Divemaster in Philippines

[AlexinWanderland]

Hi! I'm looking for advice on where in the world to do my Divemaster course. I know there are several threads similar to this (I've read them all!) so I hope you'll indulge me with one more.

Currently I'm a rescue diver with about 200 dives. I've worked as an underwater videographer in the Cayman Islands and in Koh Tao and spent three years traveling with my boyfriend who was working as a Staff Instructor, so I'm somewhat familiar with the industry. This year I won a continuing education grant from the Women Divers' Hall of Fame and so I'm finally going to do my Divemaster! I am not looking to work as a DM but rather to enhance my video career.

I'm considering options around the globe and my timeline of Jan-April seems to coincide well with the Philippines high season. I hear a lot about Boracay and Puerto Galera....

I'm looking for a balance of diving and a youthful, fun lifestyle. Which is to say I don’t want to do it in Koh Tao, for example, where I LOVED the lifestyle and the partying but I’m not excited by the diving. In my ideal world I'd find a place where there will be other Divemasters, good diving, good party and some non-diving activities. I also need decent internet (I work online) and again, I prefer a place that is more Koh Tao than Koh Samui.

Anyway if anyone can give me a recommendation and information about a place with the diving or lifestyle I'm looking for I'd really appreciate it!

 

[sonar]

Did my DM in PG. Enjoyed it a lot

pro's
- diversity in diving
- 25 sites at <10 minutes by boat
- lot of serious divers (read somewhere "PG is the world capital of tech diving")
- In PG (sabang actually) are a lot of restaurants/ bars/ a supermarkt etc.
- almost all tourists are there for diving
- lot of other DM's

con's
- lot of prostitution/ girls bars etc. (after 0200 AM there are only girl bars open)
- not too much to do except diving/ eating/ drinking
- a relative low percentage of visitors do their OW there. OW students are ideal for your DM course
- No nice beach in Sabang. (white beach is 15 minutes away though)

Haven't been to Borocay but from what I read that's more touristic & diving isn't as good as PG..

let me know if you have any questions (was there in 2009 so things may have changed)

 

[limbo]

Gili Trawangan in Indonesia comes to mind.

 

[aquashik]

check out Philippine fun divers in Bohol. great diving, good internet connection, decent night life, proximity to a city and still have a good beach. plus the people are very friendly!

cheers!
m

 

[DevonDiver]

Not sure what you heard about Boracay, but it isn't generally well regarded as a diving destination. PG is very active, with good sites. Cebu and Bohol have many options also. It's definitely worth checking out Malapascua - videographer heaven, but very sedate lifestyle.

The Philippines doesn't have a 'backpacker' trail, so the 'nightlife' and vibe is very different to what you've come to expect in Koh Tao etc. Typically an older clientele, either serious divers (normally photo addicts) or occasional divers whose main attraction is actually the availability of local girls.

The visa situation, poor transport/communications and costs have, until now, always limited the Philippines as a common back-packer destination. There is no provision for the sort of backpacker 'buses' that are regularly found in Thailand/Malaysia/Laos/Cambodia or Vietnam. Neither is there a large amount of cheap, clean back-packer budget accommodation. You can find a cheap room, but it often requires some local networking and research. Whilst cost of living is cheap in the Philippines, foreigners/visitors are typically over-charged (ripped off) for just about everything - which drives the costs up dramatically and makes it hard to travel/sustain yourself on a back-packer budget.

On the positive side:

The diving pretty much anywhere in the Philippines far exceeds the quality of Koh Tao - and there are a range of world-class environments/dive types that you can enjoy - big pelagic dives, rare critter muck dives, deep walls, vibrant reefs, wreck graveyards etc. Also, unlike Koh Tao, you are never going to experience the huge 'cattleboats' full of divers, over-crowded dive sites or gluttonous 'sausage factory' approach to diving/courses.

The country isn't overly commercialized. It is true 'travelling' - unspoilt by having a highly developed tourism industry. Back-packing is real here - a true adventure and a chance to mingle and enjoy with the local population, using their transport, their hotels, their restaurants etc. Sort of like what Thailand was like to explore 30 years ago...

 

[Centrals]

I'm looking for a balance of diving and a youthful, fun lifestyle.

As far as I know this place does not exist in Philippines.
But if you want good diving then you are in the right track.
Jan to Apr is indeed the peak season and the dive shops could appreciate a HELPING HAND or two.
Puerto Galera is probably the ONLY place that can offer a certain degree of night life/social life that most other desinations in the country are lacking. But the cost of living in PG is also higher!! Bohol and Moalboal are other choices.
Most western passport holders will be given 21 days visa free entrance but to extend it is NOT that straight forward. Try to get a longer stay visa before arriving.

BTW, after experiencing the diving in Philippines you probably will not return to Koh Tao perhaps just for the partying.

 

[Rogersea]

One of the nice things about the philippines is that you are able to visit many sites during a lengthy stay... this would be great for working on video... I live in Cebu/Moalboal and can "easily" get to many different dive locations(Dumaguette/Malapascua/Alona/Cabilao/Mactan/Siquijor) in a day or less.

You may want to look into doing your DM with a company which has multiple stores, such as 7 seas aquanauts or Sea Quest, and ask them about completing your DM at multiple sites....


Cheers,
ROger

 

[Krazytomdiver]

Come to Alona Beach,Tawala,Bohol,do you DM at Seaquest with Alex & Trevor,enjoy a great place to dive & live. Oh...we ain't short on the partyin' niether!

"living life without a hard bottom"
KT

 

[AlexinWanderland]

Did my DM in PG. Enjoyed it a lot

pro's
- diversity in diving
- 25 sites at <10 minutes by boat
- lot of serious divers (read somewhere "PG is the world capital of tech diving")
- In PG (sabang actually) are a lot of restaurants/ bars/ a supermarkt etc.
- almost all tourists are there for diving
- lot of other DM's

con's
- lot of prostitution/ girls bars etc. (after 0200 AM there are only girl bars open)
- not too much to do except diving/ eating/ drinking
- a relative low percentage of visitors do their OW there. OW students are ideal for your DM course
- No nice beach in Sabang. (white beach is 15 minutes away though)

Haven't been to Borocay but from what I read that's more touristic & diving isn't as good as PG..

let me know if you have any questions (was there in 2009 so things may have changed)

Everything you say here sounds great minus two little red flags... one is the lack of non-diving activities. I suppose I could always go full-on and just try to get my DM done relatively quickly and so that wouldn't matter. But the whole "bar-girl" scene really turns me off... I guess because I don't like the kind of people it attracts. I worked as a bartender in KT and I was so grateful for the relative lack of that.

---------- Post Merged at 09:59 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:57 AM ----------

Gili Trawangan in Indonesia comes to mind.

I would LOVE to do my DM here... comes up again and again, but it seems the timing doesn't really work out as Jan-April is their rainy season? Please correct me if I'm wrong. It kind of seems perfect for what I'm looking for.


---------- Post Merged at 10:01 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:57 AM ----------

check out Philippine fun divers in Bohol. great diving, good internet connection, decent night life, proximity to a city and still have a good beach. plus the people are very friendly!

cheers!
m

Thanks! I hadn't heard much about Bohol, I will do some research!

---------- Post Merged at 10:07 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:57 AM ----------

Not sure what you heard about Boracay, but it isn't generally well regarded as a diving destination. PG is very active, with good sites. Cebu and Bohol have many options also. It's definitely worth checking out Malapascua - videographer heaven, but very sedate lifestyle.

The Philippines doesn't have a 'backpacker' trail, so the 'nightlife' and vibe is very different to what you've come to expect in Koh Tao etc. Typically an older clientele, either serious divers (normally photo addicts) or occasional divers whose main attraction is actually the availability of local girls.

The visa situation, poor transport/communications and costs have, until now, always limited the Philippines as a common back-packer destination. There is no provision for the sort of backpacker 'buses' that are regularly found in Thailand/Malaysia/Laos/Cambodia or Vietnam. Neither is there a large amount of cheap, clean back-packer budget accommodation. You can find a cheap room, but it often requires some local networking and research. Whilst cost of living is cheap in the Philippines, foreigners/visitors are typically over-charged (ripped off) for just about everything - which drives the costs up dramatically and makes it hard to travel/sustain yourself on a back-packer budget.

On the positive side:

The diving pretty much anywhere in the Philippines far exceeds the quality of Koh Tao - and there are a range of world-class environments/dive types that you can enjoy - big pelagic dives, rare critter muck dives, deep walls, vibrant reefs, wreck graveyards etc. Also, unlike Koh Tao, you are never going to experience the huge 'cattleboats' full of divers, over-crowded dive sites or gluttonous 'sausage factory' approach to diving/courses.

The country isn't overly commercialized. It is true 'travelling' - unspoilt by having a highly developed tourism industry. Back-packing is real here - a true adventure and a chance to mingle and enjoy with the local population, using their transport, their hotels, their restaurants etc. Sort of like what Thailand was like to explore 30 years ago...

Thank you so much for this, it is great info and a lot to think about. Interesting about the lack of backpacker trail and the typical Philippines traveler. Honestly, I'm feeling a bit apprehensive about straying off the trail at the moment as this will be my first big solo trip in a long time... I was traveling with a partner for about three years and now that I'm back on my own I'm feeling a little less fearless!

But however timid I may be feeling in terms of traveling, I am really ready for some "big girl" diving. I have been diving in eight different countries now and I graduated from Koh Tao for sure... sounds like the Philippines would really impress me!

 

[sonar]

I was in Gili Trawanang in April 2011. Had a great time there. If I wanted to do my DM there I would go in January-April BECAUSE it's low- season. It was still very busy but just to the extend it's bearable. Also costwise; prices drop up to 50%. However, diving there isn't special. There are a lot of stores because there are many tourists; not because diving is so good. It's the Khao tao of Indonesia basically. Life outside of diving is really, really nice but you will get bored of diving there. It's not 'big girl diving'.

Regarding things to do there; it's also drinking but in a nicer setting plus good beaches. It's mainly young tourist crowd (backpackers but also 20y old Australian collegue graduates & resort visitors) getting pissed every day (on beers, mushrooms and weed). In PG you will be fine till 0200AM every day. During your course that's late enough cause you gotta wake up everyday at 0700 anyway.

If you put diving first go to PG 100%. If you want to hang out in a tropical paradise while diving go to Gili..

I hate the girlbar scene as well but was only mildly annoyed by it. Sometimes you would get divers who are into it. End up having a big night out and visit one of these places to see your divers going home with some poor girl.. Kinda **** but happened maybe 3 times in 2 months.. After a while it was just a good excuse to go home in time.

One good thing about gili is that it's close to Komodo. Diving there is topnotch but nothing to do outside diving

Philipinnes will blow your mind divewise.. no doubt about it..