Beginner diving Philippines around February - March

[tripl3thr33]

Hi,

I am kinda new here and new to diving, too. I have just gotten my OW certificate 2 months ago so, this will be my first dive after my OW course.

My friends and I (total 4) would like to spend around 4-5 days and dive at Philippines sometime around late February or early March. From what I read, Philippines are mainly for macro photography, but since we are quite new, I doubt that we will be interested in macro yet. We'd like to see some beautiful colorful reefs and some pelagic.

I have read a lot of the posts here and couldn't find anything that matches my needs (beginner, reefs, February-March).
Is there any places that you'd all recommend?

Thanks.

 

[DevonDiver]

Puerto Galera. Fly to Manila, bus/ferry to PG. It's good all-round diving.

Anilao is reknown for muck/macro, but for a beginner the reefs are pretty cool too. Plus you can some great shore dives - which lowers the cost substantially.

With only 4-5 days, you might not want to consider areas that require an internal flight, as this'd be a wasted day diving (no-fly limits).

 

[Rogersea]

Yes I agree with DevonDIVER that you dont want to waste the precious diving days by having to take internal flights.

But I would recommend taking the SilkAIR Flight on Sunday which is non stop to Cebu and then picking either, Bohol, Malapascua, Moalboal or Duain(or even stay on APO ISland) as your destination. I would be happy to give you more info on any of these locations or transportation via email......



Cheers,
Roger

 

[Centrals]

Anilao would get my vote.
Dive, eat, sleep from the same resort. With 4 divers you can easily negotiate a good deal directly with the resort. No agent, no middleman ie. no extra.
Some of the resort offer unlimited shore dive(un-guided) if you have completed the required dive on that day. good vis most of the time.

Puerto Galera(PG) is further hr away by boat. Very compacted area with well over 30 dive operators + hotels/resorts to choose from. More varieties on the dive sites but some of them aren't that suitable for beginner. You go out for one dive and then come back to base. Nite life is more lively than you would imagine in a diving destination. Vis is so and so.

Moalboal is just 2 hrs away from Cebu City. The main attraction at the moment is the huge school of sardines at Pescado Island. Mainly wall dive with not much varieties. Pretty quiet at night. Nelson is the dive operator that you shouldn't miss.

Malapascua is 3 hrs away from Cebu City + 30-45mins on boat. Well known for the thrasher shark. I am not convinced that it is really suitable for beginner but other people might not agree.

Southern Leyte(Sogod Bay). Feb and Mar is not too late for the whale shark!!! But getting there is quite time consuming. Ferry(fast) to Ormoc and then 3-4 hrs by car. There are other slower ferries to Hilongo and Massin which are closer to Sogod Bay than Ormoc.

 

[tripl3thr33]

Thanks for the inputs, guys.
Yup, I'm thinking of something close-by and accessible, too, so not to waste time and money.
You (DevonDiver & Centrals) mentioned that at Anilao, you can have unlimited shore-dive? Do you mean snorkel?
And which resort would that be?

 

[DevonDiver]

Unlimited shore diving. The house reefs are pretty good.

I know Dive and Trek offer it, pretty sure some others do also.

 

[Centrals]

Snorkelling is NOT diving in my dictionary.
Aquaventure used to offer such beauty(free unlimited shore dive) BUT please check with them for confirmation.

It is faster and cheaper to get to Moalboal from Cebu airport(P3,000.00 per van) than Anilao from Manila airport(P4,000.00) by private transfer.

 

[tripl3thr33]

Haha..OK thanks both of you..
I'll check with the diving resorts.

However, with my current beginner experience, will I be able to dive on those beautiful dive spots?
(An example is the school of sardines at Pescador Island, Moalboal)

 

[Pao]

Dive and Trek would be perfect for a beginner. In fact a lot of instructors bring their OW students to its house reef. There are a variety of sites with different profiles accessible from the shore. They have in house DMs that can guide you. But 4-5 days is a bit long to stay in one resort unless you do boat dives. Boat dives in Anilao is charged per dive site / per boat and not per individual diver so the cost depends on how many are sharing the boat. Accommodation is basic but good enough (air-con, foam mattress, T&B, hot water only in a few rooms, no TV and no Internet (unless you have a data plan with your cellphone carrier)). Food is one of the best in Anilao for the price range (buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner with afternoon snacks - mostly Filipino fare). Staff is courteous and helpful. This is beginning to sound like an advert but I really love the place and almost always do my diving in Anilao from this resort.

 

[Centrals]

Haha..OK thanks both of you..
I'll check with the diving resorts.

However, with my current beginner experience, will I be able to dive on those beautiful dive spots?
(An example is the school of sardines at Pescador Island, Moalboal)

That school of sardines normally stay at shallow water. Stay well away from them and watch(luck depends) any pelagic(thrasher, tuna etc etc) come in and hunt. Pretty impressive.
Turtles are quite common sight along the Moalboal Wall.