Anilo and Puerto Galera

[pazz]

Nice to see another diver in Korea.
Even though you have decided on Puerto Galera, keep Anilao on your list. The Philippines has great diving, is less expensive than many other places and Manila is less than a four hour flight from Incheon or Busan. You can also fly from Incheon to Cebu or connect in Manila to go further south. I have a friend who returned last week from Cabilao Island and she really liked it.

Having dove both PG and Anilao, if I were to choose one to go back to strictly for the diving, I would choose Anilao. I really enjoyed my Anilao diving.
1. Anilao: Really great macro! Basically, sleep, eat and dive with one operation. IMHO, not a place to go if at the end of the dive day you want options to eat dinner out at various places and/or party. I did 3 (sometimes 4) dives a day, had dinner and went to bed. Friday and Saturday nights had some decent parties (people there from Manila for the weekend) if you wanted to join in.
2. PG: Pleasant diving. At the end of each dive day you have lots of choices of where to eat, drink and/or party.

 

[bill22]

Bill, I looked into Club Ocellaris and it looks exactly like the place where I would want to pitch tent. However, I have decided that I'm going to skip Anilo and just opt for PG.

I also looked at Asia Divers and El Galleon Resort, but the rates are a bit steep for me. Good location on Small LaLaguna (where I want to stay) but on my salary, it's a little much.

Yes, El Galleon is the high end, but you can find places off the beach for less money. You can stay somewhere else and dive with anyone that you want. My last trip I found a place that was far away from everything, but was only 900 pesos a night. I would just walk down to Dive Dojo in the morning and would end up hanging out there most of the day. Rarely went back to the room, but would go somewhere for lunch instead, then go back to the shop.

Asia Divers is top notch and has a reputation as one of the best operations in PG. Due to competition, you most likely won't find a big difference (will be small) in costs for diving around the area. If you stay in Small Lalaguna, you'll have to walk right past their shop to get to Sabang


I respectfully disagree with H2O (sorry :blinking that PG is a better for you because of your experience level (just my opinion I know we could debate this ) the diving in PG I thought was generally more challenging. Lots of dives with current, which many people like because thats where the big fish are. The majority of the dives I did on my last trip I think would be considered intermediate, either because of depth or current. There are plenty of dives for less experienced divers, but Anilao has those also

I know you already decided, but you notice that the majority of us who have dived both places (and so are speaking from personal experience), preferred Anilao

Save Anilao for next time though.... Once you've dived the Philippines, you're sure to go back

@ H2O... I still love you buddy I see you on all the boards promoting Philippines diving. We're all addicted together to diving in the Philippines. Hope to get to dive with you some day

 

[rhadamantus]

I would have to second Bill on this one- re: location. Anilao would rock your holiday. You can arrange a day trip to Verde Island as well...

you can also try Balai Resort. Shugar here can provide you more info on this.

Based on that statement, I would recommend Anilao over PG. I've been both places and prefer Anilao. Different "vibe"... Not much in the way of "beach" at either place, although there is a more "beach" on the opposite end from Sabang towards Big La Laguna. Anilao is much more conducive to relaxation Here's a link for Club Ocellaris in Anilao. They cater to underwater photographers, but doesn't mean you wouldn't enjoy the diving. A nice quite place, I loved it

http://clubocellaris.com/site/

If you still opt for Puerto Galera, I've dived at both Dive Dojo and Asia Divers. I highly recommend Asia Divers. Here's a link for them: Asia Divers Diving in Philippines They operate out of El Galleon Resort where I stayed on my first trip to the Philippines. They're located on Small LaLaguna Beach... much quiter on that end

Any help I can give or questions I can answer feel free to PM me

 

[shugar]

somebody mentioned shugar?

balai's my home resort... philippine home resort also of master photog edvin eng...

that being said... it's really hard to go wrong with anilao or PG... once you've zeroed in on the budget-resort combo it's gonna be a great holiday...

Jag

 

[Cabbie]

What's Anilao like for single divers (as in the diving/accomodation, not nightlife!) ? Am thinking about heading back to PG (instead of Lembeh) in May....

 

[Almchenry]

My big concern is that I want the most for my money. I'm getting my advanced in which I want to work towards bigger certifications, therefore I want the most bang for my buck. Some of the more challenging dives along with easy ones as well. From what I've seen, PG has a lot more variation when discussing difficulty.

I already asked this question, but I got only one or two responses, so I'll ask it again;
What do you find to be the best option?
A. Pre book a dive shop with a diving accomm. for a full package.
B. Pre book a dive shop and when I get to PG find accomm.
C. Wait till I get there and then figure everything out?

BTW, I've decided on Small LaLaguna beach as my destination for accomm and dive shop. Thank you Bill for the wonderful info and I definitely appreciate it! Is there anyone else that can offer any input on dive shops and accomm on S.LL?

 

[bill22]

My big concern is that I want the most for my money. I'm getting my advanced in which I want to work towards bigger certifications, therefore I want the most bang for my buck. Some of the more challenging dives along with easy ones as well. From what I've seen, PG has a lot more variation when discussing difficulty.

I already asked this question, but I got only one or two responses, so I'll ask it again;
What do you find to be the best option?
A. Pre book a dive shop with a diving accomm. for a full package.
B. Pre book a dive shop and when I get to PG find accomm.
C. Wait till I get there and then figure everything out?

BTW, I've decided on Small LaLaguna beach as my destination for accomm and dive shop. Thank you Bill for the wonderful info and I definitely appreciate it! Is there anyone else that can offer any input on dive shops and accomm on S.LL?

I've been too PG twice and both times I waited until I got there to find a place to stay and a dive shop. I went the first time the end of May and last year I showed up the 2nd week of June.

I think most people here would agree that is pretty much the off-season when people are more likely to negotiate. You're going during the season though. Lot's of people on the weekends. You may be able to negotiate a better deal if you are staying through the week or if you arrive during the week but I can't comment on how easy of difficult that will be because I've never been there during the season before.

The first place I stayed my first trip (Red Sun? sorry it was 2 years ago and I didn't write it down), I paid what was the equivalent at the time of around $20US the first 2 nights, then I moved to El Galleon.

My second trip I stayed at Sonny's Inn which is on the opposite end from where you want to stay. I paid 900 pesos a night there and that included a/c and a kitchenette with a full size refrigerator.

You will be met by people when you get off the boat who will want to take you to a place to stay. They get a commission of course I've allowed one of them to show me around both times, but I've made them work for it. I never accepted the first place that I went too and I always asked for a better price. My perception is that they will negotiate more if you're there in person. I've seen this to be the case in PG and also my trip to Malapascua where I changed accomodations when I extended my trip.

It depends on your comfort level. I have a tendency to just "wing it" a lot. Parts of my trip I may set up ahead of time and other parts, I wait until I get there. I've done this on every trip that I've made in recent years.

Even my trip to Thailand in 2006 I didn't actually have a place to stay until I arrived in Chiang Mai. (This wasn't a dive trip). I booked my flight and Thai massage school and that was it. I stayed in a guest house there and booked side trips through them (elephant safari, river rafting, etc...)

Having said that I usually have a fall-back plan if I don't find something. I do a lot of research on the net and I have my trusty Lonely Planet guide book If you pre-book a dive shop, they can recommend places to stay also.

It sounds like you would be more comfortable pre-booking. My advice is pre-book the dive shop and ask them to recommend a place to stay. Tell them your budget. Or tell us your budget and someone on the board may be able to recommend a place on Small Lalaguna. Don't know how busy it will be the time of year that you are going, so maybe someone else here can make a recommendation on if you should wait until you get there.

The only place I've stayed on Small Lalaguna is El Galleon, which although a nice place, nice restaraunt, nice bar, nice pool, close to the dive shop (the only one with a pier), nice view of the water while your eating breakfast... but you do have to pay for all that

I'm sure there are cheaper places and trust me I know what it is to be on a budget You can still dive with Asia Divers even if you don't stay at El Galleon. You can still have a drink in the Point Bar (best view on the beach ) after you dive, and you can even still eat in the Restaraunt there.... I highly recommend the Australian Breakfast

 

[clgsamson]

this outfit comes highly recommended from some of the regulars here www.seariderdivecenter.com , an all pinoy (filipino) dive shop.

 

[jigo]

Bill, Thai massage school?

 

[clgsamson]

Bill, Thai massage school?

and with a happy ending?