Sogod bay - southern Leyte Q's??

[pughio83]

Has anyone dived Sogod Bay in southern Leyte? Thinking of spending 4-5 days there in april when i return for a trip to p'pines. If so how was the diving and any recommendations of dive resorts? Also which is the most efficient way ie time, to get there? any info useful, cheers

 

[Gilligan]

I dove there a couple of years ago. I stayed at Sogod Bay Scuba Resort. Nice place on the beach and well run. What I remember most about Southern Leyte was the great condition and variety of soft corals.

Sogod Bay (Padre Burgos) is a fairly isolated place. There were only 3 dive operators there when I went. Not a convenient place to get to no matter how you go.

There are fast crafts from Cebu and a slow boat (7 to 8 hours) as well. The slow boat leaves you in Maasin, the closest to Padre Burgos with about a 20 minute ride from the port to the dive resort.

From the fast craft schedules I currently have:
SuperCat
Cebu to Ormoc daily at 0545, 1100 and 1640
Ormoc to Cebu daily at 0820, 1345 and 1915
Weesam Express
Cebu to Ormoc 0530 Sat & Mon, 1045 daily , 1630 daily
Ormoc to Cebu 0800 daily, 1330 daily, 1900 Fri & Sun
Oceanjet
Doesn't go to Leyte

You then have to hire a car or van to drive you to Padre Burgos (about two hours).

There was a fast craft that went to Hilongos but I don't see it anymore.

Anyway, whichever one went to Hilongos canceled their trip on the day I went and I had to go to Ormoc which was farther North than Hilongos leaving me with a longer vehicle ride. The fast craft company told me they canceled due to mechanical problems but locals told me they often cancel if they don't have enough customers to make the trip worthwhile?

If you go from Manila just fly to Tacloban, the capital city. Unfortunately that leaves you in Northern Leyte with about a 3 to 4 hour vehicle ride to Padre Burgos and a bit on the pricey side.

When I left Padre Burgos I took the "slow boat" from Maasin at midnight and arrived in Cebu at 0700.

Check the fast craft schedules online for verification.

 

[nelsondejesus]

My Wife and I, together with my two kids are going to spend some of our christmas break at Sogod Bay. As at the moment, I can't recommend the resort where we intend to stay, namely "kuting resort", as this would be the first time that we will be going there. The reason why we're going there in the first place is that, the owners of the resort are close friends who have decided to relocate there in Leyte (from Manila), and invited us to visit them there and offered to provide us accomodations free of charge, plus the fact that they've been bragging that they have the best resort facility and accomodations in that area.

Although the resort itself does not have any dive operations, they've told us that they usually arrange separately the diving requirements of their guests, depending on their whims and preference, or more specifically their nationality, i.e. if the guests prefer european, american, filipino etc. dive operators.

I suggest you research on the "kuting resort" on the web and make inquiries for more details.

 

[annasea]

Another very enthusiastic vote for Sogod Bay Scuba Resort! I've only been there once but of all the resorts I've stayed at while in the Philippines, if I could only go back to one of them, SBSR would be it.

 

[joebubbles]

Actually, April is the best time of the year because the viz is great and the whalesharks are still there. Try to go early April, but avoid HolyWeek (Easter). Peter's is another dive shop that is beside SBSR. Both shops are recommended. On previous visits I got there via Ormoc and Tacloban as described by Gilligan above. A possible third option is to fly into Surigao in Mindanao and then take the Ferry over to San Ricardo. Dive sites not to be missed are Napantao and Limasawa. A new muck diving site (ghost town) was discovered by SBSR. I'm attaching my video from last April.
Diving Magical Sogod Bay, Philippines on Vimeo
Majestic Whalesharks and Dancing Sardines HD on Vimeo

Enjoy!