Planning first PI dive trip April 2019....

[outofofficebrb]

OK, got it ! Thanks all. I booked then upgraded mine to 40kg, and my wifes to 32kg for both legs, that added $66. I can live with that. So, If they do weigh the carry-ons will they make you take stuff out if overweight or allow you to pay a fee?

Make you take stuff out and check it and if it is over your allowance for checked, pay a fee. Show them the camera gear and ask if you can carry it on before they try to weigh it. They will still weigh it but will usually let you bring on.

 

[Sideways]

Well that sucks... Oh well, I'll make it work! Thanks.

 

[scubadiver888]

Hey Darrell, I saw your thread, did you change your dates? Or are you doing April?

Was thinking about changing my dates but finally settled on April. Any three weeks in April.

The options are incredibly confusing. It is like being a kid in a candy store.

 

[scubadiver888]

Note you're going during Easter, so the whole country will pretty much shut down for a few days. I don't suspect it will cause problems if you're in a resort/hotel, except maybe a few local restaurants around are closed. But I'd avoid any travel portion of the trip and try to be in one place for the Thur-Sunday of Easter weekend.

Thank you very much Maverick17. I never thought of this. You just saved me a tonne of grief. I was planning on diving until April 20 then fly to Manila on April 21 (Easter). I guess I'll move all my plans ahead a week. So I'll fly to Manila April 28. So happy I haven't book anything yet.

 

[Centrals]

Was thinking about changing my dates but finally settled on April. Any three weeks in April.
The options are incredibly confusing. It is like being a kid in a candy store.

Tubattaha is highly recommended and then just pick one option that suit you best.
Arriving at Manila on 21st Apr should not cause any inconvenience if it is the last leg of your three wks trip.

 

[scubadiver888]

Tubattaha is highly recommended and then just pick one option that suit you best.
Arriving at Manila on 21st Apr should not cause any inconvenience if it is the last leg of your three wks trip.

How do I get to Tubattaha? Would I have to do a liveaboard? Or can I stay on Palawan and take a day boat out to Tubattaha?

April 21 isn't the last day of my trip. Was planning on meeting my girlfriend in Manila and spending a few days in Manila. I'm more worried about her trying to fly to Manila on Easter than myself. She does not travel much. Until she met me the last time she was on a plane was decades ago.

 

[Damselfish]

How do I get to Tubattaha? Would I have to do a liveaboard? Or can I stay on Palawan and take a day boat out to Tubattaha?

Liveaboard only. It was something like a 10 hour crossing by LOB. (Worth the trip.)

 

[outofofficebrb]

Liveaboard only. You are there around the best time to do it. It’s an overnight crossing. The season is late March to early or mid June but the best time is late April, early May.

Do pick your boat carefully. It’s an open water crossing so a boat that has a steel hull and longer as well as wider will fare better. Once you get there, there’s not much protection so nowhere to hide from wind, etc.

 

[Centrals]

April 21 isn't the last day of my trip. Was planning on meeting my girlfriend in Manila and spending a few days in Manila. I'm more worried about her trying to fly to Manila on Easter than myself. She does not travel much. Until she met me the last time she was on a plane was decades ago.

Where is she flying from? If she is flying from Toronto and arriving at Manila on 21st Apr then she should be fine. Most tourists and especially the returning OFWs(Overseas Filipino Workers) would have arrived a lot earlier.
PAL has non stop direct flight from YYZ to MNL so I don't see any problem for her. However, the flight is very long indeed especially taking into the time difference(12hrs) between the two places.
All the domestic flights have pretty short duration if she is travelling internally.

 

[scubadiver888]

Where is she flying from? If she is flying from Toronto and arriving at Manila on 21st Apr then she should be fine. Most tourists and especially the returning OFWs(Overseas Filipino Workers) would have arrived a lot earlier.
PAL has non stop direct flight from YYZ to MNL so I don't see any problem for her. However, the flight is very long indeed especially taking into the time difference(12hrs) between the two places.
All the domestic flights have pretty short duration if she is travelling internally.

She is going to be at home in the Philippines. So she'll be flying from Tuguegarao to Manila.

The entire plan is fly from Toronto to Manila then Tuguegarao. Spend a week with her family. After that, she stays with her family and I go on a 10 day dive trip, by myself. At the end of my dive trip, I go to Manila from where ever I am. She flies from Tuguegarao to Manila. We meet at hotel in Manila. We stay in Manila for 4 days then fly back to Toronto.

I'm pretty flexible about the dates. So a week with the family might change to 6 days. A 10 day dive trip might change to 9 or 11 days. The whole trip should be 21 days but 20 or 22 is fine too. I have to juggle best dates for flying, best dates for dive trip. Then I'll make the time with family and time in Manila whatever fits those dates.