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Sipadan limits the number of divers to something like 120 per day, and these are given out in very limited quantities to some of the resorts in the area, Scuba Junkies being one of them. This means the resorts really have to ration them to their guests, resulting in requirements of staying X...

There are a couple of reviews just 10 threads earlier in this forum. Starting from here: Whats the word on Scuba Junkies? They're pretty good. I was there in the earlier part of this year and would dive with them again next time I'm in the area. Good focus on safety, nice mix of foreign and...

Took a Sea Dragon 2500 down on a night dive once, never again. It's beam is too wide, so other divers were complaining that it was scaring away all the sea life. We had to turn it off the entire dive unless we found something to film. Might be useful as a secondary/emergency backup, but I...

Ah, got it. You guys are just way better at finding the great deals than I am. :) I almost never manage to find those cheap fares.

Eh? I fly CX all the time and usually select seats long in advance. Just did that last month. Do you book directly through their website or reserve through a travel agent? I normally select the seats during the ticket purchase process itself. If I forget to do it then, I can usually select seats...

Was there in Jan 2016. Internet access depends on the route and dive locations chosen by the ship, but 3G data is usually decent on the regular Maldives routes. Each resort usually has its own cell tower and most dive sites are within sight of one resort or another, so you usually have 3G data...

Was there in May 2016. Loved it. By far the best place I've dived in the Philippines so far (only been to Bohol/Balicasag and Malapascua). Loved the mix of beautiful coral dives and macro dives. Loved how convenient each dive was - 5-10 minutes boat ride to almost all the dive spots. Loved the...

You might get a few more opinions if you posted in the Thailand forum. I don't know of any liveaboards leaving from Ko Lipe. Most are from Phuket and usually go to the Similans/Richelieu, although there are some shorter trips that go to Phi Phi or other locations. I would ping StevenL in the...

@infinita29 Wow. Then I totally don't understand why people go on the South Siam boats then. Have fun on the Manta Queen.

Not OP nor have I been on either boat, but I've seen them anchored next to the boat I was on. The Manta Queens looked alright but the South Siam boats are cattle boats. Because they have people coming and leaving each day, they have more people on the boat during the daytime than can sleep there...

Way too many options from Singapore. Depends a lot on your budget and what you like to see. Bucket list items would be liveaboards in Raja Ampat (Indo), Komodo (Indo) and others in the region. Also Sipadan (Malaysia) and Richelieu Rock (Thailand). Resort diving would be places like Puerto...

You're really going to need to give more background for anyone to give you good feedback. Where have you dived? What do you like to see? Do you want just diving or do you also care a lot about activities on land? What part of the world are you thinking of? High or low budget? There's an insane...

I paid part of my balance with a card at Evolution, but forget if there was the 3% credit card fee or not. I paid for the initial amount (lodgings + courses) via bank transfer. All later expenses were via credit card. A few of the better restaurants also take credit card, some even without the...

Went there in March, going again in Nov. It's decent diving out there on a liveaboard. I personally had a better time in the Similans than in Maldives. I thought the Similan Islands themselves were decent, worth seeing. It was the other islands like Koh Bon and Richelieu Rock that were amazing...

Could be I'm getting gouged. I'm referring to the total additional costs charged by the dive centre out of Tulamben for 2 dives in Amed (guide, tanks, transport, light snack, water, etc), not the cost of just hiring a random driver to take you from Tulamben to Amed. I've had two separate dive...

Depends on how sensitive you are to costs. Amed is like 15 minutes drive from Tulamben, so it's a really minor distance. It's quite feasible to stay in Tulamben and drive down to dive in Amed for a few days. Most dive centres will charge you a bit for the drive down to Amed. Won't be much, but...

That time of the year, your options are pretty much around Sabah, primarily Mabul/Kapalai and Sipadan. Those areas are supposed to be all year diving and Mabul is great for macro while Sipadan is great for the pelagic stuff. You sometimes get great pelagic stuff around Mabul too, but not as...

Was there (Mabul) in June, but brought own equipment so not that familiar with their gear. Their fins weren't that great (floppy, not good for current) but their BCDs seemed to be the usual rental quality. Some friends rented their gear and had no complaints. Suspect if you have your own mask...

I dived and stayed at Evolution in Dec 2015 and had a great time there. Strongly recommended, particularly if taking courses, as their instructors are top notch. We also took a few dives and I would say their DMs are great. On the Mandarin fish dive (Lighthouse), ours was the only group there...

Stayed at Castaway Resorts, dived with their dive shop. Because I was taking a course with them, lodgings were free. Being the low season, their rooms were not full back then. Not sure if that is still true today. They were built as a very eco friendly location, which has its plus and its...