Dumaguete or Puerto Galera

[divenski]

Hi Scott,

We were in both places, May 2010. Atlantis Resort both locations. They are very different, as several have mentioned. We started in PG, and really loved it - 4 dives a day, short boat rides, incredible colors and lots of diversity. Healthy corals and tons of feather stars , nudis, and alll sorts of fish. Verde Island was incredible for a day trip. The best night dive was one we asked specifically - to go somewhere other than the wreck in the bay - and we went a couple hundred yards to the east and it was amazing - coral bommies with amazing nocturnal critters everywhere. The Atlantis resort is a bit pricier than others, i think. Great lodging, great food. Really easy diving - just walk out the front and get on the boat. Of course, at low tide you walk across the sea grass flats - watch for fire urchins - but see all sorts of stuff while watching where you step.

Dumaguete was very different. the coral was not in good shape, so we avoided that. It's mostly brown sand and sea grass, with a few bommies and some artificial reefs (tires, a car... really the tires were great - sounds weird, but true). But the muck diving on brown sand and in the sea grass produced a lot of truly unbelievable critters - spiny devilfish, sea horses, fingered dragonets, frogfish, sea robins, etc. We did Apo - honestly, I thought after PG that it was not as colorful or diverse. But we ended up really enjoying the diving near Atlantis for all the weird creatures we saw.

We were glad we did both - if I were going back and could only do one, it would probably be Puerto Galera - cuz there were some weird critters there, too and the coral was not to be missed.

 

[scottydawg]

Thanks for the input, our LDS is putting on a trip to each place (back to back) in November and they will be staying at the Atlantis resorts so this is very helpful. I don't think we can do both so we are just trying to make the best choice of which one to do.

 

[Wiggsy]

Hey - I'm taking a grou of 44 off to Atmosphere Resort (near Dumaguete....- 30 minutes boat trip to Apo)....and had some very positive recommendations from various Scubaboarders...It is a very nice resort indeed and not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be. Lovely rooms (200 sq. metre Penthouses) and a great dive centre. Just a thought - might be worth comparing.

 

[deeznutz78]

I just got back from anilao in April. And went to dumaguete a year ago. My wife an I liked both very much. We stayed at Atlantis in dumaguete and club ocellaris in anilao. Very different experiences. Atlantis will draw a more casual diving crowd. They have better food than club o and the massages are nice and cheap. The food at club o got very old. It was basically the same thing every day it seemed. Although the guides (Alexis) was the best we have ever had. You see very different creatures at both places. I think dumaguete is good for someone just getting exposed to muck diving as you have apo/siquior for your reef fix. Apo has some of the most beautiful hard corals I have ever seen. The muck diving of of dauin is great. We saw tons of frogfish, flamboyant cuttlefish, ghost pipefish, nudibranchs, even hairy frogfish. We had a enjoyable time

We chose not to toto PG. As crowds and underaged hookers are not my thing. It is quite and low key. But the diving is fantastic. However, if you goto club o. I would say it is more for a hardcore photographer. Which we were. So that was all good. More muck diving than dumaguete. Saw a lot of nudibranchs, tons of octopus, mimic etc. Pygmy seahorses, and frogfish. We even saw 3 ambon scorpion fish. So it was different. But still very good. Plus it is easy to get to.

Hope that helps.

 

[sidewinder77]

Went to Dumaguete last April and then again last weekend. Apo Island is just awesome! All the creatures are "super-size me" versions of what you would see in Anilao. Sea turtles are also a-plenty. FYI - electricity goes off at Apo Island around 7pm so we decided to just sleep at the mainland.

About 15 minutes away from Dumaguete City is Dauin which is also a great dive site. Lots of great creatures to see - - ghost pipes, frogfish, devil fish, lots of nudis, school of juvenile barracudas, etc.

 

[globalbabe]

Two thumbs up for Atmosphere Resorts in Dauin, just south of Dumaguete! I stayed with them for five days last October and really enjoyed both the diving and the resort, which is extremely diving focused (I did the PADI Drift Diver speciality with them on Apo Island). The resort is owned by a couple who are also the Course Director and IDC Instructor.

They took me out on their boat on three different days - with just me as the solitary guest diver(!) - and a couple of those trips were to Apo Island, which has fantastic diving - abundant soft and hard corals and huge schools of fish (although small to medium-sized rather than pelagics). There's also good muck diving for those who like that, including the elusive mandarinfish. I haven't dived in Puerto Galera or further north in Dumaguete, so can't compare with those locations, but I definitely rate Dauin - and Atmosphere - very highly!

 

[sidewinder77]

Two thumbs up for Atmosphere Resorts in Dauin, just south of Dumaguete! I stayed with them for five days last October and really enjoyed both the diving and the resort, which is extremely diving focused (I did the PADI Drift Diver speciality with them on Apo Island). The resort is owned by a couple who are also the Course Director and IDC Instructor.

They took me out on their boat on three different days - with just me as the solitary guest diver(!) - and a couple of those trips were to Apo Island, which has fantastic diving - abundant soft and hard corals and huge schools of fish (although small to medium-sized rather than pelagics). There's also good muck diving for those who like that, including the elusive mandarinfish. I haven't dived in Puerto Galera or further north in Dumaguete, so can't compare with those locations, but I definitely rate Dauin - and Atmosphere - very highly!

Dang! I haven't seen a mandarinfish yet....you're lucky!!

 

[globalbabe]

Dang! I haven't seen a mandarinfish yet....you're lucky!!

Unfortunately I didn't see them either! Like I said..."elusive"!

 

[Wiggsy]

Unfortunately I didn't see them either! Like I said..."elusive"!

Pity...I had been 'reliably informed' that they were virtually guaranteed, well as guaranteed as they can ever be at the house reef just between Atmosphere and Bahura. But then again, they are tiny little beggars and very difficuly to photograph due to their light sensitivity. What was the shore diving like at Atmosphere?