Thai liveaboard OR Puerto Gallera OR Elsewhere in region?

[aquarius]

Guys,

Would really like some opinions and experiances..

I am travelling to HK on the 14th Feb - 21st Feb then onto either of these destinations [could be swayed to go elsewhere in the region, given good weather/diving/5+ days of nightlife "Im a single guy travelling alone" ].

Some thoughts I have:
1. Ocean Rover 28 Feb -12 Mar. Andaman Sea
[ Other opinions on Liveaboards during this time most welcome, this boat does have a good rep though].


2. Puerto Gallera 22nd - 13th Mar. Either Atlantis or El Galleon.
Concearns I have are travel warning on Philipines:
http://www.smarttraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Philippines
Could I get in many varied dives over this period at varied locations? Weather?

I am undertaking my Open Water and Adv Open Water over the next few weeks and will hope to have 5 more dives under my belt before leaving will this be a concearn?

Which would be the better diving of the two?

Which would I gain more experiance on and be reasonably priced?

So many choices so little time . I really need this holiday but haven't had one for ages....hope you guys can help and make me feel confident of choices.

 

[scubashooter]

The Andamans were very pristine when I first did them in the 90s. There's a lot of damage to coral according to the Indians. But to what extent and how it affects the diving is still in contention. I'll be checking with the OR guys over the next few weeks since I planned to go myself because of the new flights from BKK.
From what I remember... the currents can be strong and there is a place where about 20-30 mantas group during hi tide.Wonderful frontier diving. But don't know how much is still left. They also started long lining for sharks in the late 90s.
PG is a little different. You get good fish sighting but nothing on the big scale like sharks. The macro is wonderful and the coral around Anilao is very pristine. Definitely smaller stuff is the big draw. I can't be party to the single guy thing though. Safety wise, you'll be fine so long as you stay in Luzon island. You could also catch whalesharks in Donsol too in March.
I wouldn't put the 2 in the same catergory. Depends on what kind of diving you like... the nice walls, a little bit more pelagic of Andaman Islands or the very reef fishy, wonderful biodiversity but not so pelagic philippines. There are better places to dive than PG but I suppose you want Sabang beach as 1 atm entertainment.

 

[aquarius]

There's a lot of damage to coral according to the Indians. But to what extent and how it affects the diving is still in contention. I'll be checking with the OR guys over the next few weeks since I planned to go myself because of the new flights from BKK..

From what is being said in the forum I thought this would be OK, that is if you are referring to the Tsunami.

PG is a little different. You get good fish sighting but nothing on the big scale like sharks. The macro is wonderful and the coral around Anilao is very pristine. Definitely smaller stuff is the big draw. I can't be party to the single guy thing though. Safety wise, you'll be fine so long as you stay in Luzon island. You could also catch whale sharks in Donsol too in March.

If I managed to catch the whale sharks, I would be very happy indeed. That would just about cover me. The 'pristine' smaller stuff then whale sharks

There are better places to dive than PG but I suppose you want Sabang beach as 1 atm entertainment.

Please do tell, I have the time to split locations any advice is welcomed.

Also do you think the currents are really an issue in Anadaman I plan to do a few drift dives here in Melbourne for preparation. This will drift me a few kilometers apparently and give me some confidence and a little exp.

 

[simonk999]

There's nothing wrong with a long liveaboard right after certification, but IMHO, you'd be better off at PG, or on a shorter liveaboard from Thailand, esp if you want to do the "single guy" thing. The OR trip is pretty long and you've got to know that you're really into the diving, otherwise, it could turn into a less than fun trip. At this point, I wouldn't recommend shore diving from Phuket, but a shorter (4 day) liveaboard to the Similans would be fine.

There will be currents, but these will be handled by the DMs either as a drift, or they will keep you in protected areas. Currents can put you in different situations though; for example, you might do a drifting blue water ascent and safety stop, so your buoyancy control without external references could be tested. Of course, the DM and your buddy will be there, so this isn't necessarily a problem, just something to be aware of (but this situation only happened once on my Similans trip).

I say these things because when I was a newer diver, I didn't do non-mooring line descents/ascents until having a number of post-certification dives under my belt, and it might be better to do a gradual progression of post-certification dives before a liveaboard. On the other hand, nothing like a huge number of dives in a short time period to get quite a bit of experience real quick.

So to sum up, if you think you're going to really be into the diving, then OR could be a way to go, but even the shorter Similans trips will give you a pretty decent amount of dives for one trip. The disadvantage is, of course, that you can't mix diving with some land-based entertainment, and if this is what you'd like, then PG is probably the way to go, since Phuket's shore-based diving is probably not so great these days.

Hope that helps.

-Simon

 

[ssra30]

Either should be fine, depends on what you want to see. Andaman sea diving is generally pretty easy, a bit deeper, average 20+m, but current is not really very strong generally, except a few sites. Nice coral reefs, chance to see some manta/whaleshark. However PG will be hard to beat if you like a nice relaxing dive trip since most dive sites are within minutes boatride from the resort so you can get back to your resort after each dive, shower and relax on shore. There is not much in term of palegics. Coral reef in certain area is quite nice but not as colorful as the Similans. However if you like small critters, pgymy seahorses, nudibranch, seahorses, mandarinfish etc PG have loads more than I could ever find in the Similans.
Ocean Rover is a very good boat for diving Andaman Sea.
In PG, I prefer El Galleon over Atlantis mainly because it is on La Laguna Beach which is quieter and cleaner than Sabang Beach where Atlantis is. However Atlantis accomodation is a bit better. Both have very good dive operators so you can't go wrong with either.

 

[aquarius]

Thanks for the response guys...

I have been thinking about it and if I read between the lines I totally agree with your views and advice.

I have been speaking to some friends and the guys at the local dive shop and they feel that Puerto Gallera would be a better option also. I might also try other sites in the Philippines; I would dearly love to see a whale shark!

At this stage I would really like to go on the OR but a relaxing holiday is what I need with some land time too, live aboard can wait until next year, I may even go on the photography cruise then.

Cheers

 

[shugar]

Concearns I have are travel warning on Philipines:
http://www.smarttraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Philippines

bro,

no offense to your government and its sincere intent to keep its people safe but WHOA!

talk about exagerrated reports... i read the advisory and i'm not an australian and i live in the philippines AND it scared the ****tles out of me!

what a crock of bull! i'm not claiming we're the safest country in the world but if you just stay away from the war-torn areas of mindanao (not even all of it, just the western side) and get local info before climbing any mountains then you're pretty safe... safe as you can realistically be

just for everyone else's information: we are not a country of barbaric killers, we do not eat people, kidnappers do not lurk around every corner, the whole country speaks english... jeez... sometimes these travel advisories make mothers in law seem tame in comparison...

either way, if you happen to swing by cebu for some diving on the 12th of march, give me a PM... i'll be there for a show (working on my birthday... dang!) and will gladly buy you a beer

hope you enjoy your trip... you won't be dissapointed with you choice of PG... if you want other destination advice, just holler

Jag

 

[Batfish]

no offense to your government and its sincere intent to keep its people safe but WHOA!
what a crock of bull!

Government advisories are always to be taken with a pinch of salt. They always make the whole world seem unsafe. Luckily here on Scubaboard you can find "locals" who will give you the truth.

Happy Diving!

 

[simonk999]

Be sure to post a trip report upon your return. I haven't been to PG, and while I have read the SB posts, it's always good to hear another perspective since that's on my list.

Have fun!

-Simon

 

[ssra30]

I have been speaking to some friends and the guys at the local dive shop and they feel that Puerto Gallera would be a better option also. I might also try other sites in the Philippines; I would dearly love to see a whale shark!

Cheers

If you are looking for other sites in the Philippines. Dumaguette is also very good. El Dorado resort and Atlantis are there and both are very good. Atlantis has better accomodation but also more expensive. El Dorado is comfortable and have good dive operator as well. Basically you get 4 dive sites right off the beach, El Dorado and Atlantis House Reef have lots of macro stuff, no pgymy seahorse but lots of variety of nudibranch, ghost pipefish, bumblebee shrimps. I also saw a mimic octopus and a blue ring octopus there. Down the beach, there are Duine and Masaplod which have a good variety of fish, cuttlefish, seahorses etc. It is also just a short distance to Apo Island which has some large school of fish, nice coral reef etc (but I actually prefer the Similan reef a bit more, in term of coral, landscape etc).

If you want to see whaleshark, I think there is a place somewhere in th Philippines that in season, whaleshark sighting is very very common however they only allow snorkeling and no scuba. The name escape me right now but it was just recently in Asian Diver magazine.