Cebu in April and Whale Sharks

[planetary soul]

Hello!

I'm planning a trip to Cebu in late April for 2 weeks. I can't wait! After reading the threads here it seems like Alona Beach is a good place to start, with trips to Balicasag and Cabilao and maybe Apo Island? I have 2 weeks. Any itinerary suggestions/dive operators/accommodations are much appreciated! Do you guys have experience with the dive safaris? Is it worthwhile?

One of my other plans was to swim with whale sharks in Donsol, but it seems that there are no longer direct flights to Legazpi from Cebu... which means it takes quite a while with transport, not to mention more cost. (I'm flying directly to Cebu, not Manila) Is it worth the trip anyway? I've also read that you can dive (swim/snorkel?) with whale sharks around Southern Leyte, which I thought might be better if I can also dive in that area, and if it's less transport time and cost. Are they as abundant there? Easy to get to from Cebu? What's your experience?

Thanks in advance!

Megumi

 

[pakman]

Megumi - 今晩は... スキューバ ボードようこそ！　

I can't answer your questions on Donsol. Hopefully someone else will chime in. If you are flying into Cebu, yes Southern Leyte could be a good option. There are a number of fast ferries that will go from Cebu City to Southern Leyte daily. Depending on which ferry you take, you then will have a 3-1.5hr drive to the resorts. The ferries are cheap and the van/car service is reasonable if you are splitting the cost with 2 or more divers. The dive shops can arrange the cars for you.

Sounds like you may have read some of our recent trip reports on Southern Leyte . If not try using the search, I think there are around 2-3 recent trip reports from Dec and more recent.

I think April might be just out of the "official" whale shark season, but I recall the owner mentioning that you may still find a few whales sharks year round, just less frequent than during the peak season. Now the good part is if you don't get any whale sharks there is some nice diving the area that still makes the trip worthwhile.

The two dive operations I know of are Peter's and Sogod Bay. It sounds like Peter's is more willing to take people whale shark hunting everyday whereas Sogod Bay Scuba Resort will take you but don't like going whale shark diving everyday and prefer to show you the wall/ coral dives they have in the area which are quite impressive.

Here are links to the two dive resorts there.
Peter's http://www.whaleofadive.com/
Sogod Bay Scuba Report http://www.sogodbayscubaresort.com/

there is a third I think run by a German but I can't remember his website.

 

[jigo]

the third is gunther's i believe. when i was at sogod bay resort. there was a pair of divers who transferred from gunther's to sogod. that may tell you something. I didnt get to talk to them so i dont really know why they didnt like it there. as for sogod bay, they go whaleshark diving only twice a week so better get a commitment from phil that you will go to the whaleshark site when you are there specially if its just 2-3 days. we stayed there for 3 days and we didnt get to dive with whalesharks because he says "we are a dive operation not a whaleshark watching business."

 

[planetary soul]

Thanks for your input. They all seem like good options. I think I'm between Sogod and Peter's, and my decision may rest upon whether I'm doing a solo trip or with a friend. I definitely want to try for the whale sharks though, so I'm leaning towards Peter's.

Other recomendations for after S. Leyte? Anilao, Moalboal, Cabilao, Balicasag? Too many to choose from, not enough time!

Cheers,
Megumi

 

[pakman]

Too many to choose from, not enough time!

same here...:shakehead

Depends on what type of diving you enjoy.

Anilao - great macro dives, convenient if you're flying into Manila and don't want the hassle of too many transfers. Bit quiet as there's nothing else to do than dive and chill out in your resort. But you do have Verde Island and Puerto Galera across the water.

Balicasag/ Alona Beach (Bohol) - great place. Nice mellow atmosphere on the beach with open air restaurants and bars. Easy to get to whether you're flying into Bohol or taking the fast ferry from Cebu. Diving on Balicasag is beautiful. Nice drop offs and schools of barricuda and jacks. And it's got great white sand beaches for surface interval.

Moalboal and Cabilao - I don't know from 1st hand experience. I keep hearing mixed reports on Moalboal. Some people trash it saying the reef is destroyed, others say nonsense it's great diving (maybe more towards Pescadore Island?). As for Cabilao, I may try to go there for Easter break.

I'm in a similiar situation as you. Flying into Cebu but haven't decided yet where to go... Have done Southern Leyte, Malapascua, Dumaguete, Apo Island, and Balicasag/ Alona so maybe I'll give either Cabilao or Moalboal a shot this time.