Diving in Puerto Galera

I am brand new to this site and I need some advice. I am a US dive master and have been diving for 14 years. Most of my diving has been in the Carribean - Cozumel, Aruba, Bonaire, etc. Also did Great Barrier reef. Now i am working near Nagoya Japan on and off for the next few months and wanted to take advantage of being in Asia. I wanted to start slow and find somewhere I can get to easily for 3-4 days of diving. I will attempt a live aboard trip later when I have a week or more.

I have located through the web a dive shop called Action Divers in Puerto Galera, Philippines and have located the correct flights from Nagoya to Manila. I am just looking for some feeback from all the divers on this site.

Is PG a decent dive spot compared to the places I've been? What is the diving like at the end of May in this part of the world? Is there any activities after diving in this town ?

Thanks for any feedback on this or any other diving that might be accessible from Nagoya.

Gary

Gary,

I spent a few days diving with AsiaDivers (I believe they are on the same beach as Action Divers) a month ago. They are a great group of people to dive with. The outfit is located right next to a loading dock so it's very convenient. Also staying at the El Galleon resort made life easy since it was right next door.

If you're a photographer, bring your 50 mm and 100 mm macro lenses. You'll see tons of nudibranchs, pipefish, mantis shrimp, etc. If you're lucky enough to dive the Canyons (I wasn't ), take the wide angle for that. The visibility during my stay was about 40-60 ft (alot better than the average 20-ft in Monterey). The water temperature was in the low 80's F.

As far as "activities", the beach next door is Sabang. If you like drinking and dancing, that may be the place for you. It's a bit "lawless" so you should be with people you know.

Have fun and dive safe!

.mike

Grusso:

I am brand new to this site and I need some advice. I am a US dive master and have been diving for 14 years. Most of my diving has been in the Carribean - Cozumel, Aruba, Bonaire, etc. Also did Great Barrier reef. Now i am working near Nagoya Japan on and off for the next few months and wanted to take advantage of being in Asia. I wanted to start slow and find somewhere I can get to easily for 3-4 days of diving. I will attempt a live aboard trip later when I have a week or more.

I have located through the web a dive shop called Action Divers in Puerto Galera, Philippines and have located the correct flights from Nagoya to Manila. I am just looking for some feeback from all the divers on this site.

Is PG a decent dive spot compared to the places I've been? What is the diving like at the end of May in this part of the world? Is there any activities after diving in this town ?

Thanks for any feedback on this or any other diving that might be accessible from Nagoya.

Gary

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Grusso:

I am brand new to this site and I need some advice. I am a US dive master and have been diving for 14 years. Most of my diving has been in the Carribean - Cozumel, Aruba, Bonaire, etc. Also did Great Barrier reef. Now i am working near Nagoya Japan on and off for the next few months and wanted to take advantage of being in Asia. I wanted to start slow and find somewhere I can get to easily for 3-4 days of diving. I will attempt a live aboard trip later when I have a week or more.

I have located through the web a dive shop called Action Divers in Puerto Galera, Philippines and have located the correct flights from Nagoya to Manila. I am just looking for some feeback from all the divers on this site.

Is PG a decent dive spot compared to the places I've been? What is the diving like at the end of May in this part of the world? Is there any activities after diving in this town ?

Thanks for any feedback on this or any other diving that might be accessible from Nagoya.

Gary

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I have dive with Action Divers numerous times and they are great. They have one of the most competitive diving rates there. Small operation and great instructors/DMs.

Hi,
When I am in PG, I dive with Triton divers Sabang. Though I think they are much cheper that Action Divers. They have $ 15 per dive and they will even give you the 7th dive free. NFriendly DM's and Boss . They have 2 out boards and they like their diving only in small groups. When I go there I usually go by myself and have the whole boat for my self my wife and kid .
They have their own lodge resort which is cheap. P 1200 the most and you can even haggle whith them if you are diving with Triton Divers.
Yes PG is definetly a good place to dive for me. it's near Manila and the corals here are in good condition , unlike in Anilao wherein there are spots that have been blasted away by dynamite fishing.
Try the Canyons, Fish bowl, Monky wreck and beach and Hibo reef......
When In sabang, there are a lot of Bars , though I don't go there since i have my wife with me. but you can always try it out.
Hope this helps.

I also did some work in Japan and Taiwan. Then diving in the Philippines on extended weekends or on the way back home to the West Coast.

If I had to do it again I would fly directly into the island of Cebu in the central Philippines, the second or third largest city. Flying in to Manila you will waste a day travelling to PG. Cebu on the other hand, you could be diving minutes after you step off the international flight!

The island of Bohol, some of the best diving in the RP, is less than an hour away via a fast ferry. The month of May is Primetime diving in the central RP.

And I did dive in PG and the Carribean, just because the place is popular does not always mean its the best.

Come to think of it, even if I did fly into Manila I would still hop on a interisland flight to Cebu! One or two hours by air will still get you to Cebu, faster than the land and sea travel when going to PG.

Dive Safe

Well, I think the amount of time required is the same for both Bohol and PG. Having been to both, I have to admit that I really like diving in PG. It offers the best of varied diving: from muck, to slope, wreck, technical, and wall. Marine life is also varied, though sharks and bigger fish like mantas will probably be not on the menu. The macro stuff is impressive though. And there is a NIGHTLIFE.

Bohol is similar in terms of marine life to PG, though the likelihood of seeing sharks is a little higher. And the travel time from Cebu airport to Bohol is only slightly shorter than from Manila to PG. It is a quieter place than Sabang, and the divesites are a little further away from the main beach. Other than that, diving is pretty excellent as well, though less varied in terms of landscape to PG. Again, small critters are the main reason to be here. Nothing happens after dark though.

Have a look at my gallery. Most of the later pictures are from Bohol and PG. Will give u some idea of what u can see there.

Tim,

You gallery is great. I especially liked the stonefish photos, and in particular, number 55 (totally buried in the sand). That is one of the best UW photos I have seen. The fella is so well camaflaged except for his eyes and "frown"!!! I am sure 99% of divers would just swim right past him and the other 1% would probably put their hand down right on him...yikes!!!

I think I have seen this fella too...but he was in the wreck (forget the name) in the shallows of Sabang Bay. The spot where the 3 wrecks are close together. He was nestled in a crevice near the top of the wreck. He/she had the same very pretty orange coloration.

I will be in PG again next week. I will say hello to him if I find him.

Wolverine:

Well, I think the amount of time required is the same for both Bohol and PG. Having been to both, I have to admit that I really like diving in PG. It offers the best of varied diving: from muck, to slope, wreck, technical, and wall. Marine life is also varied, though sharks and bigger fish like mantas will probably be not on the menu. The macro stuff is impressive though. And there is a NIGHTLIFE.

Bohol is similar in terms of marine life to PG, though the likelihood of seeing sharks is a little higher. And the travel time from Cebu airport to Bohol is only slightly shorter than from Manila to PG. It is a quieter place than Sabang, and the divesites are a little further away from the main beach. Other than that, diving is pretty excellent as well, though less varied in terms of landscape to PG. Again, small critters are the main reason to be here. Nothing happens after dark though.

Have a look at my gallery. Most of the later pictures are from Bohol and PG. Will give u some idea of what u can see there.

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Gary,

Welcome to SE Asian diving...I am sure you will like it. The fish and invertabrate life here in our part of the world is much more diverse and prolific than anything in the Carribean. Some single sites in the Phils/Malaysia/Indonesia have more species of coral than the entire Carribean.

Puerta Gallera is a great place to start. Like others said, it has a great variety of diving from open water, macro, wrecks, sandy bottoms. It is also easy to get to and there is plenty of diving infrustructure and nightlife. The only thing is that, like many Philipine sites, the density of fishlife can be a little low when compared to sites in Malaysia and Thailand. The macro is excellent, however. Prices are also cheap and staff and Filipinos very friendly and helpful (and, of course, English speaking). My only advice would be to bring all your own kit if you have it. Whats available to buy equipment wise is rather limited to the basics.

I have dived in PG several times (and will be again in a week). I have used Asia Divers and was quite happy. They also have a adjacent resort, El Galleon, which gets the job done. Not the best on the beach but convient and has nice pool. Food only so-so. About a 5 minute walk away is the town of Sabang Beach. There are resorts here too and also bars and restaurants. It is all very laid-back. If you are single, you can make new friends here.

Enjoy your trip.












QUOTE=Grusso]I am brand new to this site and I need some advice. I am a US dive master and have been diving for 14 years. Most of my diving has been in the Carribean - Cozumel, Aruba, Bonaire, etc. Also did Great Barrier reef. Now i am working near Nagoya Japan on and off for the next few months and wanted to take advantage of being in Asia. I wanted to start slow and find somewhere I can get to easily for 3-4 days of diving. I will attempt a live aboard trip later when I have a week or more.

I have located through the web a dive shop called Action Divers in Puerto Galera, Philippines and have located the correct flights from Nagoya to Manila. I am just looking for some feeback from all the divers on this site.

Is PG a decent dive spot compared to the places I've been? What is the diving like at the end of May in this part of the world? Is there any activities after diving in this town ?

Thanks for any feedback on this or any other diving that might be accessible from Nagoya.

Gary[/QUOTE]

Thanks for everyone's posts - they helped me decide to make this trip a reality - plus my company is picking up the airfare - so I can REALLY enjoy the trip now.

Hi there,

I will be visiting Puerto Galera end May. I will diving with South Sea Divers. Anyone heard of them?

Thank you.

Love and dolphins