Philippines or Sipidan?? Must decide.....

[smudge]

Gussy - Iain here (thread starter). I finally did receive a reply from Borneo Divers. They did not answer any of my questions and said lots of maybe this and maybe that. I then e-mailed smart divers and they covered off all my questions. I certainly will not be using Borneo Divers, but this does not mean they are a bad operator - it only proves they are bad at e-mail administration. I've decided to dive the Philippines and dive Layang Layang, Sidipan and Mobul later on during the better season. I'll miss out on staying at Sipidan - but oh well that's life. I'd prefer three weeks in Philippines than 1 week in Sipidan (flights are really bad for me during december for some reason or another). Take care....Iain

DO the visayan triangle. Bohol, Dumaguete (apo island etc.) southern cebu. You will have a lot of options in this area. For wreak try coron.

Smudge
Philippines

 

[shugar]

Would it be biased if i said go PHILIPPINES? hahahaha

seriously though, i can safely say you can get a whole lot more on your dollar diving in the phils than you can anywhere else... if you dive in anilao (batangas) you can get great diving for around $65 a weekend inclusive of great food, 4 dives, DM, and great fun

if you need a referral give me a PM...

Jag

 

[Ushen]

Gussy - Iain here (thread starter). I finally did receive a reply from Borneo Divers. They did not answer any of my questions and said lots of maybe this and maybe that. I then e-mailed smart divers and they covered off all my questions. I certainly will not be using Borneo Divers, but this does not mean they are a bad operator - it only proves they are bad at e-mail administration. I've decided to dive the Philippines and dive Layang Layang, Sidipan and Mobul later on during the better season. I'll miss out on staying at Sipidan - but oh well that's life. I'd prefer three weeks in Philippines than 1 week in Sipidan (flights are really bad for me during december for some reason or another). Take care....Iain

you can try the internal flights like airasia.com in malaysia/borneo. it rather cheap nowadays...

 

[bob.s]

just got back from mabul sipadan last week...fantastic diving...prefered staying on mabul rather than sipadan, spent a few days at Borneo divers and a week at smart divers....I prefered smart divers...they are a little more money but all around nicer place...the vis was not that great this time of year especailly if like me you are doing underwater photograghy ... off to anilao philippines in december for my third trip
much easier to get to from the states and great diving and very reasonable...youll have a great time which ever you choose..

 

[danno]

Shugar, I am going to Phillipines mid Nov. for a week or 10 days. I have done PG, and it was great. Batangas, isn't that the get off point going to PG? Is there some good diving there as well? Any recommendations are welcome.

 

[shugar]

Batangas, isn't that the get off point going to PG? Is there some good diving there as well? Any recommendations are welcome.

hey there!

well... yes and no to your 1st question... Batangas City is the get off for PG (Puerto Galera for those following the thread)... Anilao is in the municipality of Mabini which is at the mouth of Batangas Bay... a left-hand turn on the fork in Bauan (batangas city is to the right)

there is a lot of great diving in anilao... some say even better than galera and without the medium-to-treacherous currents around the mindoro islands... there are also relatively less resorts than galera so you get a little more peace and quiet (unless the party atmosphere of sabang or white beach is what you're after)

anilao diving is also about half the price of galera diving... it's US$20 standard in PG (your gear) and about US$10 in anilao... after having done both sites, i'm a sucker for anilao anytime... the general convenience and relative vicinity to manila make it a great weekend dip before going back into the salt mines... hope this helps...

Jag

PS
i'm putting in a couple of links to maps of batangas to give you an idea of both places... Balai Resort (www.balai-resort.com) my personal favorite would be roughly where "bagalangit" is hehehehe

links: http://www.delapaz-ewf.org/BatangasMap.htm or http://mozcom.com/~dtibats/BATMAP1.gif

and if you want more info on some of the anilao dive sites you can look up the listings i've put in www.divingobsession.com

 

[danno]

Thanks for the info and web sites. I just might have to give that area a try. Always up for new dive areas.

 

[alexcttan]

I would stay in Sipadan as you know they are moving out, so, it would be the last time you get to stay at Sipadan. But again...that's me.

 

[shugar]

I would stay in Sipadan as you know they are moving out.

i've been hearing a lot about "moving out of sipadan"... what's with that? are the resorts pulling out? have they been kicked out? fish run out?

Jag

 

[hypermount]

i've been hearing a lot about "moving out of sipadan"... what's with that? are the resorts pulling out? have they been kicked out? fish run out?

Jag

The government ordered the resorts on the island to close down but divers are still allowed to dive around the island. Acommodations are available on nearby islands like Mabul or Kapalai just 15-minute boat ride away. They want to preserve Sipadan.