LandlockedSailor
New
Hi, Scuba friends!
I am a new member here so I hope I'm doing this right. ;-)
Since you guys are from all over the world and much more experienced, we hope you can help us finding a destination for our next vacation. We can't travel every year so that's a big thing for us and of course we want to make the best of it.
My partner and I are staying in China visiting friends in January 2018 and will be leaving afterwards from Hongkong International Airport. Since we are travelling far away from the sea there, we would like to add 2 weeks of sun, beach and diving/snorkeling before heading back to Germany. We are in our late 20s and we like to be active in the sense of that we love to hike volcanoes, tramping through rainforest, observing animals and not spending most of the time lying on the beach. We also don't want to party/need alcohol and prefer to be among locals. Diving is important to us but since we are on a budget we probably won't be able to go out for more than 5 days. That's alright since we love to spent our time mingling with locals, trying food and visiting sights as well. For this holiday we are longing especially for white secluded beaches and great snorkeling opportunities from the beach as contrast to our stay in the Himalaya beforehand. If food and basic accomodation is cheap we can afford staying in resorts if that's necessary/more convenient to make the best of our diving time. I would say we are advanced beginners and prefer calm waters with good visibility compared to drift, muck and night dives. If there's a chance to see Mantas, Whale Sharks or whales we would be especially thrilled but we are also absolutely pleased with "just" healthy coral, shoal of fish, nudibranches and other critters.
We've been to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the South Pacific so we know about the usual dangers in developing countries and are careful but not overly anxious. Our original plan was to visit the Phillipines since they seem to fit all our demands perfectly but we stepped away after the foreign ministries of Germany and Austria both issued travel warnings not only for the Sulu Sea but also for Palawan, Cebu and Bohol. Usually they are rather careful and not overhasty with those (e.g. they haven't installed a warning for Thailand after the terror attacks in Bangkok but added a piece of information only).
Well, that's us and our story. We can't really decide for a new destination and we shouldn't wait too long with our bookings anymore... How do you judge the risk of visiting the Phillipines at the moment?
Thanks a lot for taking the time reading all this! We appreciate any input.
P.S.: Sorry for the long post, I wanted to give you enough information about us so you find it easier to help us.
I am a new member here so I hope I'm doing this right. ;-)
Since you guys are from all over the world and much more experienced, we hope you can help us finding a destination for our next vacation. We can't travel every year so that's a big thing for us and of course we want to make the best of it.
My partner and I are staying in China visiting friends in January 2018 and will be leaving afterwards from Hongkong International Airport. Since we are travelling far away from the sea there, we would like to add 2 weeks of sun, beach and diving/snorkeling before heading back to Germany. We are in our late 20s and we like to be active in the sense of that we love to hike volcanoes, tramping through rainforest, observing animals and not spending most of the time lying on the beach. We also don't want to party/need alcohol and prefer to be among locals. Diving is important to us but since we are on a budget we probably won't be able to go out for more than 5 days. That's alright since we love to spent our time mingling with locals, trying food and visiting sights as well. For this holiday we are longing especially for white secluded beaches and great snorkeling opportunities from the beach as contrast to our stay in the Himalaya beforehand. If food and basic accomodation is cheap we can afford staying in resorts if that's necessary/more convenient to make the best of our diving time. I would say we are advanced beginners and prefer calm waters with good visibility compared to drift, muck and night dives. If there's a chance to see Mantas, Whale Sharks or whales we would be especially thrilled but we are also absolutely pleased with "just" healthy coral, shoal of fish, nudibranches and other critters.
We've been to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the South Pacific so we know about the usual dangers in developing countries and are careful but not overly anxious. Our original plan was to visit the Phillipines since they seem to fit all our demands perfectly but we stepped away after the foreign ministries of Germany and Austria both issued travel warnings not only for the Sulu Sea but also for Palawan, Cebu and Bohol. Usually they are rather careful and not overhasty with those (e.g. they haven't installed a warning for Thailand after the terror attacks in Bangkok but added a piece of information only).
Well, that's us and our story. We can't really decide for a new destination and we shouldn't wait too long with our bookings anymore... How do you judge the risk of visiting the Phillipines at the moment?
Thanks a lot for taking the time reading all this! We appreciate any input.
P.S.: Sorry for the long post, I wanted to give you enough information about us so you find it easier to help us.
