Anyone dived with Big Apple Dive Resort in Puerto Galera??

[clgsamson]

1800... is that at aquaventure or dive7000?

Jag

That's at aquaventure Jag.

[shugar]

Thank you very much for the info.I'll definitely try Aquventure.Hope i'll bump into you that weekend if you're there.Fredi.

think nothing of it i figure if i ever need to go diving in new jersey (although God knows why i'd like to do that when it's so cold out there) i could ask you hahahahahahaha

i won't be there this weekend as i'm back on my very short leash... wife's figured i've had enough dives for a one-month+ period so i'm currently shackled to my infant daugther... something about "it's my turn" hehehehehehehe

have fun and post a trip report ok!

Jag

[Fredi]

think nothing of it i figure if i ever need to go diving in new jersey (although God knows why i'd like to do that when it's so cold out there) i could ask you hahahahahahaha

i won't be there this weekend as i'm back on my very short leash... wife's figured i've had enough dives for a one-month+ period so i'm currently shackled to my infant daugther... something about "it's my turn" hehehehehehehe

have fun and post a trip report ok!

Jag

Diving in NewJersey is labor intensive!Heavier suits,weights and lugging extra gears.Cold water diving year round here!But one can get use to it.Lots of wrecks in NJ,and some nearby quarries and lakes too.Visibility can be a challenge.Thats why i escape to the tropics in Asia or Carribean yearly to dive the warm water.Diving is always cool....but spending time with your little girl...,is priceless.Have a nice weekend,and thanks again for being very helpful.Fredi.

[Scuby Dooby]

Hi Fredi,

I'm an american living in Hong Kong and I dive in Anilao very frequently, usually at least every couple of months. My comments on whats been posted so far:

Eagle Point

The place really is a rip off. I stayed there once and was out as soon as possible because of the prices - I'm sure that you are right about the price / dive.

Cheaper prices at other resorts

Here's where this becomes a problem for you. The prices everyone has quoted are pretty much right (it's hard to have an exact price for a place like Aquaventure (my usual haunt) because it depends on what sites you dive and also how many are on your boat) but you are very unlikely to see these prices as a foreign tourist. I'd guess about 90% of the divers are 'locals' ;Filipinos / expats; and the remaining 10 % tourists, maybe even fewer tourists. Luckily, my wife is originally from Batangas and I've been pretty much accepted as a 'local' with the shops that I dive with down there. This is important because they generally have a 2 tier price list.

1 (cheap) is for Filipinos and expats living in the country (and lucky others )
2 (much more expensive) is for foreign tourists.

The prices you've heard so far are for #1. Even when I've had friends come down from HK, china, the states, etc. the resorts charge me the usual but still impose the #2 prices on them. I can't remember exactly but I know that the Aquaventure price package worked out to somewhere around $25 - 30 per dive for a friend that booked a trip there recently. That's too expensive when the guy you eat lunch with might be averaging about $8 for the same exact dives / boats / equipment, etc. I wish they'd stop doing this but it is an accepted practice with most of the shops that cater to the local market.

One way you might escape this is to have a filipino friend call and make the booking. When you show up say that you are living in manila and had a friend / secretary make the booking for you. It's worth a shot. Honestly, if I had to pay the way over inflated prices there I would go over to puerto galera and negotiate a multi dive package for about $18 / dive instead.

I'm not trying to crap on Anilao because it really is one of my favorite places to dive, it's just that they are unfairly trying to gouge foreigners and it's just not worth the price to dive there. Maybe thats the plan . . .

[shugar]

Diving in NewJersey is labor intensive!Heavier suits,weights and lugging extra gears.Cold water diving year round here!But one can get use to it.

thanks but no thanks... this island boy is a firm believer in the concept that "ice" is what you want encrusted on the bottle of your post-dive San Miguel and "cold water" is when the bottom temp flattens out at 26C and is what you ***** and whine about during the aforementioned post-dive San Miguel

heck, a dry suit here is what you have when you've been out of the water too long hehehehe

spending time with your little girl...,is priceless.

amen to that... never thought i'd be twirled so tightly around a 3-month old finger... she grins her toothless smile and i just turn to mush... can't wait for her to get a little older coz soon as i can i'm yanking her to the beach with me for some serious play time... mom can come along too if she wants... but daddy and his angel are going diving hehehehe

Jag