Plan A bit the dust, so working on Plan B - P.I. Help Appreciated

[d_aviddiver]

Plan A was ten days at Magic Island in Moalboal followed by a seven day trip to Tubatahah in May, 2019.

We booked the boat first as it was filling up, and then went for the Magic Island booking - based on: some positive research on the diving and the resort, easy travel from Cebu to Moalboal and later on to Puerto Princessa, and a significantly discounted package.

Yup, the resort had no availability that worked with our schedule so now we're looking at other options:
1. Book another resort in the Moalboal area. Possible, but some additional research has shown ten days is probably way too much there.
2. Shorten the times and combine Moalboal with Bohol.
3. Look at other areas for the first part of the trip.

Considerations:
1. Never been to Philippines and probably won't get another chance - I'm 67 and have been very fortunate to have dived in many locales - so we want to give it our best shot.
2. We are experienced divers - 1300+ dives each for me and my wife, and the Brits traveling with us probably have many more.
3. Quality of the diving is most important: healthy reef, fishy, not too crowded, dive freedom/flexibility with the op, variety of big and small creatures, good photo ops, etc. Currents, deep, all of that is fine.
4. We don't need the five star resorts, but we don't want a hostel, either. A/C is required.
5. Don't mind a travel schedule, but we don't want to eat up too many days on the road. We are retired, but our friends are on vacation.

There are so many choices, and I'd really appreciate suggestions from those that have had boots on the ground.

Thanks!

David & Marcie

 

[Damselfish]

We enjoyed Moalboal diving well enough (the resort we stayed at not so much, but that was a long time ago.) There are worse things than 10 days diving in Moalboal but I agree maybe too much especially given all the other possibilities. With 10 days I might consider doing 2 places that aren't too hard to move between, ideally something you can do without yet another domestic flight. We actually combined Moalboal with Dauin and that worked well. (Especially as it was a group trip in our case and someone else took care of the arrangements - van from Dauin to the ferry, ferry to Cebu, van to Moalboal.) Kills a good part of the day but interesting and no concerns about flying or even getting things too dry. I expect similar to combining Moalboal and Bohol would be.

You could also consider staying around Puerto Princesa for a few days before or after the boat. I don't think Palawan itself is a big diving spot, but it looks like a beautiful island and after we did Tubataha I wished we had done that. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River intrigues me.

And for an out of the box idea, if you haven't been to Palau you could consider combining that with Tubataha. We were booked on a Palau liveaboard for a week and were looking for something to add to it. I discovered there were direct flights 2 days a week between Palau and Manila, lucked into space on a Tubataha liveaboard for the second week, and the flights happened to line up perfectly.

 

[Bearkeley]

Check out Dive Safaris.....multiple islands, 4 dives daily, resort stay nightly. Not a lot of big stuff in this area unless you take a trip to malapascua for thresher sharks.

 

[Luko]

10 days in Moalboal is a LOT!
After many trips in the PI and considering how the place has evolved I don't feel anymore Moalboal is worth more than a couple of days, it certainly doesn't check the "not crowded" box.
The few interesting spots such as Pescador and the Sardines school are invaded with asian groups or KohTao style fundivers,it happens many of the dive centres in Moalboal are more interested into catering to crowds than to more demanding divers, it would be difficult now to dive these spots with optimal conditions (for instance it seems there aren't any more early morning dives on Pescador, since it's too early for the groups).

You might be interested into reading my report on a recent Visayas trip (apr2018), that might give you an idea of the diving in a few places and what kind of flexibility some dive centres allow.
Pls check Visayas trip report : Cabilao-Alona-Dauin-Moalboal April 18

Feel free to PM me, should you have more questions..

 

[peeweediver]

Assume you asked about Magic Ocean, the sister Resort on Bohol. Our LDS just did 10 days there and really enjoyed it. Did 10 days at Magic Island 4 years ago and like Magic Ocean a bit better. The Sea safari is a good choice also.

 

[d_aviddiver]

Thanks, Damselfish! Yes, we have morphed into combining Moalboal with another spot or relocating the land based portion altogether. We did dive Palau many years ago on the Aggressor, but what a great off-the-wall suggestion. That must have been a fantastic two weeks. We are planning on the few days in Puerto Princessa. The underground river looked interesting, and the brewery tour looked fascinating!

Bearkeley, we will check out dive safaris. They sound unique to the P.I. and might work for us.

Luko, I'll read your reports and you might likely hear from me - Thanks!

Peeweediver, we looked at Magic Ocean initially and decided to forego the extra travel. Now that has opened up maybe we should give that another look.

Thanks to all!

David

 

[bshort4]

Plan A was ten days at Magic Island in Moalboal followed by a seven day trip to Tubatahah in May, 2019.

We booked the boat first as it was filling up, and then went for the Magic Island booking - based on: some positive research on the diving and the resort, easy travel from Cebu to Moalboal and later on to Puerto Princessa, and a significantly discounted package.

Yup, the resort had no availability that worked with our schedule so now we're looking at other options:
1. Book another resort in the Moalboal area. Possible, but some additional research has shown ten days is probably way too much there.
2. Shorten the times and combine Moalboal with Bohol.
3. Look at other areas for the first part of the trip.

Considerations:
1. Never been to Philippines and probably won't get another chance - I'm 67 and have been very fortunate to have dived in many locales - so we want to give it our best shot.
2. We are experienced divers - 1300+ dives each for me and my wife, and the Brits traveling with us probably have many more.
3. Quality of the diving is most important: healthy reef, fishy, not too crowded, dive freedom/flexibility with the op, variety of big and small creatures, good photo ops, etc. Currents, deep, all of that is fine.
4. We don't need the five star resorts, but we don't want a hostel, either. A/C is required.
5. Don't mind a travel schedule, but we don't want to eat up too many days on the road. We are retired, but our friends are on vacation.

There are so many choices, and I'd really appreciate suggestions from those that have had boots on the ground.

Thanks!

David & Marcie

Hi David--My first question would be are you flying into Manila or Cebu when you first arrive? It's nice to fly into Cebu if you can and avoid Manila altogether. It would be easy to split your time between Moalboal and Bohol as Bohol is just a little over an hour ferry ride with many ferries leaving each day. The Magic Resort on Bohol is in Anda I believe (I've dived in Anda but not with Magic) and I thought the Anda diving was just so-so. Enjoyed my dives in Panglao (Balicasag) better but if you're trying to avoid crowds that's not the place for you. You could also combine Moalboal with Dauin---ferry also from Cebu City to Dumaguete--about two hours. I loved Dauin---laid back small town feel to it with good diving--both muck diving and reefs at Apo Island. There are six or seven resorts right in Dauin on the beach to suit whatever fits your taste. I went with Mikes Beach Resort--small (8 rooms), very quiet and very nice. Now getting from there to Puerto Princesa could be a little complicated. Most of the local flights need to filter back through Manila---no direct flights to Puerto Princesa.....but Cebu City airport is an International airport and may have direct flights from there to Palawan. So you could fly from Dumaguete to Manila to Palawan or take the ferry back to Cebu City and fly direct to Palawan----be sure to check and see if there are any direct flights to Palawan from Cebu (Mactan) on either Cebu Pacific or Phil Air--just go to their websites and check. I've booked many flights in PI with both airlines from USA with never a problem. I'll be back in PI this November for the sixth time in five years so if I can help with any questions I'd be happy to share my little bit of knowledge with you--good diving!

 

[d_aviddiver]

Hi bshort4,
Thanks for the information! We were always intending to go through Cebu. I know there are some good dive areas near Manilla, but I imagined they would be a bit crowded and commercialized.

The current working plan is: fly into Cebu for transport to Moalboal, five or six days there in one of the packages offered by Savedra Divers (giving us a day or two to recover from the travel and adjust to the time zone); take a six day dive safari from Moalboal to Sipalay (really looking forward to Apo Island); fly from Sipalay to Cebu and on to Puerto Princessa; and spend a few days there before we get aboard the boat to Tubbataha.

How does that sound to you? (And any other posters!)

Also, is is possible to do any day dive trips out of Moalboal to the northern sites that should be seen? Our friends have mentioned the thresher sharks & I don't know how doable that is from Moalboal, and if it is worth the effort, and what else shouldn't be missed close to enough to Moalboal to not create another leg of travel.

Thanks Neighbor! (We're next door in Santa Fe.)

 

[bshort4]

Hi bshort4,
Thanks for the information! We were always intending to go through Cebu. I know there are some good dive areas near Manilla, but I imagined they would be a bit crowded and commercialized.

The current working plan is: fly into Cebu for transport to Moalboal, five or six days there in one of the packages offered by Savedra Divers (giving us a day or two to recover from the travel and adjust to the time zone); take a six day dive safari from Moalboal to Sipalay (really looking forward to Apo Island); fly from Sipalay to Cebu and on to Puerto Princessa; and spend a few days there before we get aboard the boat to Tubbataha.

How does that sound to you? (And any other posters!)

Also, is is possible to do any day dive trips out of Moalboal to the northern sites that should be seen? Our friends have mentioned the thresher sharks & I don't know how doable that is from Moalboal, and if it is worth the effort, and what else shouldn't be missed close to enough to Moalboal to not create another leg of travel.

Thanks Neighbor! (We're next door in Santa Fe.)

Howdy neighbor, That plan sounds pretty good--you're going to love Apo Island--that's the main reason I'll be back there in December for the third time. As far as I know there is no airport in Sipalay--you'll need to fly out of Bacolod or Dumaguete which are both about equal distance from Sipalay. Sipalay will be my first stop for diving when I get to the Phils this year--a new place for me having never been there before. Flying into Bacolod then bus to Sipalay for seven nights then a bus to Dauin for another week. I'm glad to hear you're flying into Cebu and not Manila---that airport is pretty much a hell hole but I'll be flying back in there myself so who am I to complain? As far as Malapusca and the Thresher sharks that is basically on the same island but a whole days travel from Moalboal so as a day trip it's pretty much out of the question. The dive safari you're taking from Moalboal doesn't include Malapusca? That's a shame if it doesn't. Sounds like you've got it pretty much figured out so I know you'll enjoy the Phils--I can't wait to return. Who are you diving with at Tubbataha (which boat?). I'm looking into diving there next May and have been looking into different boats--Stella Maris is at the top of the list right now but that's subject to change. I was looking at the Sakura until I read some reviews---being 70 years old myself I'm not into camping on the open sea lol. Good diving!

 

[All Star Liveaboards]

Howdy neighbor, That plan sounds pretty good--you're going to love Apo Island--that's the main reason I'll be back there in December for the third time. As far as I know there is no airport in Sipalay--you'll need to fly out of Bacolod or Dumaguete which are both about equal distance from Sipalay. Sipalay will be my first stop for diving when I get to the Phils this year--a new place for me having never been there before. Flying into Bacolod then bus to Sipalay for seven nights then a bus to Dauin for another week. I'm glad to hear you're flying into Cebu and not Manila---that airport is pretty much a hell hole but I'll be flying back in there myself so who am I to complain? As far as Malapusca and the Thresher sharks that is basically on the same island but a whole days travel from Moalboal so as a day trip it's pretty much out of the question. The dive safari you're taking from Moalboal doesn't include Malapusca? That's a shame if it doesn't. Sounds like you've got it pretty much figured out so I know you'll enjoy the Phils--I can't wait to return. Who are you diving with at Tubbataha (which boat?). I'm looking into diving there next May and have been looking into different boats--Stella Maris is at the top of the list right now but that's subject to change. I was looking at the Sakura until I read some reviews---being 70 years old myself I'm not into camping on the open sea lol. Good diving!

Hi bshort4. If you have any questions regarding All Star Philippines - Stella Maris feel free to email us at info@allstarliveaboards.com or contact our office at 800-327-9600. You can also visit our website, Philippines Dive Liveaboards, for some additional information. In December we are departing from Batangas and offering itineraries to Apo Reef, Puerto Galera and Isla Verde. We also have some other itineraries to Apo Reef & Coron for wreck diving.