RAID Dive Schools in PH & Dive spot recommendations

[JP97]

Hello,

We (new divers, AOW, 11 dives) are currently travelling the Philippines. We travelled from Manila to Cebu, Moalboal, Dumaguete and are now on Siquijor Island. We did two house reef dives today with Siquijor Divers and are thinking of doing another two dives at a dive spot called Sawang as well as Apo Island.
—> Would you recommend going to Apo Island? We heard it’s quite touristy and crowded with snorkelers. Also, there’s only Coco Grove operating dive trips from Siquijor to Apo Island currently. We heard they’re quite expensive and there’s the chance we could get kicked from the trip if their hotel guests are interested in going there, and therefore filling up the spots on the boat.

Further we’re thinking of getting Nitrox certified, but we’d like to stay in RAIDs course tree as we did our OW and AOW with a RAID certified dive school.
—> Are there any RAID certified dive shops in the Philippines? In regards of this question our travel plans after Siquijor are Bohol, Camiguin, Siargao, Malapascua, Palawan, El Nido, Coron, Boracay. However those are not 100% fixed and we might change something here and there. For example we thought to maybe also include or exchange Southern Leyte for some other destination. We have time until around end of February, but the budget is tight.

Also, which „must do“ dive spots that are within our travel plan could we miss?
—> We’ve noted Balicasag (Alona Beach), Mantigue Island (Camiguin), Potentially Sogod Bay if we go to southern Leyte, Malapascua, Busuanga (Coron), as well as some wrecks around Coron/El Nido.

Thanks upfront!

 

[VikingDives]

Raid has a dive center locator on their website, and I believe Andy Davis at scubatechphillipines.com is principally a RAID instructor. I don't know him, but that would be my go-to place if I wanted training in the PI.

 

[dumpsterpurrs]

I concur about Andy Davis. However if you don't want to spend time in Subic Bay during your holiday, maybe you can take a look at Tec N Rec in Dauin near Apo Island?

 

[Centrals]

Apo Island is quite a distance from Siquijor and the place is NOT touristy at all. Quite rustic actually if staying on the island. Getting there is another story.

In regards of this question our travel plans after Siquijor are Bohol, Camiguin, Siargao, Malapascua, Palawan, El Nido, Coron, Boracay. However those are not 100% fixed and we might change something here and there. For example we thought to maybe also include or exchange Southern Leyte for some other destination. We have time until around end of February, but the budget is tight.
Also, which „must do“ dive spots that are within our travel plan could we miss?
—> We’ve noted Balicasag (Alona Beach), Mantigue Island (Camiguin), Potentially Sogod Bay if we go to southern Leyte, Malapascua, Busuanga (Coron), as well as some wrecks around Coron/El Nido.

You do not have the time to cover all those places unless you want to spend a lot of time at airport, bus/ferry terminal and back tracking.
El Nido is at the northern tip of Palawan, accessible by flight(Cebu/Manila) or bus from Puerto Princesa(flight to get there first). Underground River at Sabang.
Coron is on another island and accessible by flight only. There is ferry between Coron and El Nido.
Camiguin can be reached by ferry or plane.
Siargao is also quite isolated. Well known for surfing.

Getting to Siargao

How to get to Siargao Island When you arrive by air from abroad into the Philippines, there are two major entry ports namely MANILA and CEBU. From both ports there are excellent connections to travel to the island of Siargao.Be aware when booking flights that SURIGAO and SIARGAO are two very...

www.greenhousesiargao.com

Alona Beach is dead easy from Dumaguete.
Malapascua will take around 4hrs to arrive(bus + ferry).
Southern Leyte is also very isolated. Getting there is not straight forward at all.
Boracay accessible by flight or long bus/ferry from other islands.

You really need to plan ahead.
Good luck!

 

[MBTS]

Raid has a dive center locator on their website, and I believe Andy Davis at scubatechphillipines.com is principally a RAID instructor. I don't know him, but that would be my go-to place if I wanted training in the PI.

Andy is a great tech and wreck instructor.

 

[Johnboy70_99]

Hello,

—> Would you recommend going to Apo Island? We heard it’s quite touristy and crowded with snorkelers. Also, there’s only Coco Grove operating dive trips from Siquijor to Apo Island currently. We heard they’re quite expensive and there’s the chance we could get kicked from the trip if their hotel guests are interested in going there, and therefore filling up the spots on the boat.

I know this may be late, I think I was there after you. But for future reference for others, I stayed at coco grove in Siquijor for a week in January. It is a nice resort, great for couples and families, with a nice beach area. I stayed on property most of the time and ate at the restaurants there. Staff was friendly and helpful.

I dove from their dive center for the week. 2 or 3 dives per day. They were nice and accommodating. I am still learning with my camera so I had enough to do finding things to take photos of.

I took the day trip to apo island. It was OK, nothing special IMO. I thought the diving was actually more interesting diving locally from coco grove. Did two dives that day, they gave us lunch on the beachfront in between. It was ok to do since I was in the resort already, but not worth a special trip.

 

[divingdayz]

Apo Island is quite a distance from Siquijor and the place is NOT touristy at all. Quite rustic actually if staying on the island. Getting there is another story.


You do not have the time to cover all those places unless you want to spend a lot of time at airport, bus/ferry terminal and back tracking.
El Nido is at the northern tip of Palawan, accessible by flight(Cebu/Manila) or bus from Puerto Princesa(flight to get there first). Underground River at Sabang.
Coron is on another island and accessible by flight only. There is ferry between Coron and El Nido.
Camiguin can be reached by ferry or plane.
Siargao is also quite isolated. Well known for surfing.

Getting to Siargao

How to get to Siargao Island When you arrive by air from abroad into the Philippines, there are two major entry ports namely MANILA and CEBU. From both ports there are excellent connections to travel to the island of Siargao.Be aware when booking flights that SURIGAO and SIARGAO are two very...

www.greenhousesiargao.com

Alona Beach is dead easy from Dumaguete.
Malapascua will take around 4hrs to arrive(bus + ferry).
Southern Leyte is also very isolated. Getting there is not straight forward at all.
Boracay accessible by flight or long bus/ferry from other islands.

You really need to plan ahead.
Good luck!

Southern Leyte can be easy to get to from Cebu or Bohol. It is also worth the trip as scuba diving there is excellent and it won't be busy at all. Panglao, Bohol is of course very easy to get to from Manila, El Nido, Siqujour, Cebu, Negros, and Leyte.

 

[Centrals]

Southern Leyte can be easy to get to from Cebu or Bohol. It is also worth the trip as scuba diving there is excellent and it won't be busy at all. Panglao, Bohol is of course very easy to get to from Manila, El Nido, Siqujour, Cebu, Negros, and Leyte.

I would not say it is easy to get to Southern Leyte from either Cebu City or Bohol.
There is ferry from Ubay in northern Bohol to Bato in Leyte. There is further land connection to Padre Bugos.
Similar story for Cebu City ie combined sea and land transfer.
The main reason why Southern Leyte does not receive many divers.

 

[divingdayz]

I would not say it is easy to get to Southern Leyte from either Cebu City or Bohol.
There is ferry from Ubay in northern Bohol to Bato in Leyte. There is further land connection to Padre Bugos.
Similar story for Cebu City ie combined sea and land transfer.
The main reason why Southern Leyte does not receive many divers.

Ubay is east Bohol. 2 hour ferry to Bato and then a 2 hour bus ride to Padre Burgos. I've done this trip many times as I live in Bohol.

The reality is that almost any travel in the Philippines takes time. You generally need to give over a whole day to get anywhere, but it's generally worth it. Bring a book is the advice I usually give to people.

Happy bubbles)

 

[Centrals]

As I had said it many times before, the remoteness of Padre Bugos has a big effect on overseas travellers.
Travel in any country takes time especially for foreign tourists and Philippines is NO exception. Take a look at Indonesian sub forum and you will notice that even paying for a airline ticket is a hassle!!