Recommendations for Puerto Galera?

[WOODMAN]

Well, it appears that we have a confirmed case of Phillippineitis after our trip to Eagle Point Resort in May, and the only treatment (there is no cure...) is to return for another exposure. We got a pretty good dose of the Anilao area while at Eagle Point, and we would rather like to try somewhere a little different this time, but we really liked the relative ease of access to Anilao. Major airlines to Manila, and then land travel the rest of the way. Puerto Galera is similar, with the addition of a ferry ride to complete the trip, and we have been looking closely at this area for a return trip in March/April of 2014. I have been finding a fair amount of info on this from various sources, but a lot of it is contradictory. So, I thought I would turn to you guys for your famously unvarnished opinions on this idea. We are looking for about a 2 week stay, and although the frenzy of Sabang does not exactly attract us, we would like to have the option to try other restaurants, do a bit of shopping, wander about, etc. That was pretty much denied us in Anilao due to the remoteness of the resort, and we thought something in small/big lalaguna would give us access while maintaining a quiet base to return to.
Also, how would you guys compare the diving in PG to Anilao? We would like to catch a daytrip to Verde Island if possible, as this has been highly recommended to us. Any opinions/info will be greatly appreciated as we continue to plan this little expedition. Many thanks for your help, and any further information needed will be readily provided. Woody

 

[Joe Cool]

Well, it appears that we have a confirmed case of Phillippineitis after our trip to Eagle Point Resort in May, and the only treatment (there is no cure...) is to return for another exposure. We got a pretty good dose of the Anilao area while at Eagle Point, and we would rather like to try somewhere a little different this time, but we really liked the relative ease of access to Anilao. Major airlines to Manila, and then land travel the rest of the way. Puerto Galera is similar, with the addition of a ferry ride to complete the trip, and we have been looking closely at this area for a return trip in March/April of 2014. I have been finding a fair amount of info on this from various sources, but a lot of it is contradictory. So, I thought I would turn to you guys for your famously unvarnished opinions on this idea. We are looking for about a 2 week stay, and although the frenzy of Sabang does not exactly attract us, we would like to have the option to try other restaurants, do a bit of shopping, wander about, etc. That was pretty much denied us in Anilao due to the remoteness of the resort, and we thought something in small/big lalaguna would give us access while maintaining a quiet base to return to.
Also, how would you guys compare the diving in PG to Anilao? We would like to catch a daytrip to Verde Island if possible, as this has been highly recommended to us. Any opinions/info will be greatly appreciated as we continue to plan this little expedition. Many thanks for your help, and any further information needed will be readily provided. Woody

Woody,

Thank you for planning to visit the Philippines again. Tourism gives fisher folk more incentive to protect the marine environment and appreciate it better.


If you want a quiet place away from the hub-bub of Sabang, I recommend Big Lalaguna which is around a 20-minute walk or a very short banca ride from Sabang. When I am in PG, I always stay and dive with Lalaguna Beach Club (La Laguna Beach Club and Dive Center | Puerto Galera Philippines). Big Lalaguna, as well as other beaches in the area have fine white sand unlike Anilao which is all rocks.


I would say diving in Anilao and PG is very similar since they're located along the same channel. Terrain is different. Anilao has a rocky shoreline while PG's sandy.

Yes, be sure to visit Verde Island!

 

[dlndavid]

Is the "Washing Machine" near PG or is it Dumaguete?

 

[Moray]

Is the "Washing Machine" near PG or is it Dumaguete?

Near PG

 

[Centrals]

Hi Woodman,
You have been to Anilao previously and you intended to spend two wks in your next visit. I would suggest you should look slightly further afield ie. Visayas. It is only a short 1hr frequent flight.
Bacolod: Sipalay
Cebu: Mactan, Malaspascua and Moalboal
Dumaguete: Apo Island, Dauin, Siquijor and Sumilon Island
Tacloban: Sogod Bay(Southern Leyte)
Tagbilaran: Alona Beach and Anda
Malapascua + Sogod Bay is my suggestion.

BTW, there is nothing wrong with PG but two wks may be too long. You can combine it with Anilao and Subic Bay though.
And if you like wrecks then how about Coron?
Libeaboard to Tubattaha in late Apr is another possibility.
A lot of options.

 

[Hike]

I have never been to PG, but i have heard good things about it. The impression i get, that its good diving, thats convenient as its a couple hours by car and a ferry ride away. No need for domestic flights or long ferry rides. If I was going to make the trip all the way from the states for two weeks, I would be willing to make the short and cheap hour flight to cebu and go somewhere like Malapascua, where the diving in general seems to be rated much higher. Not as convenient, but they island has decent accommodations, some good restaurants and some great dive shops. Thresher Shark Divers (TSD) and Evolution seem to be the two that really stand out (i dove with TSD).
Cebu airport also services flights from quite a few international locations, so you could go

Minneapolis to Tokyo (or seoul) and direct to cebu. Probably best to buy flights separately for better value​

 

[drbill]

I have been to both Anilao and Puerto Galera/Sabang (where I dove with Action Divers). I found them to be generally quite different and was pleased with both destinations. Of course I haven't been to any other dive destinations in the PI to compare them with.

 

[rob1967]

Hey Woodman,

If you liked Anilao, I assume you like macro. If you like ease of access, you may want to give Dumaguete a try. Short flight from Manila, and the ride from Dumaguete airport to the resorts in Dauin is only about 20-30 minutes. The diving in Dumaguete/Dauin is quite good. macro is alsmost as good as Anilao, and they have a nice variety of day trips to Apo Island, Siquijor, etc.

PG is quite good too. Diving is similar to Anilao (although Anilao is better), but topside ambiance totally different! You might find 2 weeks in PG a bit long, so you may want to consider 1 week PG, and one week in Dumaguete or Anilao. Or you could do 2 places in Visayas! The possibilities are endless really, and it's all good!

cheers!

 

[EMG]

Ah, PG. My area of expertise. This is my constant weekend home and I've been making sometimes as many as 3 trips per month for the last year and a half.

Non diving stuff first - I've never stayed in Sabang at night. Never appealed to me. From the bay it looks big but when you get there you realize it's about 3 streets across and 1 street the other way that make up all of Sabang. That said, there is some pretty good eats there and the diving is great.

White Beach - White beach is sort of what you make of it. Quiet and relatively peaceful during the day, wild and crazy at night on the weekends. Fire spinners, drag shows, tattoo shops, loud music, etc. There's not a lot of great food on White Beach. Gulli dive shop does the best food on the beach, in my opinion, they make their bread in house and their pizza and sandwiches are pretty good. The owner has told me to stop ordering the flammkuchen off the menu or he's gonna kick my ass, or I would recommend that too.
There is a small restaurant behind white beach called Saj. It's one of those places you'll have to have someone show you where to go because it's hard to find and it's just a guy's home converted to a restaurant. He used to be a chef in Dubai or something like that and every night he hand writes the menu based on what he's got that day and serves maybe 3 courses. Really good stuff when I went there and very cheap, just a few dollars per entree. There's an Italian place at the end of the beach up the stairs by the last dive shop that I forget the name of that also do decent pizza and pasta.
In low season you can find AC rooms for as low as 800P up to around 1500p (something like 20-35 us dollars) per night. The night life is optional but you might hear the music anyway. Careful with the Mindoro Sling, it's a dangerous drink.

If that all sounds awful, there are some nice resorts popping up in the Talipanan beach area. You'll take the ferry to White Beach then hop on a tricycle to the resort of your choice in Talipanan. Last weekend was my first visit and the dive master was out so I'm not sure how the diving is there, but it's quiet, peaceful, and a bit remote. We stayed at Canonero resort whose owners are extremely friendly. Rooms are cheap. The food at the restaurant next door Luca's is great and the view is nice.

There are spots near Puerto Galera town proper as well, you'd take the ferry to Muelle. There's a villa you can rent with 5-6 rooms and you have staff who will cook and clean for you living on premises with access to their small boats, kayaks, etc. for about 6000p per night. If you're interested I can give you details. It's very private, but best for a group. Sits right on the water with a great view.

Then there are regular resorts in town proper, usually cheap, beaches aren't so great but you're 15 minutes from Sabang and 15 minutes from White Beach if you want to visit either.


On to the diving...

Pretty much all the diving I've done there (maybe 50 dives) is around Sabang. In the bay you have a number of shipwrecks, the largest being Alma Jane which is 30 meters long, sits at 30 meters deep and you can penetrate. It's mostly just the shell of a wreck but has some cool sea life around it, bat fish, frog fish, sometimes banded sea snakes, etc. After Alma Jane you'll usually head towards shore slowly where you'll pass another 3 smaller wrecks and some coral.
From Sabang Point all along the wall there you have a bunch of great dive sites. Sabang Point, Monkey Beach, Hole in the Wall, and so on. Great soft and hard coral that just keeps on going. Lots of small critters to be seen. I've seen loads of turtles as well. Currents can either be non existent or you can get a drift dive. The dive instructors usually can tell you how it will be.

I've also done Giant Clams which is near Muelle. Not my favorite but the clams are cool. Manila channel and Batangas channel both offer some coral some muck. There's even a small house reef at the end of White Beach nothing wonderful by day and shallow but a night dive there can be fun.

Hope you find some of that useful.

 

[Centrals]

1. Puerto Galera is the name of the port while Sabang, Small La Laguna and Big La Laguna are the main area where most of the dive shops, resorts and restaurants situated. Sabang is a lot more hectic at night!! The other two places are dead quiet unless they are Korean owned.
2. White Beach is miles away by boat and cars. Drag shows!!!! Not my taste.
3. Lucas is very good and the Talipanan reef is not bad if the dm knows where it is!!!
4. The one good thing about staying around Sabang is that the dive boat goes out for one dive and then return to base. You can do all sort of things or nothing during the surface interval.