1-15 June Philippines Dive Trip

[Babydamulag]

Lotus Garden is a great place to stay. The force protection issues are not a problem at the Lotus Garden. The service there is very good, rates are very reasonable and location is awesome. The business center manager (Leah) will square you away with any travel arrangement you can think of.....she is good! The money changer right outside the door is the best run operation I've seen in the area. They can even do large amounts with a heads up. The proximity to the restaurants, ATM's (services US banks!), shopping, etc is awesome! Can't go wrong at the Lotus Garden. Oh, you even catch the bus to Batangas Pier in the mornings.(City State Bus)

 

[shugar]

I have no idea where I'll be staying in Manila. If I come back to Manila on the 14th, it may not even be worth it to get a hotel. I'll need to be at the airport probably by 2AM.... any suggestions? I could possibly decide to come back on the 13th. I'll play that one by ear.... but still interested in any suggestions for a hotel in Manila?

well snickering aside... victoria court is a motel... they have 3-hour rates where couples... well... you know...

but it's actually very clean and decent (you have to bring your own "fun" there) so if you just need a place to crash and shower before getting into a cab for the airport and want to save a good amount of $ then you can hit victoria court...

a 3 hour stint is like $30 or so... maybe less...

now... you can do a hammerhead and spend your time at the edsa entertainment complex... caloy has a pic w/ the fires of hell blazing behind it

Jag

 

[CODMAN]

Well I checked out the Victoria Court in Passay... they had an hourly rate which would have ended up costing me 45$... Lets just say, I kinda didn,t trust the place... Although to be fair, it was midnight... Maybe had I visited in the daytime, I would have prefered... Lets just say, I told the drive to take me to another place...

It was quite an eye opener though!!!:14:

well snickering aside... victoria court is a motel... they have 3-hour rates where couples... well... you know...

but it's actually very clean and decent (you have to bring your own "fun" there) so if you just need a place to crash and shower before getting into a cab for the airport and want to save a good amount of $ then you can hit victoria court...

a 3 hour stint is like $30 or so... maybe less...

now... you can do a hammerhead and spend your time at the edsa entertainment complex... caloy has a pic w/ the fires of hell blazing behind it

Jag

 

[bill22]

I'm thinking about Dive Dojo now when I get to PG.... they have 5 scheduled dives a day and with every 7th dive free, it works out to around $21.50 a dive. About a dollar more if I include a night dive. Just have to find out if they'll still go out even if there is only one diver and what they'll want to go to Verde Island.

 

[CODMAN]

I'm thinking about Dive Dojo now when I get to PG.... they have 5 scheduled dives a day and with every 7th dive free, it works out to around $21.50 a dive. About a dollar more if I include a night dive. Just have to find out if they'll still go out even if there is only one diver and what they'll want to go to Verde Island.

Bill, I'm sure they'll dive even if you're the only one. We did that regularly while I was there. As far as Verde is concerned, usually it was the extra fuel surcharges split among the divers (1 diver, you get the whole bill!!!! 10, divide it by 10). But they can confirm all this for you.

They do have 5 scheduled dives each day, but in general it was more laidback than that. Most divers over there are/were more relaxed and looking for maybe 1 or 2 dives a day... This said, if you tell them exactly what you want (5 dives a day), I'm sure they will make it hapen for you! When you contact them, take the time to explain exactly what you're looking for and how many dives a day you want to do. They are really laid back and relaxed, so they might not propose to do 5 dives a day; you need to tell them if that's what you want and they'll do it no problem!

If you can, you have to do the Alma Jane at night. That is simply an awesome dive! It's a great dive during the day... But at night, it's fantastic...

Oh, and by the way... I don't know how you are about Technical diving... But if you want to do some or try it, divedojo is definetly the place!!!! There are some beautifull technical dives to do in Sabang and Ethei is one hell of a good technical diver/instructor.

Cheers!

 

[bill22]

dinner can be arranged. where will you be staying in manila on the 14th?

bring stel

Shouldn't you be telling Chip to bring Stel?

 

[bill22]

well snickering aside... victoria court is a motel... they have 3-hour rates where couples... well... you know...

but it's actually very clean and decent (you have to bring your own "fun" there) so if you just need a place to crash and shower before getting into a cab for the airport and want to save a good amount of $ then you can hit victoria court...

a 3 hour stint is like $30 or so... maybe less..

This might actually end up being a good choice, if I come back to Manila on the 14th and we go to dinner. I'll really only need a place to take a shower and get a nap before my flight. I'll consider it.

 

[CODMAN]

This might actually end up being a good choice, if I come back to Manila on the 14th and we go to dinner. I'll really only need a place to take a shower and get a nap before my flight. I'll consider it.

Bill, it isn't a motel by North american standards... Believe me... I definetly wasn't going to stay there! Even if I needed to stay up all night waiting for the next morning Jam bus... I wasn't going to stay there... When I told Ethei and Trendy at Divedojo that I had originally planned on staying at Victoria Court, they litterally spit out their drinks, choked a bit, and then started laughing.... I was laughing with them...

You want peace of mind? Get yourself a decent room... is the 40$ price difference between Lotus gardens worth it? For me, definetly not...

 

[bill22]

Bill, it isn't a motel by North american standards... Believe me... I definetly wasn't going to stay there! Even if I needed to stay up all night waiting for the next morning Jam bus... I wasn't going to stay there... When I told Ethei and Trendy at Divedojo that I had originally planned on staying at Victoria Court, they litterally spit out their drinks, choked a bit, and then started laughing.... I was laughing with them...

You want peace of mind? Get yourself a decent room... is the 40$ price difference between Lotus gardens worth it? For me, definetly not...

I took a look at the Lotus Gardens website and they look good. Depending on how things go (and how much money I have left ) I may come back to Manila a day early and do some sightseeing. Thanks for the input from everyone

 

[Pez7378]

The Paco Park Oasis hotel is decent, and reasonable.

The Paco Park Oasis Hotel

And the Garden Plaza Hotel and Suites for a bit more just around the corner

Garden Plaza Hotel & Suites - Hotels Suites Condotels Apartments Manila Philippines - TravelSmart.NET Hotels