Nov diving near Manila?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

crrodil

Registered
Messages
21
Reaction score
2
Location
NY
# of dives
100 - 199
Will be in Manila for 2 weeks for business beginning 10 Nov - looking for good weekend diving nearby so I don't have to fly/ can maximize dive time.

Any recommendations (dive sites, hotels, dive ops)? Location/ transportion will help me decide if I should lug my gear with me.

Am a DM with 103 dives. Many thanks in advance!
 
I am in Manila now. Have been in the Philippines for a while. The two primary diving locations, that you could daytrip or overnight from Manila are Subic Bay and Anilao. Subic is approx 2 hours from the centre of Manila. Anilao is 3 hours. A slightly longer journey (and ferry) will get you to Puerto Galera.

Subic Bay is wreck heaven. US and Japanese war wrecks. Post-war US wrecks. Even a Spanish-American steam galleon. Contact Nathan at Subic Bay Homestay. He's a very experiencd diver...offering accommodation, transport and will organise your diving for you.

Anilao has a lot to offer, especially for macro marine life. I'd recommend Dive and Trek, but I am sure others will contribute more options.

Puerto Galera is more commercialised...and there are plenty of resorts and dive centers to choose from.

If you're at a loose end in Manila.... would be happy to meet for a drink and chat on an evening.
 
Subic is at least THREE hours from Manila. Accommodation is either inside the Free Port or around Baloy Beach. If you set off from Manila early on Sat morning(06:00), you should be able to make it. Take Victory Liner Bus to Olongapo and then by Jeepney to Baloy. At Johan, dive starts after 10:00am.
Anilao tends to get very very busy on weekend. Book you place early.
Unless you are prepared to spend overnight at Batangas or leave home at 04:00am, forget diving PG at weekend. Private transfer from Manila to PG is US$130.00 one way!!!!!!
 
Subic is at least THREE hours from Manila.


Depends on who is driving :wink:

Victory Liner is a simple and safe option - but can take 4 hours. Get a taxi to the Pasay Terminal on EDSA. Good value for approx 250 pesos.

I assumed the OP would want a car/driver for the journey. Easy to organise, but (obviously) more expensive than a bus.

The accommodation I recommended is a diver orientated Bed & Breakfast in Binictican. Australian owner Nathan is a PADI SI with a lot of experience. Good food and good conversation in the evening.
 
There's basically three worthwhile options for non-flying weekend diving from Manila - Anilao, PG and Subic.

The sites depend on what type of diving you are looking for but my thoughts would be Anilao has the best diving, PG has good diving and great night life while Subic has some very good wrecks and okay nightlife but offers less in the way non-wreck diving.

If you have access or can hire a car then Anilao can be from less than two hours to more than 5 hours away depending on traffic! Most weekend trips will take 2.5-3 hours from Manila but leaving at 5am take half an hour of the journey while leaving after 8am normally adds an hour! The PG route is the same as Anilao up to the end of the Star Tollway so same conditions apply - it's normally about 2 - 2.5 hours to the port then another hour for the boat transfer.

Subic depends on where you are in Manila, from northern Manila / QC it's easy to get there in 2 hours as it's a short distance to the North Express way. From South Manila it's a much longer trip as you can spend up to 2 hours on EDSA if you're unlucky and hit the weekend traffic! Make sure you leave early if you're staying in South Manila and you can still make it in 2 to 2.5 hours.

The same logic applies for travelling from North Manila to Anilao/PG, although normally the morning traffic seems worse going north on EDSA than that going South - I've only done the early morning North to South Manila on EDSA two or three times though so can say for sure!

My advice would be Anilao as a first priority, excellent diving but not much to do outside of diving - no problem for weekend trips though! I'd recommend Arthur's Place but if you're diving alone maybe Aquaventure or Planet Dive would be better as there is likely to be more groups to join to keep boat costs down.

If you get a second weekend, or would prefer wreck diving, then Subic is well worth a trip - There's already plenty of advice on where to stay and how to get there above :)

PG is a good place to visit but if you only have weekends I'd put Subic and Anilao above on the priority list. If you can get a long weekend through public holidays, annual leave, sudden sick day from work etc. then it's worth going - if not then the logistics of getting there are a pain or very expensive if you get private transfers.
 
Get the 20:30 bus from Swagman Hotel(P600.00) in Ermita to Angeles on Friday. Overnight in this "sin" city and then onwards to Subic in the following morning. Do not blame me if you decide to give diving a miss on that weekend!!!!!
Private transfer(1hr) from Angeles to Subic is around P2,700.00 whlie public transport is via Dau to Olongapo and beyond.
 
Many thanks/ maraming salamat everyone! This is super helpful.

Will aim for Anilao the weekend of 19-21 Nov if anyone feels like blowing bubbles! Will stay local this weekend - definitely want to experience the Pacquiao fight with some locals :)

- Chrissy
 

Back
Top Bottom