Hi-
I just got back from my first trip to the Philippines (Dec 24- Jan2) and we picked Borocay for diving over Christmas because basically, it was the only place that had space last minute! We went with Calypso Divers and for the most part it was a great trip.
I don't see a whole lot about the diving in Borocay here so I thought I would post some pro's and con's - would love to have anyone else add their comments.
The typhoon hit them pretty bad but I was suprised at the bounce back of just about everyone. Calypso lost all of their dive boats - they were able to recover 2 and so had no problems getting divers out and back.
When you look at the map of dive locations around Borocay, it seems like you would never have to dive the same spot twice. Not true - I guess because of the weather some sites were not good for diving; most of the dive shops around the island were all diving the same spots: The Valley, Yapak I & II, Croc Island, Friday's Rock, Santo's Place, Camina Wreck, Bailinghai.
Croc Island had the best coral, saw sharks at Yapak II, some reported Eagle Rays at Yapak I, Friday's Rock was a really good dive, The Valley suffered alot from the typhoon and alot of the corals were gone.
I was suprised at how many Frogfish we saw - probably due to the great eye of our DM but was disappointed in the low numbers of schooling fish - maybe due to the typhoon.
The water was cc-cold! 23C toward the end of our holiday. I'm spoiled -dat too cold for me! We only had a couple of great days of sunshine - the rest were windy, overcast with some rain. The only affect on diving this had was choppy surface meant mostly neg entry dives and you had no nice warm sun to warm your bones after the chilly water.
The night life was pretty sedate but things to do for all ages. Lots of families and couples - the singles I think holed themselves up at Friday's Resort. Happy hour at Niggi Nu's was always hopping. Beautiful sunsets and lots of places along the beach to grab a drink and sit and watch the show. Pretty much everything came to a standstill while the sun was making it's final appearance.
Beach was gorgeous. Each resort has it's own chairs for their guests. Pinjalo (where we stayed) had precious few and so there was a constant battle for the good chairs at 7:30-8am...not so much fun. Lots of people trolling for chairs on the beach so my guess is that ours wasn't the only one with this problem.
My husband said it was the most relaxing vacation he's had in years. I still haven't decided if it was good or bad that there were so many shops and restaurants.
Overall the diving wasn't spectacular but had moments of excitement and wonderful things to see - it was definitely good enough to keep 2 AOW's entertained. I think it will improve once it gets a little warmer and more sites open up. Anyway, I hope this helps anyone looking for a dive holiday in Borocay.
Cheers!
I just got back from my first trip to the Philippines (Dec 24- Jan2) and we picked Borocay for diving over Christmas because basically, it was the only place that had space last minute! We went with Calypso Divers and for the most part it was a great trip.
I don't see a whole lot about the diving in Borocay here so I thought I would post some pro's and con's - would love to have anyone else add their comments.
The typhoon hit them pretty bad but I was suprised at the bounce back of just about everyone. Calypso lost all of their dive boats - they were able to recover 2 and so had no problems getting divers out and back.
When you look at the map of dive locations around Borocay, it seems like you would never have to dive the same spot twice. Not true - I guess because of the weather some sites were not good for diving; most of the dive shops around the island were all diving the same spots: The Valley, Yapak I & II, Croc Island, Friday's Rock, Santo's Place, Camina Wreck, Bailinghai.
Croc Island had the best coral, saw sharks at Yapak II, some reported Eagle Rays at Yapak I, Friday's Rock was a really good dive, The Valley suffered alot from the typhoon and alot of the corals were gone.
I was suprised at how many Frogfish we saw - probably due to the great eye of our DM but was disappointed in the low numbers of schooling fish - maybe due to the typhoon.
The water was cc-cold! 23C toward the end of our holiday. I'm spoiled -dat too cold for me! We only had a couple of great days of sunshine - the rest were windy, overcast with some rain. The only affect on diving this had was choppy surface meant mostly neg entry dives and you had no nice warm sun to warm your bones after the chilly water.
The night life was pretty sedate but things to do for all ages. Lots of families and couples - the singles I think holed themselves up at Friday's Resort. Happy hour at Niggi Nu's was always hopping. Beautiful sunsets and lots of places along the beach to grab a drink and sit and watch the show. Pretty much everything came to a standstill while the sun was making it's final appearance.
Beach was gorgeous. Each resort has it's own chairs for their guests. Pinjalo (where we stayed) had precious few and so there was a constant battle for the good chairs at 7:30-8am...not so much fun. Lots of people trolling for chairs on the beach so my guess is that ours wasn't the only one with this problem.
My husband said it was the most relaxing vacation he's had in years. I still haven't decided if it was good or bad that there were so many shops and restaurants.
Overall the diving wasn't spectacular but had moments of excitement and wonderful things to see - it was definitely good enough to keep 2 AOW's entertained. I think it will improve once it gets a little warmer and more sites open up. Anyway, I hope this helps anyone looking for a dive holiday in Borocay.
Cheers!
