December - 3 weeks - help!

[canuckfish]

Hi everyone - you've always been so helpful, so coming back to here for help.
Planned quite a few dive trips to SEA, but none to the Philippines - and pretty overwhelmed on where to start with this one!!

So 3 weeks in December (myself & my husband).
Not into liveaboards.. and wouldn't mind mixing with a few options for a hike, cultural activities or something in there, but predominately diving. Love the big stuff
We've also debated combining this with Mabul/Sipidan on the Borneo side, but could be pushing it?

Any thoughts on an itinerary would be awesome!
Thanks in advance,
Ky

 

[FT]

Have you booked your flights? Manila NAIA (airport) is a zoo at Christmas time, although if you are flying OUT just before Christmas you'll at least be going against the flow. Traffic in Manila in December is unbelievable as well. So I'd either fly into Cebu (available from a fair number of Asian gateways) or consider getting picked up straight from the airport for a drive to Batangas and boat from there to Puerto Galera. So many dive sites there, so much biodiversity in the Verde Island Channel, and some gentle hikes available.

"Big stuff" not generally considered to be a feature of the Philippines, unless you mean whale sharks. It will be a good time to try to see whale sharks in South Leyte, and although I have not been there, it is generally considered excellent varied diving too. Getting there is definitely going to eat up a day each way. There would be caving and hiking to be had, but you will need someone else to tell you about it. I would do at most one other destination besides South Leyte in that time frame.

There are of course the thresher sharks at Malapascua, and the other diving at Malapascua is very decent as well.

In three weeks you could do a Visayas circuit (three of the following: Dauin/Apo, Moalboal, Malapascua and either Cabilao or Panglao (from which Balicasag may be visited), all by ferry. The closer you get to Christmas the more packed those ferries will be.

Or you could do Anilao and Puerto Galera, and then add in Apo Reef as an adventurous expedition from Puerto Galera to Pandan Island, which only looks easy on a map, passing through areas of Mindoro that most tourists do not see. Or if you want some land time between Anilao/Batangas and a return to Manila, you could climb Mt Makiling, view Lake Taal and its volcano, and shoot the rapids at Pangsanjan Falls.

 

[Centrals]

PAL fly directly to Manila 4 times a wk from Toronto, arriving around 20:55. 12-13hrs time difference between the two countries, so I would suggest U2 find somewhere nice to recover from the journey.
Christmas is a BIG thing and plenty of Pinoys are returning home for the occasion so flights(domestic/international) are in big demand. So book early but you won't find any discount if flying in after 10th Dec(check with PAL).
With 3 wks to spend and prefer big stuff + top side attraction, I would suggest Visayas area.
1. Fly to Dumaguete and stay at Dauin. There are operators to suit various requirements. I would recommand Liquid.
2. Moalboal is a short distance from Dumaguete(ferry and bus). You can join the whaleshark(Oslob) trip from either Dumaguete or Moalboal.
3. Malapascua is quite a distance from Moalboal(6-7hrs by private transfer). But thresher shark is more or less guaranteed. Evolution gets my vote and Exotic attracts large crowd next door.
4. Fly back to Manila from Cebu City.

South Leyte(Sogod Bay) is nice but very isolated. Flight to Tacloban and arrange private pick up from the resort. Peter is my choice. Getting to Malapascua from Sogod Bay is very complicated and the easier way is get back to Cebu City and then to Malapascua. There is night ferry from Maasin to Cebu but please confirm with the resort.

If you don't fancy travelling then Anilao + Puerto Galera + Subic Bay are good enough but there is no Big stuff.

Advance reservation is imperative for anything in Dec.

 

[canuckfish]

Thank you both for the tips.. especially around how crazy things get in December - we'd be looking end of November towards Dec 18/19(ish). And yes - whale sharks!! Nothing booked yet, so a great heads up. From what I'm seeing, Cebu seems to be the place to take off from/get around through.
Any thoughts on an air carrier? Air Asia?

 

[dirtfarmer]

I put Anilao-Puerto Galera on the top of the list for quality of diving. Anilao has world class Muck-Macro-Reefs, Puerto Galera is more nice reefs. But no big stuff. 3 weeks in that area might
be a bit much, so you would have to go back to Manila then fly south.
Then on my list would be Dauin with great muck diving and diving off Apo Island which has a nice reef. From there you can go to the whale shark circus at Oslob.
Then of course if you are hankering for Thresher sharks there is Malapascua, a charming island but I wasn't super impressed with the other diving around it. I found there
had been lot's of bombed out reefs and not as much fish life as other places in the PI. They have the biodiversity around Malapascua but just not the clouds of fish.
And off the beaten track I like the Sipalay area. The area is recovering nicely from overfishing and has good biodiversity. It is quite off the beaten track and takes about a half
day to get to from Dumagete/Dauin. In fact transfer from place to place can eat up quite some time in the PI, so pick your spots carefully.

 

[Centrals]

Any thoughts on an air carrier? Air Asia?

Cebu Pacific(www.cebupacificair.com) or PAL(you might get a through ticket all the way from Ottawa to most cities in Visayas by PAL).

 

[Tippytoes12]

We did a three week trip last May ....we flew from London to Cebu with Singapore Airlines , then went from there to Malapascua , then onto Dumaguete and then Maolboal. We had no internal flights and saw masses of big things....thresheer sharks and white tip sharks in Malapascua ..plus the tips of the wings of two Mobula Rays...and then the icing on the cake...ten whalesharks in Oslob. We stayed and dived with Sea Explorers in Malapascua and Dumaguete and in Turtle Bay in Maolboal. Cebu is a nice enough airport and there are nice hotels around for your first andlastnight if needed.

Have a great trip

 

[Divebooker.com]

​Philippines have much to offer in regards of diving, in there you can see pretty much everything that might be of interest to a diver: WWII ship whecks, unspolied healthy corals, macro life and big marine creatures.


As long as you are seeking to meet big creatures, I'd advise, as noted above, that you dive at Malapascua for thresher sharks and visit Oslob for whale sharks (please follow the links to get more details on diving at each of the places).


Hope you enjoy your trip to the Philippines, as well as diving there

 

[canuckfish]

This has all been incredibly helpful. It looks like we're going to push our trip to Jan/Feb to avoid the crazy air traffic (as advised) and better deal on the big flights. We'll sneak in a close/short drive trip (carrib) in Nov to fill the gap!

Based on the above, looks like we'll be coordinating Dumagette/Dauin, Oslob and Anilao-Puerto Galera. Debating on squeezing in Malapascua, but it's on the back burner for now... slow down the pace a bit. Thanks so much again everyone!!

 

[Centrals]

Chinese New year is on 08th Feb therefore some places(resorts) can get terribly busy. Try to stay/dive those places that do not have simplified chinese in their web sites!!! And you do not want to dive with them, same apply to Korean.
Linking up Dauin, Oslob with Anilao and PG is time consuming. Don't forget the no fly penalty after diving. You're better off with Dauin, Malapascua and Oslob instead. And with three wks to spare you can also squeeze in Moalboal.
Domestic flight from Manila to Cebu(numerous daily flights), Malapascua, Moalboal(with Oslob) and Dauin. Most operators in Moalboal will organize trip to Oslob so it will save you some precious travelling and stop over time.