Dumaguete/Dauin/Apo Vs. Bohol? Which is best?
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outpost31 thanks. I just have a g11 - and concentrate on macro with a couple of wet lenses.
Each location is different depending on the season. I usually visit in May (slow and hot) or November (bit pre busy season taking advantage of US thanksgiving holiday off) because it suits my work/holiday schedule and it is far too nice in Seattle to leave in the summer. Don't get me wrong on Bohol evening life. It is there but it's no spring break. It's really nice to see activity and locals and their families coming over from Cebu and spending the weekend. There are also a lot of places that have seafood grills along the beach in the evening too. You can also target your accomodation level. I usually get a simple room for 700 php per night since I'm hardly there. The diving is more relaxed starting at about 8-9 in the morning depending whether they are going to Balicasag for 2-3 dives or not. Very easy to get to by ferry from Cebu.
It does take some time on Malapascua to have the opportunity to visit some of the further out dives sites such as Kalanggaman Island, Nunez Shoal (since fuel prices have gone up), Dona Marylin wreck and even Gato depending on how many divers are at the shop. They don't go if the seas are too rough either. Bohol has good corals and you will usually go to Balicasag for the coral walls there and hopefully the school of jacks. The shark dive is really early at 5am - i hope your camera does well in low light level. The sharks are there later in the day like 8-9am but everyone thinks they have to get there so damn early. Well they can sell more dives later in the day then. In February/March places will do a blue water dive out on Kamud shoal down to 130ft on air - the hammerheads will be below you then to Monad for the sharks. I didn't see any hammers but at 8:30 there were only 6 of us at Monad for a great thresher show. Sorry there is no more miniature golf on the island but I do recommend some restaurants to you. La Isle Bonita - asian fusion restaurant behind Sunplash, at Sunsplash I recommend the chicken fajitas - comes out sizzling with a nice garlic yogurt sauce on the side (enough to be shared) and dessert crepes. Italian restaurant - Angelina's for at least one dinner - pricy but oh so good. Economic fare - Ging Ging's where after the shark dive I get 2 cokes (bottle), banana pancakes and a onion and tomato omelet for about 155 pesos (less than $4). They have pretty slow service so if it is too crowed I would pass. Oscar's on top of TSD - fast service with rotating menu specials and up and away from mosquitos and in the breeze.
Southern Leyte - nice, very quite topside. I stayed a Sogod Bay Dive resort run by a Brit and Aussie. There is another shop close by that people use too. Decent dives, I had camera issues on that trip so i should probably visit again. Again the night dive at Padre Burgos pier - saw my first stargazer, sea horses and nudis oh my. I took the ferry there from Cebu and arranged a ride with the resort as it was quite a drive. Depending on the time of year you might have the opportunity to see whale sharks. I did but we could not manage to get in the water near them. I probably would have visited there again but it is more out of the way.
Each location is different depending on the season. I usually visit in May (slow and hot) or November (bit pre busy season taking advantage of US thanksgiving holiday off) because it suits my work/holiday schedule and it is far too nice in Seattle to leave in the summer. Don't get me wrong on Bohol evening life. It is there but it's no spring break. It's really nice to see activity and locals and their families coming over from Cebu and spending the weekend. There are also a lot of places that have seafood grills along the beach in the evening too. You can also target your accomodation level. I usually get a simple room for 700 php per night since I'm hardly there. The diving is more relaxed starting at about 8-9 in the morning depending whether they are going to Balicasag for 2-3 dives or not. Very easy to get to by ferry from Cebu.
It does take some time on Malapascua to have the opportunity to visit some of the further out dives sites such as Kalanggaman Island, Nunez Shoal (since fuel prices have gone up), Dona Marylin wreck and even Gato depending on how many divers are at the shop. They don't go if the seas are too rough either. Bohol has good corals and you will usually go to Balicasag for the coral walls there and hopefully the school of jacks. The shark dive is really early at 5am - i hope your camera does well in low light level. The sharks are there later in the day like 8-9am but everyone thinks they have to get there so damn early. Well they can sell more dives later in the day then. In February/March places will do a blue water dive out on Kamud shoal down to 130ft on air - the hammerheads will be below you then to Monad for the sharks. I didn't see any hammers but at 8:30 there were only 6 of us at Monad for a great thresher show. Sorry there is no more miniature golf on the island but I do recommend some restaurants to you. La Isle Bonita - asian fusion restaurant behind Sunplash, at Sunsplash I recommend the chicken fajitas - comes out sizzling with a nice garlic yogurt sauce on the side (enough to be shared) and dessert crepes. Italian restaurant - Angelina's for at least one dinner - pricy but oh so good. Economic fare - Ging Ging's where after the shark dive I get 2 cokes (bottle), banana pancakes and a onion and tomato omelet for about 155 pesos (less than $4). They have pretty slow service so if it is too crowed I would pass. Oscar's on top of TSD - fast service with rotating menu specials and up and away from mosquitos and in the breeze.
Southern Leyte - nice, very quite topside. I stayed a Sogod Bay Dive resort run by a Brit and Aussie. There is another shop close by that people use too. Decent dives, I had camera issues on that trip so i should probably visit again. Again the night dive at Padre Burgos pier - saw my first stargazer, sea horses and nudis oh my. I took the ferry there from Cebu and arranged a ride with the resort as it was quite a drive. Depending on the time of year you might have the opportunity to see whale sharks. I did but we could not manage to get in the water near them. I probably would have visited there again but it is more out of the way.
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OP
outpost31
Contributor
@Jason: I used Sealife DC800 for a while then upgraded to a G12 w/canon housing & flash for Thailand and Oz last year, hopefully I won't have any probs in low light, you can see my best of here: Flickr: outpost31's Photostream
No mini-golf??? That's it, I'm calling the whole thing off!...Thanks for the food tips tho.
Can you explain how they do the WS trip in Leyte? Is it just a short trip just in the morning? How long does it last, etc?
Which ferry did you take? I've checked schedules for Cokaliong & Supercat.
After a little search, I've read that PB pier, Ghost town, Little lembeh, Napantaw are good sites, any others?
Thanks again for your help!
No mini-golf??? That's it, I'm calling the whole thing off!...Thanks for the food tips tho.
Can you explain how they do the WS trip in Leyte? Is it just a short trip just in the morning? How long does it last, etc?
Which ferry did you take? I've checked schedules for Cokaliong & Supercat.
After a little search, I've read that PB pier, Ghost town, Little lembeh, Napantaw are good sites, any others?
Thanks again for your help!
1. The boat goes out in the morning for two dives and return to base for dinner.
2. Afternoon and night dive is also available on request.
3. The Pier is a must but ONLY "open" for diving on certain evening.
4. Limasawa Island is another good spot.
5. Supercat(2GO) and Weesam has fast craft from Cebu to Ormoc. There are bus and V-hire(shared van) from Ormoc to Maasin and probably beyond to Padre Bugos. On V-hire you might have to pay for a seat for your bulky luggage.
6. You can fly into Tacloban but you still need to travel over land to Padre Bugos.
7. There are slower night ferry from Cebu to Hilongos and Maasin and vice versa. It is very difficult to find public transport at night.
8. Expect to pay at least P3,000.00 for a private transfer from Ormoc to Padre Bugos.
2. Afternoon and night dive is also available on request.
3. The Pier is a must but ONLY "open" for diving on certain evening.
4. Limasawa Island is another good spot.
5. Supercat(2GO) and Weesam has fast craft from Cebu to Ormoc. There are bus and V-hire(shared van) from Ormoc to Maasin and probably beyond to Padre Bugos. On V-hire you might have to pay for a seat for your bulky luggage.
6. You can fly into Tacloban but you still need to travel over land to Padre Bugos.
7. There are slower night ferry from Cebu to Hilongos and Maasin and vice versa. It is very difficult to find public transport at night.
8. Expect to pay at least P3,000.00 for a private transfer from Ormoc to Padre Bugos.
This is where I stayed and dived. You can check out their site for info. I love their logo and I still have a couple of their shirts I still wear.
Sogod Bay Scuba Resort, Southern Leyte, Philippines - Getting Here
The SuperCat ferry leaves from pier 4 in Cebu arriving in Ormoc, Leyte and takes around 2.5 hours. The land transfer to the resort from Ormoc takes around 3 hours. ( I did a google search and it says 'Cebu Ferries' leaves at 8am arrives Ormac at 12 noon on M, Tu, Wed, and Th.
Like I said it was a long van ride.
The whale shark excursion was nearly an all day thing as the sharks were on the other side of the bay (east). As I said they were trying to get us in the water with scuba gear on with the help of the local spotters. I think we should have just used snorkle gear. They weren't feeding them as you may have seen elsewhere. My trip was at least 5 years ago so I hope someone with more recent experience there could contribute.
OP
outpost31
Contributor
Thanks Centrals/Jason, a lot of good info there.
I've seen that Roble Ferries goes from Pier 3 Cebu to Hilongos (4hrs), then 1.5 hrs by car to PB so that looks like a good option. Not sure how much it costs for the ferry tho?
I'm only going to be there for three diving days (Sun, Mon, Tues) and I've got an email from Peter saying they only have a WS trip on the mon which I can join but the Pier is only available to dive on a monday too, I've sent an email back asking if it's possible to do the WS trip then come back and do the pier at night? Fingers crossed.
*Update* Dino @ Peter's says I can do the WS & Pier night dive....Get in!
Also, I've been quoted 8,500p for a transfer from Cebu to Malapascua, this seems quite expensive. I've read on TripAdvisor that you can hire a taxi for about 2,000? Does anyone know if this can be done or something similar please?
I'm now pretty much set on the following:
Cebu-Malapascua
4 days diving in Malapascua
Malapascua-Cebu then Ferry Cebu-Hilongos, then trans down to either SBR or Peter
3 days diving incl WS snorkel
Trans to Hilongos, Ferry back to Cebu
Fly out
Thanks guys!
I've seen that Roble Ferries goes from Pier 3 Cebu to Hilongos (4hrs), then 1.5 hrs by car to PB so that looks like a good option. Not sure how much it costs for the ferry tho?
I'm only going to be there for three diving days (Sun, Mon, Tues) and I've got an email from Peter saying they only have a WS trip on the mon which I can join but the Pier is only available to dive on a monday too, I've sent an email back asking if it's possible to do the WS trip then come back and do the pier at night? Fingers crossed.
*Update* Dino @ Peter's says I can do the WS & Pier night dive....Get in!
Also, I've been quoted 8,500p for a transfer from Cebu to Malapascua, this seems quite expensive. I've read on TripAdvisor that you can hire a taxi for about 2,000? Does anyone know if this can be done or something similar please?
I'm now pretty much set on the following:
Cebu-Malapascua
4 days diving in Malapascua
Malapascua-Cebu then Ferry Cebu-Hilongos, then trans down to either SBR or Peter
3 days diving incl WS snorkel
Trans to Hilongos, Ferry back to Cebu
Fly out
Thanks guys!
1. Hilongos is slightly further away from Padre Bugos than Maasin.
2. Slow ferry is dirt cheap.
3. P8,500.00 MUST be a round trip transfer from Cebu to Malapascua. P2,000.00 for a taxi from Cebu to Maya could well be impossible nowadays but worth a try. If you can start early in the morning then you can catch a bus from the Northern Bus Terminal in Cebu to Maya(AC or without). Get the public boat across to Malapascua. It is more than likely that you will need to take a small transfer boat(P20.00) from the shore to the ferry. Porterage is P20.00 per item. Wear shorts and diving booties for the transfer.
4. You can charter a boat from Malapascua to Leyte which will save you a lot of back-tracking to Cebu.
Have a nice trip.
OP
outpost31
Contributor
Thanks Centrals, good tips!
I arrive in Cebu about 5.30pm i think. I may try getting a taxi to Maya then try chartering a boat to Leyte,
I didn't know that was an option. How and where would I go about doing that and how much would likely to be?
Many Thanks!
I arrive in Cebu about 5.30pm i think. I may try getting a taxi to Maya then try chartering a boat to Leyte,
I didn't know that was an option. How and where would I go about doing that and how much would likely to be?
Many Thanks!
1. Your best option is to stay overnight at Cebu and then travel onwards to Malapascua in the following morning.
2. The Roble Ferry(Pier 2) to Hilongos at 20:50 is fine as long as your flight arrive on time. www.schedule.ph But I really do not how to get from Hilongos to Padres Bugo at 12:20.
3. If your flight is delayed and you have missed the ferry to Hilongos then there is another Roble Ferry to Ormoc at 22:00. Stay at Don Felipe Hotel and then travel onwards to your destination.
4. I will be very surprised if you can find any boat at Maya that will take you across to Leyte at night. Even if there is I will be extremely cautious on crossing that stretch of water at night. I would never recommend night crossing on a banka.
5. You would have to ask your resort/dive operator in Malapascua for the information on chartering a boat to Leyte.
OP
outpost31
Contributor
Sorry, I should have been clearer.
My inbound flight to PI arrives in cebu at 17:30pm then I have to get a taxi up to Maya, then to Malapascua Is. and stay that night.
After 4 days diving, leave early in the morning (sat) and travel to Leyte and stay that night.
After 3 days diving, leave in the morning to get to Cebu for an evening flight out.
Apparently, I will have trouble getting to the island if I get there after dark so I'm now looking at an earlier flight that arrives in Cebu at 4am, then I'll share a taxi up to Maya.
Thanks, I'll send the resort an email regarding the boat to Leyte.
My inbound flight to PI arrives in cebu at 17:30pm then I have to get a taxi up to Maya, then to Malapascua Is. and stay that night.
After 4 days diving, leave early in the morning (sat) and travel to Leyte and stay that night.
After 3 days diving, leave in the morning to get to Cebu for an evening flight out.
Apparently, I will have trouble getting to the island if I get there after dark so I'm now looking at an earlier flight that arrives in Cebu at 4am, then I'll share a taxi up to Maya.
Thanks, I'll send the resort an email regarding the boat to Leyte.
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