Recommendations for Diving in the Philippines

[TomGoodacre]

Hi,

I'm going to be visiting the Philippines at the beginning of January and have a week spare to do some diving.

Does anyone have any recommendations on the best place(s) to dive? People have briefly mentioned Siquijor Island, Apo Island, El Nido and Coron Palawan and Bohol but haven't really commented much more than that. Any suggestions on good dive outfits?

Would also be great to hear people's experience of liveaboards in the Philippines. Only found a couple of places online.

Any hints or tips would be great! Thanks.

Tom

[highdesert]

The Philippines Paradise Divers forum is very active, and will give you the answer to every question you have about diving there, and then some ...

Philippine Paradise Divers - ScubaBoard (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/philippine-paradise-divers/)

... maybe a mod will catch this post and move it there for you.

[gunter.bernert]

Hi Tom,

For Puerto Galera in Mindoro check out Frontier Divers, Capt'n Greggs
For Bohol Genesis Divers
For Coron Busuanga Discovery Divers
For El Nido Palawan Divers
For Dumangete Atlantis Resort
For Apo Reef the "Apo Reef Club" in Mondoro or Dugong Dive Center in Busuanga
For Live aboard diving Scuba World expedition fleet.

All the best
Gunter

[ScubaSaipan]

Hey Gunter, PI has really had a tough time lately haven't they. Typhoons and flooding!

[gunter.bernert]

Hey Gunter, PI has really had a tough time lately haven't they. Typhoons and flooding!


Yes, Manila was hit with heavy rain and floods. But this is very year the same it's our raining season. We should be out of this the next weeks. Here in Busuanga all is fine.

Best regards, Gunter

[samaka]

Cebu and Negros.


Fly into Cebu that's got an international airport or to Manilla and then to Cebu. Domestic flights in the country are not expensive.

1 Take the bus from Cebu city to Moalboal and go diving with Jesper and the guys at Neptune. You will probably find Pescadore Island to be the best dive you ever made. First mail him on info@neptunediving.com and let him know you're on your way.

2 Then you continue down south to Lilloan and Santander. There you visit Dennis in his resort Eden. You find it at Eden Resort - Your all inclusive, western standard, luxury hotel & resort in Liloan, Santander, Cebu, Philippines (http://www.eden.ph) and the drift dives you can do in this area is absolutely fantastic. You can reach Dennis on dennis@mensa.se to make sure he knows you're coming.

3 Take the ferry over to Negros and spend at least one night in Dumaguete. There are a lot of places to stay in that place. It's a nice town where you can find all the things you can't when you're travelling around in the bush. Don't miss the café in the basement of Lee Plaza.

4 Take another ferry over to the fantastic Island of Siquihor. There you find a tricycle to take you to Kiwi Dive Resort. The most laid back place you're ever likely to visit. Make sure you note when you arrive because it's very easy to get lost in time and realize that you've been hanging around With Bruce and his lovely staff for a long time... kiwi@fil.net is his address.

Of course there are other places worth visiting in the visaya area like Bohol and Malapascua and in the end it boils down to how much time you’ve got and how keen you are on moving around/stay and relax. For the people with a higher demand for evening/night activities Boracay is a natural choice. There is not very god diving but plenty of places that offer dancing till sunrise.

Beside Visaya there are many islands with excellent diving. The wrecks around Coron for example is world class and not far behind the famous Truck Lagoon.

Enjoy

Samaka

[Teamcasa]

Moved to Philippine Paradise Divers

[chip104]

Hi,

I'm going to be visiting the Philippines at the beginning of January and have a week spare to do some diving.

Does anyone have any recommendations on the best place(s) to dive? People have briefly mentioned Siquijor Island, Apo Island, El Nido and Coron Palawan and Bohol but haven't really commented much more than that. Any suggestions on good dive outfits?

Would also be great to hear people's experience of liveaboards in the Philippines. Only found a couple of places online.

Any hints or tips would be great! Thanks.

Tom
Hi tom,

Gunter had some good recos. Do a search here of the locales you mentioned and you'll find plenty of info that will allow you to pick and choose what will suit you best. Feel free to ask us specific questions. Out of the places you mentioned, Bohol offers a nice mix of diving.

For a week, I reco you stay in one place for the duration. For liveaboards, you can do Apo Reef as it is not the season for Tubbataha yet. Most diving in the PI is land based.

[Bubble Junky]

Check out Malapascua (http://www.threshersharkdivers.com) too for the thresher sharks and some sweet macro diving.

[Antarctic-Adventurer]

Hi Tom,

I can vouch for Discovery Divers in Coron which is Gunter's operation. I dived with him in September 2008 and had a great time. If you are into wrecks then you won't go wrong with Coron and Discovery Divers. I found him to be a very helpful and friendly guy and his knowledge of the wrecks there is very extensive. Japanese WWII freighters and warships.
There is also a thermal lake and a submerged cavern in Coron which adds to the interest.

Have also dived Apo Island which was great. Reef and fish life abundant. There is so much to see in the Philippines one trip wont be enough trust me. My second trip there begins in a week.. :D

[IainD]

I recommend Dive Dojo in Puerto Galera, the beauty of Puerto Galera is that all the dive sites are within a 5 -10 minute boat ride, and there are a lot of dive sites to suit every style of diving...

[boljakool]

Hi Tom,

For Puerto Galera in Mindoro check out Frontier Divers, Capt'n Greggs
For Bohol Genesis Divers
For Coron Busuanga Discovery Divers
For El Nido Palawan Divers
For Dumangete Atlantis Resort
For Apo Reef the "Apo Reef Club" in Mondoro or Dugong Dive Center in Busuanga
For Live aboard diving Scuba World expedition fleet.

All the best
Gunter

Glad to see you here, Gunter! Welcome to PPD. ;)

[whalerock]

Hi Tom,
for Liveaboards check out Luxury liveaboard dive boats Phuket, diving Komodo, liveaboard Similan diving, Philippine diving & Indonesia Liveaboards (http://www.worldwidediveandsail.com)

[h2odragon1]

Another choice for liveaboard; Home - Liveaboard Scuba Diving in the Philippines and Palau (http://www.expeditionfleet.com/) .
Always gets great reviews in the scuba magazine liveaboard editions.
Puerto Galera has the most varied diving in the Philippines. In 2005 my wife and I dove with Dive Puerto Galera, Dive Philippines, Dive Action Divers (http://www.actiondivers.com/), and had a great time!
Anilao is another popular dive area. Welcome to Aqua Venture Reef Club! Live out a real diver's dream at Aquaventure Reef Club, Anilao, Batangas -- Luzon's premiere watersport haven and family resort. (http://www.aquareefclub.com/about.html) .
Both are a two hour drive south of Manila, with an additional 45 min boat ride for Puerto Galera.
2008 had us in Mactan Is. diving with dive shops (http://www.scubaworld.com.ph/dive-shops) the Lapu-Lapu city shop. We also went to Bohol and dove with Baywatch divers, (sorry no web site). Try Isis Bungalows - Welcome to Isis Bungalows (http://www.isisbungalows.com/en/index.html) .
You were concerned about everyone saying good things, but no reviews? I always say: YOU CAN'T GO WRONG DIVING IN THE PHILIPPINES!

[scottfiji]

Anilao is my favorite choice for underwater photography, although there is not a lot of "nightlife". See my Anilao diving report (http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/anilao-diving) from my 2 trips over the last year and you'll see why :)

[World Wide Diver]

Choose a place with the finest coral reefs that you can find. This is what the Coral Triangle is all about and will not last forever.

Southern Leyte is supposed to be good. Bohol has some nice corals. Apo island is good also. Best corals I have seen are in remote places in Mindanao.

Bring a camera and enjoy the beauty of the Philippine reefs.

Hope you have a great time.

[OuterReefAdventure]

It really depends on exactly what your looking for, if your looking for both night life and diving your choices become a lot more limited but if your really looking for great diving then your options really open up.... There are so many choices and many of them have already been listed, do a search on the forum for very good frank discussions..

[vales1]

Quick question guys, how's the vis during Nov - Dec? Any particular place where there's great vis during these months?

[World Wide Diver]

Quick question guys, how's the vis during Nov - Dec? Any particular place where there's great vis during these monthsIn our experience, best places are always away from river sources and on the ocean side of islands.

Again, I understand that southern leyte has excellent reefs and can have good viz.

The area also benefits from lack of mass divers who can/do can wreck corals.

If you are a very serious diver with slightly deeper pockets and you have a sense of adventure, then talk to Chris Dearne in General Santos about Kiamba and Maitum. Maitum is off the beaten track and has the finest reefs and reef life we have ever seen anywhere - as good as it gets.

These areas have been naturally protected from humans as they are in conflict affected areas, but safe to travel and dive with Chris.