December 2008 Philippines trip

[Andy Mac]

hello there!

2 of us are coming to the philippines for a month from 6 December this year. We are coming mainly for the diving and are looking for tips on an itinerary. Any suggestions would be welcome. Some places we'd like to go for some real peace and quiet and we'd also like to party a bit!

Also would like to consider liveaboards, possibly from Palawan? Any suggestion? we did a cracker in the similan islands last year and would like to compare the philippines to those...

One more point - we are debating whether to go to Palau for a week whilst in the region. Is this a waste of time bearing in mind what is on offer in the phils??

We'd like to see some macro and also maximise our chances of a whale shark encoutner - is Donsol the best place for this?

THanks a lot!

A

 

[andshand]

if you want to see big stuff you can never rule out palau! but as you say you are after macro PI certainly has this in abundance. all the SB locals will help you out with exactly where to go but it might be an idea to give them a heads up on exactly what it is your after.
my opinion is if you got a month, pass on the liveaboard and do four destinations with palau as one of them, cabilao, malapascua and PG. infact if thats your shedule sign me up now..only joking indo for me this year.

 

[Babydamulag]

Wow....one month! Welcome to paradise! Mabuhay! You have made an excellent choice for a one month hiatus. If you provide some details about what you are expecting for lodging, meals, travel, rental dive gear, rental car, etc. we can help you narrow the field for your stay in the Philippines. There is a wealth of information here and everyone will share their experiences with you. The people are great, the food is incredible, cost of living is very reasonable, and the diving is out of this world. To get you started you might look at Anilao as a jumping off point for your stay. Afterwards, you can work your way south towards the Visayas. The folks here will provide you a clearer schedule once you tell us what you want to do. Due to the length of your stay you might have to renew visas. Plan to be in one of the areas that have an immigration office (or you will get stuck with using an agent to move your passport around - not recommended) from time to time. Again, you have made an excellent choice and can't go wrong by coming to the Philippines.

 

[Matthew]

Wow....six months! Welcome to paradise! Mabuhay! You have made an excellent choice for a six month hiatus. If you provide some details about what you are expecting for lodging, meals, travel, rental dive gear, rental car, etc. we can help you narrow the field for your stay in the Philippines. There is a wealth of information here and everyone will share their experiences with you. The people are great, the food is incredible, cost of living is very reasonable, and the diving is out of this world. To get you started you might look at Anilao as a jumping off point for your stay. Afterwards, you can work your way south towards the Visayas. The folks here will provide you a clearer schedule once you tell us what you want to do. Due to the length of your stay you might have to renew visas. Plan to be in one of the areas that have an immigration office (or you will get stuck with using an agent to move your passport around - not recommended) from time to time. Again, you have made an excellent choice and can't go wrong by coming to the Philippines.

Just a month.

 

[pakman]

Also would like to consider liveaboards, possibly from Palawan? Any suggestion? we did a cracker in the similan islands last year and would like to compare the philippines to those...

That would be Tubbataha. But the window for liveaboards there is very narrow. Dec might be too early? Maybe someone can confirm this for you.

"real quiet and like to party..." decisions, man, decisions!

One more point - we are debating whether to go to Palau for a week whilst in the region. Is this a waste of time bearing in mind what is on offer in the phils??

If you haven't been there yet, definitely go to Palau. There are direct flights from Manila, but sadly the Continental Micronesia has a monopoly on this route and I think charge approx US$1,000 r/t last I checked.

We'd like to see some macro and also maximise our chances of a whale shark encoutner - is Donsol the best place for this?

Would recommend Sogod Bay instead of Donsol. Dec is probably too early for the Donsol. But Dec would be prime whale shark time for Sogod. Plus there are some great macro and wall dives in Sogod Bay area.

 

[clgsamson]

we'll be in Sogod Bay scuba resort on Dec 26-30....

 

[Andy Mac]

thanks for the reply! we're totally open minded on ideas - i dont think we'll bother sorting out acommodation in advance, just wing it i think!! i guess we've got time with a month to travel around a bit, altho dont want to spend the whole time on the road and we wont be renting cars or anythng like that- probably check out maybe 4/5/6 areas and i'm guessing the internal flights are pretty good in PI. we'd like to go to palawan and puerta galera and it seems from checking the board out that it might not be the best time to get a liveabord from palawan.

we're probably going to favour Palau and looks like we can get a flight there from Manila on or around the 26 December for the final week of our vacation. that'd give us 3 weeks beforehand to
go wherever. if sogod is the best place to find whale sharks then we'll head there as well..

if anyone can suggest an itenerary that would be great. we're a couple of lads in our 30's so will want to try and find somewhere with some decent nite for a few days if we can!

thanks again!

A

 

[shugar]

for december the party's gonna be in boracay... not great diving but that beach can't be beat by any other country... (well that's what the brochures say...)

1/2 week cabilao... then fast ferry for a

1/2 week dumaguete... then fast ferry for a

1/2 week in malapascua...

then take the ferry from somewhere in northern cebu to leyte island... 3/4 week in southern leyte (caloy wouldn't have booked his 08 vacation in 2007 if it wasn't that good)...

then maybe 1 night in cebu city for some civilization then

then fly to davao or gensan for 1/2 week there... (i'd recommend 1/2 week in BOTH places)

then fly back to manila to finish off in PG or anilao (or both!)

how many's that... i didn't count...

Jag

 

[h2odragon1]

Shugar has a decent itinerary, however, I would recomend at lease 5 days at each site. Shugar left out Puerto Galera, Panglao Is. in Bohol.
You can't go wrong diving in the Philippines!

 

[shugar]

Shugar has a decent itinerary, however, I would recomend at lease 5 days at each site. Shugar left out Puerto Galera, Panglao Is. in Bohol.
You can't go wrong diving in the Philippines!

didn't leave out PG

panglao and cabilao are not doable in one trip? sorry not too familiar w/ the bohol area

Jag