First trip to the Philippines: Donsol/Anilao/Puerto Galera.. What are your thoughts?

[Visualise303]

Unfortunately my plans for a dive trip to the Philippines in mid-2014 went awry, however I've booked in a slightly shorter trip of 11 days across the start of February 2015!

As I've only got 11 days, I would prefer not to lose too much time travelling (and not being forced to wait for a 24 hour SI before flying).

My plans are to fly in and out of Manila (doing some sight-seeing) and visit up to 3 dive destinations.. I’m incredibly keen on doing a whale shark interaction in Donsol (and potentially a dive at the Manta Bowl) to get my kick of “big things”… Have any members had experience doing the interaction?

My proposed itinerary is:

Day 1 Manila (Fly in late PM)
Day 2 Manila
Day 3 Donsol (Fly to Legazpi City, obtain ground transport to Donsol in morning)
Day 4 Donsol
Day 5 Anilao
Day 6 Anilao
Day 7 Anilao
Day 8 Puerto Galera/Sabang (I’ve received recommendations for Asia Divers and Blue Ribbon Divers)
Day 9 Puerto Galera/Sabang
Day 10 Puerto Galera/Sabang
Day 11 Manila (Fly out late PM)​

It would be great to get some feedback on this itinerary. Would you suggest changing some dates? Splitting my accommodation between Puerto Galera and Sabang? Do any members have recommendations of dive shops/dive resorts/accommodation?

I’ll be a solo male traveller; and while I’m not going to be going for “budget” options, I don’t want to break the bank either.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Centrals]

I would suggest you should fly to Legazpi on the 2nd day and leave the sight seeing of Manila at the end. In this case you have plenty of time to off-gas.
Getting from Legazpi to Anilao will be a long journey.
Stay in either Sabang, Small La Laguna or Big La Laguna instead of Puerto Galera. Most of the dive sites are much closer and bigger selection on dive operators and resorts.
BTW, Blue Ribbons and its neighbour Asia Divers are on Small La Laguna.

 

[Visualise303]

Thanks for your reply Centrals.
I'll most certainly consider moving a day at Manila to the end of my trip..

I'm very keep to hear on anyone's experience diving Anilao... As a single traveler I understand it can be rather costly. Would i perhaps be better doing this as a day-trip from Manila or perhaps just basing myself in Sabang for 6 days?

 

[Centrals]

1. Manila to Anilao should take about 2-3hrs by private transfer(US$100.00 each way)!!!! If you take public transport then you have to start very early. Plenty of buses going to Batangas from Manila(eg. Buendia) and then jeepney to Anilao(not very straight forward).
2. Try to go to Anilao on the weekend as the place is packed with divers from Manila.
3. If you only have six days for diving then I am more inclined to suggest that you should just stay in Sabang. Take the Si-Kat transfer from City State Tower Hotel on Mabini Street at 08:00am(only one daily service) all the way to Sabang. BTW, I have no problem to stay in City State Tower. There are better one along the street if you search for it.

 

[Searcaigh]

I prefer to have an overnight in Manila on the way back from my trip as I had one trip when we left PG (Sabang) to find the transport was delayed and what turned up was a pick up truck for 4 of us, too tight a squeeze IMO.

The timing to the airport was very tight too, we had around 40 mins to spare if I recall, but I hate missing flights. Traffic in Manila can be crazy, so it is better to spend the night again in Manila and take your time to the airport the following day.

I also recommend Asia Divers / El Galeon I don't know how Blue Ribbon are.

 

[FT]

Agree with the votes for spending your last night in Manila to avoid unpleasant surprises.

If you seriously want to get over to Ticao or San Miguel islands near Donsol for a chance at mantas, then yes, spend longer there and drop Anilao from the itinerary. In any case, six days is not at all too long to spend just in Puerto Galera, especially if you get a chance to go over to Verde Island (a good operator won't take you there till they've sized you up during your first dives). As others have alertly noted, the town PG is not where most dive shops are. I use Asia Divers in Small La Laguna but there are other good options. If El Galleon accommodation seems too pricey for you, Asia Divers can recommend cheaper rooms. Tastier, potentially cheaper, wider variety of restaurant options than in Anilao where you are stuck in your resort.

Spent two nights in Donsol for snorkelling with whale sharks and a firefly river tour. Both magical. Have not dived there, cannot provide advice. Trolling around the bay looking for the sharks will use up a long day for you... plan to cover up with e.g. a skinsuit and floppy hat.

Anilao has some terrific sites and features award-winning macro photo ops; I'm trying not to be bitter about the semi-permanent digestive issues I picked up there, surfacing among diaper trash from Mabini, or about the poor equipment and inattention to safety of one resort (things change rapidly in the Phils, so I won't name it). Two other resorts were fine, if isolated. Others who've been there more recently have made credible recommendations on this board. If you are truly keen on macro, make time for it. The way to waste the least amount of your time is with a direct boat transfer from Anilao to your chosen resort in Puerto Galera.

 

[WOODMAN]

I agree. Skip Anilao (unless you work with one of the very few who do not use that biased pricing structure) and go direct to Sabang. It is almost directly across the channel from the Anilao area, and the diving is pretty similar. There are a few better macro sites at Anilao, but Sabang has a lot of them also. The night dive at the wrecks in Sabang harbor is not to be missed. I saw my first stargazer there, along with a couple of things that I can't even find in my identification manuals. And nudibranchs? Good lord! Anyway, Sabang has a great variety of diving opportunities, including Verde Island for the adventurous sorts. I advise taking private transport to minimize the hassle, although it does cost more. If you can somehow arrange to travel with someone else, the cost drops as those private vans can usually take up to 6 people, and the cost is a flat fee for one or a full van. Perhaps your resort/dive shop can help arrange this? If they have someone traveling the same direction on the same day, perhaps they can pair you up? I was in one van that stopped at 3 places in Manila before we had everybody. Also, the private vans are nice as you can get them to stop at a roadside station where you can stock up on drinks/snacks and such. This is also the fastest way to do the transfer. The last time we did this the traffic around Batangas was ferocious, to put it mildly. But our driver knew every detour and shortcut in the area, and weaseled us around the most of it with impressive skill. Like they say, you get what you pay for.

 

[Searcaigh]

Agree with Woodman regarding private vans too, $100 transfer from Manila to Batangas / Anilao is small change in the grand scheme of things. If I remember correctly the $100 with Asia Divers also covers the boat crossing if going direct to their resort (El Galeon).

We paid $100 for a boat (banca) transfer from Crystal Blue to Asia Divers for three of us to split, was really worth it, although a dive on the way would have been nice as there are some good sites on the eastern side of Maricaban Island.

When I dive locally nothing is guaranteed and my costs are around $100 for the boat trip for two dives, plus fuel for four hours driving (about $20) and $10 for two tanks of Nitrox. Sometimes with the bad viz in UAE I might only take about 15-30 shots. In Anilao or PG never less than 80 per dive. It's all relative, but I know where I'd rather be diving and it isn't the UAE.

 

[jcclink]

Anilao offers great muck diving & some nice reefs/drop-offs at the small off shore islands. Its about 2 hrs from Manila airport with the new highway. I have not found a need to overnight in Manila unless you really want to sight see. Many dive resorts to choose from. I've only stayed at Acacia Resort which is moderate size & very comfortable with great food. My species count at Anilao is very high, just behind Lembeh.

 

[Visualise303]

Thanks for everyone's responses.. incredibly helpful!

I've decided to skip Anilao and head straight to Sabang/Puerto Galera as reccomended by many. I'll book a couple of nights accommodation first and wing it from there.. I'll hopefully be able to write up a quick trip report of both Donsol And Sabang/Puerto Galera to share and assist other first time Philippine divers!