First time visiting the Philippines next week... Looking for suggestions

[MikeCal]

Greetings All,

I am traveling to the Philippines next week ( flying into Cebu on the morning of the 19th) and planning to do some diving while I spend a month in the country.

First a little about me and my interests..

63 year old male
Certified in May 2024 AOW and Nitrox
59 dives
Enjoy both large and small aquatic life though really love nudibranches
Enjoy slow diving to look for smaller items
No camera as I want to wanted to concentrate on my skills and see what a camera can do to some newer divers
Haven't done a lot of wreck diving though as a newer diver that is on the larger size ,5'11" almost 200lbs, I tend not to enjoy smaller openings.

Really enjoying the wonderful recent trip reports by sostil and was wondering what others might recommend based on my likes.

From what I gathered I am leaning to skip Malapascau and Moalboal and perhaps starting at Dauin. Anilao is on my list and was thinking of going there closer to when I leave from Manila. sostil reporting makes me wondering about skipping Siquijor but always open to suggestions

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and if you need more information about my diving likes/dislikes please ask!

 

[Centrals]

There are plenty of diving areas in Visayas. However, travelling is time consuming and really expensive by private.

1. Mactan
Cebu airport is on this small island. Diving around the area is fine but finding a reliable operator is not easy. Scotty's is on the expensive side.

2. Malapascua
@sostil regrets of only spending two days in Malapascua!! This is the only place where shark(thrasher shark) is more or less guaranteed.
Evolution.

3. Moalboal
Good for two days but the sites are easy for the inexperienced.
Dolphin House Resort.

4. Southern Leyte
Getting there is not that straight forward from Cebu.
Peter's or Sogod Bay Scuba Resort.

5. Dauin
Liquid.

6. Anilao + PG
Easily spend two wks there.
Plenty of options for accommodation/diving to suit one's budget.

 

[JohnN]

+1 on Centrals suggestions.

 

[sostil]

I agree with Centrals’ comments as well.

I’m glad you’ve liked my reports.

I’m not a macro diver, but from my experience these past few months, I have found nudis generally everywhere in PH. Obviously, some places are more well known for macro than others, but I’ve always found macro wherever I go. But take this with a grain of salt.

I would recommend going to Malapascua, as it has both big and small animal life. Plus, seeing the Thresher Shark anywhere else in the world is not as easy as here, especially naturally (I’ve heard you can find them in the Maldives relatively often, but that requires a LOB). Gato Island has nice soft corals and critters there as well as reef sharks. Then there is the nice mandarin mating night dive. I would recommend spending 3-4 dive days here to avoid a super exhausting schedule.

Only thing about Malapascua is that it’s a really long travel day and annoying to get to/from (unless you’re paying for private transfers).

Moalboal’s main pull is, of course, the sardine run, which is a nice experience to do once (or twice). Pescador Island also has some nice dives, but more for soft corals and less creatures. But if you’re not into that sort of thing, an easy skip.

I found Siquijor unimpressive, but it was a nice island and has interesting above-water activities.

Close-by (and better than Siquijor IMO) is Dauin with easy access to Apo Island. Apo Island has wonderful reefs and for the non coral-obsessed, is probably interesting enough to do a dive day trip from Dauin.

If I remember correctly, the best time to do macro in Anilao is in the winter time (according to my ASDC guides). However, I don’t think being out of season here will have a considerable impact. Although I didn’t do it, I’ve heard many good things about Anilao backwater dives.

You could spend a long time in PG (and most people do). Currents can be very strong, so if you’re not a confident diver in current, try to time this part with the half moon (currents are strongest and most unpredictable at new moon & full moon). This is especially prudent if you’d like to dive Verde Island.

I hope this was more helpful and less rambly than it turned out to be.

 

[diveUAE]

As someone planning our trip to Indo next July, because our trip to Anilao/PG in February is already booked I wonder how you get to one week before and then decide to travel LOL (I know: I should try it once)

I would keep an eye on the weather forecast and keep it flexible.

Would definitely go to Malapascua! Diving with the threshers is amazing and there’s so much more to see. Still our favourite place (of the 4 we’ve been) in Philippines - also for small stuff. It’s where I saw my first blue ring octopus, but also plenty of nudies, seahorse and other special things.

Moalboal is worth a few days - especially if you can dive the sardines early.

In Dauin we stayed and dived with Bongo Bongo and depending on your need for luxury I’d check it out - we had a great time meeting people there (the rooms are tiny - so everyone is gathering at the bar/rest area), I think it’s a great place if you’re traveling alone and want to socialise.

That could be your first 2 weeks - then maybe head to Anilao and PG.

 

[MikeCal]

Thank you so much for so

There are plenty of diving areas in Visayas. However, travelling is time consuming and really expensive by private.

1. Mactan
Cebu airport is on this small island. Diving around the area is fine but finding a reliable operator is not easy. Scotty's is on the expensive side.

2. Malapascua
@sostil regrets of only spending two days in Malapascua!! This is the only place where shark(thrasher shark) is more or less guaranteed.
Evolution.

3. Moalboal
Good for two days but the sites are easy for the inexperienced.
Dolphin House Resort.

4. Southern Leyte
Getting there is not that straight forward from Cebu.
Peter's or Sogod Bay Scuba Resort.

5. Dauin
Liquid.

6. Anilao + PG
Easily spend two wks there.
Plenty of options for accommodation/diving to suit one's budget.

much great feedback and suggested dive shops! Based on other feedback I am adding Malapascau in the mix

Now to figure out the route that makes the most sense

Thanks again!

 

[MikeCal]

I agree with Centrals’ comments as well.

I’m glad you’ve liked my reports.

I’m not a macro diver, but from my experience these past few months, I have found nudis generally everywhere in PH. Obviously, some places are more well known for macro than others, but I’ve always found macro wherever I go. But take this with a grain of salt.

I would recommend going to Malapascua, as it has both big and small animal life. Plus, seeing the Thresher Shark anywhere else in the world is not as easy as here, especially naturally (I’ve heard you can find them in the Maldives relatively often, but that requires a LOB). Gato Island has nice soft corals and critters there as well as reef sharks. Then there is the nice mandarin mating night dive. I would recommend spending 3-4 dive days here to avoid a super exhausting schedule.

Only thing about Malapascua is that it’s a really long travel day and annoying to get to/from (unless you’re paying for private transfers).

Moalboal’s main pull is, of course, the sardine run, which is a nice experience to do once (or twice). Pescador Island also has some nice dives, but more for soft corals and less creatures. But if you’re not into that sort of thing, an easy skip.

I found Siquijor unimpressive, but it was a nice island and has interesting above-water activities.

Close-by (and better than Siquijor IMO) is Dauin with easy access to Apo Island. Apo Island has wonderful reefs and for the non coral-obsessed, is probably interesting enough to do a dive day trip from Dauin.

If I remember correctly, the best time to do macro in Anilao is in the winter time (according to my ASDC guides). However, I don’t think being out of season here will have a considerable impact. Although I didn’t do it, I’ve heard many good things about Anilao backwater dives.

You could spend a long time in PG (and most people do). Currents can be very strong, so if you’re not a confident diver in current, try to time this part with the half moon (currents are strongest and most unpredictable at new moon & full moon). This is especially prudent if you’d like to dive Verde Island.

I hope this was more helpful and less rambly than it turned out to be.

Your dive reports are really good reads for me as you are up front on your likes and budget as well as give great feedback in your impressions of your dives.

Thank you!

 

[MikeCal]

As someone planning our trip to Indo next July, because our trip to Anilao/PG in February is already booked I wonder how you get to one week before and then decide to travel LOL (I know: I should try it once)

I would keep an eye on the weather forecast and keep it flexible.

Would definitely go to Malapascua! Diving with the threshers is amazing and there’s so much more to see. Still our favourite place (of the 4 we’ve been) in Philippines - also for small stuff. It’s where I saw my first blue ring octopus, but also plenty of nudies, seahorse and other special things.

Moalboal is worth a few days - especially if you can dive the sardines early.

In Dauin we stayed and dived with Bongo Bongo and depending on your need for luxury I’d check it out - we had a great time meeting people there (the rooms are tiny - so everyone is gathering at the bar/rest area), I think it’s a great place if you’re traveling alone and want to socialise.

That could be your first 2 weeks - then maybe head to Anilao and PG.

Reason for the late decisions are due to my lack of making a commitment as I have learned to be very flexible, perhaps too much

I bought the ticket to Cebu last week but hadn't made a decision on where to go after reading too much information. So coming here to this forum has been awesome!

Thank you for your feedback and will be booking places today!