Worth to dive all: Puerto Princesa, El Nido, Coron? Picking your brain on itinerary

[MrTW]

Hi there,

I am preparing for a few weeks to Phils in December and carving out some dive spots I haven't checked out yet.

My thoughts are the following and any feedback on prior experience would be greatly appreciated:

1 day Puerto Princesa = entry into Palawan, from there directly to El Nido via bus next day

4 days El Nido = just a few dives here as mostly relaxing at the beach and island hoping with non-divers

2 day Puerto Princesa = length of stay here is flexible. I can stay a couple days longer if diving is any good. Otherwise via air to Busuanga to avoid going via boat from El Nido to Coron

4 days Coron = full diving here for shipwrecks. Anything else worthwhile seeing other then wrecks?​

After Palawan I am planing to fly to Dumaguete/Dauin and might jump over to Apo Island for a day trip. All of those places i dove before and these are repeats.

Did Moalboal/Malapascua in Cebu (not Mactan yet though) and Siquijor, Bohol area as well as Anilao and Davao and off to Batangas in two weeks time from today.

Any good spots I missed in Phils (except Apo Reef and Palau) and should be considered visiting?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated

 

[Centrals]

You really need to find out the flight connection between Puerto Princesa and Coron. It is more than likely that you have to change flight in Manila! The ferry from El Nido to Coron is probably not very comfortable(never on it) but at least it will save you a lot of time on travelling. My suggestion is to spend couple of days in PP first and then make your way to El Nido with a stop in Sabang (Underground River). And finally cross over to Coron on ferry. Fly to Dumaguete via Manila from Coron.
As far as I can remember the diving in Puerto Princesa was very ordinary back in 1997.
Two places worth visiting: Sipalay and Sogod Bay(South Leyte). More home work for you on getting there.
Tubattaha(liveaboard) only from Mar to June. It is the best in the country.
Palau is NOT in Philippines.

 

[MrTW]

You really need to find out the flight connection between Puerto Princesa and Coron. It is more than likely that you have to change flight in Manila! The ferry from El Nido to Coron is probably not very comfortable(never on it) but at least it will save you a lot of time on travelling. My suggestion is to spend couple of days in PP first and then make your way to El Nido with a stop in Sabang (Underground River). And finally cross over to Coron on ferry. Fly to Dumaguete via Manila from Coron.
As far as I can remember the diving in Puerto Princesa was very ordinary back in 1997.
Two places worth visiting: Sipalay and Sogod Bay(South Leyte). More home work for you on getting there.
Tubattaha(liveaboard) only from Mar to June. It is the best in the country.
Palau is NOT in Philippines.

Thank you for your response!

You made a great point regarding flight connections and i did not consider that at all. I just checked and, of course, there are no direct flights between PP and Busuanga. However, there is a ferry (not banca) between El Nido and Coron with a 4 hour crossing.

So, that will change the plan to:

Manila --> Coron --> El Nido --> Puerto Princesa --> Cebu --> from there probably Dumaguete and surroundings with return to Manila.

I will also check on Sipalay as on Negros - thank you for the tip.

Sogod Bay appears to be a larger area - any specific spots in that area?

Again, thank you for the feedback!

 

[MrTW]

And yes - Palau is NOT Philippines.

 

[Centrals]

1. There is severe restriction on check in bag allowance from Manila to Coron eg. Cebu Pacific is 20kg max. So pack your bag carefully.
2. Padres Bugos(Peters Dive Resort or Sogod Bay Scuba Resort).
3. If you are going to Dumaguete then Sipalay is only about 6 hrs away by bus. Point of exit to Manila is either Bacolod or Dumaguete. You probably have to spend one night in either places for the connection to Manila.
4. A lot of travelling in your itinerary. Hope you are not in a rush.

 

[MrTW]

Again, great info!

I am travelling with a friend (non-diver) and the 20kg weight restriction per person can be overcome. However, it is a challenge nevertheless

Thank you for the info on Sogod Bay and Sipalay!

Yes, i need to see how everything works out with regards to connections, etc. I am planning on 18 days for fun before heading back to Manila and home. If too rushy i will stay put in one place longer.

Again, thank you very much!

 

[MelasLithos]

I'm planning to travel to the same area in November, and while preparing my trip, I've noticed a couple of dive shops offering "dive safaris" between El Nido and Coron.

Basically, those are 4D/3N boat trips, with dives during the day and staying on islands for the night if I understood correctly (camping or hotels).

I'm not quite sure how it would work for non divers, but it looks like a nice alternative to ferries and I'm quite tempted by those.

It might be something worth looking into.

 

[MrTW]

Thanks Melaslithos.

Would be great if you could share your experience with the dive safari as it sounds cool.

Regarding my own trip, I took the advise of Centrals and trimmed the itinerary down to:

Coron --> El Nido (via 2Go ferry to PPS) --> Dumaguete.

If time permits, i might try to make it over to Sipalay but i am also ok to spare this spot for the next trip to avoid any commuting stress.

Was thinking about hoping over to Apo Island while in Dumaguete but read that the island is getting really busy now with too many day trippers making it out. When i went some 5 years ago or it was zero busy...

Again, thank you for the great input here.

 

[Centrals]

Are you sure the 2GO ferry calls on El Nido on the way from Coron to PPS?

 

[kcprofessor]

In addition to the wrecks in Coron Bay, there is fantastic coral as well a lot of macro on the shallow reefs. It is isoa\lated so the reefs are pristine.