where to go in the philippines?

[Sam_The_Submersible]

Hi all,

I'm based in Thailand, I've decided to do a bit of Diving tour of the Philippines next Feb. Can anyone give me a couple of 'must see' destinations?

I will probably do my tech wreck specialty as part of this trip, any stand out schools?

cheers

 

[Fun & Sun]

Hi Sam,

I reckon everyone here are his/her favorites in the Philippines diving map. My personal choices will include Anilao (South of Manila), Malapascua Island (North of Cebu Island), Balicasag Island (South West of Cebu Island), Southern Leyte (Sogod Bay area) and Dumaguete/Apo Island.

For Wreck, I believe Subic and Coron are well known places and I suspect some tech wreck courses available there. Someone will surely comment on this subject.

If you need more info on Malapascua/Balicasag/Southern Leyte, just PM me (I am off to Southern Leyte on Friday until next week with no access to the web...)

 

[Searcaigh]

Andy aka Devon Diver is your man for tek stuff at Subic Bay, never met him, but from his posts he knows what he is talking about

 

[Centrals]

I will probably do my tech wreck specialty as part of this trip, any stand out schools?
cheers

There is a big difference between tec wreck(technical) and wreck specialty(recreational). For the former you need to be tec certified.
Gunther of Discovery Divers in Coron can handle both. Getting there is NOT as easy as Subic Bay but it is worth it.
If you are diving in PG then Sam at Tec Asia can bring you to Subic Bay. But I believe he needs two student to make the trip.

The best diving in the country is Tubataha(liveaboard) but only available between mid Mar to mid June.
Malapascua(thrasher shark) is a must see sight in the country. Matt at Evolution might be able to help on wreck course as well.

 

[jamjam]

Hi Submersible,

I've lived in the Philippines for a year now - the diving is fantastic! My three favorite places are:

- Apo Island and Siqihuor islands: you have to fly into Dumaguete to get to these. You can choose to stay in Dumaguete, or about a half hour outside of Dumaguete and close to the islands by ferry, or on the islands themselves. Apo island accommodation is basic but puts you right next to gorgeous dive sites.

- Balicasag Island, Bohol: truly stunning and almost always deserted dive sites. You can stay on Balicasag island (again, more basic accommodation) or on Ilona beach for a more nightlife atmosphere.

- Anilaos, Batangas: Just a 2.5 hour drive out of Manila. Gorgeous dive sites (my fav are Twin Rocks, Maenit and Beatrice). No beach but lots of dive resorts on the waterside.

- Coron: for wreck diving (recreational). I haven't been myself as I'm not a huge fan of wreck diving and there are so many other spots. But Coron is famous. Most people go to Sangat island and use the dive shop there.

As for dive schools - things work a bit differently. There are some good schools but most good DIs are free lance and work with a few different dive shops.

Feb will be a lovely time of the year. Also, it will be whale shark season so you should get that in while you are here. (Could go to Cebu from Bohol).

Enjoy!!

 

[Hydreliox]

Tech Wreck courses - Matt Reed - Evolution, Malapascua or Andy Davis (DevonDiver) - Subic (freelance I believe). Drop either or them a line and I'm sure they will do their best to accommodate your needs.

 

[Makhno]

I did my technical wreck penetration course with Sam Collett of Tech Asia, and I recommend him as a good instructor (I am an instructor myself at the recreational level, and I judge based upon fairly high standards). Technical Diving Courses - Puerto Galera - Philippines He teaches the course in Subic Bay. There are some nice wrecks there and the USS New York is especially fun to dive. There's a little airplane wreck in about 6 or 7 meters depth just outside Vasco's that's great for doing lots of skills practice in tight restrictions and bad viz. El Capitan and LST (Landiing Ship - Tank) are also enjoyable wrecks, and there are a handful of others in Subic that I didn't dive. The New York will be the highlight of any Subic Bay trip, though.

I also recommend Matt Reed of Evolution as an instructor. Technical Diving with Evolution, Malapascua, The Philippines. He's based in Malapascua. I did a trimix course with him, not a wreck course, but he is a good instructor and I'm sure that that applies to the wreck course as well as trimix. After the course we did some interesting penetrations into the Dona Marilyn ferry, which is where you would do much of the wreck course if you did it on Malapascua. During my trimix course I did a couple of very enjoyable dives on the Mogami Maru (aka the Pioneer) but it doesn't really offer the difficult penetration opportunities that you'd want for a properly-done technical wreck course. So I think you'd be seeing a good bit of the Dona Marilyn, which is a nice wreck.

Based upon my experience, you wouldn't go wrong with either Sam or Matt as an instructor.

I did a liveaboard trip to Tubbataha and had a wonderful time: not great for macro but I didn't complain about that when there were so many fishes (both reef fishes and pelagics), reef sharks and turtles on almost every dive, etc. Search and you can find my trip report from a couple years ago. Malapascua offers a really nice variety of dives, including sharks, wrecks, macro critters, etc. I haven't been to Puerto Galera, Coron, or Apo Reef yet but I'm going to dive all 3 of those in February. Bohol, Apo Island, Anilao and Balicasag are all on the to-do list as well.

 

[leebutler]

Malapascua for the sharks, Coron for the wrecks, and Moalboal for the walls and and critters. If you make it to Moalboal we offer Tec Rec courses here and have some fantastic dive sites to see during the course, the final dive at Peskador island is a real treat.

Onward from Moalboal we work with a great dive safari outfit that will take you from here, to Apo island and then Sipalay, or you can catch a bus and boat combo onto Dumagette where there is some great diving and connecting flights back to Cebu or Manila.

Lee

 

[Rogersea]

Sam,
There are so many good destinations in the Philippines, I recommend determining exactly how long you want to stay, and then arrange your travels from that point.. It is really easy to travel here in the Philippines, and if your stay is longer than 1 month or you can easily hit 4 destinations(in a fairly relaxed manner) ... I recommend using the search function on this forum some of the answers to your questions will already be on the board...

Cheers,
Roger

 

[eagerbeaver]

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

Sam, I think you've got most of the info you need there. Just drop me a line if you are considering Malapascua and I will be more than happy to discuss all your options and so on. We can offer you tech wreck, trimix, CCR...pretty much everything. And yes the tech wreck class is mainly taught on the Dona Marilyn. Minimum of 6 full penetration dives there. I have a potential student lined up for the last week of Jan/first week of Feb - so that could be a good time for you.

Roger's comments about how long you want to stay will be a major factor in the locations you choose.

Regards,

Matt.