I recently had the pleasure to do a quick visit to Sabang and oh boy did this place deliver. Sitting on the plane back to the States yesterday with a big smile on my face and reflecting the experience, I must say that Sabang exceeded my expectations by far and I am already looking forward to coming back. The amount of bio diversity and ability to see so many different unique things is just amazing. I have been lurking on the board for a while but never posted before so a big thanks to all who have as existing info was very helpful in putting together plans for this trip. Here is a summary of my recent trip.
My visit to PG was part of a detour on the return from a business trip in Asia which allowed me to arrive early Saturday morning and depart on first ferry out on Wednesday morning. In order to waste as little precious dive time as possible, I had made arrangements for private transportation to the Blue Ribbon resort. Private arrangements were expensive but well worth it as I was on a very tight time schedule, had the itch to dive, and was not about to waste time by staying in Manila. Flight arrived in Manila around 1AM in the morning on Saturday, baggage collected, car left by 2:30AM, shortly before 5AM the boat slowly drifted in towards the pier in Sabang and viola by 10AM that same morning I was ready for my first dive! In four days, I did ten dives and each was interesting and offered unique environments, fish and critters to view. Could have done more but I figured two to three dives per days was just about right for my pace. Used nitrox on a few dives which kept me refreshed and not getting too exhausted.
Dives:
Canyons, Hole in the Wall, Sabang Wreck (night and day time), Sabang Point, Giant Clam, Dungeon Wall, Lalaguna Point, Ernies, Coral Garden.
Memorable Fish / Creatures seen:
Blue ribbon eel, large Sweet lips (spotted, striped), Sea snakes. Sea horses, Octopus, Frog fish, multitude of nudibranchs, Turtles, Puffers, Cow fish, Sea stars, Shrimp, Lobsters, Electric clam, Scorpion fish, Lion fish, Trigger fish, Sponges, Hard and Soft corals, Snappers, Angler fish, Bat fish, Stone fish, Cuttle fish, Moray eels, Anemones etc, etc list could go on forever
I stayed at Blue Ribbon and liked it and would recommend to others. Friendly and helpful staff, good rental equipment and knowledgeable dive guides. For me the price point was about right for my budget and they have a special if you commit to six dives which was nice. Thumbs up!
My most memorable dive of the trip was an early morning visit to Canyons which started with my guide Jeff taking me through the Hole in the wall and then on to Canyons. Lots of fun as we snuck up on schools of large sweet lips (spotted and striped) just hanging out in the strong current. I was pleasantly surprised about how good the diving right in middle of the bay is given the amount of divers and boats in the area. Also, when we dove Dungeon Wall there was a strong current which made it felt like we were flying along the wall. In general, currents and tides were stronger than other great places which I have dove such as Roatan, GBR and Hawaii so this added to the experience.
Given the short amount of time I had at Puerto Galera, it was amazing, left me craving for more and I will be back.
My visit to PG was part of a detour on the return from a business trip in Asia which allowed me to arrive early Saturday morning and depart on first ferry out on Wednesday morning. In order to waste as little precious dive time as possible, I had made arrangements for private transportation to the Blue Ribbon resort. Private arrangements were expensive but well worth it as I was on a very tight time schedule, had the itch to dive, and was not about to waste time by staying in Manila. Flight arrived in Manila around 1AM in the morning on Saturday, baggage collected, car left by 2:30AM, shortly before 5AM the boat slowly drifted in towards the pier in Sabang and viola by 10AM that same morning I was ready for my first dive! In four days, I did ten dives and each was interesting and offered unique environments, fish and critters to view. Could have done more but I figured two to three dives per days was just about right for my pace. Used nitrox on a few dives which kept me refreshed and not getting too exhausted.
Dives:
Canyons, Hole in the Wall, Sabang Wreck (night and day time), Sabang Point, Giant Clam, Dungeon Wall, Lalaguna Point, Ernies, Coral Garden.
Memorable Fish / Creatures seen:
Blue ribbon eel, large Sweet lips (spotted, striped), Sea snakes. Sea horses, Octopus, Frog fish, multitude of nudibranchs, Turtles, Puffers, Cow fish, Sea stars, Shrimp, Lobsters, Electric clam, Scorpion fish, Lion fish, Trigger fish, Sponges, Hard and Soft corals, Snappers, Angler fish, Bat fish, Stone fish, Cuttle fish, Moray eels, Anemones etc, etc list could go on forever
I stayed at Blue Ribbon and liked it and would recommend to others. Friendly and helpful staff, good rental equipment and knowledgeable dive guides. For me the price point was about right for my budget and they have a special if you commit to six dives which was nice. Thumbs up!
My most memorable dive of the trip was an early morning visit to Canyons which started with my guide Jeff taking me through the Hole in the wall and then on to Canyons. Lots of fun as we snuck up on schools of large sweet lips (spotted and striped) just hanging out in the strong current. I was pleasantly surprised about how good the diving right in middle of the bay is given the amount of divers and boats in the area. Also, when we dove Dungeon Wall there was a strong current which made it felt like we were flying along the wall. In general, currents and tides were stronger than other great places which I have dove such as Roatan, GBR and Hawaii so this added to the experience.
Given the short amount of time I had at Puerto Galera, it was amazing, left me craving for more and I will be back.
