jaggy, davao-cagayan only takes 6hrs now. davao-gensan-maasim (southpoint, tinoto) will take you about 3-4hrs. Paul charges only P550/dive (inclusive of tank, weights & boat) and if you wanna see the white tips, boat rental runs from about 2-3k, about 1hr boat ride from paul's resort.
as for davao, unfortunately, there's no a/c accommodation in talikud island yet, but samal has quite a few. best bet would be to stay in the city (davao) and do the regular weekend organized boat dives e.g davao-talikud or davao-samal, but that would really depend on your schedule. you also have the option of renting out your own boat, quite expensive though. check out the threads about talikud and gensan for more info.
as for davao, unfortunately, there's no a/c accommodation in talikud island yet, but samal has quite a few. best bet would be to stay in the city (davao) and do the regular weekend organized boat dives e.g davao-talikud or davao-samal, but that would really depend on your schedule. you also have the option of renting out your own boat, quite expensive though. check out the threads about talikud and gensan for more info.
