Hey guys,
Just came back from a weekend in Mactan, Cebu. Did 2 dives Saturday (mid morning then early afternoon), 2 dives sunday (late morning, then mid afternoon).
The 1st dive was at the Tambuli reef wall off Mactan. It was supposed to be a drift dive but the current wasn't strong enough and didn't take us very far. There's also a small plane wreck just above the wall where we exited (I think it's around 75-60 ft deep). There's little to no coral life growing on it but it was still pretty cool cause of the fishes around it.
2nd Dive was Hadsan Reef. Another wall and drift dive but again, current wasn't strong enough. In the shallows (< 60ft) alot of anchors are dropped which wrecked quite a few corals so we spent sometime propping them up. Still a lot of cool things to see. Divers put tires down to attract coral settlement. A lot of sea snakes--I saw about 8+ in the area we covered, Nice group of lionfish (5+ which is the first time I've seen so many grouped together. Is that common?), to name a few things. We also tried to fin out to see if there were any whale sharks, which apparently venture into this area this time of year, but I got ear squeeze so we had to turn back (dam newbie
)
For both dives Vis was pretty good--around 60ft. Apparently better than most weekends this time of year said Booboy, who was guiding us. In the morning it was sunny but became light cloudy by the afternoon. Still didn't change the vis.
Sunday we went to Hilutungan. Did 2 dives there. Very nice place--in the morning it was kinda crowded in the shallows cause of the snorkellers but they all clear out around lunch time. They have some nice schools--yellow snappers, bat fish, bolinao, jack fish. Acutally got to see the jack fish feeding on the bolinao which was pretty awesome. Apparently happens every 2pm. The vis in the morning was really nice, at around 80ft I could look up and see the massiveness of the wall. The second dive it was raining and dark cloudy. The vis dropped considerably, to about 20-15ft.
I did the dives with liquid assets. Thanks for info subzero! On the website referenced by subzero it was $25 per 2 dives with equipment rental, but when I went I was charged $25 per dive (maybe it was the balikbayan accent that pegged me ). I didn't mind paying because the experience was worth it and the owner (BooBoy Mancao) took us out on all 4 dives. It was very personable service and he included lunch on the boat (which we had during the SIs--puso and inihaw manok...mmmm....). Also, $25 per dive is the regular price around the area, most don't include the equipment in the price.
As for the equipment rented (BCD, regulator), it is not the newest stuff on the market, but nonetheless, worked well enough. I didn't have any problems with it nor did I feel unsafe using it. I guess the only qualms I had about the equipment was that the tanks were filled to just 2900 psi. I could have spent more than an hour each dive if filled over 3000!
Just FYI, it was possible to rent the banca for the entire day. Each dive is then $20 (includes equipment, most likely cheaper without equipment rental), incase anyone is interested. We had the nicest and biggest banca out of all the others there--very spacious and had matresses to lie down. There's a grill and stove where you can cook your lunch.
I would recommend liquid assets to anyone who likes their service very personable and has no qualms about the equipment they rent (provided that it is properly maintained). Booboy is very well known around the area and knows the area well. Although he has people working for him, he always tries to lead the dives himself. It was an overall great experience and would definitely go back to them next time I dive around the Mactan area again. I'll definitely checkout Nalusuan then. As a newbie diver, I enjoyed the sites visited because of the assortment of fishes and +300 coral species.
Hope this help for anyone going or thinking of going soon. If you want more info, just give me a holla.
Just came back from a weekend in Mactan, Cebu. Did 2 dives Saturday (mid morning then early afternoon), 2 dives sunday (late morning, then mid afternoon).
The 1st dive was at the Tambuli reef wall off Mactan. It was supposed to be a drift dive but the current wasn't strong enough and didn't take us very far. There's also a small plane wreck just above the wall where we exited (I think it's around 75-60 ft deep). There's little to no coral life growing on it but it was still pretty cool cause of the fishes around it.
2nd Dive was Hadsan Reef. Another wall and drift dive but again, current wasn't strong enough. In the shallows (< 60ft) alot of anchors are dropped which wrecked quite a few corals so we spent sometime propping them up. Still a lot of cool things to see. Divers put tires down to attract coral settlement. A lot of sea snakes--I saw about 8+ in the area we covered, Nice group of lionfish (5+ which is the first time I've seen so many grouped together. Is that common?), to name a few things. We also tried to fin out to see if there were any whale sharks, which apparently venture into this area this time of year, but I got ear squeeze so we had to turn back (dam newbie
)For both dives Vis was pretty good--around 60ft. Apparently better than most weekends this time of year said Booboy, who was guiding us. In the morning it was sunny but became light cloudy by the afternoon. Still didn't change the vis.
Sunday we went to Hilutungan. Did 2 dives there. Very nice place--in the morning it was kinda crowded in the shallows cause of the snorkellers but they all clear out around lunch time. They have some nice schools--yellow snappers, bat fish, bolinao, jack fish. Acutally got to see the jack fish feeding on the bolinao which was pretty awesome. Apparently happens every 2pm. The vis in the morning was really nice, at around 80ft I could look up and see the massiveness of the wall. The second dive it was raining and dark cloudy. The vis dropped considerably, to about 20-15ft.
I did the dives with liquid assets. Thanks for info subzero! On the website referenced by subzero it was $25 per 2 dives with equipment rental, but when I went I was charged $25 per dive (maybe it was the balikbayan accent that pegged me
). I didn't mind paying because the experience was worth it and the owner (BooBoy Mancao) took us out on all 4 dives. It was very personable service and he included lunch on the boat (which we had during the SIs--puso and inihaw manok...mmmm....). Also, $25 per dive is the regular price around the area, most don't include the equipment in the price.As for the equipment rented (BCD, regulator), it is not the newest stuff on the market, but nonetheless, worked well enough. I didn't have any problems with it nor did I feel unsafe using it. I guess the only qualms I had about the equipment was that the tanks were filled to just 2900 psi. I could have spent more than an hour each dive if filled over 3000!
Just FYI, it was possible to rent the banca for the entire day. Each dive is then $20 (includes equipment, most likely cheaper without equipment rental), incase anyone is interested. We had the nicest and biggest banca out of all the others there--very spacious and had matresses to lie down. There's a grill and stove where you can cook your lunch.
I would recommend liquid assets to anyone who likes their service very personable and has no qualms about the equipment they rent (provided that it is properly maintained). Booboy is very well known around the area and knows the area well. Although he has people working for him, he always tries to lead the dives himself. It was an overall great experience and would definitely go back to them next time I dive around the Mactan area again. I'll definitely checkout Nalusuan then. As a newbie diver, I enjoyed the sites visited because of the assortment of fishes and +300 coral species.
Hope this help for anyone going or thinking of going soon. If you want more info, just give me a holla.
