What to pair with Anilao..

[WOODMAN]

As long as you are considering the Anilao/Puerto Galera(Sabang) area, and you also have a taste for a liveaboard, you might consider a little known and much less expensive option right there in PG, known as the RAGS 2. This is a surprisingly nice little liveaboard which has itineraries all around Mindoro and over to Coron and Apo Reef, which is one of the few places in the Philippines where you can fairly reliably see sharks. The boat is basically an overgrown Bangka, with lots of room for the rated 8 passengers in 4 air-con cabins. The boat is surprisingly comfortable, and the food is unbelievable. It is the only liveaboard in the area, to my knowledge, and it visits places that are hard to access otherwise. Just an idea. Rick at Frontier Scuba in Sabang is a good contact for them.

 

[Hintermann]

I checked RAGS out of curiosity and it certainly looks interesting. Yes, it is basic from compared to most modern liveaboard boats eg no en suite facilities but looks well maintained and well run.
RAGS reminded me of Seabees' MV Marco Polo, which is very similar and does weekly trips in Phuket area. That was my second liveaboard trip and thoroughly enjoyable. They kept the boat spotlessly clean and to date it served the best food on any boat that I have been. The chef was a Sri Lankan working in Thailand and so had a lot of culinary credentials.

 

[xrcjdx]

unfortunately for the op, rags 2 is booked/fully chartered from march 14 to may 30. the word has apparently spread. otherwise i second woody - the rags 2 is top notch. for future reference.

 

[Cali_diver]

I will definitely keep this in mind for the future. It looks like I will be doing the Siren then a land stay in Anilao! Thank you for all your recommendations! I love my ScubaBoard family!!

 

[WOODMAN]

unfortunately for the op, rags 2 is booked/fully chartered from march 14 to may 30. the word has apparently spread. otherwise i second woody - the rags 2 is top notch. for future reference.

Part of the problem is that the RAGS 2 is only about $1200 US per person per week charter, which is about the lowest priced liveaboard I have found in a long time. Yes, the bathrooms are at the opposite end of the boat from the cabins, but I can deal with that, especially to get access to Coron and Apo Reef. I am not a bit surprised that she is booked up.