First time to the Philippines and need help

[SlowSBC]

My wife and I are heading to the Philippines for 25 days (Landing in Manila November 24th - Leaving December 19th). This is our first trip there and wanted to get some advise on where to visit/stay while we are there. We are mainly looking to dive but will also do a few land based (sightseeing) things too. After a lot of reading, checking sites, etc, I have penciled down - Aniloa (5 days), Dumaguete (9 days), Puerto Princesa (9 days). Does this seem like a good plan or should I replaced these places with something else? My wife likes taking macro pictures and I like swimming with sharks. We both enjoy corals and the vibrant colors underwater. We did several wreck dives in Palau last year and really not interested in doing any on this trip. Thanks in advance for your help.

Also, if members can recommend some hotels to stay at also it would be greatly appreciated. Not looking for a 5 star experience.. Just a clean room with a bed. We only sleep in the room and are out and about the rest of the time.

Thanks again!!

 

[Mucksavage]

Well Anilao and Dumaguete will very much concentrate on macro, excellent macro, but not much in the ways of sharks.

Malapascua might be worth considering has it has good macro all aorund but of course has the daily dive with Thresher Sharks which is a dive unique to The Philippines, you won't experience it any where else.

For Dumaguete you can certainly contact Liquid - simple fan rooms but a very friendly and tightly run organisation. If you need AC then Mike's Dauin beach Resort and if you want to splash out there is Atmosphere. All will look after you very well so its a budget decision.

I'll let other posters recommend for Anilao.

If you want to dive in Palawan then you might find El Nido is the nearest main dive spot from Puerta Princessa but perhaps you want to concentrate on land options there.

If you consider Malapascua then there are plenty of good options such as our own, Evolution, and many more.

You will have to fly several times to visit the places mentioned but with 25 days it sounds like a nice idea to experience three very different territories within the archipelago.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

Well first of all that's a great time to visit, you should get some great conditions.

The problem with the Philippines is there are so many amazing places to visit its hard to narrow it down to whats feasible travel wise within a holiday timeframe! So my advice would be to cover just a small group of islands to maximise your vacation and diving time.

When we went, we centred our stay around Cebu island and dived Malapasqua (1 day travel bus and boat from cebu city), Bohol (staying on Panglau) and Dumagette, which are all relatively close together travel wise.

We stayed at Harolds mansion in Dumagette and dived Apo Island with their in house dive centre. I personally found it very good value. Basic and cheap, but clean and friendly - so great value for what you pay. The dives themselves were amazing - even though our guide felt the need to apologise for bad vis (it was about 25-30m easily so no apology necessary!) You can also opt to stay on the coast (Dauin coast) closer to the dive sites though. Its about an hour from the city itself. Not stayed there myself but friends who have spoke highly of liquid dive.

Not sure if you need a full 9 days there though, although if you fancy something cool to do on a dry day there are some amazing mountains and lakes with cool wildlife and views if you feel confident hiring a bike to go exploring. There's not a whole lot to see/do in the city itself - or any Philippino city for that matter. I don't mean this in an overly negative way, but its not like Thailand/Cambodia etc where there have been ancient civilisations with complex culture and architecture etc which make for good walking/sightseeing tours.

Hope this helps and happy holidays - I'm quite jealous!

 

[Tippytoes12]

Hi there

You will love the Philippines. We did 3 weeks last summer ...Malapascua, Dumaguete and Maolboal. If you like sharks don't miss malapascua. We also did the whale shark trip to Oslob from Turtle Bay...loved it so much. Liquid in Dumaguete is outstanding, we also love the Sea Explorers properties.

I would be inclined to leave out Pp and do Malapascua instead...or else come back as everybody does.

 

[Centrals]

1. You won't see any shark with your proposed itinerary.
2. The diving around Puerto Princesa is very very ordinary. And El Nido which is several hrs away is only slightly better. The Underground River in Sabang is probably worth a day or two including getting there. Unless you really want to explore the southern part of the island, I fail to see why you want to allocate 9 days in Puerto Princesa/Palawan.
3. Anilao is very similar to Dumaguete in term of diving ie macro.
4. Travelling in the country is very time consuming and can be expensive so you have to plan really careful.
5. There are only few places in the country where sharks sighting are high ie. Apo Reef, Malapascua and Tubattaha(liveaboard from Mar to June).
My suggestion:
Forget Anilao and concentrate on Visayas Region.
Day1: Manila. Day 2: Corregidor Island Tour. Day 3: Early flight to Dumaguete( Liquid). Day 9: Public transfer to Moalboal(Nelson), the school of sardines is the main attraction. Day 12: A trip to Oslob for the whaleshark and then proceed to Cebu City. Day 13: Early bus from Northern Terminal to Maya to catch the ferry for Malapascua(Evolution). Day 18: Early departure to Cebu for your flight to Puerto Princesa. Day 23: back to Manila and then home.
You can skip Corregidor until the end. Book the flight and accommodation early because Nov/Dec is peak diving season.
You can substitute Puerto Princesa with Southern Leyte. The resort in Malapascua should be able to arrange a boat for Massin which is stone throw from Padres Bugos(Peter). Return to Manila via Tacloban.

Have a nice trip.

 

[SlowSBC]

Wow I really appreciate everyone's input. So it seems I really need to stay on the island where Cebu City is at and hit all "corners" of the island. Are rental cars available on the island? Does it even make sense to get one or is public transportation the best bet? We will be travelling with 3 very large suitcases and sometimes that can be a huge hassle when using public transportation. I guess I really need to re-plot out my plans. It seemed to be very cheap to take flights using Philippine Airlines. Are there just a ton of hidden charges I am just not seeing? Again really appreciate the help and I want to get my hotels and flights booked as soon as possible (flights from US to Philippines already booked).

 

[Mucksavage]

Making Cebu your hub certainly works. For getting around you can arrange local cars and vans to drive you through the resorts. I don't recommend trying to drive yourself unless you are used to Filipino road behaviour (are you able to competently drive on the wrong side of the road while texting?). Each resort can arrange a vehicle for you. If you are Cebu for example we would arrange to collect you from the Airport / hotel and get you onto a boat at Maya and over to Malapascua. it will be the same in each direction. Of course this private option is the most convenient and fastest way to move and so the most expensive.

Flights are good options also for some routes. Cebu Pacific is also cheap. If you know your bag weight just pre book them and it avoids any surprises. Flights are cheapest when booked well ahead so worth considering although its always nice to have a little flexibility in the Philippines!

 

[Centrals]

1. For a first timer in the country, you don't want to drive. Just sit back and relax(!!) and let the expert does it for you.
2. Read the small print if flying Cebu Pacific(5J) or Philippine Airlines(PR) regarding luggage. For 5J the check in luggage is NOT included and the max allowance is 40kg(each bag must NOT weigh more than 30kg so you have to pack them in TWO bags) otherwise ONE bag. 7kg is your FREE allowance for hand carry. To make thing more complicated, certain flight would only allow you a lot less if smaller plane(ATR) is used. Prepaid the luggage when buying the ticket on line. So for two persons you are allowed 80kg max on most flights and must be packed in minimum of 3 separated bag. MNL/CEB is definitely 40kg max.
3. You will need private transfer between Cebu and Malapascua.
4. Cebu, Dumaguete and Tagbilaran would be your normal point of entry to Cebu area. You can avoid back tracking by flying in/out from different city. There is NOT much saving in getting a return over two separated singles!! Check it out first www.cebupacificair.com
5. Plan you itinerary FIRST and then we can discuss in more detail.

 

[Wiggsy]

Each to his own, but I'd actually rank Anilao quite a bit higher than Dumaguete for macro, and there are some ripper coral dives too at Sombrero Island; Beatrice Rocks and Verde. In fact the dives I did at Sombrero possibly topped Apo for colour and Verde certainly has the densest populations of fish I've seen for some time. I've dived Dumaguete twice and Anilao last July staying at Aiyanar Resort. Aiyanar was fabulous for my group - a really fine dive operation and a well designed and laid out resort. It is fairly hig end though the food would be more moderate - it was OK to very good but not spectacular - more filling and homely. The dive guides are second to none - they even knew the latin names of various nudibranchs and other critters - quite specialised. I'd certainly try to do both Anilao and Dumaguete, but it is a bad drive in the usual Manila crazy traffic. Would go back to Anilao in a heartbeat. For underwater photogs. it is hard to beat. This link will take you to my photobook of Anilao and Aiyanar resort. ISSUU - Anilao proof pages by Alan Wiggs

 

[Centrals]

It seemed to be very cheap to take flights using Philippine Airlines. Are there just a ton of hidden charges I am just not seeing? .

As far as I can remember there is no hidden charge on PR flight. The quoted fare is ALL IN. You can also prepaid the luggage to suit your own requirement. Insurance is optional. Why don't you play around with the booking on line until you have been asked to pay?
There is web adm. charge of less than US$10.00 for Cebu Pacific on line booking. The quoted fare does not included tax etc etc. Insurance and seat selection is optional while prepaid luggage is ranging from 15, 20, 30 and 40kg. Play around with the booking on line will give you a much clearer picture.

Good luck.