Going to Philippines in June - but WHERE should I go?

[Ze_Abron]

Dear Wisdom of the Boards,

My family and I have moved to Hong Kong and we have decided to go for a diving holiday in the Philippines this June (1st visit to the country). We are looking for somewhere that has good conditions in June. I intend to book the flights/holiday int eh next 24-48 hours.

Here are our requirements as per the posting guidelines:

1. What previous threads the forum search came up with

So many suggestions, got me even more confused.

2. Budget / Type of Accommodations

Safe, family-friendly accommodation, budget will be somewhat strained as we will bring our helper with us to look after our 2-year old. So basically, we need running hot and cold water, a nice hotel pool - something co-located with a dive-centre would be ideal. Something around $50-70 USD per night per room would be ok.

3. Type of diving you are looking for and dive experience you have

Both my wife and I are PADI Rescue certified with Deep Diver and Nitrox specialties with between 40 and 70 dives each in various locations like Monterey, Jamaica, Cozumel, Balia, Manado, and the South of France.

4. What kind of marine life do you want to see?

Looking for great viz, big fish, cuttlefish, octopus, turtles, sharks, rays, wrecks if you got'em. Just awesome eye-popping, adrenaline-inducing, awe-inspiring experiences. Shallow is fun, Deep up to 40m ok, Nitrox availability would be a boon.

5. What kind of atmosphere do you want?

Cultural, friendly, no need for girlie bars, not too raucous and 'spring-breaky' - I don't want to see hundreds of drunk 20 year-olds puking in the streets. Fun and intelligent evening conversations, as when diving we drink very little.

6. Duration of trip?

About 10 days - we could visit more than 1 location, but would need transport to be easy, no extra flights. Travelling with a toddler makes things things interesting.

7. Are you traveling alone or with a group?

Wife, 2-year-old son, helper and myself. Needs to be somewhere realistically easy to get to from Hong Kong.

8. Want to do non-diving activities as well?

Something cultural would be good in the rare non-diving afternoons, perhaps some ruins? A nice hike? Museums? (Wife has a PhD in history and loves museums) However, these non-diving activities ABSOLUTELY take a back-seat to the diving, which is our 1st consideration.

Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi,

ZeAbron

 

[lilyl]

If you like sharks and rays, fly to Cebu from HK and go to Malapascua.
Cebupacific have cheap red-eye flight from HK, Cathay pacific and Philippines Air have more expensive flight in the day time.
You can combine Balicasag or Moalboal with Malapascua.
In Balicasag there're turtles and schools of jacks and barracuda.
In Moalboal you can see millions of sardines at Pesador Is.

 

[DevonDiver]

Based on your post, I would say that Cebu would be a good option. As lilyl said; Moalboal and Malapascua are good options, that combine excellent viz, pelagic and macro marine life.

Malapascua might prove a little 'basic' (in a tranquil 'castaway' vibe) if you have children, but you can plan your time there so that it wouldnt become claustrophobic for them. It takes about 1 day to travel (boat/ + bus or taxi) from Malapascua to Moalboal (approx 1/2 day to Cebu city).

For specifically wrecks/history, you could allot a day or two to visit Subic Bay. The bay is full of Spanish, Japanese and American wrecks. Not the best visibility on offer in the Philippines, but a very memorable experience nonetheless. As a history graduate myself, I find that researching the wrecks in Subic paints a wider picture of the Philippines history over the last 250 years.

There is some history available in Manila itself - mostly concerned with WWII. Intramuros and Corregidor Island are worth visiting.

If you have 2-3 spare days, you could enjoy a (long) drive north of Manila, to visit the spectacular rice terraces at Banaue. These are over 2000 years old and are listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

From Cebu, you could also take a trip over to Bohol to visit the 'Chocolate Hills' (another UNESCO world heritage site) and see the world-famous Tarsier Monkeys (the smallest monkey species in the world).

Don't worry about 'Spring Break' stuff. That doesn't happen here.

 

[Ze_Abron]

Ok, so I will fly to Cebu and spend 10 days visiting Malapascua and Moalboal. Any recommendations for dive ops?

 

[DevonDiver]

Matt @ Evolution Divers (Malapascua) is on Scubaboard. I'm sure he'll be along shortly I'd recommend him/them.

 

[clgsamson]

Ok, so I will fly to Cebu and spend 10 days visiting Malapascua and Moalboal. Any recommendations for dive ops?

In Malapascua, Evolution Divers. PM Matt Reed, he's a member here.

 

[Ze_Abron]

Great - Matt from Evolution has been very helpful, even helping us find a dive-op in Moalboal. We will spend half our time with Matt at Evolution in Malapascua and the other half in Moalboal with Magic Island (who also responded on email pretty much immediately).

So far so good. Now, what bits of equipment do I really need before I go? Have there been great improvements in dive light technology since last year? Does my wife need a new computer? ;-) I just bought her a Zuma BC...

 

[eagerbeaver]

Thanks Andy, looks like "Ze" is set for a good trip...

Ze, your wife never needs a new computer - she get's your old one when you buy a new one

 

[Centrals]

Great - Matt from Evolution has been very helpful, even helping us find a dive-op in Moalboal. We will spend half our time with Matt at Evolution in Malapascua and the other half in Moalboal with Magic Island (who also responded on email pretty much immediately).

So far so good. Now, what bits of equipment do I really need before I go? Have there been great improvements in dive light technology since last year? Does my wife need a new computer? ;-) I just bought her a Zuma BC...

I read from somwhere locally that P450.00(US$10.00) was charged for a Litre of Low Fat Milk in certain dive resort in Malapascua!!!!!!
If you have any special request please find out the cost FIRST.

 

[Ze_Abron]

Thanks for the heads up Centrals - I will look into it. Do you dive in HK? I wonder what the local diving is like here... (I recently moved to HK)