15 days in Philippines/Micronesia late Dec- early Jan where to dive ?

[BeeCee]

Hi Folks

Be grateful for some suggestions. Landing in Manila xmas and have just over two weeks for diving adventures. I'm AOW, generally prefer the big stuff. Biased towards liveaboards but curious about all options. Have heard lots about Palau, Truk and the Philippines, what should I prioritise this time of year?

 

[eagerbeaver]

Hi BeeCee,

Well, all are great locations, I've lived and worked in them all over the last 10 years. So 2 weeks in Palau, 2 weeks in Truk, and a month in the Philippines...oh s**t, you've only got 2 weeks!

To be honest if your flight is in to Manila then I'd just stick with diving the Philippines and plan on saving up some big bucks for a separate Palau/Truk trip sometime in the future. To get to either from Manila is going to costs you minimum $500, more like $1000 for Truk. Which in the Philippines will pay for a week of diving, accommodation and food.

So based on Philippines only and landing in Manila you'll probably be best considering Puerto Galera/Anilao, and Subic Bay and making a 2 destination trip. Bit lacking in "big stuff" probably. But the only way to solve that would be to get a flight to Cebu and then check out Malapascua, Moalboal and possibly Balicasag...

You going to get plenty of feedback here and good luck picking some spots. Although it appears to be corrupted now...maybe just my connectoin, this thread http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ph...de-how-post-correctly-if-you-need-advice.html migh tbe helpful.

Cheers,

Matt.

 

[BeeCee]

Much appreciated Matt

 

[BeeCee]

I'm really excited by the possibility of whale sharks in Donsol and diving with manta rays , main reasons why this has not been raised yet?

 

[trueobelisk]

Hi BeeCee,

Whale sharks, or Butanding as we call it locally here in the Phil, is basically a snorkeling experience (at most you can skin dive to get a better view and avoid getting kicked in the face by other people! ). You are not allowed to go scuba diving in the area where the Whale sharks frequent. It's still a fun experience though! Problem is the peak season is from February to April which is basically the time where there is a big chance of seeing whale sharks. Outside of that you might just be wasting your time. Since you are coming in mid Dec to early Jan I suggest you just skip it. If you still would like to do a trip there and take your chances the quickest way is to book a flight from Manila to Legazpi City, Albay (about one hour) and then rent a private transportation from the airport to Donsol (another hour of travel time).

As for the manta rays I believe the dive site is called Manta Bowl and there are a few other dive sites in the area. I personally haven't done any diving there though so I can't speak about the dive spots. I wasn't a certified diver yet when I did the whale watching thing.

I did Moalboal though from Oct 29 to 31 and it was an awesome experience! Saw a ton of sardines and over 50 turtles in 9 dives (maybe I was just lucky with the turtles though since that's not the norm according to Roger - OuterReefAdventure). There's a lot of marine life there as well with very good visibility on all dives. If you want to go to Moalboal or simply have questions you can PM Roger (OuterReefAdventure) and I'm pretty sure he'll be happy to assist you with your questions. If you do decide to go there I suggest you book the services of Roger and his team. You get premium service and awesome company to boot with very very very reasonable rates.

 

[BeeCee]

Thanks so much for those thoughts trueobelisk

 

[Rhone Man]

If I were where you are, I would head to Coron Bay. Never been there, but it looks amazing and is firmly on my bucket list. And it is just a "stone's throw" away from Manila.

I agree with Matt about Truk and Palau. Without doubt, the finest week's diving of my life was in Truk, but why would you hump with flying all the way to Truk and back (not a short set of flights...) when you are already on the doorstep of some of the world's finest diving?

 

[Hammerhead]

Hi BeeCee,

Whale sharks, or Butanding as we call it locally here in the Phil, is basically a snorkeling experience (at most you can skin dive to get a better view and avoid getting kicked in the face by other people! ). You are not allowed to go scuba diving in the area where the Whale sharks frequent. It's still a fun experience though! Problem is the peak season is from February to April which is basically the time where there is a big chance of seeing whale sharks. Outside of that you might just be wasting your time. Since you are coming in mid Dec to early Jan I suggest you just skip it.

You can dive with them in Southern Leyte between Dec - Jan. A bunch of us did a few years back. Stayed with SBSR, which I can recommend. Whalesharks are virtually never guaranteed unless you happen to own a very large aquarium, but yes, we saw 'em.

Oh, and the diving's pretty damn good there, too.

Have a look on the DOR forum and do a search, I'd look for you, but internet's painfully slow for me here in the Maldives. Actually, I'm getting so fed up with it that I might spend the next month or five considering whether to go home.

What's that?

What did you say?

Whalesharks?

Oh yeah, as you were...

 

[BeeCee]

Thanks hammerhead, must be tough over there what's the DOR forum?

 

[Rogersea]

Beecee,
If you already have your flights booked to Manila(on XMAS) I would start working real hard at getting reservations at a place in PG or Anilao. Alternatively if you are lucky enough and can find a flight to Cebu I would jump right on it, I would probablly do as Matt says in post #2 of this thread.

Cheers,
Roger