Liveaboards in the Philippines?

[oceanfreedom]

Hi everyone,
I'm planing to go to the Philippines for two to three weeks sometime in September or October of this year.
I'm and underwater photographer and I was thinking about spending sometime in Anilao and Puerto Galera for a week and then go to the Visayas area.
For the Visayas area, it is worth to go on a liveaboard? or you can use the day boats from the dive shops to see the same dive sites?
The liveaboard company I was looking is the expedition fleet and the route information is this;
Best of the Visayas Safari ( 8 days /7 nights/6 diving days) July-February

From Mactan, Cebu the ship sails north to Malapascua, known for the Thresher Sharks, Mantas, the Gato Island Tunnel ( spectacular night dives) and the Dona Marilyn Wreck.

The ship then sales down the western side of Cebu Island to Pescador/ Moal Boal. Beautiful overhangs, large gorgonians and sea fans decorate the walls surrounding Pescador Island.

From Pescador the ship embarks for Apo Island, one of the oldest and most successful marine sanctuaries in the country. Healthy reef formations, several large schools of jacks or big eyed trevally are common here. Night dive is done just of the beach at the Bahura resort and spa and guest will have a chance to look over the grounds, enjoy the pool if they so wish.

Final stop of the trip is Balicasag Island. Another well known sanctuary where barracudas, jacks and black coral trees hold fort.

Thanks for your Help.

 

[CODMAN]

Ocean, all of those dives are accessible through land based operations. Although it would probably be hard to get the 5 dives a day of a liveaboard through a dive operator, I personally wouldn't fork out the extra cash involved for a liveaboard in this case. Living and diving in the Philippines is cheap. I don't know how much the liveaboard costs (probably $$$), but you can probably get more diving for your $ through land. And the added benefit that if you really like an area, you can stay longer and dive more. Then again, if you have very limited time, the liveaboard will certainly give you a quick tour of the Visayas!

Personally, I would do liveaboards in places where the diving is hard to get to: Cocos islan, galapagos, Tubbataha, Apo reef, etc...

Just my 0.02$

 

[scubaprincesslila]

There is so much to see underwater in the Philippines, 2-3 weeks probably isn't long enough!

If underwater photography is your thing (professional or enthusisatic amateur?), then where you go should be dictated by what kind of equipment you have and what kind of pics you want to take. If you want macro then Anilao has some of the best macro sites in the country; if you're looking for something bigger then maybe Apo Reef or Puerta Galera/Sabang. I hear Malapascua is great (still on my list to do). Wreck diving in Subic Bay can throw up the occasional interesting pic, and great wreck pics at Coron.

Check out gearupdiving on Google - these guys have been around so can maybe help; they can even pull together an itinerary and plan the whole trip out if you need.