Off To Philippines In 6 Days!

[Hintermann]

At last I will be leaving for my seciond dive trip to the Philippines next week. I am doing 5 days of diving in Anilao with Buceo (including a day trip to Verde Island, hopefully) and then off to Puerto Princesa for a week of liveaboard diving in Tubbataha. I heard that there have been some whale sharks sighted in Tubbataha in recent years; is that true?

 

[samplin]

Hi Hintermann

I am headed to Buceo Anilao Beach & Dive Resort in June.. Looking forward to a trip report or any info about the resort that would be helpful for our trip.

Have a great time. Good Diving

From last trip to Anilao

Joe

 

[Lemuzzon]

Have fun! Just got back on Sunday. Good luck with Manila/Puerto Princessa airport though. Planes got delayed considerably every single time I flew.

 

[Hintermann]

Good luck with Manila/Puerto Princessa airport though. Planes got delayed considerably every single time I flew.

Thanks. I have allowed for that. I take the flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa the day before and have booked an overnight hotel room near the docks in PP. Likewise, I have allowed time in Manila for the return leg.

 

[Damselfish]

At last I will be leaving for my second dive trip to the Philippines next week. I am doing 5 days of diving in Anilao with Buceo (including a day trip to Verde Island, hopefully) and then off to Puerto Princesa for a week of liveaboard diving in Tubbataha. I heard that there have been some whale sharks sighted in Tubbataha in recent years; is that true?

2 were seen (or maybe the same one on 2 different dives?) when we were there last April.

We were lucky and all our flights ran like clockwork, so it's possible. I'd like to do Tubbataha again, and am thinking I would spend at least a few days on Palawan next time, which looks like an interesting place. The Underground River looks like it would be a cool thing to check out (assuming I can keep my claustrophobia in check.)

 

[Lemuzzon]

We were lucky and all our flights ran like clockwork, so it's possible. I'd like to do Tubbataha again, and am thinking I would spend at least a few days on Palawan next time, which looks like an interesting place. The Underground River looks like it would be a cool thing to check out (assuming I can keep my claustrophobia in check.)

Ya you should go to El Nido on the north end of the island. Awesome place. Lots of islands, beaches (Nacpan beach was amazing) and limestone cliffs. A nice town with a few dive shops, but everyone said the diving wasn't that great.

 

[Hintermann]

2 were seen (or maybe the same one on 2 different dives?) when we were there last April.

The Underground River looks like it would be a cool thing to check out (assuming I can keep my claustrophobia in check.)

I hope he/she is around for us to see this April. I am lucky because my trip is a whole week (instead of the usual 6 days mid-season itinerary) because soon after I booked a place last year, a whole group also booked on the same trip (1st to 8th April). They wanted that additional day and so I was offered it without additional cost.

I saw 2 whale sharks last May in Socorro quite close-up and for some unknown reason during the second dive, she made a bee line to exactly where I was. I got several pictures the best of which is now my desktop wallpaper.

Tell me more about this underground river. As we have that extra day's diving, we may be able to persuade the Captain to take us there. I can be a bit claustrophobic on land but curiously enough, never underwater. Done 9 cenote dives in the Yucatan, the Turtle Cave in Sipadan and best of all, a hair rising but well guided & co-ordinated night penetration into the bowels of Heian Maru in Truk Lagoon

 

[Lemuzzon]

Don't think there's any diving in the underground river, but I could be wrong. I didn't manage to get there myself, but it's listed as one of the top attractions in the country.

 

[Damselfish]

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

topside attraction, AFAIK. I didn't learn about it until we were leaving. We had squeezed Tubbataha onto a Palau trip so never really investigated what else was in Palawan.

 

[Centrals]

It is on the other side of Palawan so getting there by boat will take awful lot of time!