Where to stay and Dive in Philippines, with reluctant diver husband - advice needed please!

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4
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Location
UK
# of dives
200 - 499
Hi, I'm very new to asking questions, so very sorry if its repetitive stuff, but I have tried to research my ideas but come up with more questions.
Here's the situation. I will be travelling with my hubby around the 7th November to KL and Singapore. We hope to fly open jaw into KL from the UK spend some time there (non diving) and then head over to the Philippines for 5 days ( diving) and then onto Singapore (non diving) then home. It will be our first time in the Philippines, I had hoped to dive Tioman but the weather is wrong and the monsoon season hits early November or so I've been led to believe.
Husband is a very proficient and experienced diver (we both learned the BSAC route, diving in dry suits and low vis), but he's become grumpy as he ages, and not helpful with dive trips until he's 5 mins into the dive and below 10m+. We've dived around the world, Caribbean, Mexico, Thailand, Scotland, Europe, and plenty of red Sea Lob's. I've just been saving what appears to be some of the best dive sites for now, as we've more time for travel.
Anyhoooo, I had found flights from KL into Cebu, which seemed pretty straight forward, and seeing as I am the chief itinerary person, booker of all that needs to be booked, like to make it as easy as possible for myself. I was thinking of Moalboal and booking the accommodation and transfer and a dive package in one swoop. Savedra dive centre came up and seemed to tick a lot of boxes, but then after reading reviews on here, I was disappointed to find it had become a "dive factory"
Budget does factor, and we don't need fancy, top notch hotel but mid range accommodation, with the usual air con and wifi, and a good view goes down well. The Dive centre is the most important thing and seeing as we won't be lugging our own gear we want to be able to hire,regs and BCD. We, as do all, hate dives with huge groups and being treated like a herd.
I don't think I can persuade the other half to catch further ferries once we get to Cebu, if that's where we end up, as its not set in stone , providing we can can get relatively cheap flights in from KL and onto Singapore, I don't mind too much. I love the big stuff, walls and the odd wreck, not so much the muck diving. But once I get the hubby over there, I think we'll be back.
Sorry to be long winded but trying to set the scene, so open to suggestions and advice from all you worldly divers and travellers.
 
Welcome to SB.

One thing to keep in mind, depending on where you go, are the efficiency of your connections. e.g. flying into Manila T2 with PAL and flying out domestically from T2 with PAL was about a 40min transition for me vs. 3-4 hours if a different Terminal. So a cheap fight might be some torture if connecting to a different terminal / airline. IDK re Cebu.

I've asked the Mods to move this to Philippine Paradise section to gain some traction.

My Philippine's experience is limited so far to wrecks/planes (Subic, Coron), Anilao for fun (I'm not into macro too much but some of the sites there are too lovely), and then LOB to Tubbataha for the best of the best ... I don't have an answer for you ...

So in short you're after reasonably priced basic accommodation/diving that isn't mob swamped, non-macro pelagic or walls that are easy to get to?
 
Easier option is Mactan Island which is where the Cebu International Airport was built on.
1. Avoid Korean operators.
2. Best dive sites are quite a distance away but operator is very reluctant to take a small group there.
3. The main area in Moalboal(Panagsama Beach) is very crowded. There are better place eg Turtle Bay but with the price to pay.
 
Look at Blue Ribbon in Anilao. Reasonably priced and small personable resort. I really enjoyed diving there.

Also Pura Vida in Dumaguete. Short flight from Manila. Beautiful resort and lots of dive options. Lots of small stuff but close to Apo island for bigger stuff.
 
OK-- I am going to pull myself away from my diving in Bonaire currently at the behest of my friend @outofofficebrb --
With only 5 days to work with, I would strongly suggest you look into Puerto Galera and staying at El Galleon Resort and diving with the onsite dive operation Asia Divers. Everything you want to know and then some can be found on my trip report--
Trip Report-Philippines-Puerto Galera-El Galleon/Asia Divers-April 1-14, 2019

You can book everything directly or do like I did and book through Blue Water Dive Travel- Puerto Galera

The dive operation meets your standards and criteria, as does the resort. Incredible sunsets, outstanding food, wonderful diving with lots of variety-- wrecks, reef, Verde Island, muck-- a bit of everything. I am happy to answer any questions.

Here is a link to my trip on You Tube-- It is a bit lengthy, but will give you some visuals:
 
It's about a 2-3 hour shuttle from Manila to Batangas then a one hour ferry. By Filipino standards, that is a short and simple transfer.

I have seen too many horrible reviews of Air Juan to ever use them. Too many to be occasional sour grapes. Most common complaint is they cancel flights at last minute and it takes months to get your money back, if ever. Aside from safety, one of the most important things is reliability. Take a quick peek at some TripAdvisor reviews. Seriously, I can't find a review from anyone who actually received their flight. I have doubts that they actually have planes that fly.
 
Getting there is half the fun but it does not apply to PG. Getting there can be pain in your back side and may be even to your life. The ferry situation from Batangas to Mulle/Balatero is pathetic. So unless there is big improvement on the vessels being used, I would not recommend this route at the moment. Going through Calapan is my suggestion but it does take longer and the public transport to PG is uncertain after 17:00.

El Galleon has their own boat for transport but not sure about its policy and schedule.
 
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