Having just returned from two weeks at the Atlantis resorts...

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Other thoughts:

Don't assume that your DM will be a tank handler that worked his way up.

Our DM at Dumaguete has his BS in Biology and worked in research. He started working as a DM because the contracts where he did research would run out and they would have periods of unemployment - (until the next research grant/contract came in).

Hard to feed the family when you are unemployed.
 
Is anyone from the group posting underwater images?

~ R

---------- Post added July 15th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ----------

I love Jeepnees in the Pilippines! So much fun to travel in them. : ) Where are the underwater pictures?

~R

---------- Post added July 15th, 2014 at 12:18 PM ----------

Nice newby shots DepDan =) if your camera has a higher shutter speed, 1/250th, it will help the color of the water. I just returned from Isla Mujeres just to photograph whale sharks - they are so beautiful. Fun-fun-fun, thanks for posting!

~R

---------- Post added July 15th, 2014 at 12:22 PM ----------

She's right, it's a big deal. hahahaa. After my first trip to PG, I always carry tissue to the Philippines and Indonesia. Imagine my surprise when the first toilet I saw was a hole in the floor! OMGoodness ... (We're not in Kansas anymore!)
 
This is a trip to some excellent dive operations and locales.

Point of information: The Hotel Atlantis Puerto Galera is actually on Sabang Beach, miles away from PG. PG is not my idea of a vacation delight, Sabang is what comes to mind. There are smarter ways to get to Hotel Atlantis other than flying thru Puerto Galera, but according to DD, that's the arrangement.



NOTE: Any one who has a physical limitation in regards to stairs, absolutely insist on getting a room at the lowest level The rooms with the best views are on "the top", but it is mountain goat territory.

Hotel Atlantis on Sabang Beach:





More at Philippines Hotel Atlantis Pto Galera Sabang Photos by Doc_Adelman | Photobucket

the dive op:



Hardly noticed the tides:



The night dive can be off on a reef by boat, but we got way more action by doing the muck dive in front of Hotel Atlantis. At first we questioned why we needed a DM, but it became apparent very quickly. A very disorienting moonscape where he kept pointing out one improbable creature after another. We did BTs of 2 hours we were so shallow.



More at Philippines Puerto Galera Sabang Beach Photos by Doc_Adelman | Photobucket

Other night dives done on a reef allowed us to ghost along without lights in 2 mph currents and look at the sloping reef- it was covered in basketball sized Chrinoids that were feeding on the flow- they looked like a hill of Christmas Trees as the bio-luminescence popped on their arms. Magic.

Currents: The local DMs are expert a selecting dive sites that will give you what you want. Our DM that we have been with over two visits had no compunction about dropping us into spots that looked like boiling rapids of the Colorado River. Other DMs knew what their divers wanted, they selected other sites. Favorite absolute nutty currents? Batangas Straights (a 4 mile swoosh with boomerang switchback currents, all over shallow gravel in 30fsw), Isla Verde (the underwater waterfall where you can hang onto a 1/2" cable and fly like a kite)

Not all dive sites are ripping current. BUT- stay with your DM, pay attention to him. Things can change very abruptly.

This is, indeed, "advanced diving". Combine difficult transition from shore to boat, small cramped boats with knobby wooden planking and interiors, simultaneous backrolls on command, quick descents to avoid surface current, current diving, stay together, carrying and using your own SMB if you get seperated, handing your gear up, climbing things that they call ladders, getting small and staying there on your seat while others are recovered, being of assistance in passing that gear.



DIVE SCHEDULE: We dive every possible dive offered. This can be a scampering hustle. No real chance to do much than shower and have a drink of water before next departure.

We also did a night dive each and every night.

This is complicated by the allure of ordering off the menu. We always asked for a buffet style set for us, that way our group can come in, have breakfast/lunch, be gone. Otherwise, this standard Euro-Asian Dive schedule where you actually have to sign-up for coming dives might be an education. You can do each and every dive, but it is not easy, comfortable or relaxing- but highly rewarding.

Dinner, well, that is different:


BUT... This aint Cayman.

And that is exactly why we have returned to Hotel Atlantis properties so many times. The OP on this thread, Deputy Dan and I love us some Cocoview when we are in the Caribbean. For many of us, understanding that the diving is different of course, but Hotel Atlantis is our Cocoview of the Western Pacific. An excellent product, designed for divers in comfort.

And some more more pics at Philippines 2 Puerto Galera Sabang Beach Photos by Doc_Adelman | Photobucket
 
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DeputyDan has given away all our dark secrets already!

Other points to ponder:

- The intertidal zone in Puerto Gallera (PG) is quite extensive. Low-low tides are in the afternoon in June, so make sure you have comfy footwear to walk in if you're planning to do late afternoon & night dives. Not much of an intertidal zone in Dumaguete (DUM) but there's a narrow band of rocks just of the beach. If you want your little piggies happy wear thick-soled boots. For those wearing full-foot fins (all the DM's in DUM do), wear crocs or sandals when walking to the boats.

-Water temp in June for DUM is in the 80-84F range. PG may be a bit colder. I wear a 3mm fullsuit, some of the other DM's wear hooded vests and board shorts.

-marco
 
I live in Thailand and have dived both Dumeguete and PG (PG multiple times). They are both decent dive locations, but I wouldn't call either one of them world class. However, the diving in PG is very convenient, as it's only a few hours out of Manila, and there are a couple interesting wrecks, as well as other sites to dive. Funny you mention the dish-size Froggies...yeah, that size is very common in SE Asian waters, as well as the small warty ones. The other thing about PG is that it's sorta a foreigner's dive/beach hangout in the Philippines, with plenty of Asian divers (Korean, Japanese, and Singaporean) as well as Western European and Australian divers there as well.

On a side note, there is quite an active nitelife in PG as well, and for any single male divers, plenty of alternative nite dives are available as well. Dumaguete, being a small isolated college town (and the diving resort area is not even in town but a little ways away along the coast), it's much more laid back and peaceful after hours.
 
Water temp in June for DUM is in the 80-84F range.
What is the water temp at DUM (and Anilao) in April? Will be at both sites in 2015....excited!
 
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What is the water temp at DUM (and Anilao) in April? Will be at both sites in 2015....excited!
Hello Bottlenosedolphin! Sorry it took me a while to reply. Water temp in Dumaguete during April is usually in the 27-28 degrees Celsius range. Can't say for Anilao, but Puerto Gallera, which is just right across from it, is usually a tad colder than Dumaguete. Who are you diving with in Dumaguete? -marco
 
Hello Bottlenosedolphin! Sorry it took me a while to reply. Water temp in Dumaguete during April is usually in the 27-28 degrees Celsius range. Can't say for Anilao, but Puerto Gallera, which is just right across from it, is usually a tad colder than Dumaguete. Who are you diving with in Dumaguete? -marco
Atlantis. On a trip with Paul Humann and Ned and Anna Deloach.
 
I got back from Atlantis Resort at Dumaguete 2 weeks ago and it was great. My pictures (well some of them) are at:

www.BelowandBeyond.biz/dumaguete

My favorites:


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and

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and

PA173057.jpg




and, lastly, one morning:

PA159880.jpg
 

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