Opinions about our itinerary (Bohol-Panglao-Siquijor-Apo-Cebu-Malapascua)

[MH]

Hello!

Me and my husband will spend two weeks in the Philippines in the end of April/beginning of May 2013 and have made a tentative itinerary for the trip. We both have AOWD certification but only about 15 logged dives from Thailand last year so we are fairly new divers. I would like to hear opinions from other divers about our trip plans because I am afraid the plan is too ambitious... However, we would like to see as much as possible and visit all the major sites in the area. It would be great to hear opinions from divers who have been in the area and seen these places! Should we stay longer in some locations and perhaps skip some islands? Or does the plan sound OK as it is?

28.4. arrive in Cebu, ferry to Bohol (one night in Cebu)
28.-30.4. in Bohol/Panglao/Balicasag (two nights in Panglao)
30.4.-2.5. Siquijor (2 nights in Siquijor)
2.-5.5. Apo island (3 nights in Apo)
5.5. visit Oslob (daytrip)
5.-7.5. Moalboal/Pescador Island (2 nights in Moalboal)
7.-10.5. Malapascua (3 nights in Malapascua)

Comments are most welcome!

 

[wannadive64]

Each to his own, but this is a hell of a lot of travelling. Stick to 2 or at most 3 places. For a much more enjoyable experience, see the whale sharks and have some great diving in Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte (ferry from Cebu) and combine there with Bohol (daily ferry connections) with a week in each place. For a little more variety with minimal travelling, split Bohol into a few days in Anda and a few days in Panglao/Balicasag.

 

[Centrals]

Hello!
28.4. arrive in Cebu, ferry to Bohol (one night in Cebu)
28.-30.4. in Bohol/Panglao/Balicasag (two nights in Panglao)
30.4.-2.5. Siquijor (2 nights in Siquijor)
2.-5.5. Apo island (3 nights in Apo)
5.5. visit Oslob (daytrip)
5.-7.5. Moalboal/Pescador Island (2 nights in Moalboal)
7.-10.5. Malapascua (3 nights in Malapascua)
Comments are most welcome!

Do you enjoy packing, unpacking and travelling on public bus/boat in a 3rd world country? And I assume you do not have any scub gear to worry about!!
Your plan is feasible but NOT recommended(too much time spend on travelling between places).
This is my suggestion:
1. Depend on your time of arrival(you might not need to stop over in Cebu), go to Malapascua first.
2. Travel to Panglo afterwards.
3. Ferry to Dumaguete and use it as base to explore Apo Island and Siquijor. Most dive operators in Dumaguete go to Apo Island regularly. But I am not too sure about Siquijor though. Another alternative is Sumillon Island.
4. Ferry and short bus ride to Moalboal. Some operators in Moalboal will run trip to Oslob. Instead of returning to Moalboal you can proceed onwards to Cebu. Please remember the whaleshark feeding is in the morning ONLY.

 

[Kelpo]

Mabuhay! My boyfriend and I spent two weeks in the Visayas last year for snorkeling and scuba diving--I have to agree with the others who suggested cutting it back a bit--we did Balicasag (just one night at Alona Beach), Siquijor, and Apo Island. It was a perfect little geographical triangle, easily managed. Remember also that you may end up with one or two nights in Manila depending on flight times, etc. The diving was spectacular at Balicasag and Apo (ridiculously amazing snorkeling at Balicasag); the terrestrial stuff was awesome at Siquijor (rent scooters and cut through the island to see the interior).

 

[Quero]

Hello!

Me and my husband will spend two weeks in the Philippines in the end of April/beginning of May 2013 and have made a tentative itinerary for the trip. We both have AOWD certification but only about 15 logged dives from Thailand last year so we are fairly new divers. I would like to hear opinions from other divers about our trip plans because I am afraid the plan is too ambitious... However, we would like to see as much as possible and visit all the major sites in the area. It would be great to hear opinions from divers who have been in the area and seen these places! Should we stay longer in some locations and perhaps skip some islands? Or does the plan sound OK as it is?

28.4. arrive in Cebu, ferry to Bohol (one night in Cebu)
28.-30.4. in Bohol/Panglao/Balicasag (two nights in Panglao)
30.4.-2.5. Siquijor (2 nights in Siquijor)
2.-5.5. Apo island (3 nights in Apo)
5.5. visit Oslob (daytrip)
5.-7.5. Moalboal/Pescador Island (2 nights in Moalboal)
7.-10.5. Malapascua (3 nights in Malapascua)

Comments are most welcome!

It seems like a lot of rushing about, and besides, I think you're underestimating the amount of time the various transfers are going to eat up from your itinerary. Just to start out with, if you arrive at Cebu on the 28th and spend one night there, you won't even begin your transfer to Bohol until the 29th, and if you spend two nights there, your transfer to Siquijor will only take place on the 31st. In that same period, you can expect to spend half a day on the 29th getting to Panglao, getting checked in at your resort, and getting settled, so your time for diving is already reduced to 1.5 days only. You can anticipate a similar erosion of your time at each destination due to travel/transfers. Like others, I would recommend going to fewer places and dedicating a little more time to each place. Rather than trying to hit five different places in two weeks, why not choose three of those and leave the other two for a future trip?

 

[Kilili]

Just my opinion, but for two weeks I would go two places max, possibly three if really pushed. Too much time out of the water moving from place to place.
The Panglao boats go to Siquijour, and I think Apo Island beats both of them. Apo Island nightlife is, of course, without parallel, as there is none, but I stayed 2 weeks or so last time anyway.
I would also skip Moalboal as being less interesting.

Of course, everything depends of the way you like to do things. Go with your gut feeling.

 

[nankivell]

MH. Way too much travel time. Getting to Malapascua alone is at least 5 hours from Cebu and more if you take the bus. If you spend that much time getting there and back, you need to spend at least 4 nights at Malapascua. Then maybe 4 nights on Bohol and 4 or 5 nights in the Siquijor - Apo- Dauin area. You just can't see everything on one trip.

 

[MH]

Thank you so much for your comments! We did some rethinking... It sounded like there was just too much travelling, packing, unpacking etc. and it would have eaten up too much from the itinerary. If we should skip some of the places, what would be the least interesting places to visit? Perhaps Moalboal/Pescador Island (2 nights planned originally for Moalboal) or Malapascua (3 nights planned originally for Malapascua) since they require more travelling time and are further away from all the other places? Or are they absolute must see places? We do want to dive a lot but also do other things, such as rent scooters and drive around, see local culture etc.

1) 28.4. arrive in Cebu at 4 am, sleep some hours in a hotel, ferry to Bohol asap, around noon/afternoon (one night in Cebu) -> 1 night is enough for us
2) in Bohol+Panglao+Balicasag (two nights in Panglao -> one day sightseeing in Bohol, one day diving in Balicasag) -> Do we need 3-4 days?
3) Siquijor (2 nights in Siquijor, paid already for the accommodation, may be able to change dates...) -> Is 2 nights enough?
4) Apo island (3 nights in Apo) -> Should we stay longer?
5) visit Oslob (daytrip) -> Can we even get from Apo via Dumaguete to Oslob before the feeding finishes? What time should we leave in the morning or should we stay in Dauin/Dumaguete for the night?
6) 10.5. flight from Cebu in the evening

 

[Hank49]

It's like when people go to Hawaii for 10 days and try to see four islands. Best just to focus on maybe two places and dive a LOT there.
The thing about the Philippines is, the tides are big...over 2 meters on full and new moon. So the same dive site can be....well, like another dive site altogether on an upcoming vs outgoing tide.
Two weeks in Bohol sounds like a plan to me. It's a big island.

 

[Centrals]

Thank you so much for your comments! We did some rethinking... It sounded like there was just too much travelling, packing, unpacking etc. and it would have eaten up too much from the itinerary. If we should skip some of the places, what would be the least interesting places to visit? Perhaps Moalboal/Pescador Island (2 nights planned originally for Moalboal) or Malapascua (3 nights planned originally for Malapascua) since they require more travelling time and are further away from all the other places? Or are they absolute must see places? We do want to dive a lot but also do other things, such as rent scooters and drive around, see local culture etc.

1) 28.4. arrive in Cebu at 4 am, sleep some hours in a hotel, ferry to Bohol asap, around noon/afternoon (one night in Cebu) -> 1 night is enough for us
2) in Bohol+Panglao+Balicasag (two nights in Panglao -> one day sightseeing in Bohol, one day diving in Balicasag) -> Do we need 3-4 days?
3) Siquijor (2 nights in Siquijor, paid already for the accommodation, may be able to change dates...) -> Is 2 nights enough?
4) Apo island (3 nights in Apo) -> Should we stay longer?
5) visit Oslob (daytrip) -> Can we even get from Apo via Dumaguete to Oslob before the feeding finishes? What time should we leave in the morning or should we stay in Dauin/Dumaguete for the night?
6) 10.5. flight from Cebu in the evening

1. Malapascua is the most interesting(diving wise) among all the places mentioned!!!
2. Bohol and Siquijor can offer sightseeing opportunity on bike.
3. The super typhoon last yr has done considerably damages to the area. Half of the diving area in Apo is closed.
4. If you only want to see the whaleshark(snorkel) then you can do it on your last day. But if you are travelling from outside Cebu island then I would suggest that you should arrive the day before.
My suggestion:
1. Malapascua(5 nights; 29/04 to 03/05), travelling to Oslob on 04/05.
2. Oslob(diving)(1 night; 04/05), travelling to Siquijor on 05/05
3. Siquijor(4 nights; 05/05 to 08/05), travelling to Bohol on 09/05
4. Bohol(4 nights; 09/05 to 12/05), travelling to Cebu on the 12th(assuming it is the last day of the trip).
5. HOME(12/05)
However, if snorkelling with the whaleshark is good enough then my suggested itinerary will be:
Malapascua, Bohol, Siquijor, Oslob and Cebu.


Have a nice trip.