diving mid april, coron, bohol, malapascua etc. do i need to book in advance?

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Nitro91

Contributor
Messages
292
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Location
Sydney, Australia
# of dives
50 - 99
hello,

i will be in philippines during mid april at malapascua island, bohol, coron and el nido.

Will i need to book in advance for scuba diving or can i just book it all then and there?
 
I doubt you will have any issues booking on-location. It is always nice to know a little in advance, but even walk-in's are fine I am sure for most all of the shops. There are multiple choices in all of those locations if one is unable to accommodate you.

In all four of those locations (and a lot of others) I arrived in the afternoon with no dives booked, popped in a shop, met the folks and scheduled my dives for my stay starting the next day. In some cases the boat was leaving for a dive in an hour and I hopped on.

If you are a "walk-in" wanting to dive the same day, it is good to be a little flexible with your dive expectations. Some shops have set schedules, (and other customers too.) So, for example, if you show up at 9am and expect to dive a two tank dive, possibly the shop's boats left already. Or, if you show up in the afternoon expecting to do a two tank dive and the shop is only doing one tank dives in the afternoon.

If you arrive in the location at night. You can also call the phone number of the shop. (A cell phone starts in 09...) chances are it is the owners cell phone you are probably calling.
 
I know people who just land up and book in person. The advantage is you get a feel for the folks before you commit. I usually have extensive email conversations and get a good feel for the people that way and I've rarely ever been let down. And I think the advantage of booking in advance is you might get a better deal. I've occasionally just landed up and looked around for both accommodation and dive centres and got great deals and it was nice getting a proper look at where I was staying before committing. But for me it's too stressful and tiring running around when you arrive
 
A lot of travelling to cover all these four places in one trip. What is your plan to link up your intended destinations?
You can look around at Bohol(Alona Beach), El Nido and Malapascua but NOT in Coron. At least two of the better operators are NOT based in Coron town.
 

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