Anilao Trip Report

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dirtfarmer

Contributor
Messages
1,261
Reaction score
950
Location
Northern California
# of dives
500 - 999
I've been wanting to go to Anilao for quite some time, but the usual dive pricing scheme in Anilao can get expensive/confusing for single divers. Paying separately for the boat, guide, and shop can add up extensively if it's just you or another diver. So when I read of Buceo Anilao and their all inclusive dive pricing I was intrigued. I and my non-diving wife decided to come and try the resort and Anilao out.
No disappointment here.

The diving: yes Anilao lived up to its reputation as a wonderful place to dive. Great macro photo opportunities abound. I also took some time to try my new wide angle lens on some dives. Anilao is not just about macro, there are some beautiful spots to shoot wide angle. Sombreo Island has some really spectacular hard coral,soft coral and immense clouds of small fish, some of the biggest I've seen. I've never seen such abundance of orange cup coral all over the place. Other sites have some really good wide angle photo opportunities also. Quite frequently when people talk about the region they site the profusion of nudibranches, and they do not lie. I've dived Lembeh 3x, Tulamben 2x, and I would say Anilao is tops for Nudis.
There was a pretty good range of critters to be found, and I probably would have seen a bigger range but I was only diving for 5 days.The water temperature was on the chilly side- 24C,and after 60 minutes in my 3mm long suit, I was a bit chilly. I will add add a hood and vest to my equipment in the future. Dive times averaged 60-70 mins but probably could go longer if I and the guides weren't needing to warm up. There was windy/choppy conditions that kept us away from some sites such Secret Bay, we looked at it and decided against it as the conditions were not favorable. Unfortunate for me as I hear it's one of the premier spots. I also failed to do enough research and missed out on the pier which I also hear is top notch.

My guide Elmer has been guiding the area for 20 years, and even has a site named after him. He did a great job of spotting critters yet not holding my hand. He pretty much let me do my own thing, and when I was shooting photos, hung around within sight looking for more stuff. It's also fun when a guide shows excitement with your finds, which he did when I spotted a nudi egg mass being cannibalized by a group of other small nudis. Unfortunately I had my wide angle lens on and my photo of it is lacking.

I did 3 dives a day for 5 days and was impressed with the overall quality of Anilao and I hope to return again one day.

The Resort: Buceo Anilao is a new resort and well designed. It has a huge camera room, a large locker room to hang your gear, and nice rinse tanks for all your equipment, including 4 camera tanks. Our room was nice with a pretty Balinese style bathroom ( not outdoors-but with a semi transparent roof). The balcony has wonderful sea-sunset views. My non-diving wife loved the resort and was happy to spend her time there as I was diving. We opted for the full board dining option and found the food to be to our liking, with a nice mix of options at every meal and plenty to be had. The staff was courteous, kind, and helpful all the way from the owners to the wait staff.

IMG_1412 (640x510).jpgIMG_1069 (640x507).jpgIMG_1091 (480x640).jpg


Here a link to my Photobucket album
IMG_1212_zpsgtqt8fij.jpg Photo by thedirtfarmer | Photobucket
 
Glad you enjoyed Anilao! I'm going to be there later today staying at Club Ocellaris. Do you remember at which dive site you saw the ceratasoma allleni?
 
Glad you enjoyed Anilao! I'm going to be there later today staying at Club Ocellaris. Do you remember at which dive site you saw the ceratasoma allleni?
There were Alleni some 10 months ago just in front of Buceo at Secret Garden dive spot.
 
Seen one yet?
If this link actually works it'll will take you to my Youtube channel where there is a short clip.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnwDNDDRDrJQ36VeRvlUH3Q[/video]

Yes! Saw one at Maynilog
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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