Cebu in November

[delfos]

Hi PPD! I am thinking about going for a weekend dive in Cebu in late November, and have been searching the web for info on dive sites, dive shops etc, and it seems as there is just so many of them that I really have no way of telling what is worthwhile and what is so-so, and I figured let's give PPD a chance to show me the ropes...
I will probably only have one day available for diving (saturday(I land at 4AM and leave following day at night)) - so if you were to recomend the absolute best dive in Cebu , what is it?
I'm a reasonably experienced diver, so the less touristy the better...
Tks!

 

[Jason Ooi]

Welcome to ppd..delfos
I going on mid November, this is my first dive trip to Cebu, someone will give you best advices

 

[shugar]

Hi PPD! I am thinking about going for a weekend dive in Cebu in late November, and have been searching the web for info on dive sites, dive shops etc, and it seems as there is just so many of them that I really have no way of telling what is worthwhile and what is so-so, and I figured let's give PPD a chance to show me the ropes...
I will probably only have one day available for diving (saturday(I land at 4AM and leave following day at night)) - so if you were to recomend the absolute best dive in Cebu , what is it?
I'm a reasonably experienced diver, so the less touristy the better...
Tks!

seems our current resident expert on cebu is a korean... pakman... i don't know if malapascua is doable or worth it as a daytrip but if not you can definitely hit hilutungan w/c is off mactan island...

Jag

 

[pakman]

If you only have less than two full days, not sure it's worth trying to get out to other islands around Cebu (Malapascua, Bohol,etc). I presume you're staying in either Cebu City or Mactan. I really can't help you there. Do a search, I think some people have done some dives around there and might be able to recommend sites around Mactan.

 

[delfos]

I guess the real question is who is the best operator...

 

[jigo]

for dives around mactan, bubuy mancao of liquid assets is highly recommended. hilutungan and nalusuan for wall dives. you may also consider taking a long road trip to moalboal (3 hours one way) or take a fast ferry to bohol. if it were up to me, i'd do bohol. ferry leaves at 6am and last ferry to cebu from bohol is 6pm. enough time to do 3 dives. there is a thread somewhere on which operator to dive with in bohol. hope this helps.

i just availed of the cebu pacific seat sale (last day today) and booked bohol and cebu december 1 to 4. just 2400 pesos round trip from manila.

 

[Narcd_dvr]

I guess the real question is who is the best operator...

Contact Liquid Assets, Booboy Mancao is the owner. I've used him in the past and a few other PPDers have as well. He's got a big boat and would not be a problem if you go to some of the outer islands. Dont dive around Mactan, dive sites are mediocre at best. As jag has suggested, go to Hilutungan and Nalusuan, since they're both marine sanctuaries.
Here's a link to some of the divesites around Cebu, http://www.intas-travel.com/diving/dive_locations/cebu_1.html

Enjoy your stay in Cebu

 

[supergaijin]

I have lived and worked as a freelance instructor on Mactan (Cebu) for the last year and a bit.

The best corals are at Hilutungan and Nalusuan. Hilutungan is a fairly shallow dive- no need to go deeper than 18m. Always many batfish, juvenile barracuda, trumpetfish, scorpionfish, occassionaly you'll see eels, octopi. 50peso sanctuary fee- also camera fee. This place gets crowded with the DSD tourists and snorkellers by around 10-30am and you can see the fish swim to the deep when the bancas roll in.

Nalusuan has some nice stuff deep to shallow including blue spotted stingray and recently eagle rays, but infortunately it is more expensive. 150p sanctuary entry and a little bit farther away so boat prices always go up. The triggerfish can be aggressive here but no worries. Less crowded than Hilutungan as it's more expensive.

There are thresher sharks for the early bird at the tip of Olango Is- about 15-25mins away (depending from which point you depart). This is a deep dive at 30-35m. The top part is interesting however with seamoth, eels under every rock, shrimp, the odd seahorse.

Nearby is another newly established sanctuary with a small wooden boat at 17m which houses some nice sweetlips and red snapper. Corals are geting better here but the schools of jacks have disappeared. Always many stone/scorpion fish and eels. The wall starts around 23m and has nudis etc.

Mactan side gets some unfair press I think. There is a small cave (or cavern for the purists) which houses flashlight fish at the back- this is another deep dive at 35m and sometimes the current is strong so only for the experienced. The cave is the site of a few gravestones where some divers have had their remains buried. At around 12m you can see giant anglerfish and some good sized barracuda. (Beach dive)

Kontiki is enjoyable from deep to shallow. In the deep I've seen napolean wrasse, huge congas and large tuna. The wall has small pockets with different kinds of lionfish, nudis, and many reef fishes considering all the boats parked close by. You usually see large large schools of small fish above you. Good also for night diving here. (Beach dive)

Tambuli has a small two seater plane wreck at 18m. Nice for photos and something different underwater. Fish life here is not so abundant.

The boats charge incredible prices to go to the islands in my opinion compared to Moalboal and Bohol. I think because of the proximity to the airport and a common agreement among the owners about prices. :no

 

[ishbaby]

i hope that answers ur question delfos

 

[cbborromeo]

Hey Delfos! I found Buboy's contact information on another thread: Liquid Assets - Buboy Mancao +639214603677 and landline 0322546359 I'm from Cebu and I would only dive with him or another old school instructor named Bernard Pena. Don't recall Bernard's information unfortunately. You will be happy with Liquid Assets.