Boracay (or other place) Feb 2011

[hogge]

Hi,

I wonder if Boracay is a good diving destination for a family with 2 divers and 4 non divers? Is February/March a good time to go there?

Are there any "better" places? We ned a 4**** family resort for the the non divers.

Regards
Hogge

 

[Karl_H]

In short - no!

Boracay has some okay dives but finding someone who'll take you to them over the much closer crappy sites can be a challenge in itself - there's also some current on the better sites so they can be more challenging. Finally the diving on Boracay tends to be pretty overpriced!

If you're looking for a good family diver and non-diver location I'd probably suggest Bohol (Alona Beach in Panglao) as the choice destination - that has most of the family attractions in Boracay (with much less night life) and much better diving of all levels.

There's plenty of choice for accommodation - my recommendation would be Isis Bungalows and dive with Bohol Divers Club next door (there is also a Bohol Divers Club hotel but I'd avoid this as there is much better choices!) - The Isis Bunglaows Thai restaurant is also one of the best places to eat on Alona Beach

Feburary/March would be a good time to go, although it will be quite hot at that time of year, the water should be a good temperature of around 27-28C - cold to those of us who've become far too accustomed to warmer water but fine by most people standards

Hope that helps!

Karl

 

[chuckpuerto]

I myself would go to Puerto Galera the diving is much better,and for family one of the better places to stay would be the resort that sandar Divers is at take a look at the web-site

 

[MrWizard]

We love going to Borocay with the family (4 divers 1 non diver) you have to know someone or know someone who knows someone. There are a lot of *really* good dive sites which are reachable by air or NX32. One little wreck (its opened so its easy to explore) at ~30M. Borocay is very "touristy" so if your non-divers are of a reasonable age there is plenty to do. Also because its dependent on the tourist business they seem to try to rip you off less than some of the places I've stayed in Luzon or Visasys (gear left out doesn't get messed with, that sort of thing) Its gotten a little expensive relative to the other small islands over the past year or so, but not really outrageous. Just avoid the obvious tourist spots and eat with the filipinos. (the food is better that way too) The amenities have gone up though to counter that expense. You can get globe broadband on a usb stick pretty much everywhere across the island, most places have generators and aircon as standard. We usually fly in with SEA-AIR and if you are carrying gear above and beyond the 10Kg weight limit you can contact them to book "cargo seats" at a very reduced rate that the over charges (about 1/2 that price) PM me if you wish and I can provide contacts we know and you can go from there.

 

[pughio83]

I would certainly recommend Boracay, and in high season in feb/march the weather is usally great and lots to do. It can be as quiet or happening as you make it, depending where you stay, but there are lots of nice resorts now. Check out Fridays, Mandarin spa, The regency, The Tides for nice places to stay. Food is great, lots of day activities from bike riding to driving Atv's, watersports etc..Plus one of the worlds best beaches!!

Regarding diving there are better places in the Philippines but it is still the philippines and can be world class. Crocodile island offers a great healthy vibrant reef, whilst there is a decent wreck with Camia II and Yapak dives offer chance of seeing larger fish! I have seen eagle rays, grey reef and white tips, marble rays, turtles, sea snakes, jacks, barracuda at Yapak before and divers are still occasionally seeing hammerheads, thresher sharks and rarely Mola Mola.

At the same time, you can do day diving at Maniguin island (3-4hrs by boat) for chance of more pelagics, and if you want, a lot of the dive centres do trips to panagatan, which though more advanced diving, is excellent in March for pelagics. In march this year we saw school of Mantas, mobula rays, lots white tips, grey reef and 2 great hammerheads. Plus dolphins on the boat. And in MArch there is a chance of whalesharks there.

But for macrolife, Boracay itself can be world class, especially night diving off white beach infront of the tourist centre. Assorted snake eels, scorpion and stonefish, harlequin and robust ghost pipefish, harlequin shrimps, decorator crabs, pygmy seahorses,ribbon eels, many diff types of nudibranchs, seahorses, lots of frogfish including clown and hairy forms (especially march-may), and other rarer animals have been seen like mimic octopus, blue ringed octopus and flambouyant cuttlefish though you must be lucky!!

All in all i think Boracay offers a lot, and having done a lot of diving around the philippines it has the best of both worlds, good diving and all the land based things as well. Yes there are better places, Anilao/PG all good for macro and some nightlife, bohol nice but v quiet and not enough to do for none divers, i think for mixed group boracay the best option. NB prices little bit more expensive than other islands but still not overly priced.

Check out Calypso Diving and Pinjalo, well run centre, best divemasters on the island for macrolife spotting and good accommodation.

 

[kwhkg]

check out Willy's Beach Resort

 

[hogge]

Now we have booked the trip to Boracay 20th Feb-4th March

Anyone interrested in giving me "insider" tips for good dive spots, good Dive Centras etc... Do not hesitate to contact me...

By the way... for 2012 I plan the Maldives...

 

[MrWizard]

Free Willy Diving is a small family run dive shop near station 1. Its down on one quiet side of white beach, if there is such a thing. We've been going there for years. All our kids got their padi cards from the classes there. If you want to stay on white beach there are several places right near there that range in amenities depending on your price range. Our favorite place is the Yosibelle which is managed by Boracay Beach Resort . Its a 3 bedroom "house" you can rent. We've also stayed at the Boracay Gold Crowne and Zuzuni all of which are good places to stay

 

[pughio83]

There is so much accommodation but you need to book in advance for many places in the high season, and book your flights to caticlan or kalibo early to get better prices/places. I recommend Calypso diving/pinjalo because its actually the best dive centre on boracay though not the cheapest. but the facilities are the best, and have 3-4 dives daily and you can usually night dive any night. I have done my rescue diver, EFR, nitrox, and divemasters there, plus day and overnight trips with them.However victory divers, free willy also have good schedules. Plus the nightdiving infront of calypso i think is the best on the island for macro life. If you dive at calypso and interested in macrolife, ask for ranier or domingo as they can find all the weird stuff!

Depending on your level, i would def try and dive crocodile island, Yapak, Camia II wreck, santos place, Buruanga, The valley, and if you can i would try and dive panagatan on an overnight liveaboard trip if they are running one, or maniguin island day trip. Calypso is one of the few dive centres with a big boat that can go to further ashore dive centres. I have instructor and divemaster friends at calypso, scottys at the shang ri la and free willy so any queries i will be happy to answer.

 

[Wantonmien]

Hi,

I wonder if Boracay is a good diving destination for a family with 2 divers and 4 non divers? Is February/March a good time to go there?

Are there any "better" places? We ned a 4**** family resort for the the non divers.

Regards
Hogge

Hogge,

For a holiday for the family, Boracay no problem, nice island, a bit touristy, but white sand, blue water, plenty of bars/restauarants along the beach. I'm heading back there with a group 2 divers, 2 non divers in first week of September, it'll be my sixth or seventh time heading there for a short holiday - and although I'd have prefered Puerto Galera for the trip - I got out voted, and now just have my fingers crossed that the rains stay away !

The diving in Boracay, echoing Karl & others words above, some good sites, some sites with strong current, but "Yapak" definetly worth checking out - also a lot of crappy sites. We always use Calypso Diving and Pinjalo Resorts: welcome to Boracay Island paradise in the Philippines! for sure they are not the cheapest but it's a professionally run outfit, and some good dive guides working there.

Accomodation - I've stayed at Willys a few times, no problem, the place with Calypso also looks good.

Cheers and safe diving