vimaldude
Contributor
We just came back from an exciting dive trip in Philippines. Here is my trip report.
Arrival:
We flew Cathay Pacific from SFO to Manila via Hong Kong. Arrived Manila at 10 pm and check-ed in to Manila Airport Hotel. This is the closest place to stay near Airport (just 1 block away). It is ok for 1 night but not a great place to stay longer. Next morning, we caught a 7 am Philippine Airline flight to Dumaguete. On arrival, the car from Atmosphere was waiting and we were whisked to paradise!
The Resort:
The first impression when we got to the resort was "WOW" (the wow factor was to continue throughout the stay) . The resort grounds were beautiful and immaculately groomed. We were welcomed by the resort owners, Matt and his wife. The resort has 8 suite bungalows and some apartments. The suite rooms are very spacious, airy and luxurious. The outdoor garden shower is a nice touch. The rooms do not have sea view but the ocean is only a few steps away. The bar, swimming pool and the restaurant over look a sandy beach. The food was consistently good. The chef happily prepared new veggie dishes for my wife. The staff is very attentive and works hard to make you feel at home. During the first few days, there were so few guests that the staff outnumbered guests!. The beach is black sand with pebbles near the water line. There are no other resorts or homes nearby so we had the beach all to ourselves. The beach is swimmable (once you get past the pebbles!). The resort has recently opened a new spa (set in a very attractively landscaped garden) and the massages were great!. Overall, this was one of the best boutique resorts that we have been to.
Dive Shop
The dive shop area is open and spacy. It has a equipment room to store all your gear for the week. There are 2 outdoor showers, 4 wash tanks (that are cleaned and filled fresh each morning) and ample room to get geared up. There is a separate room for training and camera/photo viewing. Whole area is kept very clean. There is small boutique that sells personal scuba equipment (masks, fins etc). The dive shop also has full equipment rental and a small repair facility. They have 4 DMs, 2 Instructors and 1 resident photo/videographer (Steve). The staff carries, cleans and stores your gear after each dive and you don't have to carry anything for the whole week.
Dive Operations ("Cadillac" diving)
The dive shop manager, Cameron (aka "Windy") runs a smooth operation. Everyday, the activity board lists all the scheduled dives for the day. There are usually 6 scheduled dives each day (2-tank morning boat dive, 2-tank afternoon boat dive, morning shore dive, afternoon shore dive and dusk/night dive). You just write your name under whichever dive you want to make and then show up 15 mins. before the scheduled time. All dives are led by a dive master. Want to dive a different dive site? No problem. Want to do a shore dive at a different time? No problem. Want to go to Apo Island instead? No Problem. The diving is very relaxed and flexible. The dive boat, Victoria, is specious, clean and fast. The DMs are attentive and very knowledgeable. They will allow you to dive your profile if you request them. During our 1 week, there were not too many divers so we had the boat to ourselves most of the time.
Dive Conditions
The weather during December is mostly dry. We had 1 night when it rained. Otherwise, it was dry and sunny. The ocean was calm and flat most of the week. The temp was in mid-80s but ocean breeze kept us cool. The water temp was 82-84 deg (at 40ft dsw) and a 3mm full suit was quite comfortable. The Dauin area dive sites all have a sandy slope that start at 15 feet and then slopes rapidly down to the depths. There are sites with nice coral reefs and other sites that have artifical reefs created with tires, steel pyramids and old cars. Both types of reef were very healthy and had lots of marine life. The sandy areas were great for finding small critters. This area is heaven for macro photography.
.. (Cont).
Arrival:
We flew Cathay Pacific from SFO to Manila via Hong Kong. Arrived Manila at 10 pm and check-ed in to Manila Airport Hotel. This is the closest place to stay near Airport (just 1 block away). It is ok for 1 night but not a great place to stay longer. Next morning, we caught a 7 am Philippine Airline flight to Dumaguete. On arrival, the car from Atmosphere was waiting and we were whisked to paradise!
The Resort:
The first impression when we got to the resort was "WOW" (the wow factor was to continue throughout the stay) . The resort grounds were beautiful and immaculately groomed. We were welcomed by the resort owners, Matt and his wife. The resort has 8 suite bungalows and some apartments. The suite rooms are very spacious, airy and luxurious. The outdoor garden shower is a nice touch. The rooms do not have sea view but the ocean is only a few steps away. The bar, swimming pool and the restaurant over look a sandy beach. The food was consistently good. The chef happily prepared new veggie dishes for my wife. The staff is very attentive and works hard to make you feel at home. During the first few days, there were so few guests that the staff outnumbered guests!. The beach is black sand with pebbles near the water line. There are no other resorts or homes nearby so we had the beach all to ourselves. The beach is swimmable (once you get past the pebbles!). The resort has recently opened a new spa (set in a very attractively landscaped garden) and the massages were great!. Overall, this was one of the best boutique resorts that we have been to.
Dive Shop
The dive shop area is open and spacy. It has a equipment room to store all your gear for the week. There are 2 outdoor showers, 4 wash tanks (that are cleaned and filled fresh each morning) and ample room to get geared up. There is a separate room for training and camera/photo viewing. Whole area is kept very clean. There is small boutique that sells personal scuba equipment (masks, fins etc). The dive shop also has full equipment rental and a small repair facility. They have 4 DMs, 2 Instructors and 1 resident photo/videographer (Steve). The staff carries, cleans and stores your gear after each dive and you don't have to carry anything for the whole week.
Dive Operations ("Cadillac" diving)
The dive shop manager, Cameron (aka "Windy") runs a smooth operation. Everyday, the activity board lists all the scheduled dives for the day. There are usually 6 scheduled dives each day (2-tank morning boat dive, 2-tank afternoon boat dive, morning shore dive, afternoon shore dive and dusk/night dive). You just write your name under whichever dive you want to make and then show up 15 mins. before the scheduled time. All dives are led by a dive master. Want to dive a different dive site? No problem. Want to do a shore dive at a different time? No problem. Want to go to Apo Island instead? No Problem. The diving is very relaxed and flexible. The dive boat, Victoria, is specious, clean and fast. The DMs are attentive and very knowledgeable. They will allow you to dive your profile if you request them. During our 1 week, there were not too many divers so we had the boat to ourselves most of the time.
Dive Conditions
The weather during December is mostly dry. We had 1 night when it rained. Otherwise, it was dry and sunny. The ocean was calm and flat most of the week. The temp was in mid-80s but ocean breeze kept us cool. The water temp was 82-84 deg (at 40ft dsw) and a 3mm full suit was quite comfortable. The Dauin area dive sites all have a sandy slope that start at 15 feet and then slopes rapidly down to the depths. There are sites with nice coral reefs and other sites that have artifical reefs created with tires, steel pyramids and old cars. Both types of reef were very healthy and had lots of marine life. The sandy areas were great for finding small critters. This area is heaven for macro photography.
.. (Cont).
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