Need help with 3 week diving itinerary late March

[RedFishBlueFish]

Hello All! Long post warning!Hubby and I are planning a trip to Philippines the last 3 weeks in March. We arrive in Manila and fly straight to Coron. We want to dive as much as possible but only have OW certifications. We are not that into wrecks and would like to see as much biodiversity as we can with lots of healthy coral. After reading numerous posts about El Nido not being a good place to dive, I’m wondering if we should just skip it altogether and spend more time elsewhere. We also would like some non diving activities like seeing the Underground River in PP if it’s worth it. So, that being said, if you were starting in Coron, how many days would you spend diving there? Our original plan was 3 dive days in Coron, 3 dive days in El Nido, one day in PP for Underground River, fly from PP to Dumaguete and dive Apo Island and Siquijor for 5 days. Ferry to Bohol to see Chocolate Hills and Tarsier monkey for one day, ferry from Bohol to Cebu, flight from Cebu to Siargao for surfing, then fly back home. Each day we travel I have allotted one day. If anyone who has been diving recently in the areas I’ve mentioned can comment on what their experience was, good or bad, or if I should spend less time in one area and more in another, or scratch one place and substitute it for another, It’d be very helpful. As much as we’d like to see Tubattaha, liveaboard is not an option at this time. Thanks!!

 

[Centrals]

1. Coron is NOT really suitable for OW cert divers, most of the wrecks are deeper than 18m.
2. El Nido is a long ferry trip away from Coron. I would skip Coron altogether and fly directly from Manila to El Nido(Air-Swift).
3. The Underground River in Sabang is highly recommended.
4. Three weeks is pretty short to cover all the places that you are interested. I have travelled around the country on many occasions and the travelling have been the worst part of the trips eg 5-6hrs bus journey to cover only 160km!!!!!

 

[xrcjdx]

Your plan is a good one and a fine mixture of above and below. If you are going to skip or modify anything, make it the wrecks in Coron. I can't speak to the diving on Siquijor, but there is plenty of top side adventure to be had there.

 

[RedFishBlueFish]

Hmmm, unfortunately I already paid for my ticket to Coron so I feel it’d be a waste to not dive there . We may decide to go for our AOW while there then.... But should we skip El Nido altogether if we’re already diving in Coron? I’ve read Coron has better diving than El Nido.....

 

[Centrals]

.... We arrive in Manila and fly straight to Coron. We want to dive as much as possible but only have OW certifications. We are not that into wrecks and would like to see as much biodiversity as we can with lots of healthy coral. ....

Coron is the wrong place if you are not that into wrecks as well as looking for healthy coral!
The top side of El Nido is beautiful and the diving is good according to couple of my buddies who went there few months ago.
Different type of diving between Coron and El Nido.

 

[Freewillow]

if you land in Manilla and are interested in biodiversity at reduced depth, I woulg go to Anilao.

 

[MV Dive]

If you have to go to Coron then plan a trip to see the Dugongs in the north west of the island. Also Barracuda lake is worth doing and you might even be able to get a trip to Apo Reef which has some great corals and large schools of fish.

 

[RedFishBlueFish]

So we have decided to get our AOW while in Coron and spend two weeks between Coron and El Nido then make our way down to PP where we will go on the M/Y Sakura live-aboard and dive at Tubbataha Reef. We unfortunately won’t be able to see the other places we initially planned but I think the opportunity to dive at Tubbataha shouldn’t be missed.

 

[MV Dive]

So we have decided to get our AOW while in Coron and spend two weeks between Coron and El Nido then make our way down to PP where we will go on the M/Y Sakura live-aboard and dive at Tubbataha Reef. We unfortunately won’t be able to see the other places we initially planned but I think the opportunity to dive at Tubbataha shouldn’t be missed.

That is very true, I have been to Tubbataha 4 times, it is one of my favorite places to dive in the world. Make sure you pay a visit to the ranger station there. Those guys spend months at a time in the middle of nowhere and do a great job in protecting the reef, they sell Tubbataha rash guards and tshirts which make a great souvenir of the trip. Have a great time in the Philippines

 

[RedFishBlueFish]

That is very true, I have been to Tubbataha 4 times, it is one of my favorite places to dive in the world. Make sure you pay a visit to the ranger station there. Those guys spend months at a time in the middle of nowhere and do a great job in protecting the reef, they sell Tubbataha rash guards and tshirts which make a great souvenir of the trip. Have a great time in the Philippines

Which liveaboard operator did you use? Also, is a 5mm wetsuit suitable for that area in late March?