Layang Layang

[Zippsy]

That's the first I ever heard of hammerhead sightings in Malapascua but back on topic... Other things I remember I learned, the plane to Layang2 is a Twin Otter, no longer a cargo plane. It seats 19 people but they take only 12-14 people, depending on the weight of the people and baggage. Yes, you still get weighed. Also, if you fly from Singapore or KL on AirAsia - which I thought was a decent budget airline - it's a good idea to pay for excess weight ahead of time. It costs about S$2 for 15kg, S$24 for 20kg or S$47 for 25kg. My bag with all rec gear and clothes was 24kg and my wife's was 21kg. If you pay in advance, they seem to let a few kg's slip by but not if you pay at the counter. They say you can carry on only one small carry on but trust me, they are very lenient with that.

....and for the fun of it, I've been to both Malapascua and Layang2 fairly recently. The diving is great at both places but I would prefer Layang2 by a longshot. There is no requirement to go search for hammers on every dive. Also, looking for threshers at Malapascua is far more boring than looking for hammers at Layang2. Finally, they don't fish with dynamite or cyanide next to you at Layang2 - the reefs are pristine although not as colorful as many places.

 

[philip2711]

No issues with Layang - that's the beauty of opinion and debate - we all find satisfaction in different things; Backing up Malapascua again though is the fact that you also have within an hours boat trip the Dona Marilyn wreck, Gato Islands with its caves and white tips and Calamangan Island with its superb corals; so plenty of variety - oh and they had a whale shark sighting on Monad Shoal a couple of days ago. Checkout Thresher Shark Divers or Andrea Agarwal on Facebook.

Happy diving to all.

 

[soozy]

hello - anyone going to be there Apr 30-May 7? I'll be there and am very much looking forward to it!!

 

[Zippsy]

another thing I forgot - do the shore dives. It's only 10m at the most (best is in the range of but 2-5m along the shore) but we saw lots of big octopus, squid, a good variety nudis, pipefish, shrimp gobies, juvenile batfish, juvenile angelfish, juvenile sweetlips, juvenile triggerfish, juvenile filefish, juvenile every other kind of fish, balls of catfish, etc. Most people sit out to enjoy the sunset but the 5:00pm dives were awesome.

Soozy, if you need someone to carry your bag, let me know. I am really missing the place already.

 

[xariatay]

another thing I forgot - do the shore dives. It's only 10m at the most (best is in the range of but 2-5m along the shore) but we saw lots of big octopus, squid, a good variety nudis, pipefish, shrimp gobies, juvenile batfish, juvenile angelfish, juvenile sweetlips, juvenile triggerfish, juvenile filefish, juvenile every other kind of fish, balls of catfish, etc. Most people sit out to enjoy the sunset but the 5:00pm dives were awesome.

Soozy, if you need someone to carry your bag, let me know. I am really missing the place already.

Thanks for the tip! Not many people talk abt night dive on Layang2. Sounds like macro (juvenile) galore! I love night dives. How much does the night dive cost?
& do they really don't have Nitrox on the "island"?

 

[Zippsy]

Ours was not actually a night dive. It was still bright enough at 6:00 - 6:15 to not need a torch. From other diver's description of the night dive as well as the dinner schedule, I preferred ending the dive at that time. Shore dives are free. Night dives by boat are M$100 per person, minumum 3 to go and not reccommended by me when I was there. Most dive sites had strong currents for drift diving without shelter which adds an unwanted challenge in the dark.

There really is no nitrox that I saw. With so many dives to 40m with nothing but blue below you, they probably would be scared to giving people enriched air.

 

[xariatay]

Thanks! Won't be challenging the boat night dive. Shore dusk dives are good & free dives make them better! :-D
Too bad abt the lack of nitrox but not a major factor...

 

[fm2002]

My friend and I are going May 08 - 14. Couple questions for you guys. Someone mentioned to bring your own booze; is this because there is none or it's very expensive ? Planned on bringing some wine anyway, but curious. What's diving without cold beer after ??? I understand the Hammers are deep and I'm prepared to go where there are within reason. My question is do they allow deco diving and if so what support do they have ie: drop tanks of regular air or better yet pure oxygen ???

 

[Zippsy]

Liquor seemed expensive to me but since I don't realy drink, I am not positive. I think the beer was M$12, shots M$16 and fancier drinks M$20 but I am not certain despite recently looking at the price list. I may have overstated each of those numbers by M$4. I vaguely recall M$80 bottles of cheap wine too. I just remember thinking that it seemed like a lot, particularly since I used to be able to go through a bottle of JD per night. There is a corkage charge of M$50 on liquor but that gets you glasses and ice too and I don't know if they enforce it.

The hammers are deep. The one close encounter I had was at 30m but the majority of time we were looking for them, we were at 35-40m looking straight down. They don't let you go below 40m without earning a red card. They have no enriched air on the island other than O2 for medical emergencies. I didn't see anyone diving anything other than singles. Since the deep dives are drift dives, dropping tanks off the back of the boat is not a real option. You could likely take a stage bottle with you (possibly at a small cost) but it would be regular air.

 

[fm2002]

Liquor seemed expensive to me but since I don't realy drink, I am not positive. I think the beer was M$12, shots M$16 and fancier drinks M$20 but I am not certain despite recently looking at the price list. I may have overstated each of those numbers by M$4. I vaguely recall M$80 bottles of cheap wine too. I just remember thinking that it seemed like a lot, particularly since I used to be able to go through a bottle of JD per night. There is a corkage charge of M$50 on liquor but that gets you glasses and ice too and I don't know if they enforce it.

The hammers are deep. The one close encounter I had was at 30m but the majority of time we were looking for them, we were at 35-40m looking straight down. They don't let you go below 40m without earning a red card. They have no enriched air on the island other than O2 for medical emergencies. I didn't see anyone diving anything other than singles. Since the deep dives are drift dives, dropping tanks off the back of the boat is not a real option. You could likely take a stage bottle with you (possibly at a small cost) but it would be regular air.

Thanks for the info. Is this the Premier Leauge or scuba diving ? A red card eh Will try and avoid those. Well booze surely is on the high side. I'm a JD drinker as well. Will have to carry a few in with me.