1 month in Philippines in march

[xrcjdx]

March is usually a good time to visit Southern Leyte for the weather, diving, and whale sharks, which in all likelihood will still be feeding in Sogod Bay. And that partly explains why March is high season here, so if you are coming you will want to make your arrangements soon. You are probably aware of the ethics regarding whale shark tourism in Oslob so I won't mention it.

 

[Hcklo]

So.... It seems that a bunch of messages have been deleted.

We are indeed avoiding Oslob because of ethical reasons. Our research in internet shows that there is no human feeding in south Leyte. Is this correct ?

About our diving profile (someone asked but the message has been deleted)

We are a couple, dm and aow. We met in komodo and have around 500 dives. My gf likes marine life and easy dives, I like current, wrecks and more challenging ones. We both takes uw pictures. We have been diving in Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, Europe, Australia, México etc.

We look for sun above surface, and things to see when we don't dive. We are easy going and are not looking for high luxury even having the budget to afford it.

No real limit budget but we prefer stay in rustic places and allow our budget to push ourselves out of the regular turistic path or enjoy live a boards.

For sogod. We decided to start our trip by there, as it will be the furthest place of our trip.

Special recomendations of hotels&dive centers ? Places to see under and above the sea ? Recommended amount of days to stay there to enjoy and see the surroundings ?

Our next stop would be Bohol or dauin, what would be our possibilities to reach those places by air and by ferry ?


Again, thanks for all your support and advices to help us to organise our holidays. We know how challenging and changing Philippines can be and your feedback is essential for us to be able to planify !

 

[Centrals]

There are only a few operators in South Leyte and this is my preference:

Welcome - Peter's Dive Resort Philippines: Scuba Diving in Sogod Bay, Southern Leyte

www.petersdiveresortph.com

There are only a handful few to choose.

Leyte to Northern Bohol:

2024 Bato to Bohol Ferry Schedule and Fare Rates

Schedule of ferry / boat trips from Bato, Leyte to Bohol and Bohol to Bato via Medallion Shipping Lines

www.escapemanila.com

Please confirm with the host in your chosen resort in Leyte.

You should round off the trip in Anilao(macro capital in the country, try Black Water diving there).
Have fun.

 

[Hcklo]

There are only a few operators in South Leyte and this is my preference:

Welcome - Peter's Dive Resort Philippines: Scuba Diving in Sogod Bay, Southern Leyte

www.petersdiveresortph.com

There are only a handful few to choose.

Leyte to Northern Bohol:

2024 Bato to Bohol Ferry Schedule and Fare Rates

Schedule of ferry / boat trips from Bato, Leyte to Bohol and Bohol to Bato via Medallion Shipping Lines

www.escapemanila.com

Please confirm with the host in your chosen resort in Leyte.

You should round off the trip in Anilao(macro capital in the country, try Black Water diving there).
Have fun.

Amazing


If we want to go from Leyte to dumaguete is there any better road than

the ferry bato - Ubay Bohol
Cross Bohol by jypney
Tagbilaran - dumaguete ferry?

 

[Centrals]

If we want to go from Leyte to dumaguete is there any better road than

the ferry bato - Ubay Bohol
Cross Bohol by jypney
Tagbilaran - dumaguete ferry?

There is no other way if you want to stop over in Bohol en-route to Dumaguete.

 

[Hcklo]

There is no other way if you want to stop over in Bohol en-route to Dumaguete.

If I want to skip Bohol and just hit dumaguete is there any smarter road that the one that I mention before?

 

[Centrals]

1. There is NO direct flight from Tacloban to Dumaguete.
2. Ferry from Cebu City to Dumaguete will call on Tagbilaren first.
3. Ormoc has frequent daily sailing to Cebu City. But Ormoc is at least 3hrs by private road transfer.
4. There are other ports(Hilongos and Maaasin) but no idea with the schedule.
5. I would not recommend overnight sailing in Philippines for safety reason. But this is an option.
6. There are frequent buses from Cebu City to Dumaguete.

Get to Cebu City first and then plan your next move(bus or ferry). It will be a long day.

How about Anilao + PG instead of Dumaguete(you have been there previously)?

Camiguin is only a short flight from Cebu city. Very nice island. Look it up.

Easter period(early Apr 2023) is not a good time to travel around the country especially for tourist.

 

[xrcjdx]

Centrals has the options right but I'll add that as of now, the fast ferry (3 hours plus a little) leaves twice a day Hilongos to Cebu and v/v. There is also slow ferry service from Maasin to Cebu 4x/week. 6 hours.

If it was me going to Dauin from Leyte I would take the ferry Bato Leyte to Ubay Bohol and hire one row in a van for my partner and me (one row in the van is considered 4 seats) plus another seat in the back of the van for dive gear for the otherwise uncomfortable trip Ubay to Tagbilaran. (You would not take a jeepney.) You can also easily hire your own transportation after your arrival in Ubay, of course, and have a scenic run to Tagbilaran, making stops of your choice along the way.

The local dive resorts on this side of the Bay area Peter's, Sogod Bay Scuba Resort, and Southern Leyte Divers. There is also the more upscale Castle Resort that to me is rather more resort with diving than dive resort.

The whale sharks come and go of their own accord here with no feeding allowed. As of now they are hanging around on the south east side of the Bay and have been spotted each trip across, at least from Peter's Dive Resort (with the exception of the first trip of the season, a month ago).

 

[Centrals]

V-hire(van) is for people who prefer to pay a bit more for the speed rather than comfortable.
"Packed like sardine" is exactly what it is. 4 rows of seat in eg. Toyota Hi-Ace for 16 peoples and there are usually two in the front as well.
However, the V-hire in Manila is not that bad especially in summer provided the AC is working properly.
Jeepney is for people who would not pay the extra but have plenty of time to spare, usually doubling the travel time than V-hire

 

[Hcklo]

Thank you for the amazing details, specifically about the differences between v-hire and jeepney. I had the opportunity indeed to do medellin - Cebu in v-hire and my legs remember the trip

For the recommendation for Leyte thanks for this we are in contact with the dive operators.

Our plan is to try to make 3 areas:

-south Leyte
-dauin & siquijor
- PG & anilao

I am aware of what this means in terms of transportation (3 different islands, completly far away one from each other..) and for us travelling during night by ferry is a no go. Road and plane are ok during night.


We have 2 options then:
#bato - ubay - Tagbilaran. The first bato ferry is at 6am.

As much as I saw there is only 1 ferry from Tagbilaran to dumaguete and coming from Leyte it doesn't fit our schedule. (We plan to take the ferry at 6am from bato and we would need to be at 10.40 at Tagbilaran. Not doable I think.

#bato - ubay - Tagbilaran - Siquijor, stay there a bit then Siquijor - dauin, stay there a bit then plane to manila.


As to go to PG and anilao we need to take a plane, dumaguete - manila or Clark, it makes sense to do Leyte Bohol Siquijor. But the info that I got on internet is contradictory. Oceanjet says that the line is not available anymore. Do you maybe have some info about it ?
I just called ocean jet the ferry is available on daily basis at 3.20pm departure from Tagbilaran

From Siquijor joining dauin and move between Siquijor dauin dumaguete is easier

Ormoc or hilongos - Cebu - dumaguete bus is another option but seems longer

Ormoc or hilongos - Cebu - dumaguete plane could be another way.

Sorry for the long message, I write the options so eventually this could help someone in the future