Never been there, don't know anything about it!

[bkpix]

Hi All,

My wife and I have been thinking about a dive trip to the Philippines. We are both Advanced Open Water divers with over 300 dives. Our diving has been in the Caribbean with our only Pacific diving so far being in Hawaii.
Looking through the posts here on SB is just confusing since we know practically nothing about the area. We have been told that the Philippines are a great place to start getting into Pacific/Asian travel.
We are looking at 3 weeks or so, maybe split between a nice resort and perhaps a rental house with a dive shop near by. We love walls, but also love the shallows. Have not done any "muck" diving although it looks interesting. I am an avid photographer and love the corals and critters of all sizes.
Our budget is not "break the bank," but we are willing to spend the money on worthwhile locations.
Any and all answers will be greatly appreciated.

 

[DSR-3]

IMO- Great choice in destinations. I have only been to Anilao (2x). It was awesome, and it looks like there are numerous good choices in the PI. I'm looking at Puerto Galera for next trip. Getting to Manila is relatively easy, and the only diving I have done that really compares is Fiji (not that I have been that many places). I think the cost is unbeatable. Keep planning and have fun!

 

[ukdave0]

A Live-Aboard is a good way to get indoctrinated into an new area. The Philippine Siren Southern Visayas itinerary covers a wide range of PI diving. Alternately, have someone organize a dive safari. Sea Explorers have resorts all around the best sites of Cebu, Bohol, and Negros. Just get to Cebu (easy to get to, Korean Air LAS-ICN-CEB), then all other transfers will be arranged for you.

After the indoctrination, you'll be more comfortable organizing future trips to PI or other SE Asia regions.

 

[wannadive64]

There are lots of great places to choose from. 2 destinations in 3 weeks makes sense to give some variety without too much time spent traveling. Padre Burgos in Southern Leyte has great walls, amazing macro, pristine corals, the night dive at the town jetty is awesome and from November thru May you can snorkel with whale sharks. Easy to combine with Bohol or, with a full day's traveling time, Malapascua for the thresher sharks.

 

[Centrals]

1. Deep Wall in Southern Leyte(Sogod Bay)
2. Macro in Anilao
3. Thresher shark in Malapascua
3. Wrecks in Coron.
4. etc etc.

 

[bkpix]

Great info, keep it coming please!

 

[drbill]

Just back from three weeks in the PI. Did 60 dives in 17 days. The biodiversity in Asia is SOOOO much better than the Caribbean (my last dives in Asia were back in 2001 and I loved it then). I dove 42 dives in Anilao (muck diving) with Club Ocellaris and felt like a predatory fish facing a school of munchies... which critter should I film first! Muck diving isn't for everyone but it was a virtual smorgasbord of subjects. The crew at Club O was fantastic... it is definitely a place for very serious divers and imagers (not much else to do than dive, eat and sleep... just what I was looking for).

Then it was off to Sabang Beach (Puerto Galera) for another 18 dives with Action Divers. Far more social life here and the diving was largely reef-based with a little muck thrown in.

One thing to beware of in the PI... almost no one takes traveler's checks. I was fortunate at Club O since the owner did, but I was almost stranded in Sabang as no one did. A very nice couple from Singapore loaned me enough to pay my bills there. When I got to Manila, the only place that would cash the checks was American Express itself so I took them there and was able to pay back the loan and spend the next few days eating and enjoying the company of friends!

 

[Worldwide Dive and Sail]

Hi Bkpix

Great that you are thinking about a trip to the Philippines, as the heart of the Coral Triangle and with over 7,000 islands the country has much to offer divers but its understandable you can be a little overwhelmed by the choice available and all the various posts you read on forums.

Much will depend on the time of year you are thinking about taking your trip as to what region would be most suitable. Though diving is great year round some areas can be affected by weather and marine life seen varies with the season.

A good start as UKDave mentions is the Visayas region (Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Leyte) You can dive there year round with little affect from the typhoons that come to the northern parts of the Philippines in Jul-Oct. There are many ways to discover this area- whether by liveaboard of an Island Hopping trip with a resort such as Sea Explorers who have outlets in a number of locations.
With 3 weeks it would be easy to combine a trip that covers Malapascua, Leyte & Padre Burgos, Moalboal, Dauin & Apo, Cabilao & Balicasag. Diving those islands will give you a good mix of macro (critter dives is probably a better description than "muck" dives), steep reef walls, a wide variety of corals, some pelagics including thresher sharks & whale sharks.

Malapascua - good for thresher sharks at Monad Shoal, wreck dive available
Moalboal / Pescador - Steep reef walls & good for whale sharks
Dauin - shallow sloping dark sand - excellent macro critter variety
Apo Island- Highly successful marine sanctuary, excellent corals, many turtles, schools of trevally
Balicasag - Steep reef walls with sea fans & soft corals, great for wide angle photography, school of jacks & barracuda
Cabilao - mix of steep reefs with sponges & soft corals, shallow coral gardens
Leyte & Padre Burgos - the pier dive is excellent for macro and the Napantaw Sanctuary has stunning corals. The best time for whale shark sightings is between Feb & May.

In any of the above areas you are highly likely to see the following marine life:-
Ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses, frog fish, pipefish, nudibranchs & flatworms, flying gurnard, waspfish, spiny devilfish, blue ring octopus, mandarin fish - and probably more critters than we could mention here!

Depending again on the time of year Tubbataha Reefs, accessible only by liveaboard, are stunning. The National Park is only open between February and June though.
Anilao is probably the "critter capital" of the Philippines, but can be affected by the Typhoons during the summer months.

We hope you find this information useful in planning your trip to the Philippines, Siren Fleet offer trips that combine the wrecks of Coron, Apo Reef & Anilao between November & February and we'd be happy to pm you more information on that route or any of our dive trips if you wish.

Best wishes
the Siren Fleet team

 

[Searcaigh]

My general preference at the moment is not to fly again once I am in the Philippines and that leaves me with three options

1. Anilao
2. Puerto Galera
3. Subic Bay

To date I have done 6 trips so far and yet to dive Subic Bay.

As others have mentioned, Anilao for critters and muck diving, five star stuff, can't go wrong. PG has some good diving and it's not all about diving around Sabang, trips to Verde Island can bring some variation too.

Good luck with your choice and trip

---------- Post added May 13th, 2013 at 04:57 PM ----------

One thing to beware of in the PI... almost no one takes traveler's checks.

I am surprised anyone does!

Credit cards work but inform your bank in advance, same with using ATM to withdraw cash in Philippines otherwise it might not work

 

[drbill]

Actually neither of the operators I dove with accepted credit cards either and the ATMs in Sabang were strongly biased towards VISA vs MasterCard. Those who accept credit cards may impose some pretty steep surcharges to cover their fees.