Puerto Galera hotel / diving recommendations

We are going to Puerto Galera to dive late April. 4 nights at PG. 2 divers, 1 beginner, 1 intermediate. We land at Manilla at 11am. What are our options to get to PG ? Recommendations for hotels ? Restaurants ? Things to do ? Seems like the night life is in Sabang Beach so we should stay around there. Dive in the mornings, nap and check out the local area in the afternoon / evenings ?

Thanks!!!

we rented a private van that cost 3000 pesos ~$60 bucks to take us to Batangas and from there you take a 1 hour ferry which is about $7 to sabang. Many small hotels to chose from. We like campbells beach resort at big la laguna. Walking distance to sabang is about 10 minutes. Diving is great at Scandi divers. you can take a jeepney into puerto galera but there is no diving there just a nice beach called white beach.

If your budget permits it, considering using Atlantis. We spent a week with them in February. They will make all the arrangements to get you picked up in Manila and to Batangas, and then you do the crossing on the Atlantis Bangka. We really enjoyed our stay there. The resort is beautiful and the dive op is very professional, safety-conscious, and very nice. We loved the diving there, too!

Did the local bus and ferry - you may find paying for a private transfer at that time of the day may work better for you. I dived with South Sea Divers and would highly recommend them. Restaurants - Tamarind, Hemingways, Atlantis koko bar...night life in Sabang tends to involve many girls in not so much clothing.

You might also do a search as there are several current threads (and probably lots of older ones) about diving and accommodations in Sabang/P.G.

I'm a "traveler" (backpacker) type and dove with Action Divers. They set me up at Banana Moon. Total cost for three dives a day, room and breakfast was $95 US. There are plenty of more upscale options but that suited me just fine... I had a great view of the Verde Passage and Verde Island every morning at sunrise.

The last public ferry from Batangas Pier to Sabang/PG is 16:30. If you flight arrives on time then you have no problem to make it by taking public bus BUT...! You can either prearrange a private van from your chosen resort in Sabang or take a taxi from the airport. The white metered taxi outside the Departure Hall(upstair) cost considerable less than the yellow airport one(Arrival Hall). Highly unlikely that the driver would use the meter if you tell him your destination is Batangas Pier. P3,000.00(all the tolls included) is the absolute maximum. The journey should not take more than 2hrs unless there is heavy traffic!! However, for the first time visitors I would suggest you should ask your resort to arrange the land and sea transfer. You are on holiday afterall.

If you are an night owl then forget about Campbell which is at the extreme end of Big La Laguna. You won't enjoy the walk back from Sabang at night. Bring a torch.
South Sea Divers(next to Atlantis) on Sabang Beachis owned by an American(Sky) is very good. Sky has been around yrs. Other alternatives are Frontier, Sea Rider and Big Apple(very rowdy at night).

Ditto if you have an early flight on the way back - unless your plane leaves at night or late afternoon you may be better having a layover in Manila. My flight was at 2.30pm, I took the 7.30am Ski Kat Bus combo and didnt get into Manila central until 1.45pm....Centrals Sky is just the coolest guy - genuinely nice person and you dont stay in business as long as he has for no reason.

Sky actually put up with my hints and pestering to do a dive into the next year on NYE...his wife and long time staff put on a bbq for us at the shop and it was amazing heading out through the fireworks at 11.50pm to hit the water and see in 2014 drifting along with Sky and some awesome friends.....including the guy who showed up at 11.30 asking if this was the place doing a new year dive as he had heard about it on the grapevine... Ever the pro and genuine nice guy Sky fished around for some gear so he could join. Even Sky said he enjoyed that dive way more than the usual dive.

@Wingy

I dove with Sky many years ago. If i recall correctly sometime around 1997. He's a very cool guy and im glad he's still around.

We arrived at midnight, so we stayed at the Remington hotel right there by the airport, and had the resort pick us up in the morning for a private auto transfer to the resort marina just east of Batangas. The traffic was horrible (especially in Batangas), but our driver knew every back alley and snake path to get around the traffic jams, so we got to the marina at a reasonable time. The resort transport banga (much bigger that the bangas used for diving, and completely enclosed) was waiting for us, and took the two of us across the channel and right to the El Galleon pier. Sure, the whole thing was about $300 round trip, but you couldn't ask for a smoother transfer. And, they will take up to 6 people for that $300 fee, so if you have a small group the cost goes way down accordingly. So, do you really want to bag drag with public transportation and ferries, especially if you travel gear heavy as we do? We had 7 pieces of luggage all told, and I shudder to think of doing this any other way. This is a vacation, you know, not an endurance run. Of course, if you are one of those adventurous backpacker types, then YMMV. It is certainly nice to have this all laid out in advance and arranged for you, though. Good luck!

I dove and stayed with BAdladz. I cannot wait to return to PG and dive with them again. They can help with any of your needs. GREAT people I can call my friends.