I am in Saranggani!!!!

[Izel]

I'm finally here in South Point Divers in Saranggani eating Humba and drinking coffee on a hill top restaurant with a view to die for! The drive to the resort was beautiful. Saranggani has a charm that is uniquely it's own. This is certainly the prettiest dive resort I've been to. And the architecture.... what?! WHAT ABOUT THE DIVING?!!! Bwahahahahaha!!!!!

Well, I did two dives already and going on my third. The second dive was a rush! I was like, omg, omg, omg, omg, omg, omg.... That's all I could say! They are all bigger here.

Well, I'll tell you all about it on my trip report. Gtg!

Gi

 

[Stout]

Wow, sounds wonderful and the google suggests it might be a destination to put on my upcoming dive bum around the Philippines trip I'm planning for next jan/feb.

No prices listed on South Point DC website though, which makes me rather wary of heading down there. I'm going as a single traveller for a month, maybe six weeks so splurging on the high end in, unfortunately, out of the picture.

So far all I've got as a "for sure" is Moalboal, Malapascua, Apo with El Nido "on the list' and now, Sarangani.

I'm liking this shore diving idea though, It's how we dive locally and I've never done any of it on dive trips.

 

[partridge]

Thanks for the kind words Gi. At least for now. They may not be so kind in the trip report. Haha.

Stout: working on the website. Its a couple years old and we are making a new one for the resort and for the dive shop. You may want to google Lemlunay resort to see what else is here. My bad but Im trying.

 

[kevinl4270]

Thanks Izel. What is the security sitiuation like there? I will be in Zamboanga for a few days in March or April. I may have to head over there to do a few dives.
Any one know how difficult it is to get from Zamboanga to Sarangani Bay. Preferably without flying so I can maximize my dive time?
Thanks for the info.

 

[Stout]

Cheers Paul. no worries, it just sort of sounds like you may be running a five star down there which would unfortunately put it outside my price range.

I'm slowly learning that travel within the Philippines can be rather challenging when compared to, say, Thailand, and I'm not quite sure how much travel outside of Cebu I'll end up doing. But hey, I survived the bus around circuit of central America, so I'm no stranger to weirdness.

I'll email you for a price list.

 

[chip104]

Stout,

the following thread is still a work in progress but it might be able to help you out:
ScubaBoard - Transportation in the PI

A close friend and I were comparing public transport in S&C America vs. Philippines. I'd say you're good to go, especially since most people in the PI have some basic knowledge of English.

 

[Stout]

Cheers chip104, thanks for that.

I fast coming to the realisation that my idea of "doing the Philippines" is rather pipedreamish as the more I look into the mechanics of getting around the country, the more I estimate just how much time I'll be spending out of the water.

If I wanted to go from, say, Moalboal, to Puerto Galera....yikes !! looks like two days, then I have to go back assuming I'm flying out of Cebu. El Nido, 30 hours by ferry? flying, only 10 kg luggage ? I travel light but earlier this year when I dove around Thailand I was at 18kg with all my gear. Even if I leave my BCD and reg at home, I'll probably still be overweight.

I figure i better stick with one "area" I'm thinking Moalboal, Malapascua, Dumagette, Sogod for one trip, then next year fly into Manila and do PG, Apo, Corazon, ElNido.

Or maybe I'll do that this year, I'm still waiting for this guy, who knows this guy who knows this Filipino travel agent whose supposed to have all these deals on offer. I heard second guy got return, Vancouver to Philippines for 850 CDN. The internet offers me no such deals.

Oh yea, I just found out there's TWO Apo islands, that awesome sounding one turns out to be Apo reef, not the little tiny one near Dumaguete.

Still unsure about Mindanao, a bomb went off there yesterday, on a bus, 10 people killed.

Researching this trip, I've sure developed an appreciation for bloggers. I am getting the distinct impression that it's mostly expats who dive the Philippines and there's not to much in the way of people flying in for tourism.

So I'll just sit by the phone, waiting for Filipino travel agent to call, I'll give him a couple of weeks, since my number is being passed from one guy to another.. if I don't hear from him, I'll go with my regular one and see if she can give me prices for both Manila and Cebu. If the Cebu leg is expensive then I'll just take the Manila option and do the PG,etc route as regardless of location, the prices seem "the same" for both diving and accommodation.

Moalboal does sound a little more affordable though and I've noticed shops there are offering package deals, like Thailand does. Discounts for buying, say, 10 dives whereas everywhere else seems to be on a by the day plan. I'm planning of staying in one location for a week or so, and that package thing appeals to me.

 

[chip104]

Cheers chip104, thanks for that.

I fast coming to the realisation that my idea of "doing the Philippines" is rather pipedreamish as the more I look into the mechanics of getting around the country, the more I estimate just how much time I'll be spending out of the water.

If I wanted to go from, say, Moalboal, to Puerto Galera....yikes !! looks like two days, then I have to go back assuming I'm flying out of Cebu. El Nido, 30 hours by ferry? flying, only 10 kg luggage ? I travel light but earlier this year when I dove around Thailand I was at 18kg with all my gear. Even if I leave my BCD and reg at home, I'll probably still be overweight.

What airline are you looking at? Almost all flights are 15kg, not 10kg (unless you're going to Boracay). The extra 3kg will cost about ~P300 extra charge.

I figure i better stick with one "area" I'm thinking Moalboal, Malapascua, Dumagette, Sogod for one trip, then next year fly into Manila and do PG, Apo, Corazon, ElNido.

The PI's coastline is twice that of the US. Not sure how long you're planning to go to the PI, but trying to hit up all those destinations is like trying to hit all the diving destinations from BC down to SoCal.

Moalboal, Malapascua, Dumagette, Sogod is plenty enough for a months worth of diving and sight seeing. (Visayas region). If I may suggest, you can fly into Cebu, head to Duma via boat, travel up to Moalboal, then Malapascua, then take the Maya -> San Isidro outrigger to get to Leyte and ultimately down to Sogod. Search for the user "Chem". He did something similar.

I'd also suggest Sogod -> Bohol (Anda, Cabilao, Alona) or Mactan, Cebu -> Duma -> Moalboal ->Malapascua if you're backpacking around.

PG, Apo, Coron, El Nido, Anilao can take up another month or more.

Oh yea, I just found out there's TWO Apo islands, that awesome sounding one turns out to be Apo reef, not the little tiny one near Dumaguete.

haha, don't worry, Apo Island is pretty good. What kind of marine life were you looking for?

Still unsure about Mindanao, a bomb went off there yesterday, on a bus, 10 people killed.

I wouldn't worry about it. It's always quite amusing how relative fear is to people. Mindinao has a total area just larger than Maine. The bomb went off just outside Cotabato City. Diving is located in Gen San, Davao, Camiguin, and Surigao.

Cotabato to Gen San (closest city) is roughly 150km. Afraid of diving Gen San because of a bomb in Cotabato is equivalent of being afraid to dive in Niagara Falls because of the increase in gun violence in Toronto. They are two different regions (One is in the realm of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindinao, the other is not).

Researching this trip, I've sure developed an appreciation for bloggers. I am getting the distinct impression that it's mostly expats who dive the Philippines and there's not to much in the way of people flying in for tourism.

So I'll just sit by the phone, waiting for Filipino travel agent to call, I'll give him a couple of weeks, since my number is being passed from one guy to another.. if I don't hear from him, I'll go with my regular one and see if she can give me prices for both Manila and Cebu. If the Cebu leg is expensive then I'll just take the Manila option and do the PG,etc route as regardless of location, the prices seem "the same" for both diving and accommodation.

Moalboal does sound a little more affordable though and I've noticed shops there are offering package deals, like Thailand does. Discounts for buying, say, 10 dives whereas everywhere else seems to be on a by the day plan. I'm planning of staying in one location for a week or so, and that package thing appeals to me.

Stout, many people fly in to dive in the PI. As you haven't started your own thread regarding your needs, plans, and what you want to accomplish, it's a bit hard to help you. Take a look at this thread and maybe this faq will help you and also

 

[Stout]

Yep, I suppose i did hijack this thread with that last post, apologies.

But Sarangaii is still on my list then, if i don't need to worry about getting blown up in transit. And...if the weight limit is 15 kilos, and only 300 for the extra, ( I pulled the 10kg limit off of someone's blog ) and I can fly into Gen. Santos, then I can come up with a plan that doesn't have my wife worrying about me as she was yesterday when we were both reading the news article about the bombing.

I'm travelling alone on this one, we have a four old son who neither of us wants to subject to grueling travel ( we'll wait until he's older ) and I have a month which I may be able to stretch out to six weeks, since I have to go through the 59 day visa thing anyway. Consular office in Vancouver will be getting a call from me soon.

chip, you basically gave me the info I was looking for in your last post. All I have to compare to the PI is Thailand and it's obvious to me now that the range of dive destinations far surpasses what's offered in the LOS. I'm also used to the Thailand way of getting around, so easy it downright cushy.

Moalboal, Malapascua, Dumagette, Sogod is plenty enough for a months worth of diving and sight seeing. (Visayas region). If I may suggest, you can fly into Cebu, head to Duma via boat, travel up to Moalboal, then Malapascua, then take the Maya -> San Isidro outrigger to get to Leyte and ultimately down to Sogod. Search for the user "Chem". He did something similar.

That's what I mean, that's the gold. If that route will take a month, then that's all I need do and i can leave the rest for next year.

I'm not fussed about any specific marine life, it's all good IMO. I've done the whale shark thing ( Bay Islands ) the Manta thing ( Andaman sea ), wrecks are not high on my list, I just like watching fish doing their thing. One of my best experiences last year was watching a couple of leopard sharks doing a "mating dance" and being in the middle of a school of little fishes who were under attack from a school of rainbow runners was up there too.

I'm not too fussed about the whole nightlife scene, BTDT however I'm not adverse to a few beers after dinner. I just don't want to be kept awake all night by loud bars, like I was in Koh Tao. Aside, I got attacked by a dog on Koh Tao, it tried to rip my left hand off and ended my diving for two weeks. I was tempted to hit the bottle but the doctor said, no way, not with all those antibiotics and painkillers in your system. He also said it was contraindicated for the rabies vaccine I was getting shots of.

Thanks for the links, I've read a lot of threads on here re the PI, but I must confess to missing those.