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I've booked flights to the Philippines for a week in late November and since only a week, looking for someone close to Manila, and have decided on Anilao vs. Puerto Galera. Does anyone have feedback on Club Ocellaris? They have been very responsive to initial inquiry and I see good things about them online...
I dove with them the first of this year. Club O is a great place if you like photography, especially macro
- DM Alexis is a great spotter. DM Peri is also supposed to be great.
- Food is local family-style and well done. Rooms are basic but ok. Staff very friendly.
- Forget nightlife and not much for non-divers. This is the place to do four 1-1.5 hour dives a day.
Last year I spent 4 days with Club O and then a week with El Galleon in PG. I second everything 1thumper just said about Club O. At Club O, my package included 4 dives a day and the 4th was always a night dive. At El Galleon, the package included 4 day dives, with a extra charge for a night dive.
IMO Anilao had a greater concentration of life and a greater diversity of critters. I saw more different species of nudis in 4 days there than anywhere else (including 2 weeks in N. Sulawesi and Lembeh). PG was good, but Anilao was better. If I only had a week, I would certainly recommend Club O and Aniloa. A couple of dives that stick out in my mind in Anilao are the night dive at the town pier (good muck, hairy ff, bobbit worms, coconut octopus etc..) and a day dive a Sepok wall (giant ffs and the top of the reef at 10-15 feet is lush beyond belief.) If you want to do more than dive, then go to PG.
I've been to Anilao 3 times (stayed with Club Ocellaris and Dive 7000) and Puerto Galera twice (stayed with Atlantis). Can't go wrong with either one but the divemasters in Club Ocellaris are unbeatable in spotting critters for you. If you are not in to underwater photography yet, this is the place to start and to keep coming back. Don't stay at the top-most cottage in the hillside, though.
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