Anilao just by myself ?

[Gamera]

Hi Guys,

I'm going to Anilao for Chinese New Year break, and I'm the only diver in the family. We stay at the Aiyanar Resort, and they shared their Dive package prices... That's the first time the price of the boat is divided by the number of divers on it :/

Being on my own, they told me that I'll have my own boat and DM

I asked if I could join a party, but they answered that all their groups booked private...

 

[WetPup]

This is why I stay at Buceo Anilao. They are one of the few resorts there that take single divers into consideration in that regard.

 

[Gamera]

This is why I stay at Buceo Anilao. They are one of the few resorts there that take single divers into consideration in that regard.

It was full for CNY :/

 

[WetPup]

Unfortunate. Obviously a popular time of year and needs to be booked early. Like any major holiday I guess.

 

[cephalopod2]

That's the first time the price of the boat is divided by the number of divers on it :/
I asked if I could join a party, but they answered that all their groups booked private...

@Gamera unfortunately this is standard operating procedure in Anilao and yes, it is unique in the world.

In addition to Buceo there are two other resorts that don't charge private boat prices for divers travelling solo - Club Ocellaris and Portulano. I haven't stayed at Portulano (met another solo traveller at Buceo who had) but Club Ocellaris would not be a good choice for a majority non-diving family. Neither of these help you however if you're already booked in Aiyanar - I'm not sure that the in-house ops would accept divers from other resorts.

I understand what it's like to really really want to go diving. I'm sure most places will be very busy with CNY but what about contacting Sea Springs and seeing if they'd take you out shore diving in Secret Bay (their house reef - also a good dive site, I've dived there every Anilao trip by boat). You could get your gear there by car/motorbike thus avoiding the need to hire a boat. The area is huge - one trip I did 3 or 4 dives on different parts of the bay. Be aware that most Anilao ops don't have special shore diving rates, but if there's no actual boat involved, I can't see why they couldn't charge you a normal dive price if it's just you and a guide (no boat fuel, captain or boat crew).

If you can afford the Aiyanar rates another way to look at it is you can do 2 hour single tank dives if you have your own boat and sufficient NDL and gas. That's not something that's possible most places in SEA.

 

[Luko]

You could also try your luck with freelance guides such as the Corpuz family (Ronnie Corpuz for instance but there are many more operating in Anilao), sometimes they fill up the boat and group together "orphan" divers who like you want to share the costs. .

You may try your luck here
Anilao Diving Resort, PADI dive course, Anilao dive package

 

[Gamera]

Thanks for all your feedbacks. I ended up paying premium price for my DM & my own boat... the dives were great and I felt a bit weird by myself on dive sites where other operators were unloading 7-8 Divers...
The resort was full with 2 big familly groups, so logistics were tight in terms of boats and DM as the kids were doing their DSD, so a lot of DM for babysitting. My DM was an old shark named Vernie that started to breather underwater before walking and he’s a good spotter so the dives were rich and pleasant.
I probably won’t do it again.