Advice on Philippines Itinerary

[jd62]

Hi all. It's been a while. I have a tentative itinerary beginning in early February. It reflects two pre-paid reservations (which the resorts refused to refund, even though they were paid a week before my arrival). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

2/7: Mid-morning flight from Manila (MNL) to Tacloban (TAC), getting a transfer to Peter's Dive resort in Southern Leyte. Depart 2/13: get a transfer to the Hilongos ferrry to Cebu. Fly CEB to DGT, getting tranfer to Dauin. Dive in Dauin, including Apo. Only three quality days of diving there. 2/17: transfer to DGT, fly to MNL, transfer to Batangas, ferry to Puerto Galera, transfer to El Galleon (pre-paid). 2/22: transfer back to MNL and fly to Cebu. Transfer to Moalboal (including Pescador). Stay at Magic Island (pre-paid). 2/26: fly CEB to MNL, rent car at airport, drive to Subic Bay (3.5h). 3/2: drive to Vigan (6.8h). 3/4: drive Vigan to Baguio (4.5h). 3/5: drive Baguio to MNL airport (3.5h). Departure from MNL 10:00 pm.

My skill level (all PADI): AOWD with 77 dives, full deep water specialty, wreck specialty, full buoyancy, navigation, and Nitrox specialties. Technically adequate but not great on air consumption. I suspect I will finally have to exercise a bit, since air consumption should be better. Main diving experience is from Cozumel, though I have dived in Thailand, southern Japan, & southern Israel. I own all my own equipment.

As I said, I'd love any comments or advice.

EDIT: I'm not crazy about muck diving, but I have done little of it and am willing to experience more. I like corals and fish. No particular interest in sharks. I have only dived a few wrecks (mainly in Florida, though my wreck specialty was earned in Cozumel), but I found these experiences great fun.

EDIT 2: I hate not to see anything cultural in a country that I visit. Hence the short road trip at the end.

 

[dlofting]

It seems like a lot of travel and that can be very slow in the Philippines, so you need to prepare for possible delays.

I've rented cars in Roatan, Belize and two places in Mexico but would never drive in Manila. You'll have 4 traffic lanes with 6 lines of cars and everyone moving between. Watch out for the motorcycles and scooters.

 

[TonRin]

Unless you have driven in Manila before, I would give that a big miss. The road from the airport to the highway (EDSA) is about as crazy driving as you will get anywhere in the world. Less than 10km can take up to 2 hours at times. It is also very confusing. You are better off getting a taxi to the Victory Bus terminal and a bus to Subic. Much more comfortable letting someone else have the stress of driving and you can check things out on the way. If you want something extra to do in Subic other than diving, check out Ocean Adventure and do the 'Swim with the Dolphins'. Its excellent.

Your trying to fit a lot in and the travel between places will need to be planned for unexpected issues arising. You may be lucky, but often something will go astray. Just don't expect all your timelines to align. If you can be flexible, be ready for it. You will have a blast.

My wife is from Leyte and I have been there many times, that's how I know what to expect.

Enjoy.
Tony

 

[Centrals]

The pre-paid stay at Magic Island really ruin any logical itinerary!
Can you change the date?

Leave the driving to the local.

Sogod - Moalboal - Dauin - MNL - PG - Anilao - Subic - sight seeing.

There is NO way anyone can drive from Baguio to Manila in 3.5hrs.

 

[jd62]

It seems like a lot of travel and that can be very slow in the Philippines, so you need to prepare for possible delays.

I've rented cars in Roatan, Belize and two places in Mexico but would never drive in Manila. You'll have 4 traffic lanes with 6 lines of cars and everyone moving between. Watch out for the motorcycles and scooters.

Thanks for your advice, especially regarding the Manila drive. I am flying around between places where there are multiple flights per day. So, I'm hoping this will work.

 

[jd62]

Unless you have driven in Manila before, I would give that a big miss. The road from the airport to the highway (EDSA) is about as crazy driving as you will get anywhere in the world. Less than 10km can take up to 2 hours at times. It is also very confusing. You are better off getting a taxi to the Victory Bus terminal and a bus to Subic. Much more comfortable letting someone else have the stress of driving and you can check things out on the way. If you want something extra to do in Subic other than diving, check out Ocean Adventure and do the 'Swim with the Dolphins'. Its excellent.

Your trying to fit a lot in and the travel between places will need to be planned for unexpected issues arising. You may be lucky, but often something will go astray. Just don't expect all your timelines to align. If you can be flexible, be ready for it. You will have a blast.

My wife is from Leyte and I have been there many times, that's how I know what to expect.

Enjoy.
Tony

Thanks for this information. Yes, this is a busy itinerary. I'm hoping that my use of short, non-stop flights between cities, and my allowance of a full day to get from A to B will be sufficient. But I understand the risks (I've been in the Third World many times before, but never to Philippines).

I'm excited about Southern Leyte. There are so many and varied dive sites.

 

[jd62]

The pre-paid stay at Magic Island really ruin any logical itinerary!
Can you change the date?

Leave the driving to the local.

Sogod - Moalboal - Dauin - MNL - PG - Anilao - Subic - sight seeing.

There is NO way anyone can drive from Baguio to Manila in 3.5hrs.

Centrals, buddy. I remember you well. The stay in Sogod is thanks to your advice. Thanks for your reply here.

When my travel agent contacted Magic Island about 9 months ago, these were literally the ONLY days during the entire month I'd be in the Philippines. The place is apparently quite small, and others had rescheduled the whole place except for certain days. When I expressed distrust, she (from Bluewater Travel) told me that their company regularly worked with Magic Island and assured me that this place wasn't trying to avoid rebooking me. You are totally right, though, about the illogic of my itinerary. That's the reason I needed to use short flights so liberally rather than ferries & ground transportation. Do you think, though, that it is still doable?

You proclaim it to be impossible to get from Baguio to Manilla in 3.5h. This is actually the part of the itinerary where I have the most flexibility, as I have nothing to do on the day of departure. The 3.5h came from Google Maps. Is the Subic Bay drive to Vigan (6.8h) also impossible? What of the drive from Vigan to Baguio (4.5h)? I don't see how I can reach these places via public transportation, given the timing. Can I rent a car in Subic Bay, and return it there?

Hypothetically, let's say that I skipped the cultural places, would I then have some time for Anilao? I had NOT included this in my itinerary because I lacked the time. But how efficient is it to go from PG to Anilao and then to Subic by public transportation? Is there something special about Anilao that I really should see?

Sorry for all of these follow-up questions.

 

[Centrals]

1. It is "doable" if everything is line up properly! This is Philippines. Your itinerary covers a lot of travelling in a country where the infra structure is so far behind.
2. I have never travelled north of San Fernando in La Union(not sure if Ocean Deep is still around but the diving there is very ordinary). Nice coastal road.
2. I have travelled once from Baguio to Manila and it was a long winding downhill road. Nice view if someone else is doing the driving. Getting from the outskirt of Manila to NAIA(airport) can take couple of hrs if you are at the wrong time of the day. From Victory Liners Terminal in Pasay to the beginning of the Northern Highway can easily take 2hrs(same as getting out) This is Manila.
3. Anilao is just across the channel from PG, private or public transport is available. But with big heavy diving then it is better to take private from Batangas Ferry Terminal. Anilao offers far better macro than Dauin.
4. From Anilao to Subic by public is NOT that difficult if you know the way. Quite tedious though.
5. You need to look up the price structure of diving in Anilao which is unique. Plenty of posts on this topic.

 

[jd62]

1. It is "doable" if everything is line up properly! This is Philippines. Your itinerary covers a lot of travelling in a country where the infra structure is so far behind.
2. I have never travelled north of San Fernando in La Union(not sure if Ocean Deep is still around but the diving there is very ordinary). Nice coastal road.
2. I have travelled once from Baguio to Manila and it was a long winding downhill road. Nice view if someone else is doing the driving. Getting from the outskirt of Manila to NAIA(airport) can take couple of hrs if you are at the wrong time of the day. From Victory Liners Terminal in Pasay to the beginning of the Northern Highway can easily take 2hrs(same as getting out) This is Manila.
3. Anilao is just across the channel from PG, private or public transport is available. But with big heavy diving then it is better to take private from Batangas Ferry Terminal. Anilao offers far better macro than Dauin.
4. From Anilao to Subic by public is NOT that difficult if you know the way. Quite tedious though.
5. You need to look up the price structure of diving in Anilao which is unique. Plenty of posts on this topic.

Thanks so much, Centrals. One of the things I like about your comments is that you indicate your level of knowledge and confidence for each specific issue. For a statistician like me, this is extremely valuable.

I have driven some crazy roads. My first were some Michelin-recommended "scenic" roads in Turkey. They were scenic all right: twisty mountain roads without guard rails and often too narrow for two cars passing in different directions. And the goats. Then there were some mountain roads in the Rockies, and so on. (The Million Dollar Highway is really not so bad, except in the winter.) So, I'm not that concerned about such things. But I have to build in extra time, because this is Philippines.

Yes, I see Baguio is in the mountains.

I will research Anilao. I recall weirdities about its price structure. Specifically, I recall that hotel stays were based on the number of people in the room. Also, there was something about paying for a whole boat?

 

[dlofting]

I have driven some crazy roads. My first were some Michelin-recommended "scenic" roads in Turkey. They were scenic all right: twisty mountain roads without guard rails and often too narrow for two cars passing in different directions. And the goats. Then there were some mountain roads in the Rockies, and so on. (The Million Dollar Highway is really not so bad, except in the winter.) So, I'm not that concerned about such things. But I have to build in extra time, because this is Philippines.

Yes, it's definitely the timing in the Philippines that can cause problems...the roads can be narrow and windy but also clogged with traffic. It's something that I've not encountered in other countries....you get either traffic or windy/narrow but not both. Just need to allow time.