justwannadivenow3
Contributor
Hi everyone,
I’ve gained a tremendous amount from this forum and wanted to give back.
I just got back from an 8-day trip to the Philippines. I chose to dive in Sabang for 6 days because of the diversity of options without having to go to other places.
Getting there:
Took a flight from JFK-MNL with Philippine airlines. Once in PI I took the bus to Batangas and then public ferry to Muller point where I caught tricycle to Sabang. Easy and cheap, but it was a long journey – 4 hours in total. That is after I spent 17 hours on a plane…
I decided to stay at Big Apple after reading decent reviews and seeing very good pricing. I negotiated to pay 900PHP per dive (approx. $18bucks…) because I was looking to stay and dive 15+. Normal price is 1100PHP but returning customers only pay 900PHP. Room was very very basic – but was only 1200PHP – Im not sure how the more expensive rooms are.
Diving – I did 3 dives every day with 4 dives on one day. All were day dives with exception of two night dives.
Diving is really nice off of Sabang. Pretty much all the sites were just a couple minutes away, with exception of the day trip to Verde Island which was really nice.
The dive sites were insanely good!! I’ve been to Cozumel, Azores, Roatan, DR and a liveaboard on the GBR. Diving in Sabang was a thousand times better! The biodiversity was truly outstanding and mesmerizing. I was fortunate to see a couple bucket list items – Blue Ringed Octo, Pygmy seahorse and a tremendous amount of other really cool stuff. I get it that it is a pain in the ass to travel all the way to Asia, but the truth of the matter is, diving in the Caribbean is nothing compared to the coral triangle. For trips longer than 10 days – go to Asia! It’s cheap and amazing.
Now for the downside… Rented equipment was beyond ******. I mean really ridiculous they’re using what they have. I’m talking ripped BC’s and Wetsuits. Although I didn’t see anyone have any equipment issues. the DM Bunny couldn’t care less about you. All he was doing was taking pictures. I practically had to beg for dive briefings. Didn’t get asked about air consumption or if I was ok once… really poor operation for anyone needing even a little assistance. Took clear beginners to advanced sites which is really stupid, but the DM didn’t care. There was even one diver who somehow managed to blow through his entire tank when we were diving the Canyons, I kid you not, the “back-up” DM noticed the guy had only 10 bar when we were at 60/70 feet! Now this particular individual is straight up retarded to not monitoring his own air, but I do blame the DM for taking this guy to a site way beyond his experience and not checking on him when it was clear he was struggling with the dive.
As a side note, during that same dive, albeit at the end, we got caught in a down-current… beyond scary looking at your dive computer and seeing you’re descending at a ridiculous pace even with your BCD fully inflated…. Fortunately we all made it out alive.
I’d also point out that there were a couple days Big Apple didn’t want to dive in the afternoon because I was the only willing diver. I ended up checking out SeaRider – pretty good operations. Cheap diving 1100 PHP with free (decent, relatively new gear). Much better dive operation then Big Apple.
To end, the diving was superb and I would highly recommend everyone get a chance and go to the Philippines. Big Apple is a ******, but cheap place to stay and dive. I would only dive there if you’re experienced and ok without being hand-held. Also, do yourself a favor and have your own gear.
I’ve gained a tremendous amount from this forum and wanted to give back.
I just got back from an 8-day trip to the Philippines. I chose to dive in Sabang for 6 days because of the diversity of options without having to go to other places.
Getting there:
Took a flight from JFK-MNL with Philippine airlines. Once in PI I took the bus to Batangas and then public ferry to Muller point where I caught tricycle to Sabang. Easy and cheap, but it was a long journey – 4 hours in total. That is after I spent 17 hours on a plane…
I decided to stay at Big Apple after reading decent reviews and seeing very good pricing. I negotiated to pay 900PHP per dive (approx. $18bucks…) because I was looking to stay and dive 15+. Normal price is 1100PHP but returning customers only pay 900PHP. Room was very very basic – but was only 1200PHP – Im not sure how the more expensive rooms are.
Diving – I did 3 dives every day with 4 dives on one day. All were day dives with exception of two night dives.
Diving is really nice off of Sabang. Pretty much all the sites were just a couple minutes away, with exception of the day trip to Verde Island which was really nice.
The dive sites were insanely good!! I’ve been to Cozumel, Azores, Roatan, DR and a liveaboard on the GBR. Diving in Sabang was a thousand times better! The biodiversity was truly outstanding and mesmerizing. I was fortunate to see a couple bucket list items – Blue Ringed Octo, Pygmy seahorse and a tremendous amount of other really cool stuff. I get it that it is a pain in the ass to travel all the way to Asia, but the truth of the matter is, diving in the Caribbean is nothing compared to the coral triangle. For trips longer than 10 days – go to Asia! It’s cheap and amazing.
Now for the downside… Rented equipment was beyond ******. I mean really ridiculous they’re using what they have. I’m talking ripped BC’s and Wetsuits. Although I didn’t see anyone have any equipment issues. the DM Bunny couldn’t care less about you. All he was doing was taking pictures. I practically had to beg for dive briefings. Didn’t get asked about air consumption or if I was ok once… really poor operation for anyone needing even a little assistance. Took clear beginners to advanced sites which is really stupid, but the DM didn’t care. There was even one diver who somehow managed to blow through his entire tank when we were diving the Canyons, I kid you not, the “back-up” DM noticed the guy had only 10 bar when we were at 60/70 feet! Now this particular individual is straight up retarded to not monitoring his own air, but I do blame the DM for taking this guy to a site way beyond his experience and not checking on him when it was clear he was struggling with the dive.
As a side note, during that same dive, albeit at the end, we got caught in a down-current… beyond scary looking at your dive computer and seeing you’re descending at a ridiculous pace even with your BCD fully inflated…. Fortunately we all made it out alive.
I’d also point out that there were a couple days Big Apple didn’t want to dive in the afternoon because I was the only willing diver. I ended up checking out SeaRider – pretty good operations. Cheap diving 1100 PHP with free (decent, relatively new gear). Much better dive operation then Big Apple.
To end, the diving was superb and I would highly recommend everyone get a chance and go to the Philippines. Big Apple is a ******, but cheap place to stay and dive. I would only dive there if you’re experienced and ok without being hand-held. Also, do yourself a favor and have your own gear.