Question Dive location suggestion - September 21st-September 29th

[Denharsh]

Hello members
It’s my first time here and so happy to discover this forum.

I’m a newbie diver and have done close to 15 dives, which started as a fun dive and I realized how much I enjoyed being in the sea, seeing the world which is usually unseen and just being in the present.


My last dive was in December of 2022 in El Nido, Palawan (PHP).

Now after almost 20 months I get to dive again.

I’m looking for dive location recommendations in Philippines from 21st to 29th September 2024.

I will be flying from Singapore and looking for a location that’s more ideal for diving in September.
I have heard of Dumaguete and Apo Island , is it the ideal for September?


Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Centrals]

Where are you going to land?
1. Manila: PG.
2. Cebu City: Malapascua
3. Dumaguete: Dumaguete and Apo Island
4. Tacloban: Sogod Bay.

Typhoon is you only concern.

 

[Volleyball]

Wrecks: Coron
Octopus Mating Season: Dauin/Dumaguete

I'll copy and paste what I said in another thread...
I just got back last Tuesday from a trip that went to the Maldives and Coron Ph


Second time in the Phils, the first time in Coron. The beauty of Coron is you can fly there and even when the viz is bad, it's usually descent inside the wrecks and you have lakes also. Any questions, ask away...Here's some footage:
With Coron, I'd recommend staying downtown as you'll be by all the restaurants, along with fairly cheap services like massages, laundry, etc. Another tip would be when you reach out to dive shops, see if you can add a tour such as a visit to Coron Island (a different island than Coron) as this will save you time and probably $$$. They have Barracuda Lake you can dive which is fresh water on the top, that is pretty scenic

I did a week PG this past Nov-Dec, and I only found the diving alright. It depends on traffic but with a 10-minute bathroom stop, it was just under a 2-hour drive from the airport to the ferry port then you wait for the ferry/private speedboat and take it over. PG touts about 100+ dive sites but for our trip, all the dive boats typically wouldn't go that far from the shore. We met new people every night for dinner and it seemed to be the same at every dive shop not going very far out. Saw manta shrimp, sea snakes, and turtles, a few nudis but not much else. This is why I "diversify" my diving as I dislike parking myself for a week in case I don't like diving and as I stated, we did both the expensive Maldives and the (relatively) cheap Coron on the same trip

We're planning our next trip there next month, from Manila will fly into Dumaguete, head one town over to Dauin where it is octopus mating season, then take the ferry over to Cebu Island, and head to Moalboal for the sardine bait balls, then the most brutal part of the trip, getting from Moalboal to Malapascua. A direct private transfer is stupidly expensive but if you're willing to make this long drive even longer, you can find very affordable private transfers from Moalboal to the Cebu airport and from the airport to the ferry port that goes to Malapascua

 

[Centrals]

Kyokuzan Maru.
Anyone who is staying at Coron dismal little town would have no chance to dive the best wreck in Coron.
This wreck is better than Akitsushima, Irako etc etc.
The Nakajima wreck is interesting and everyone is hoping one day the missing flying boat will be located.
However, "Emily" is available in Truk.