You haven't been to the Philippines if you missed..

fill it in

I will be there for three months (may-august). My plan so far is PG, Coron Island and Donsol. I will, most likely, do my divemaster (and hopefully an internship) in PG. I will be on a budget, especcially when it comes to 25$ a pop-dives. So I am not just looking for awesome dive spots since I will dive enough and the locations above cover pretty much my dive needs (coral, wrecks, big animals).

Awesome must-do divespots in that region or between are of course welcome as well. Real nice places that are like PG too

Just curious which other spots, activitities and experiences are really a must. (thinking about a safari, wildlife, rafting, mountains, cities, culture etc.)

What is Cebu like by the way?

Damn I cant wait

i strongly suggest dumaguete for apo island and siquijor(great soft coral, tons of jackfish, many turtles, big travelis and wrasses, many many frogfish, lotsa macro),
and also malapascua for monad shoal (thresher sharks mantas) and gato island (white tip sharks in a cave)


cheers

If you do PG then you MUST do VERDE ISLAND.

for non-diving stuff you should experience:

lechon - best had from cebu (car-car) or tacloban (leyte) but otherwise rocks any which way you find it... whole roasted pig, best eaten with your fingers dipped in local sauce, soy-vinegar-lime combo or, again, on its own... it's not healthy, but who cares

crispy pata - deep fried leg of pig... i know, i know, it's not healthy either... but dip that in a soy-vinegar-onion-garlic combo and who cares if you're 2 seconds away from a coronary...

riding a tricycle and a jeepney - hold on for dear life!

coron - barracuda lake, island/ beach hopping, the cross at the top of the hill

local street food and eating in a "carinderia" - fried squidballs (we get a lot of male squid here), grilled chicken innards (much yummier than they sound imho), lomi (a thick, noodle soup)... basically find a street vendor or tiny eatery... sometimes the munchies will outclass the Shangri-La even if the location doesn't

dumaguete - check out the siliman u marine museum... it was interesting... if you're up for road and or boat trips i know negros island is overall very interesting... also taking a ferry around the visayas and north mindanao to camiguin, cagayan de oro, iligan (great waterfalls), misamiz (dolphin encounters), siquijor (voodooo and such), guimaras (best mangoes on the planet)

things to eat - young coconut, mangoes, bananas, watermelons, melons, mangosteens (south mindanao)... these are pretty much in season all year round

drinking coconut water out of the just-picked coconut - nectar of the gods really... ask a local to climb up a tree, in 5 minutes you'll have your drink... then ask them to open it up and eat the meat straight from the shell... you can ask the guy to hack you a "spoon" from the husk

hope this helps

Jag

PS
given: san miguel beer... tanduay rhum... you're going to PG, the next thing more common there than sea water is san mig and tanduay

omg guys

Now I can never enjoy my trip..
too much having to do makes it like work

damaguete sounds real nice, all forms of pork as well. Mango is my favorite food combined with shrimp, san miguel is topnotch, tresher sharks look cool, asian streetfood is the nuts.

From what i found so quickly i understand that damaguete has less sex industry than PG?

The Puerto Galera Hash run! Lots of fun! And if you're doing any kind of a course with Ethei at Divedojo, you don't really have a choice about it...

CODMAN:

The Puerto Galera Hash run! Lots of fun! And if you're doing any kind of a course with Ethei at Divedojo, you don't really have a choice about it...

Click to expand...

oh oh I am
whats the hash run?

inform me

It's lost of fun and well worth the effort! It's a local weekly foot race maybe 4-5 km, that brings you through much of the local villages and countryside. It doesn,t cost mych to enter and is a great way to socialise and see the area. and at the end, there are free drinks (well, that's what the entry fee goes to...)...

You do it at your own pace and have fun! That,s what everyone there is after; a good time.

Cheers!

sonar:

omg guys

Now I can never enjoy my trip..
too much having to do makes it like work

damaguete sounds real nice, all forms of pork as well. Mango is my favorite food combined with shrimp, san miguel is topnotch, tresher sharks look cool, asian streetfood is the nuts.

From what i found so quickly i understand that damaguete has less sex industry than PG?

Click to expand...

dumaguete is a university town... so a lot less of the sleazy flesh trade you'd find in sabang...

but then again... there are always college girls

a friend told me companionship is there for the finding if you know where to look...

Jag

Flesh trade, college girls, companions.....this is making me, well.....
<LOOKING DIRECTLY AT MYT WIFE> "HOW YOU DOIN'?"