7th time to Philippines :) HELP please :)

[Russ_UK]

Hi everyone, we are coming back to the Philippines for the 7th time at the end of Feb 2014 for a 3 week trip . We are going to have 8 days in Coron again, but we are looking for some suggestions for a different location to visit for a 10 night stay. We have also been to Sabang a few times & enjoyed the diving & the town very much, but we just fancy somewhere different to try for our next time.

We will be flying from Coron to where ever is suggested & we will have to get back to Manila for our return home.
There will be 3 divers & 3 non divers, so we would like a bit of night life & not to be stuck in a resort & paying silly prices, and we like to use the local cafes for our meals.
We like wreck diving, but don't mind some reef diving too (saw plenty of that in Sabang & Verde Island was really great).
We don't want to spend more than 1 day on getting there from Coron or more than 1 day for the return back to Manila.
We would want 3 aircon rooms, budget no more than 2k per night.

We look forward to any suggestions & we will also be very grateful for any hotel recommendations.

Thanks very much

 

[Worldwide Dive and Sail]

Hi Russ

There are so many options for diving in the Philippines its hard to know where to begin, however if your focus is more the wrecks then you might find yourself limited to regions that you have already visited.

There is of course superb diving in February in the Visayas so you'd need to get to Cebu or Dumaguete from Busuanga. Flights with Cebu Pacific go via Manila and will set you back around 2,500PHP without luggage.

Harold's Mansion in Dumaguete, very close to the ferry terminal, is budget - clean and cheerful and there are numerous dive centres around but the focus of the diving in the region is macro.
Club Serena Resort in Moalboal is around 3000PHP for 2 person cottages and they offer dive packages also through Aquaholics for diving at Pescador or local sites- plenty of macro but Pescador sees bigger fish schools and there is a good chance to see whale sharks and thresher sharks.
Malapascua has some very low budget accommodation options and Thresher Shark Divers would be able to hook you up with a dive package to Monad Shoal & perhaps the Dona Marilyn wreck. Plenty of relaxed night life and "happy hours".
Alona Beach on Panglao, off Bohol has some fun night life and the beach is good for relaxing for non-divers. Diving at Balicsag Island will give you plenty of turtles, schools of jacks & barracuda and macro critters. There are numerous low budget options from as little as 700PHP per night and many dive centres to choose from.

Best of luck in your search!
Siren Fleet team

 

[Centrals]

Night life and diving do not really mix well in most places in the country.
PG and Subic Bay are the real exception.
Subic Bay has several wrecks to explore.
Malapascua and Sogod Bay(Southern Leyte) are very good for diving but the night life is non existence.

 

[pughio83]

At that time recommend southen Leyte diving wise, great reefs, no wrecks, macro and whalesharks. There is inland activities but zero nightlife. Best nightlife, best beaches where you can have a fantastic time would be Boracay but the diving is very average bar a few sites. Day trips or 2 day trips can be organised to better areas eg maniguin, panagatan, buruanga. You guys would have a blast there. Peurta galera offers good diving with decent nightlife and is cheap. Chk out el galleon as they do cheap packages. Subic bay has wrecks and nightlife there but probably less interesting for the non divers. Bohol would also be a good choice, again no wrecks really but good beaches, good diving, inland activities to see chocolate hills and tarsiers etc

 

[h2odragon1]

Bohol
Great diving, and many side trips available!

 

[Pearlman]

This is helping me plan my trip for May.
Keep the ideas flowing guys, thanks!

Sent from my GT-N7000

 

[Quero]

Bohol
Great diving, and many side trips available!

I would second this. If you have non-divers and want a beach town sort of place where you can find budget lodging options, great diving, and non-resort eateries, try Alona Beach in Bohol.

 

[kathydee]

I was also thinking of Alona Beach

 

[shedives2]

You are due for a trip to the Visayas! It's a wonderful area to dive and you will get a different dive experience. Split your ten days between two islands or not. I recently went, from late Feb. to early March, to two dive destinations: Malapascua island and Dumaguete. From Manila we flew to Cebu City and flew back from Dumaguete.

Malapascua is known for thresher shark dives but I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of diving there--macro, reef, and there's even a wreck. Spent 5 nights with Evolution for both diving and lodging. From Cebu City which is a 1 hr flight from Manila, getting to the island involves a 3+hr taxi (or bus) ride to Maya and a half-hour boat ride. No nightlife--dinners at resorts/local joints, drinks at resort bars. For non-divers, snorkeling and island hopping; there's a beautiful beach.

To get to Dumaguete, we took the Oceanjet ferry from Cebu City (4 hrs via Tagbilaran). Stayed 7 nights at Mike's Resort in Dauin (where dive oriented resorts and local dive sites are located, ~20 mins. from Dumaguete). Macro diving is excellent, Apo Island has awesome corals and a thrilling drift dive, whale shark snorkel at Oslob. There are excursions to waterfalls, lakes, sand bar, island hopping. Nightlife is limited at Dauin resorts and Dumaguete City bars/restaurants.

If Malapascua is too much trouble to get to (worth it in my opinion but may be challenging for the non-divers), you can do Bohol and then take ferry over to Dumaguete (2 hrs). To get to Bohol, fly to Tagbilaran City. Stay at Alona Beach on Panglao island (connected to Tagbilaran by bridge, ~30 minutes). Panglao has great diving, around the island itself and in nearby islands like Balicasag, Snake, etc. Bohol has attractions for day trips; also island hopping. Alona Beach has bars/restaurants on the beach, sometimes with live entertainment (usually a solo singer with a guitar player, at least that's how it was in 2011) and also local eateries. Stayed at Hayahay on Alona Beach and diving was with Genesis (same owner as Hayahay).

Accomodations mentioned are a bit more than your budget but not by much and there are plenty of lower-priced options. You can stay at more budget places and still go with the above dive shops which are all recommended.