Bohol vs. Sogod vs. Malapascua vs. Moalboal??

[kdove]

My head is spinning and I could use a little help. We are flying to Cebu on Feb. 12th, and can't decide where to go for the week.

Thanks to all of you and your excellent info (special thanks to Fuggler for your PG report)... we spent a week at El Galleon/Asia Divers in Dec. and had an absolutely, over-the-top, fantastic time. 4 incredible dives a day, Verde Island trip..WOW!, comfy, clean, good food, relaxed easy diving.. with the added bonus of great service (lugging and setting up, storing, our gear), hot towels, hot post-dive shower, amazing critters, lush corals, fun & informative DM's with great creature-finding abilities... I could go on. Oh yea, and a killer massage, AND a suprise birthday cake, shots, and singing at the Point Bar courtesy of PETE (thanks, Love).

So, the dilemma is, where to go next? We will be heading back to PG at some time in the future, so maybe we should mix it up a bit?

Options so far:

Bohol.. Isis Resort/ Bohol Divers (sounds like all around awesome diving... Balicasag trip for sure)

Malspascua.. Stay at Exotic? Hippocampus? Sea Explorers? (possiblility of thresher sharks, and mantas... would love to see either, what is the other diving like?)

Sogod.. Sogod Beach Resort (again... whalesharks? please, I would die. Chances to see them in Feb? How's the diving all around? House reef good?)

Moalboal...Cabana Beach Resort/ Savedra divers... (have read loads of good stuff about here too, what is the MAIN draw?)

Things we are considering: ease of transport.. our flight gets in around 4:30pm, so we want to make sure we can get to our hotel that evening. If the resort can make transfer arrangements-- awesome, we don't mind paying a bit more for peace of mind.
Budget is flexible, most places I've checked seem like you can get a decent room for around 2500-3000P.
Quiet at night is a bonus, don't need the party scene.
Food choices? Don't mind on site restaurant for the week as long as it is fresh and tasty. A local place to check out would be nice too.
*WiFi is a must.* 'Cause I just can't go a week without Facebook.... HAHA, actually my husband needs internet access for school.

OK. Thank you all in advance for any advice you might have for us. We can't wait!!
-KD

 

[fuggler]

Glad you had a great time in PG! El Galleon/Asia Divers can't be beat when it comes to convenience and service. Pete is a riot! AND one of the best massages I've ever gotten was at El Galleon. It was like a combination of swedish and thai (cuz the masseuse incorporated some stretching) for $8? Man I wanna move back.

It's weird that you posted about Cebu because I was about to ask the same questions! We're planning to go back in November again, but only for a week. (Saving 1 week for Bali.)

 

[kdove]

As an update, Isis is booked in Bohol, as is Hahahay... wondering about other places to stay.

 

[Karl_H]

As an update, Isis is booked in Bohol, as is Hahahay... wondering about other places to stay.

Good choice on Isis, I've not stayed there but the accomodation looks great and the Thai restaurant there is hard to beat! I'd definitely recommend diving with Bohol Divers Club next door to Isis.

Karl

 

[rab1412000]

for bohol try sierra madre divers. for malapascua try divelink cebu. both can organize everything for you like rooms, transpo, dives, food, tours etc.
both are professional and friendly. if you need personal references pm me.

cheers

 

[Bubble Junky]

For Malapascua check out Thresher Shark Divers....

 

[elanarchist]

*WiFi is a must.*

You may want to buy a USB modem from Globe (Globe Tattoo - 899 pesos) or Smart (SmartBro - 999 pesos). They are readily available at the SM or Ayala malls in Cebu. You buy prepaid load cards, the cost is 20 pesos an hour. Speeds will vary depending on location, Cebu Island has pretty good 3G coverage; further out you'll be getting much slower speeds but it might be worth the convenience.

As far as locations, I'm partial to Sogod Bay, the corals are great, plenty of diverse sea creatures, whale shark possibly, no crowds.. Though given your arrival time you'd probably have to overnight in Cebu and catch a early ferry there.

 

[Rogersea]

I think you are safe choosing Savedra in Moalboal. 3 dives a day, at elast one to Pescador Island.. Additionally you can always shoot down to APO for two days from Moalboal. If you need any help with logistics I can always offer advice or show you how when your here in Moalboal.

I still have a few other places to go to such as Sogod Bay, Cabillao and Anilao I am waiting for an opportunity to visit those places.. In the mean time I am trying to get a small business off the ground, the biz is focused on Private instruction and U/W Videography(affordable tourist videos).. So I may wait until the off season to visit two of the three places..
Cheers
Roger

 

[ushipb00]

Did you book your stay at ISIS your self or go through a travel agent? How funny I am booking the same dive spots. also in May-June. If you a have any adivice when you get back it would be much appreciated.

 

[bill22]

Just finishing up 3 weeks in the Philippines today (I"m sitting at the airport in Cebu waiting for my flight now).

I hit Dauin, Bohol, and Southern Leyte (Sogod Bay) on this trip. In Dauin I dived at Mikes Beach Resort. Mike formerly ran Adventure Divers in Dumaguete but has moved his operation down to Dauin where the majority of the good stuff is. He has a brand new resort there that just opened in November. Nice and quiet, on the beach, nice rooms, bar and restaraunt onsite, swimming pool. He runs trips over to Apo also. Great muck diving... tons of ornate ghost pipefish. Saw leaf scorpionfish, juvenile frogfish, added some new nudibranch species, the usual suspects... They have wifi

In Bohol I dived with Alona Divers which was a nice outfit. Ask for Emer for your dive guide, he was great. Photographed orange and white frogfish, leaf scorpionfish, schools of jacks. Balicasag was great. Tierra Azul was 1500 pesos a night for a room with aircon. A little steep. In hindsight I might have opted to pay a little more for a better room. Many of the restaraunts on the beach have wifi now. It wasn't a problem to bring your laptop and check email at the end of the day with dinner.

In Souther Leyte, I dived with Peters Dive Resort. Nice resort, really nice people, great service and dive guides. Weather was not great, but you can't do anything about that... weather should be better by the time you come, rainy season will be mostly over.

They had a great house reef... one of the better night dives I've done. 6 species of nudibranchs that I hadn't seen previously in just one dive. Pygymy seahorses, octopus' and again all the usual suspsects. Napantao was great and a whale shark was seen on the first dive there. Wasn't a good week whale shark-wise as that was the only one, but they're generally more reliably seen in February and March I'm told.

This is a bit more isolated. No wifi at Peters. Don't know if the other resorts had wifi or not (there aren't many dive resorts there). I do know the one day that I went into Padre Burgos to the internet cafe there that the connection was terrible and that it took me almost two hours to answer an email because the connection kept dropping... just a heads up...

I'll write a more complete report after I get home and have time to go over notes and photos...

As far as Moalboal and Malpascua.... Exotic gets good reviews. I stayed at Hippocampus and dived with TSD when I dived there in 2007. I wouldn't dive with TSD again. I'll probaby dive with Exotic or try one of the smaller shops when I go back.

In Moalboal I dived with Nelsons and stayed next door at Eve's Kiosk. I had a really great experience in Moalboal. Pescador Island I still consider to be one of the better dive sites I've dived on. Benjim was a great dive guide.

If you have specific questions you can check out my previous trip reports or PM me... hope that helps