First Dive Trip to Boracay

[cktheworldtraveler]

Hello Dive Friends!

I will be traveling to Boracay at the end of January/beginning of February to dive. Can anyone offer me any hints on where to stay and who to dive with? I have never been to the Philippines and I will be on my own. I have had my cert. for years, but has been a while since my last dive trip.

Any and all help is much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

CK

 

[Hank49]

Fisheye Divers. About 200 meters north of the Mall. The owners have been diving there for over 20 years.
Ok, they're my good friends, and I used to work there too. But they really know the area and know where to find the interesting marine life.
They also have an 80 foot bangka that can do week long trips to Coron, Apo Reef and other outer islands with really nice diving.
Not sure where you're from but most of the shops there are European owned and operated. Fisheye is owned by a Spaniard and a German but all speak English well, among other languages.
They can also set you up with a place to stay nearby the shop.

 

[Karl_H]

Hi CK,

I guess one obvious observation is Boracay certainly wouldn't be one of the top dive locations in the Philipines for most people? The good news is it can still be pretty good diving, it just has some excellent diving close by to contend with

The good operators I know of are Blue Mango and Calypso divers, sadly many of the dive shops in Boracay tend to elusively visit the very poor (and close by) dive sites as they rely on one-off tourism as opposed to repeat customers. The better dive operators tend to use the better dive sites, although they tend to be more expensive as the better diving is usually further away and hence the boat costs increase.

One other word of note is the better diving in Boracay tends to be more advanced drift diving - make sure you're comfortable before jumping into a site like Yapak.

Hope that helps and have fun!

Karl

 

[Hank49]

Sadly, it is true that the west side of Boracay has declined in dive quality over the years. I remember back in the mid 90s when it was truly a coral garden from Balinghai down to Calypso. Everywhere. But the great El Nino of 98 nearly wiped that area out with warming of the water followed by a massive Crown of Thorns invasion.
The backside with Crocodile, Laurel 1 and 2 islands offers a lot of interesting marine life. Great night diving too. And you're only a couple hours boat ride from Maniguin, which is atholl like with its wall dives and crystal water.

 

[gunslinger808]

I dove with Blue Mango Divers about that same time last year. I have nothing but good things to say about the staff. The owner and his family are previous residents of Hawaii, so we hit it off right away. We did not get to stay at their Inn because they were fully booked. I intend to if I vist again. DAve's Straw Hat Inn, was just 2 minutes walk down the beach from Blue Mango. Check out their reviews on Tripadvisor, the service is 2nd none. For what I spent, they could have charged more for the quality of service. Calypso had a vey nice facility, I did not stay there but had dinner at their restaurant. I cannot comment on the service or diving as I did not use them. Have fun

 

[Wantonmien]

Hello Dive Friends!

I will be traveling to Boracay at the end of January/beginning of February to dive. Can anyone offer me any hints on where to stay and who to dive with? I have never been to the Philippines and I will be on my own. I have had my cert. for years, but has been a while since my last dive trip.

Any and all help is much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

CK

CK,

You'll enjoy as Boracay is a great place to chill out.

I was last there back in September, and always use Calypso Diving resort Calypso Diving Resort, Boracay Island: About Us and no complaints, mainly Philippino DM's, air and nitrox are clean, reliable and will organise 3 dives a day plus a night dive if you ask them to. I also checked prices with other dive shops and found Calypso to be on a par or cheaper than others. They have also have rooms there, though there's plenty of choice on the Island, so worth checking a few prices of resorts or just advise Calypso your coming - and I'm sure the guys/gals there will point you in the right direction to some close by little hotels to suit your budget.

In Sept we had 9 or 10 dives in Boracay, all were with good viz and with plenty of life. If you get to some of the dive sites and are lucky enough to miss other groups of divers I'm sure you won't be disappointed. In Sept just buddy and I (with DM) with no other divers in sight dived on the little popular wreck there, and amazing to see how much life was around it compared with other times I'd dived it. Yapak dive site in Sept alas we never got down to due to a slightly wrong 'drop off' point and the very strong currents sweeping us over it at a fair speed - but for sure after a few dives you need to head to Yapak.

Some of my photos from Boracay in Sept 2010 here

ScubaBoard Gallery - Boracay in Philippines, Sept 2010

Cheers

 

[edzville]

I dove with Lapulapu Dive Center in Boracay last Dec. 18-31 and they were great too. Very friendly & professional staff. Owned by a local but employs very experienced dive guides and instructors of various nationalities (Russian, Norweigian, French, British and American) to cater to different needs of divers. They have two boats that go to all the popular and even unpopular sites to offer variety. All their equipments are new (very important if you are renting), however I brought all my dive gear so I didn't have to rent. They can also help arrange your lodging needs depending on your budget range. They are just 10meters away from "D'Mall" so you are right in the center of everything and it is very accessible to all possible needs that you may want.
Dive rates are standardized in Boracay due to agreement of all dive operators making up the the Boracay Divers Association, however, If you decide to go, look for Nonoy Tirol (owner), tell them Edmund referred you to them (and you might get a good deal).
Link to their website:
LAPU-LAPU Diving Center. Boracay Island, Philippines
The website hasn't been updated since 2009 but the details are pretty much the same. You can send your questions for them to: tirolkarenlynn@yahoo.com
Goodluck and enjoy your dive holiday!

 

[cktheworldtraveler]

Thanks for all your great recos everyone! I am really looking forward to my trip!

 

[cktheworldtraveler]

Wantonmien - Super pics! Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[Roey77]

My hubby and I were in Boracay in November 2010. We dove with Lapu Lapu. Our DM was Jimmy who is German/Phillipino and it was generally just the 3 of us on dives. Lapu Lapu tend to go to Yapak regularly and Jimmy is happy for you to choose when you want to dive.