Trip report: PG, Dauin, Malapascua, Sogod Bay & Anilao

[kimi666]

Hello divers!

I did this wonderful trip Feb/March 2013.

Puerto Galera: I started my diving here with Mark´s Sea Rider. Sea Rider is small dive shop in Small Lalaguna beach. Long dives (80+minutes) with cheap rate makes it excellent value. Almost all my dives were just me and guide. And they can point you where to find cheap place to stay. I had hot shower, kitchen, tv double bed room for 500 pesos. Dive site The Hill was my favourite muck/macro site.

Dauin: Dauin is located about 15 minutes car drive south from Dumaguete. I stayed at cheap and clean Vintage Inn hotel in Dumaguete. Fan room cost 300 pesos.
Scuba Ventures picked me up each morning i wanded to go muck diving in Dauin area. Their dive shop is in Dumaguete town. I did only beach entry diving. They will do boat dives if there is enough divers. I was usually only fun diver. Scuba Ventures has good guides, they spotted lots of critters. Between dives you can relax on the beach and do lunch at local restaurant for 50 pesos. Cheap rates, 60minute dives, good value.

Malapascua: I dove with Thresher Shark Divers and found them not good value. Short dives (usually 45min), max 6 divers/one guide, lots of divers in one boat, one time they used dive trainee as my group´s guide, trainee had zero experience of the site!!! TSD is not my kind of dive shop, i had factory feeling with them. Some of the local TSD guides were good spotters, and there is lots unusual critters. I also dove with Safety Stop divers. Much better value and just few divers. Gato island is nice and Lighthouse nightdive is good. There is lots of dive shops in the island and IMO the island is too crowded.
Budget accommodation wasnt good value either. I tryed K5 and Bebe´s guesthouse both 500 per night. K5:s walls are paper thin and water pressure was low. Bebe´s was too noisy. Ging-Ging’s restaurant is ok for budget meals.

Sogod Bay: A bit pain in the butt to travel to, but good diving and only handful of turist there. I dove and stayed with Peters Dive Resort.
Little Lembeh and Pier nightdive are not to be missed if you like macro stuff! Reef dives where good also. 400peso dorm room was clean and had one bunk bed. Dorm rooms have also balcony and few bathrooms are outside the rooms, one bathroom has hot shower. PDR has also small swimming pool and some gym weigths to keep travellers in shape. Restaurant serves tasty meals. I found Peters an excellent value, it´s well worth to do trip there!

Anilao: Anilao seems to be bit pricey for budget traveller. But i have to say i would stay and dive again with Club Ocellaris anyday! Loooong dives, heaps of critters, fantastic guide Alexis, good food and nice rooms makes this operator one of my favourite! Night dives are not to be missed in Anilao, especially pier. Recommended!

Check pics: 500px gallery

Dive video 1: Vimeo

Dive video 2: Vimeo 2

I´ll post one more video later, enjoy!

-Kimi666

 

[kevin.]

thanks for the report.
and wow very nice pics and vids.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Great pictures !! Good details on lodging and shops but I wish you had more info on the diving. From your pictures it looks fantastic in at least some places !

 

[kimi666]

Great pictures !! Good details on lodging and shops but I wish you had more info on the diving. From your pictures it looks fantastic in at least some places !

Thanks for your comment! I´ll add some dive details here.

PG: Sea Rider uses small dingy boat for dive trips. The Hill muck site offered every time something new when i went there, i dove it mayby 6 times. You can find there lots of nudis, few hairy frogfish, ornate and robust ghost pipefishes...other good stuff. Takes about 10mins to reach The Hill area. Also Sabang Bay is nice critter site. I´m not too into coral, but i did few coral dives. Monkey Beach and Dungon Wall site corals looked healthy. First i used 3mm long suit, but i feld cold, cause dives were long. So dive shop gave me extra 3mm half suit to keep me warm. Easy diving, not much currents.

Dauin: All shore dives: Pyramids, Car Wrecks, Masaplot, El dorado these are sandy slope dives. Conditions were easy. Lots of big fat ornate ghost pipes and robusts, many froggies, thorny seahorses, halimeda crabs... 3mm long suit was just right here. Visibility mayby 10-12meters.

Malapascua: Local dive sites are 10-20min away, Gato island mayby 45mins. Thresher Shark Divers and Safety Stop dive shop uses big traditional looking boat, both were in good condition. Ka Osting, Mantigi, Lighthouse and Deep Rock offered good critters like black hairy froggie, solar powered nudie, blue ring octo, mimic octo, flamboynd cuttlefish, Pygmy seahorse, more froggies... 3mm long suit was good, dives were quite short. I didnt do thresher shark dive.

Sogod Bay: Little Lembeh (Malitbog Lembeh) is sandy shore entry slope dive. This site is 15mins away from Peters. Easy conditions and many critters can be found 5-10 meters deep, u can do long dive here. Great night dive too! Pier is max 5 mins away by car. Excellent shallow night dive, i filmed some nice stargazer action here. Napantao dive santuary is across the bay, plenty nudies there and froggies, corals looked healthy. Limasawa island offered corals, but i find it little boring, did not see many critters. 3mm suit was okey. Their boat was nice. For Napantao or Limasawa they need atleast 5-6 divers to do the trip.

Anilao: This place is amazing, imo as good as Lembeh and Ambon in Indonesia. Club O has few small traditional boats. Not much room to move on boat, but there were only few divers when i visit. Some dive sites are quite far away like Secret Bay mayby good 30 mins away. Dives with Club O are long (85mins+), but rewarding, heaps of nudis and other critters. I used 3mm suit, but i had to ask rash vest to keep me warm.

For travelling place to place i used cheapest possible ways i could find. I travel only with one hand luggage size backbag and i can fit my camera gear in it. Travelling light makes it easier to hop in to jeepneys, minivans and other local carriers.
Weather was beautiful whole time i travelled (2months) only few quik showers.

Hope this helps!

 

[Tippytoes12]

Great report , many thanks for sharing with us....just a quick question...did you travel from Malapascua to Leyte and if so how did you do it ? I have heard that there is a local boat from maya across , but others say that it has to be done via Cebu.

Thanks again

Best fushes x

Thanks for your comment! I´ll add some dive details here.

PG: Sea Rider uses small dingy boat for dive trips. The Hill muck site offered every time something new when i went there, i dove it mayby 6 times. You can find there lots of nudis, few hairy frogfish, ornate and robust ghost pipefishes...other good stuff. Takes about 10mins to reach The Hill area. Also Sabang Bay is nice critter site. I´m not too into coral, but i did few coral dives. Monkey Beach and Dungon Wall site corals looked healthy. First i used 3mm long suit, but i feld cold, cause dives were long. So dive shop gave me extra 3mm half suit to keep me warm. Easy diving, not much currents.

Dauin: All shore dives: Pyramids, Car Wrecks, Masaplot, El dorado these are sandy slope dives. Conditions were easy. Lots of big fat ornate ghost pipes and robusts, many froggies, thorny seahorses, halimeda crabs... 3mm long suit was just right here. Visibility mayby 10-12meters.

Malapascua: Local dive sites are 10-20min away, Gato island mayby 45mins. Thresher Shark Divers and Safety Stop dive shop uses big traditional looking boat, both were in good condition. Ka Osting, Mantigi, Lighthouse and Deep Rock offered good critters like black hairy froggie, solar powered nudie, blue ring octo, mimic octo, flamboynd cuttlefish, Pygmy seahorse, more froggies... 3mm long suit was good, dives were quite short. I didnt do thresher shark dive.

Sogod Bay: Little Lembeh (Malitbog Lembeh) is sandy shore entry slope dive. This site is 15mins away from Peters. Easy conditions and many critters can be found 5-10 meters deep, u can do long dive here. Great night dive too! Pier is max 5 mins away by car. Excellent shallow night dive, i filmed some nice stargazer action here. Napantao dive santuary is across the bay, plenty nudies there and froggies, corals looked healthy. Limasawa island offered corals, but i find it little boring, did not see many critters. 3mm suit was okey. Their boat was nice. For Napantao or Limasawa they need atleast 5-6 divers to do the trip.

Anilao: This place is amazing, imo as good as Lembeh and Ambon in Indonesia. Club O has few small traditional boats. Not much room to move on boat, but there were only few divers when i visit. Some dive sites are quite far away like Secret Bay mayby good 30 mins away. Dives with Club O are long (85mins+), but rewarding, heaps of nudis and other critters. I used 3mm suit, but i had to ask rash vest to keep me warm.

For travelling place to place i used cheapest possible ways i could find. I travel only with one hand luggage size backbag and i can fit my camera gear in it.
Weather was beautiful whole time i travelled (2months) only few quik showers.

Hope this helps!

 

[kimi666]

Hi Tippytoes12

From Maya i took bus back to Cebu and stayed overnight there. Next day i went to pier 4 and hop on 11am Supercat fastferry to Ormoc. In Ormoc i waited till minivan was jampacked, then it took of to Maasin. From Maasin to Peter`s Dive Resort by jeepney. I think i arrived to resort 6-7pm. Supercat took 2hours to get to Ormoc.
I dont know is there local boat from Maya to Leyte.
At the resort manager Dino talked about new fastferry route Cebu to Hilongos. Hilongos is much closer to Maasin, so that would save some time and nerves.

At the time when i was lookin info to get Padre Burgos there was Robleferry from Cebu to Hilongos, but ferry would leave Cebu 13.00pm and arrive 17.30pm and there wasnt sure info if there would be public minivan going that time to Maasin.

Night ferry Cebu to Maasin is option too.

Give Dino a mail morrittpeterpdc@yahoo.com, he might have better info.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Thanks very much.

 

[Centrals]

......
At the resort manager Dino talked about new fastferry route Cebu to Hilongos. Hilongos is much closer to Maasin, so that would save some time and nerves.

Night ferry Cebu to Maasin is option too.

Give Dino a mail morrittpeterpdc@yahoo.com, he might have better info.

Supercat(2 GO) used to call at Hilongos 10 yrs ago.

 

[frank707]

Kimi , thanks for the report , been to most places and agree with your write-up
Frank

 

[kimi666]

Here´s 1 more video.

[video=vimeo;68473290]http://vimeo.com/68473290[/video]

-Kimi