Help needed planning a Philippines vacation with diving rather than a dive vacation

[Chug]

Greetings all,

My wife and I have decided to visit the Philippines for 2 weeks in late June/early July 2012 and are looking for some advice and help planning a vacation with diving rather than a dive vacation.

After each thread I read in this forum I get more excited about visiting the Philippines, but my head is spinning with all the choices. We are looking for a balance of quality diving and, to quote my wife, "nice" accommodations, with a variety of dining options, and something else to do besides dive every day.

(I took her Bunaken in Indonesia and we both loved the fantastic diving but she was a little put off by the isolated, rustic lodging that featured a different creepy crawly in our room each night, a steady diet of fish and rice the "resort" provided, and the cold, brackish showers.)

Our initial interest in visiting the Philippines was sparked by a travel magazine article on Boracay, which compared it favorably to Bali, a place we love. From what I have read in these forums, however, is there are better places to dive than Boracay. Puerto Galera, from what I have read, seems like it would be a better fit. Bohol also sounds like a candidate for a second week but I need some help narrowing down an area to call home for a week. We love seeing the big stuff, schooling fish, and the unusual, but aren't so crazy about wrecks. Since we don't plan on diving every day the opportunity for top side activities (tours, cultural events, etc.) are an important factor.

Nothing has been booked yet, so we are wide open to suggestions. Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond to my request for help.

Regards,

Chug

 

[Centrals]

"(1) Variety of dining options and (2) something else to do besides dive everyday"!

If I have two weeks to spend diving in the country, I will concentrate on Visayas region.
Malapascua is one of the few places on earth where the sighting of the Thrasher Shark is quite common.
Bohol, Malapascua and Moalboal can be done in two weeks.
Unfortunately both Anilao and Dumaguete wont' match your two requirements. They are all resort based diving destination.

 

[Rogersea]

Hi Chug,

Boracay has great beaches and is a good spot to party but there are many other places that offer better diving.

I would love for you to spend all your time in Moalboal where I am, but if your wife wants more of a variety of activities, I would recommend at least a week in Bohol, they have reasonably nice Beaches and there are several terrestrial activities to keep you busy when you dont want to go diving.

I would be happy to give you specific recommendations (based on my Biased Opinion ).

There are a couple of real nice resorts here in Moalboal (Cebu) that offer great food, and there are several activities to keep you busy when not diving...


Two weeks is enough time to enjoy two locations here in the Visayas, without having to fly(transport can easily be accomplished by car/ground transportation and modern fast-ferry). So whether you pick Bohol and Mactan, Malapascua, Moalboal, or Negros(dauin) all are relatively easy to get to.

Hope you enjoy your trip to the Philippines...

Cheers

 

[ed.hamilton1]

Hi Chug,

I am based at Phaidon Beach Resort and we may be just what you are looking for we offer diving but also have a great range of villa style accommodation and additional activities including waterfall trips, island hopping tours and more.

We are close to boracay with very easy airport access from Kalibo and we offer an airport shuttle.

The sites have all been identified by ourselves and we often see fish not yet identified by science (very good excuse sometimes!) but no other divers. Our maximum groups are up to six though usually only two.

Check us out at Phaidon Beach Resort and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

[South Sea Divers]

Hi Chug.

You have heard right.... Puerto Galera does have better diving than Boracay. Please have a look at our web page...it's South Sea Divers Puerto Galera Philippines we have been here since 1983. We would be pleased if you decided to dive with our dive shop. If you are interested in diving with us or if you have any questions please send us an email to dive@southseadivers.com and I'll get right back. Sky........ dive shop owner and dive instructor