First world dilemma : Lembeh or Anilao or Mabul for macro ?

[Tippytoes12]

Dear SB members

We are off to Thailand in the middle next March and I may have a week to ten days extra that I could take before the trip. But I cannot decide where to go ! We have been to Sipadan / Mabul and Anilao , but have no photos of either ! Anilao would be the easiest to visit , as it is so accessible from Manila , Mabul would be the next easies courtesy of Air Asia. Lembeh would require the longest trip and of course the most expensive. I loved Anilao so much, the clear water , the fabulous creatures everywhere and just the whole pleasure of just being in the Philippines. Sadly my camera died and whilst another diver kindly shared his wonderful shots , I would dearly love some photos of my own. We also loved Mabul Beach Resort. I will be by myself for this part of the trip in March and MBR is very sociable.

My question is : is Lembeh so much better than to either to justify spending a fair bit of extra time and money to get there.

Many thanks to all in advance and best fishes x

 

[dirtfarmer]

Hi Tippytoes, the debate of Lembeh vs Anilao is a hotly contested one. I have 7 days of diving in Anilao vs over 40 in Lembeh, I love them both, but I favor Lembeh over Anilao. My reason, if you compare the variety of critters that I saw in my 7 days in Anilao vs what I've seen in just 7 days in Lembeh, I would say Lembeh had more variety. The season might also affect the critters I did Anilao in January and Lembeh in November and January. This last trip I was diving Lembeh in January and all though the Nudibranch action was great they tended to be on the baby size.

I would also say Mabul is good for Muck as you know but comes in a far third to Anilao and Lembeh.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Thank you very much DF....best wishes to you and your beloved from us both xx

 

[Cali_diver]

Wow having been to both Lembeh and Anilao recently it is really a toss up. They are both phenomenal and I have already booked trips back to both. I did get to mark off some highly ranked stuff off my list in Anilao... but I love Lembeh too. I think you should do whichever fits your schedule and pocketbook. Is there a particular critter you are searching for?

 

[Tippytoes12]

Wow having been to both Lembeh and Anilao recently it is really a toss up. They are both phenomenal and I have already booked trips back to both. I did get to mark off some highly ranked stuff off my list in Anilao... but I love Lembeh too. I think you should do whichever fits your schedule and pocketbook. Is there a particular critter you are searching for?

Thanks so much ...we get very generous annual leave allowances in the UK , so will do one in 2017 and the other the following year. I seem to keep missing blue ring octopus and love all octopi , but I adore nudis the most of all.

 

[jcclink]

If you want to see rhinopius dive Ambon. I've seen them there during Oct/Nov for the past 5 yrs.
Lembeh & Anilao seem to be more hit & miss (Oct/Nov for Lembeh & Apr for Anilao). However my overall species count has been slightly higher at Lembeh during these periods.

 

[Cali_diver]

I was in Lembeh in March and Anilao in May. We saw Rhinopias on 2 different sites in Anilao. 3 different colors as well... We saw blue rings, mimics, wonderpus, and flamboyant cuttlefish in both places. Maybe more in Lembeh but not enough to say one wins over the other. Saw some major bucket list nudis in Anilao.

 

[dirtfarmer]

I seem to keep missing blue ring octopus and love all octopi , but I adore nudis the most of all.

Lembeh on all my trips has been "off the hook" for blue rings. I start waving my guide off for blue rings lately. I'm really hunting for more hairy octopus, they are so cute and adorable. I have some great video but my stills of the hairy just don't pop.
Anilao brought me my first alleni nudibranch, and some say it's better for nudis. I've always had great nudibranch action in Lembeh, and this last trip I got some great shots of rudemanis.

Tippy you said you liked the blue water of Anilao? Lembeh isn't known for its visability. Anilao also has better wide angle/ reefs than Lembeh. Sombrero island is a pretty cool coral site.

I hope some more people weigh in, quite often peple have been to both.

 

[Luko]

Let's start with the easiest, Mabul stands a few steps below Lembeh or Anilao. Mabul is mostly good because of Sipadan nearby, outperforming the other locations for wide angle and fish schools.

I'd say I like Lembeh better for the density of critters and the behavior (been there 4 times), it seems there so many critters that tehy are going crazy at each other. Lembeh is very good for octopi too.
What I like less are the overpriced resorts and there are too many divers now. However I like the trip to Lembeh better than Anilao, after Lembeh you can stay in Bangka or Manado, After Anilao... uuh.... I don't like the gross crowd at Puerto Galera..

I reckon I like Anilao (been 3 times) for the variety of the underwater biotop that goes from blacksand to pure coral reef. Anilao is very good for nudibranch, better than Lembeh in that respect, I am not saying that Lembeh is not good but you have checked a lot of nudis,, you'll see that Anilao goes further.
On the other hand you may experience less densely populated dives. It happens that during one dive, it may occur 10 minutes without spotting a really interesting critters while in Lembeh, there is always something happening.
Anilao has great blue water dives like Beatrice/Sombrero and fish schools on Twin Rocks too.
Finally I had my best night dives in Anilao (Anilao pier).. .

 

[parrotman]

I have been to both Anilao and Lembeh multiple times. I love both of them. If travel is a factor go with the easiest for you. I personally like Lembeh better when it comes to resorts and boats. I can not find fault with NAD Lembeh as a place to stay especially if you are a photographer. That being said, my favorite night dive of anywhere that I have been is the Anilao town pier. Frog fish go with Lembeh, Flamboyant cuttle fish - Lembeh. You really can not go wrong with either. It does seem that Anilao is getting rather expensive since it has become so popular.