Diving one week in the Philippines in December - advice?

[wazoozaw]

Hi all,

We will have one week in (mid-)December to go diving in the Philippines, and I was wondering if you could give me any pointers.

I`m considering Alona Beach and surroundings, as that would mean we could also visit the Bohol chocolate mountains. Some other combination of a dive spot and a good beach (or potentially a good jungle\mainland\etc.) would also be great.

However, I`m not sure what the best place to go diving would be (I`m an Advanced diver).

I don`t necessarily have a preference for macro stuff, like sharks and would love to see whale sharks, but would not sacrifice entire holiday just to hope to see one. Wreck dives would be fun, but lots of colourful coral and groups of (unusual?) fish would be good too.

Also - the amount of time it would take to travel around would be of consideration, since we will only have about 6-7 days.

Finally, it will have to be somewhat budget (no high end resorts).

Sorry that it`s quite broad, it`s just that I`m feeling a bit lost trying to figure out what could be a good place to go to! Any recommendations very welcome!

---------- Post added August 16th, 2013 at 10:25 AM ----------

Ok - is this an idea? Fly from Manila to Cebu, visit Malapascua and do dives there (thresher sharks), go to Panglao island\Alona Beach, dive\snorkel some more, hit Bohol\chocolate mountains and go back to Manila (via Tagbilaran)? Maybe this is too busy.. and it would leave Donsol (whale sharks) out, but that might not be an option anyway, considering the limited time. Or should we leave out Malapascua and head for Dumaguete instead? Or do something completely different from this itinerary? ;p Thanks for any advice!

 

[Centrals]

Malapascua is much better than Alona Beach in diving wise. But there is nothing there.
Getting from Malapascua to Alona Beach will take at least 5-6 hrs.
With only 6-7 days to spare and with "no-fly time" after diving to consider, you best option is Anilao + Puerto Galera.
Bohol does offer the best top side attraction.
You don't really have to go to Donsol for the whaleshark, you can do that at Oslob in Cebu.
Tough choice.

 

[wazoozaw]

Hi! Thanks for your reply. We`re now seeing whether we can make it 9-13 days.

In that case, would it be totally silly to do the following itinerary? Just checking! Perhaps the boat trips really take too long, I need to investigate this further.

MNL - CEP (flight), then Malapascua - Padre Bugos - Bohol, then TAG - MNL (flight)

I suppose in that case we would dive at Malapascua and Padre Bugos, but at Bohol would just visit the mountains, and stay on land (possibly go to the beach at Alona Beach).

Thanks!

 

[South Sea Divers]

Hi! Thanks for your reply. We`re now seeing whether we can make it 9-13 days.

In that case, would it be totally silly to do the following itinerary? Just checking! Perhaps the boat trips really take too long, I need to investigate this further.

MNL - CEP (flight), then Malapascua - Padre Bugos - Bohol, then TAG - MNL (flight)

I suppose in that case we would dive at Malapascua and Padre Bugos, but at Bohol would just visit the mountains, and stay on land (possibly go to the beach at Alona Beach).

Thanks!

Hi there,

If you have some spare time...try to come in Puerto Galera

 

[Centrals]

We`re now seeing whether we can make it 9-13 days.
In that case, would it be totally silly to do the following itinerary? Just checking! Perhaps the boat trips really take too long, I need to investigate this further.
MNL - CEP (flight), then Malapascua - Padre Bugos - Bohol, then TAG - MNL (flight)
I suppose in that case we would dive at Malapascua and Padre Bugos, but at Bohol would just visit the mountains, and stay on land (possibly go to the beach at Alona Beach). Thanks!

A lot of travelling.
Manila to Tacloban, private transfer(3-4hrs) to Padre Bugos. Private boat to Malapascua(you have to confirm this with the resort). If the sea is rough then!!!
Make reservation in mid Dec onwards or even earlier.
I enjoy diving but hate travelling.