Where to go? (The Philippines - December/January)

[Ine]

Hello

I'm learning how to dive in Belgium and within a few weeks I will be certified. In the end of December / beginning of January i will visit The Philippines. Of course I would love to dive there. Since I am new to this I would love some advice.
- Where do I go as a novice?
- Which is the best place in the end of December/beginning of January according to weather and visibility?

Kind regards,

Ine

 

[MV Dive]

Dear Ine,
Consider a trip to Puerto Galera, it has a great variety of dive sites for a beginner. December and Jan are usually a great time to visit the Philippines. The water temp is around 24-28 degrees depending on thermoclines . You can travel from Manila to Puerto Galera by van and boat, it takes 3-5 hours depending on traffic.
You can watch this short video from one of the dive sites in PG so you have an idea on what to expect.

 

[Ine]

Hello MV Dive,

Nice video!
Thanks a lot for this information! I will check it out. Do you have any experience with diving in Anda (Bohol) and Moalboal (Cebu)? We will be visiting these island anyway. We only have 18 days in The Philippines and we don't want to spend to much time on the road if it's not necessary.

Kind regards,

Ine

 

[Luko]

Do you have any experience with diving in Anda (Bohol) and Moalboal (Cebu)? We will be visiting these island anyway. We only have 18 days in The Philippines and we don't want to spend to much time on the road if it's not necessary.

I have.
To be honest I don't rate Anda as high as some other Visayas spots, I don't think it's worth going while Moalboal should not be missed.
If in any ways you plan to travel Cebu, as for a first time trip I would then recommend staying around the Visayas, There's plenty to do if you hop from a spot or an island to another. Worth diving in the Visayas are :
- Bohol/Balicasag, nice wall diving around Balicasag island
- Malapascua for big stuff like thresher sharks and mantas
- Dauin for macro on black sand,
- Moalboal to finish with : the sardines school should not be missed, it's an impressive sight, as well as Pescador island walls, probably the best soft coral in the whole Phils.

Cheers (have a look at my flickr gallery you will browse what you should be able to see in the Visayas).

 

[Maverick17]

Sound advice above, stick to Cebu and vicinity. General travel note too is to remember Christmas and New Year is the big holiday to return home to the province, so get things planned in advance and be prepared for possible travel delays within the islands.

 

[Mucksavage]

Make sure to book ahead! The Philippines sees a surge of visitors (still a LOT less then Thailand, Indonesia etc) from about December 20th and it runs through January.

With 18 days i would stick to the Cebu area and maybe do 5 days in Malapascua, 4 in Moalboal and maybe 6 in Dumaguete / Siquijor and then a few spare for travel.

Public transport does run all the time though the holidays.

 

[DevonDiver]

Christmas (and Easter) is crazy time for travelling in the Philippines. Try to minimize travel as much as possible. Avoid public transport wherever possible... the queues and delays can be horrific.

If you fly into Cebu, do a few stops in that area. Try Savedra Dive in Moalboal for except reefs and the sardine school... and the Evolution Dive in Malapascua.. for the threshers and other pelagics.

If you fly into Manila, take a car trip to Anilao for the excellent muck/macro/photo diving (lots of rare critters), then hop on the ferry to Puerto Galera for reefs and Wall diving. Finish off with a trip to Subic to visit the historical wrecks.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Agree with the advice to fly to Cebu. Last December we flew to Cebu , then went to southern Leyte Divers in Leyte ...there is a fast ferry from Cebu and the diving is incredible. We saw whalesharks ! Then we went to Dumaguete and stayed with Liquid , also excellent with great diving in the area. After that we went to Malapascua and stayed with Ocean Vida , for thresher sharks and excellent macro.

Not our first trip and won't be our last. I would highly recommend that you check out Southern Leyte , the diving is wonderful with excellent coral , lots of fish and December is whaleshark season.

 

[SandyUT]

any suggestions on where to stay and dive with?

 

[Centrals]

any suggestions on where to stay and dive with?

Assuming you are talking in Visayas.
1. Moalboal(Cebu Island): Ocean Safari Philippines and Eve Kiosk
2. Malapascua(Cebu Island): Evolution inclusive or Exotic inclusive(can be crowded)
3. Southern Leyte(Sogod Bay on Leyte Island): Peter inclusive
4. Dumaguete(Negros Island): Liquid inclusive.
5. Sipalay(Negros Island): Artistic inclusive
6. Alona Beach(Bohol Island): I have stopped to recommend this place to anyone unless you are staying on Balicasag Island/Cabilao.
7. Apo Island, Biri Island, Camiguin Island, Camotes Island, Mactan Island, Siquijor Island and Surigao are just some of the areas that I can think of.

So where would you like to go?