Get certified in the Philippines

[The Curly Mermaid]

Hi! I'm an advanced open water diver, and I just wanted to share a few tips on where and how to get certified in the Philippines. In my opinion, the Philippines has some of the best waters for diving, and Anilao, which is a 2-hour drive from the city, is an accessible and easy area to learn in. This is NOT a sponsored post, and I am NOT being paid to write anything - I just really want more people to experience the Philippines the way I do

Check out how I got my own certification here!

 

[iamrushman]

howdy and welcome....thanks for sharing......good luck with your underwater endeavors.

 

[drbill]

Dove in Anilao and Puerto Galera three years ago. Certainly good experiences and lots of interesting critters to see and film

 

[The Curly Mermaid]

Dove in Anilao and Puerto Galera three years ago. Certainly good experiences and lots of interesting critters to see and film

That's great to hear! I hope you come back to the Philippines, lots more to see

 

[Centrals]

I have been diving extensively around the country and Anilao is NEVER my favourite. There are better places eg. Coron, General Santos, Malapascua, Puerto Galera, Sipalay, Southern Leyte and Tubattaha. And I also found other destinations offer better value for money than Anilao eg. Dumaguete, Mactan, Moalboal, Davao, Subic Bay and Surigao. Getting there is half the fun and certainly true for Camiguin, Camotes Island and San Fernando(La Union).
Alona Beach is the only one that has put me off because of over development. I loved that place 18yrs ago.
Anilao is never my cup of tea! Photographer probably won't agree with me!

 

[tridacna]

//. Anilao is never my cup of tea! //

Why is Aniloa not a good place to dive?

 

[Centrals]

//. Anilao is never my cup of tea! //

Why is Aniloa not a good place to dive?

The complex price structure! Anilao is really unique among all the places that I have been in SE Asia.
If you are diving alone you would have to pay for the boat and the dm on top of the dive. There are a only handful few offering one price for all and they are not cheap by Philippines standard.

 

[DevonDiver]

The complex price structure!

Yep. Anilao resorts really model themselves on catering for groups of local divers who commute from Manila.

The base price for diving is cheap (some resorts even offer free tanks for shore diving). That works great if you're content to shore dive... and don't need a DM because you are there with a buddy/group... or travelling with your own DM/instructor.

However, for the single diver, there's a need to hire a divemaster at significant extra cost.

Boat trips cost extra also... and cost a lot. The cost is based on a full boat. That's reasonable if, again, costs can be split by a group. It's unreasonably expensive for a single diver.

 

[Searcaigh]

I like Anilao a lot.

Relatively speaking it's not that expensive for your own boat and own guide

No time limit, just surface with gas in your tank, as long as the guide can match me bar for bar and find the critters I want to see, and I am happy.

My recent experience diving on the Great Barrier Reef at many times the price of an Anilao package with a 50 minute dive limit did not please me, and I will be happy to return to Anilao, time permitting, in 2017.

 

[john-moses]

I got certified in Dumaguete at Mikes beach resort. My certification dive and first two recreational dives were at Apo Island. I have reservations for Coron next month.