Beginner Diving in Philippines?

[skingsland]

I'm planning a vacation with my wife to Vietnam in February, and on the way back to the States, we'd like to spend a week diving in SE Asia. We're beginner divers (she's PADI OWD, I'm a NAUI-certified "Scuba Diver"), with only a few dives under our belt, the deepest of which was ~75 feet in Belize with good vis. and no current. Based on our research the Philippines sounds like it has a lot of great options for world class diving in February, so much so that we're struggling to narrow them down to one location!

I realize that this question has been asked before (e.g. 1, 2, 3), but the concern I have is that a lot of the places that are recommended (e.g. Malapascua, Balicasag) seem like they cater more to advanced divers. I would love to check out wrecks, caves, wall dives, and big pelagics at 25-30m deep with strong currents, but given our relative inexperience that doesn't seem like a good idea. This rules out dives like Verde Island, Monad Shoal, Manta Bowl, and many other of the best dive sites these islands have to offer. Right?

So what's left? It sounds like Puerto Galera or Boracay might be our best bet, especially since we'd like access to nice beaches and great food while we're topside, with affordable lodging (rustic is ok, dilapidated is not) and reefs not recently destroyed by typhoons, earthquakes, or other storms. But most important is the diving; we haven't dived enough to know exactly what kind of experience we want, so we'd like to stay somewhere that gives us access to a little bit of everything: coral reef (that's still in good shape), macro and pelagics. Sabang and Boracay both sound really touristy though, and the diving in Boracay might not be the best the Philippines have to offer?

I had kind of ruled out Apo Island because of what I read about part of the reef being destroyed by the 2011 and 2012 typhoons, and same with Panglao Island dive boats all getting destroyed by a recent storm. I also ruled out Anilao because the lodging options are mostly expensive resorts (which don't get good enough reviews to justify their high prices) with nothing to do but dive, and no options for checking out local bars and restaurants.

Any suggestions? What am I missing?

Thanks in advance!

-Steve

 

[diverjen]

I will be interested to hear the responses, although I know this has been discussed somewhat before.

My trouble in planning our upcoming dive trip to the Philippines has been that there are so many places to dive. We picked about a week each at Anilao and PG based on our love of macro and reef diving, with a hope to get some drift and wreck diving in too. We picked this based on those interests, our "intermediate beginner" skill level and the proximity to Manila which is a shorter flight option (for us) than Cebu (its my first trip with a longer than 6 hour flight time). It seems like whether you fly into Cebu or Manila there is land transit required.

However, since we have booked this trip I have done more research and realized that there are probably at least a solid 4 dive trips to Philippines alone! I hope we can return many times and eventually do a Visayas trip, a Leyte trip, and a Tubbataha trip.

Also maybe towards the end of the week you could do Verde if you go to PG?

 

[rob1967]

the concern I have is that a lot of the places that are recommended (e.g. Malapascua, Balicasag) seem like they cater more to advanced divers. I would love to check out wrecks, caves, wall dives, and big pelagics at 25-30m deep with strong currents, but given our relative inexperience that doesn't seem like a good idea. This rules out dives like Verde Island, Monad Shoal, Manta Bowl, and many other of the best dive sites these islands have to offer. Right?


-Steve

I would not be concerned at all about a notion that certain destinations cater more to advanced divers. This is not the case in my experience. All the destinations you mention are perfectly capable of catering to beginner/intermediate divers such as yourself. All the places you mentioned would be a very good choice, so you can make your decision based on other criteria if you like. If you want a good variety of diving with a good assortment of topside activities and bars, restaurants, etc., I would perhaps suggest Dumaguete/Dauin, which has great muck diving and easy access to Apo Island via day trips. You could also consider Panglao/Bohol, as I would expect their dive ops have recovered from earthquake damage by now. Malapascua is also a great choice, although a bit more rustic, and would be a great place to get your Nitrox certification if you haven't already done so (you will definitely want Nitrox for the thresher sharks!). Puerto Galera would be fine also, although the nightlife there may not be to your wife's liking! Southern Leyte also has great macro and very healthy coral reefs, but is a bit off the beaten path, but could be a good choice if you like a quiet area with only a few diver resorts.

 

[WOODMAN]

Egad, there must be a thousand threads here dedicated to exactly this question, and a lot of conflicting information. Following the time honored practice when presented with a question like this, lets see if we can narrow things down a bit.
First, cost factors. It would help if we knew what level of money you are willing to invest in this. Some places are far more reasonable than others.
Second, travel time. You have only a week to pull this off in, and travel time is always a big factor in the Philippines. You fly into Manila or Cebu (although there may be other options when coming from Asia, there is still that return trip home and I assume you will want either Manila or Cebu for that), and then you travel onwards from there. The less time traveling, the more time diving, obviously. There are only a few places which don't require large amounts of additional travel time.
Third, you mentioned a preference for a certain amount of topside attractions, like restaurants and such. There is a wide variety here, from the isolated all inclusives of Anilao to the anything-is-available ambience of Sabang/Puerto Galera. (By the way, don't dismiss Sabang for excess "touristyness". You can range all the way from the raucous girly clubs to absolute peace and quiet just by walking up and down the beach. The farther west you go, the quieter and more sedate it gets.)
Fourth, you are worried about your skill level, and want places that will be more forgiving, so to speak. As mentioned above, a lot of places are suitable for this, and the dive service can usually make necessary allowances to maximize your diving experience. Even places like Verde Island off Sabang are feasible once you get a little practice under your belt.
Fifth, the kind of dive experience you would like. Muck diving? Corals? Tropical fish life? Pelagics? (Good luck with that one- there is very limited access to big sea life here, with a few notable exceptions) Wrecks? Macro? And so forth. Many sites are sort of specialized to one or two types of diving, but some give good access to a wide range of sites, like Sabang.
Do you detect a slight bias here towards Sabang? I have to admit that I feel it gives the best range of possibilities with the fewest problems, and I am headed back there (again) in late March. So consider me prejudiced, I guess, but I'm sure not the only one.
Anyway, I think you see what I mean. More information will help us guide you, as there are a lot of factors to consider. We will do what we can for you.

 

[skingsland]

Thanks everyone, that helps a good deal! I was concerned that the best reasons for visiting some of the dive destinations I mentioned was for 1 or 2 amazing dives, which would be more advanced and thus not accessible to us, and the rest of the diving options there would be good but not amazing.

Here are my answers to Woodman's questions:

Cost - I'm looking for the sweet spot of good quality accommodations; it doesn't need to be upscale or a fancy resort. I'll take a well-run, clean hostel with staff who speak English over a high-rise resort that's old and poorly maintained any day. If that means I need to spend $100 or $150 per night then so be it, but my impression is that there are nice places to stay for much less than that. Ultimately, the total cost is what matters: time and money to get there, lodging, dives, and equipment rental. And area could cost more for dives if they're cheaper for lodging, and vice versa. Hope that helps, sorry it's not a firm answer, as our budget is flexible for this trip.

Travel Time - This plus cost will ultimately make the decision for us. If PG is approximately the same quality and variety of diving as what's available in Boracay or Dauin/Dumaguete (keeping in mind our minimal experience with diving, all of which is in the Caribbean), and PG/Sabang takes an extra day to get there, and maybe an extra day on the way back too, then PG is not going to be worth losing extra vacation days over. The only direct flights I've found to the Philippines from Vietnam is from Hanoi or Saigon to Manila, and only Saigon has a reasonable departure time (Hanoi leaves at 1am on Cebu Pacific air), which gets in at 1:15pm. That's too late for me get a bus and ferry to Sabang the same day, but I might be able to make a flight to Caticlan or Dumaguete that afternoon if my Saigon flight is on time and customs doesn't take too long. I don't see any flights to Cebu from Vietnam (but that would be awesome!).

Topside attractions - great food and a nice beach are probably my top 2 priorities, after diving. This is a vacation after all, and I'd rather not sacrifice on the non-diving aspects if I don't have to. With Anilao e.g. I'm concerned about feeling trapped in a resort where I'm not crazy about the food, the beach isn't great, it's a hassle to get into the nearby town, and there's nothing to explore or do aside from diving. Not saying that's the case with the resorts in Anilao, and we'd probably still have a good time cause, hey we're diving in SE Asia! But I feel like I can be choosy because of the plethora of great diving destinations that exist in the Phils.

Diving skill level - I touched on this in above, but what I'm looking to avoid is going somewhere because I've read that they have excellent dives, but all of the dives that are accessible to us are the same type of stuff we could find just about anywhere in the Philippines. I.e. if I'm not going to get the pelagics, and I'm not going to be deep enough or in strong enough current to get other big fish, then all that's left is seeing great coral and macro, plus some muck, right? I'm sorry if I'm oversimplifying this; that's just my understanding of what's available from what I've read so far.

Diving variety - I want everything! Or at least, as much variety as is possible given the time of year, weather conditions, and my ability level. So I'm guessing wrecks and wall dives are out, because they're usually deeper, right? Macro, coral and tropical fish sound great. Don't really know what to expect with muck diving (other than lots of little creatures), but yeah sure that sounds great too!

Hopefully this makes sense, and seems reasonable to you folks. I want what I'd imagine every beginner scuba diver wants: to see the best quality and variety of diving that SE Asia has to offer, that's accessible to a beginning diver. Once I've narrowed it down to the best options available, I'll probably favor what's cheapest and easiest to get to. I can't tell you how I'd weight cost vs. travel time vs. diving quality, because it depends on the specifics. I don't expect you nice folks to do that for me. But at least helping me whittle it down to the top 3 to 5 options, and explaining the tradeoffs between them, is very helpful!

Thanks again for your help, and for reading another long post from me. Hopefully this will help other beginning divers as well, who are looking to explore the Philippines for the first time!

 

[Centrals]

Topside attractions - great food and a nice beach are probably my top 2 priorities, after diving. This is a vacation after all, and I'd rather not sacrifice on the non-diving aspects if I don't have to.

Boracay. The beach is certainly stunning and there are lots of good restaurants to choose from . However, the diving is pretty ordinary.
Flight from Manila to Caticlan is frequent.

I really can't think of anywhere in the country with great food, nice beach and good diving. But I could be wrong.

 

[kevinl4270]

Most, if not all, of the dive fleet is back up and running in the Alona beach area of Panglao. The diving here is great for all levels and the shops do a good job of matching up divers with the same abilities.
There are many great restaurants here for all tastes and budgets.
The beach here is really nice, but not as nice as Boracay.
Alona is also very accessible from the airport in Tagbilaran city or a short ferry ride from Cebu City.
I just finished my first 30 dive package here, and I bought another 30 dive package today.
Honestly though, no matter where you choose in the Philippines you will have a great time!

 

[WOODMAN]

Travel Time - This plus cost will ultimately make the decision for us. If PG is approximately the same quality and variety of diving as what's available in Boracay or Dauin/Dumaguete (keeping in mind our minimal experience with diving, all of which is in the Caribbean), and PG/Sabang takes an extra day to get there, and maybe an extra day on the way back too, then PG is not going to be worth losing extra vacation days over. The only direct flights I've found to the Philippines from Vietnam is from Hanoi or Saigon to Manila, and only Saigon has a reasonable departure time (Hanoi leaves at 1am on Cebu Pacific air), which gets in at 1:15pm. That's too late for me get a bus and ferry to Sabang the same day, but I might be able to make a flight to Caticlan or Dumaguete that afternoon if my Saigon flight is on time and customs doesn't take too long. I don't see any flights to Cebu from Vietnam (but that would be awesome!).!

This is what I feel is going to be your biggest problem, and this is part of why I recommend Sabang. You can arrange private transfer (for about $300 round trip, which is $150 apiece) which will take you to Sabang from the airport in about 2 1/2-3 hours, depending on traffic, but you usually have to do this during daylight hours, especially for the boat transfer part of it. Your dive shop/resort can usually help with this. It all depends on when you hit the Manila airport, and almost all of the USA connections arrive in Manila about 10PM or later, and depart about 7-10AM. Neither will allow for a Sabang transfer the same day, and you almost always have to spend one night in a local hotel and travel onward in the morning. As far as bouncing from a Vietnamese airliner in Manila to another island via a Philippine aircraft, It all depends on the schedules, and the Manila airport is not the easiest place to move through quickly. (Although travel of any kind is not especially efficient over there, I am afraid, and the shorter the better.) I wish you luck with this.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

I think the diving in the Philippines caters to less experienced divers no problem. Especially in the destinations you specifically mentioned there are plenty of shallow reefs with lots to see and little/no current. So you should be fine.

Personally I was not overly impressed by Borocay - too built up & developed for my liking. But many people love it, so each to their own I guess

 

[aumexican]

I'm a Puerto Galera/ Sebang fan, but I like diving.
I suggest Alona beach on Bohol, as this will give you all you want. Boracay is ok for above water but the diving not that good.
you could stay at big Laguna beach in Sebang though, a 10 minute walk to town if you have to and there is a few resturaunts there and an ok beach, also check coco beach resort.