HELP! :) What would you pick?

[WarmWaterPursuit]

Hello!

Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

I’m planning a vacation for 2011 and I am stuck between a few places. Please note, I’m an advanced diver but am not planning the entire vacation around diving. I would like to go someplace warm that has nice beaches and a nice pool to lay-by to relax. But, I would also like to spend at least three days doing some awesome diving. Each of the below locations has a Hilton that I would be staying at.

Obviously cost is an issue but from what I can gather, none of the below places is extremely expensive.

I’ve narrowed my options to the following:

1. Phuket Thailand

2. Cebu Philippines

3. Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt

I suppose this is a pretty broad question but I would love to hear your advice including the pros and cons of your choice.

Thanks so much for the help!

 

[DevonDiver]

Other than liveaboard... Sharm isn't that great a destination IMHO. Have you looked at Taba Heights yet? It's in the northern Red Sea (Gulf of Aquaba)... a cluster of very nice hotels, with unspoiled coral reefs. I had a fantastic holiday there a few years ago. If you check online, it is possible to pick up a real bargain trip there.

Cebu is a great option. You can head north and dive at Malapasua (threshers, mantas etc) and then pop over to Bohol...to see the Chocolate Hills and Tarsier monkeys.

Phuket... is ok. The best diving in that region is via liveaboard. It's quite 'touristy'.

Given a choice between those 3 specific locations.... I'd opt for Cebu.

 

[Wantonmien]

WarmWaterPusuit,

To add a bit about Cebu, I just came back from a two location (Moalboal/Mactan) dive trip there. Diving was pretty good all around, Moalboal resort (3 hours by road from Mactan) was pretty basic but fine to chill out and well worth a visit for the diving. Mactan is only minutes from the airport and I was surprised how good the diving there was, though outside the good hotel we were staying, we got stuck looking for decent places to head in the evenings to eat or chill out. If however you are prepared to travel a little by land and boat, for sure Cebu is a good destination.

Having said that, if I was after more of a lazy holiday and less of a dive trip to Philippines, I think I'd opt for Boracay which has all levels of hotels along the white beach, and some dive sites that I have found excellent, eg: Yapak.

Cheers - and you might want to read -

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ph...alboal-december-2-4-2010-some-pics-words.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ph...n-cebu-december-4-7-2010-some-words-pics.html

 

[Centrals]

1. Phuket: Plenty of nice beaches but the good dive sites are many miles away. I haven't dived in the Kingdom for many years because Philippines is simply much better.
2. Cebu: Alona Beach(Bohol) and Malapascua are much better than Mactan Island(Cebu City) in diving wise. Unfortunately, both places do not have anything remotely similar approaching Hilton's standard!! However, there are couple of places in El Nido up in Northern Palawan that will suit diver with deep pocket.

 

[Quero]

Here's a voice from Phuket, Thailand.
You say you are planning on basing yourself out of a Hilton (I'm assuming you have points to redeem). Does that mean you want only daytrips while you sleep at the Hilton you have selected?

1) Thailand
The best diving in Thailand is at the Similan Islands National Park and the Surin Islands National Park. To reach those from a land-based resort you need to take a speedboat for a long ride out and back. The best way to see these dive sites is by liveaboard, but then you won't be at the Hilton. And if you decide that's okay and you are good with the daytrip diving, I would strongly advise you NOT to stay at the Hilton on Phuket, but rather stay at the one in the town of Khao Lak in Phang Nga province. (BTW, the Khao Lak area is not very touristy at all.)

2 Philippines
If you are staying land-based at a Cebu Hilton, you may also be looking at quite some travel time to go dive Moalboal, Malapascua and Apo. The diving right around Cebu is not nearly as nice as what you can find a few hours down the road.

3 Sharm
Once again, if it's a Hilton points thing, why not consider some other place than Sharm? Dahab or Hurghada, for example?

Anyway, I'd be glad to fill in any gaps about Thailand diving for you.

 

[DevonDiver]

Are you looking for a Hilton Hotel that has access to good diving?

Hilton Hotel - Taba Heights, South Sinai

Fantastic hotel and location. They are served by Red Sea Waterworld...a truly excellent dive operation. They do free pick-up and drop-off for divers at the hotel. You can also do day-trips to Eilat, the Dead Sea, Aquaba and Petra, amongst others. Cross the border (20mins) for a day-trip into Israel and you can also dive at the Dolphin Sanctuary... My dives at the Dolphin Sanctuary remain one of my most memorable scuba experiences!

My Eilat Dolphin Sanctuary 2006 - Photo Album

The diving around Taba is pristine. Awesome visibility, little current and unspoil corals. A great selection of marine life, but not much pelagic stuff. There are also a few shallow wrecks available just over the border in Eilat.

My Taba Heights 2006 - Photo Album

 

[OnTheSpot]

Just a quick note if you decide on Phuket and want to dive Similan/Surin sites.

You need to dive between November and the end of April as the Similan and Surin National Parks are closed from around mid-May to the end of October each year.

I would recommend a four night liveaboard trip, you can relax by the many pools of Hilton either before or/and after the trip.

 

[abadox]

Sharm is not hat interesting... and I have not been to philippines yet...
I went diving twice to Thailand and loved it over there.... it is very cheap and the diving is great
as someone up there mentioned, best diving there is in the Samilans, but to really enjoy it, you have to take 3-4 days liveaboard to be able to get to Richelieu Rock. My advice would be either contact sunrise divers (Thailand Diving - Phuket Liveaboards - Scuba Diving Similan Islands - PADI 5 Star Dive Resort) or south siam (www.southsiamdivers.com) they are both very professional.

 

[WarmWaterPursuit]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Thailand will have to come in the future. Not sure about Sharm. I read an article that said the Israelis think the Egyptians sent sharks there to attack people. Seriously?!? Course in the same article it mentioned that the Saudi's had captured a vulture that had been supposedly been sent to spy from Israel?!? Wild.

Anyways, I just booked a trip to the Philippines. I'm staying at Luxury Resorts and Residences - Atmosphere Resorts Philippines. I have a buddy that's familiar with them and has stayed there. He said that it's some of the best diving in the world!

Thanks again!