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While I stayed in the deluxe cabin of Memaid I myself on my trip to Komodo, I went down to look at the 'budget' cabin. It is quite good with an en suite facility and comparable to deluxe cabins in most other boats. Mermaid I is a fantastic boat that does 2 brilliant itineraries - Komodo and...

I have booked 2 back-to-back liveaboard itineraries in the Red Sea on this boat in July 2016. I know that most of the dives will be off dinghies or tenders; what I would like to know is if the dinghies on board the Red Sea Adventurer have ladders for the divers to get back into the craft after a...

Just got back yesterday. Anilao was excellent; Tubbataha was also very good but perhaps slightly below they hyped expectations. My opinion is likely biased because the other group on our Tubbataha liveaboard saw (with proof) more than we did in many dive sites and insisted on showing off their...

Just got back. Buceo were excellent and every bit as good as I expected. Extremely well organised, great facilities and well run. Very highly recommended for anyone planning to go to Anilao. No need to look anywhere else, really. 5/5

Just got back from the Philippines. Buceo Dive Resort are absolutely fantastic in every way and very nice dive facilities, accommodation and guides. Good food too. Everything went according to plan and out guide, Nanie, was excellent.

I have heard some rumours as well but do not believe that there is any conspiracy afoot. IMO, WWD&S run things differently from most other Liveaboard charters and decided at an early stage to woo the semi-pro group market. That is up to their management but in doing so they fell short of skills...

I won't have much time after the liveaboard because I am returning to Manila the same afternoon. But I arrive in PP a full 24 hours ahead of departure and so will I have time to do this Underground River trip?

I will be going to Buceo Anilao in 5 days time. When I started shopping around for Anilao diving last year, Buceo stood out by a mile by their quick and helpful responses and now that I am actually going there, verything has been very positive. I am sure diving with them will be the same good...

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...

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.

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...

I am not expecting to see many nudis in Tubbataha; nudis are in Anilao and Tubby is for pelagics. I often combine different sorts of dive destinations in the same trip. For example, last year I went to Socorro followed by Bonaire.

I'm going to Anilao & Tubbataha in March-April, the latter on MV Stella Maris Explorer. Being a certified Nudi Nut, I should enjoy Anilao and I have heard only good things about Tubbataha. Can't wait!

Another vote for Nichols Airport Hotel. Convenient, clean, simple and unpretentious.

If you have flexibility, the quoted best time of the year to dive in Raja Ampat is mid-October to mid-December. The outside weather may not necessarily be good at that time of the year but the diving conditions are usually the best.

If you want something different, I would suggest the Rocio del Mar to Socorro in May. But those trips get booked well in advance and so you'll be lucky to get in at such short notice. Worth trying that and other liveaboards going to Socorro. Fiji is another possibility and there are a few...

I have not been to either but have booked with Buceo in March 2016. I had both Aiyanar & Buceo in my shortlist and even on paper Buceo looked like a more comprehensive package at a slightly lower cost. But what really made me favour Buceo was that they were (and have been since my booking) very...

I have been travelling with camera gear for years. Most of it - camera with housing, lens etc I carried in hand luggage but my Ikelite AF35 strobes were too bulky for that and I have always packed them with checked baggage, I use Honl photo wraps to protect the strobe heads and pack them...

Another vote for Mermaid I. Excellent boat & crew. I did the Komodo trip on it but in December time it will be doing RA trips. I actually went to RA myself on MSY Seahorse. No complaints myself but some others seem to have had a few issues.

Feb-March is a superb time to dive in the Maldives, there are numerous very good liveaboards and resorts there and you'll see plenty of big and small stuff. But Maldives are not the place for "gentle conditions", at least if you want to visit the best sites to make the trip worthwhile. Most have...