct:
* family but not so much of it.
* white sand beaches.
* diving prioritized.
* whale sharks.

Ok, taking this into consideration, plus the fact that it's your first time in the PI, I recommend:

OPTION 1:
1. (~5 days): Arrive Cebu / Nalusuan
2. (~5 days): Cagayan De Oro via Manila domestic airport. Spend time around there. Take a trip to Iligan and stay with family overnight and then fly back to Manila (either via Iligan or CDO).
3. (~6 days): Boracay via Manila Airport. fly back to Cebu (not sure on schedule).
4. 5 more days: You have some options from Cebu:
* Sogod Bay, leyte: diving with whale sharks. Tis the season. Take a ferry to Bato Pier, Leyte and then back again.
* Malapascua: thresher sharks and mantas among other things. Land transport there.
* Dumaguete: Macro and fish schools. Great diving. Fast craft from the pier.
* Bohol: tons of stuff to see here - diving AND terrestrial things. Fast craft from the pier.
* Mactan: Close by. 25 mins from Cebu Airport.

OR you can do:

OPTION 2:
1. (~5 days): Arrive Cebu / Nalusuan
2. (~6 days): Boracay via Cebu Airport (not sure on schedule). fly back to Manila.
3. (~5 days): Cagayan De Oro via Manila domestic airport. Spend time around there. Take a trip to Iligan and stay with family overnight and then fly back to Manila (either via Iligan or CDO).
4. 5 more days: You have some options from Manila:
* Sogod Bay: leyte: diving with whale sharks. Tis the season. Take a flight to Tacloban and a 3 hour van to Sogod. If you're flying out of Cebu, take the ferry from Bato Pier, Leyte to Cebu. Fly back to Manila if you're leaving the PI from Manila.
* Donsol: snorkelling with Whale sharks and checking out Mt. Mayon and the whole Legaspi area. To save time, fly out of the PI from Manila.
* Dumaguete: fly to duma, fast craft to either Cebu or fly back to Manila to leave for US.
* Bohol: travel the same as Duma.
* Anilao: 2.5 hours land travel from Manila.
* PG: 2.5 hours land travel plus 1 hour boat ride from Manila.
* Subic: 2.5 hours from Manila.
* Coron: small plane flight to Coron, 20 mins travel to the Bay.

For your first time here, my favourite is option 1 and pick Bohol to go afterwards. If you're really bent on seeing whalesharks, I'd go to Sogod Bay from Cebu...although there's more guarantee you'll see them in Donsol. But you could always see whalesharks next time you come back.

Hope that helps.



Thanks so much for your help!!!
Jay

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Hank49:

If I were going for three weeks, I would not try to go to more than three places. It takes a day to get out of a place, go to the next and get into another hotel or whatever. There's 3 days gone. Time flies when I'm in the Philippines....
People make the same mistake visiting Hawaii...they try to see 3 islands in 10 days. Big mistake.
Bohol and Coron would be a good choice if you ask me.

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ScubaJay32:

Wow...thanks so much. You put things into good perspective. I am at work now but will take a good look at the map later.

I have been trolling the scuba board forums for about 6 months while searching for gear and when we decided to go to the Philippines I naturally looked into the travel section. I was impressed with what I had already read here at PPD but did not expect such a quick and helpful response. Thanks again.

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Babydamulag:

Too much for 3 weeks dude! If your girlfriend hasn't been home in 10 years then your "family adventure" is going to last a full week if not longer. Funny thing about Asia, when the girls show the guy to their family that means one thing .......GET READY!
Your schedule is really too ambitious. From New York you can go to Incheon, Seoul, Korea then on to Cebu. You might even want to go into Manila just to decompress and relax for a couple days. After a flight like that you will either drink heavily or sleep. Whatever you do, IT WILL BE A BLAST!!!

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carlinha:

babydamulag, your comment above is hysterical...

well, i am said girlfriend... and i hope to god my family does not start thinking like that!!!

as for the comments, a big THANK YOU to all... they are really helpful, and will at least help us narrow down the places.

we are flying directly into cebu via hongkong on cathay pacific... staying at nalusuan for a few days, and hanging out for a day or 2 with family there... then the plan is definitely el nido to just chill and relax for a few days... boracay may be a no-go since i don't really wanna do super-touristy stuff... i have to do iligan (yes this is close to cagayan de oro) to see my mom's side of the family, but then the rest of the time i think we will be based somewhere in the visayas so we can dive around there (apo island, malapascua, etc)...

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