carol_swimmom
Contributor
So I was sleeping when the invasion 2016 booking was opened, and we are SOOL. My husband and I have decided to do the Philippines in 2015. We have no interest in technical diving. We are pretty fish people, birdwatchers, into photography etc. Just as interested in wildlife on land as well as marine. This will be our first and likely only trip to Asia. We are planning on 3 weeks. We are both AOW with 200+ dives, but the worst current we have dealt with was in Cozumel.
We would prefer not to do a liveaboard.
I have been researching and heres what I have come up with:
El Nido, Palawan 5ish days
Puerto Galera 5ish days
Malapascua 5ish days
(side trip to Oslob I understand its a bit of a circus, but I want to see a whale shark its a bucket list item)
Should we drop any of those and visit Dumaguete (Dauin)? Should we just do 2 spots?
Fly into Manila, Fly out of Cebu via Seoul (Seoul Toronto / Korean Air)
My research tells me that ITI air (Manila to El Nido) has a limit of 10kg seriously? Our photo gear is that much, let alone dive gear. How do we work around that? Do people not take their own gear?
I see lots of high end resorts at El Nido, are there moderate options?
Is May a good time of year for all those locations?
What non-diving places would you recommend visiting?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated; this board has helped me so much in the past!!!
We would prefer not to do a liveaboard.
I have been researching and heres what I have come up with:
El Nido, Palawan 5ish days
Puerto Galera 5ish days
Malapascua 5ish days
(side trip to Oslob I understand its a bit of a circus, but I want to see a whale shark its a bucket list item)
Should we drop any of those and visit Dumaguete (Dauin)? Should we just do 2 spots?
Fly into Manila, Fly out of Cebu via Seoul (Seoul Toronto / Korean Air)
My research tells me that ITI air (Manila to El Nido) has a limit of 10kg seriously? Our photo gear is that much, let alone dive gear. How do we work around that? Do people not take their own gear?
I see lots of high end resorts at El Nido, are there moderate options?
Is May a good time of year for all those locations?
What non-diving places would you recommend visiting?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated; this board has helped me so much in the past!!!