Advice (1 diver, 1 non-diver ) for 2 week trip in May

[Lp]

Shore based diving is NOT that common in Philippines.
Malapascua, Moalboal and Dauin.

Apologies i meant not liveaboard.

So basically, Bohol is just not as good as the other places, period?

I understsood from many other threads Malapascua was basically Thresher Sharks or average reef?

 

[Centrals]

^
Malapascua has more than just thresher shark.
The trouble with Balicasag is the quota. However, Pamilacan is very good for snorkelling.

 

[Micko1974]

Sipalay has better beach than Alona Beach.

Dive Safari Philippines | Sipalay Easy Diving & Beach Resort

Book your next dive safari in the Philippines!

www.sipalay.com

No experienced with this operator but believe it is under German management. The one that I had used couple of times, Artistic, is no longer offering diving.

Shore based diving is NOT that common in Philippines.
Malapascua, Moalboal and Dauin.

There are many other beaches on both Panglao and Bohol other than Alona, For a non-diver there are many option and resorts to choose from. It's very quite here at the moment, so tickets for Balicasag should not be an issue.

Anda + Panglao + Dauin is easily done with short travel times.

Also Malapaxcua + Moalboal + Dauin or Panglao is also easy, although with slightly longer travel times.

The only issue with Sipalay is the time it take to get there. It's a good spin from Dauin. There is also very littlel to do there, although the diving is nice.

I guess you just need to decide how much travel you want.

 

[Titatom]

Panglao should be fine for most people. Not sure about crowds in May, but in July they were almost non existent and we went to Balicasag every day.

On that trip we did a week in Camiguin with 6 days diving, one day travel to Bohol, 3 days diving there, day transfer to cebu/Moalboal, 5 more days of diving and back to cebu. You can easily do that route or modify it as you want, adding in malapascua or dumaguete and subbing out Camiguin if you wish (but that island is a hidden gem, decent diving if the conditions are right and amazing topside activities, but I'm biased cause I bought property there)

Is there a dive resort at Camiguin? Last I heard, the sole resort there shut down. Thanks for any updates.

 

[YYCLuke]

Is there a dive resort at Camiguin? Last I heard, the sole resort there shut down. Thanks for any updates.

Yep! Volcan was still operating last summer, and Balai sa Baibai is open. Volcan had great guides (Tintin is a critter magnet) but Roman at BSB was extremely safety conscious and professional.

Also Camiguin souldivers is still running for the more laid back vibe.

 

[Titatom]

I think you have an ok plan.

Panglao is busy and touristic, but lot's to see topside like the tarsiers and fireflies trip.

I don't know Anda very well, but I think it's more isolated?
I believe most dive resorts are in Dauin not Dumaguette and Dauin is a very small town, we didn't see a lot of stuff to do besides diving, so if you pick it make this the "beach" part of the holiday.

For both diving, snorkeling and touristic place Moalboal is quite good. The dive (and possible snorkeling, but we only did diving) with the sardines is mesmerising and there were tons of small places offering massage at reasonable prices. Some nice restaurants as well. There are trips to Kawasan waterfalls (heard from a friend it's a really nice tour with amazing views).

Both Panglao and Moalboal are very crowded under water - you're basically diving in a line of divers and waiting your turn to see the interesting stuff (even if the guide/guest ratio is 1:4). This is especially true about Moalboal. We still enjoyed it.

For 2 weeks I would pick 2 places - it takes a long time to go anywhere in the Philippines.

Anda is about 1 hr or 1-1/2 hr from Panglao. They can arrange tours to the Chocolate Hills and/or tarsier Sanctuary. There are no crowds (unlike Panglao). I believe the boat rides' no more than 30 minutes to the farthest dive site.

Daily ferries run between Cebu and Bohol and Dumaguete. That will give you extra couple of days for diving since you're not catching a flight. The travel time is about 2-hours between the islands. For non-diving activities, Cebu and Bohol offer more than Dumaguete, IMHO, specially Cebu City. There is also some diving in the Cebu-Mactan area. Sea Explorers has a big dive op. They have operations at several of the Visayan islands and is pretty reliable. They are the in-house dive op for Shangrila hotel in Mactan.

Just FYI - Moalboal is 3-4 hours south of Cebu city. Malapascua is 3-4 hours to the north (northernmost tip of Cebu city). I don't think Malapascua has much to offer non-divers. However, if you can arrange a trip to Bantayan island (Sta. Fe) about 2-hours away by ferry), you can spend a couple of nights there - spending time on beautiful while beaches, snorkeling, and visit to old churches - without the crowd.

Enjoy!

 

[Centrals]

Most if not all of the shallow dive sites in Moalboal are in really bad shape. It will take at least several years to recover.
I dived there just over a month ago. PITY.