Mactan/Cebu compared to P.G.?

[RebreatherSuperHero]

Mabuhay....

I've been diving around P.G. several times and really liked the diving.....I may have Anilao on my list, but I noticed that some of the really good macro weird critter photos I've seen on the Internet come from Mactan Island area.....

I've heard some say the diving there sucks, what does the PPD's have to say?

Thanks!

 

[Mike Veitch]

Pakman just did both back to back....

i think he liked Cebu better.. wait till he comes back from his exodus and i am sure he will let you know...

or just look for his trip reports from the last couple weeks

 

[RebreatherSuperHero]

I will look for him.......too bad others haven't chimed in yet.....

 

[pakman]

RBsuperhero.

Well I was kind of in your shoes... Been to PG many times and have done the Subic, Anilao, Coron thing. Love the diving in PG, convenient to get to from Manila for long weekends from Hong Kong. But I wanted to check out what was offered in the Cebu area. I had initially avoided diving around Cebu as I was MISINFORMED by some foreign diving friends that Cebu diving was just not worth it. This statement is probably accurate when you're talking about Mactan and Moalboal. But what I didn't realize until recently was how amazing the diving was in the surrounding area - namely Bohol, Malapascua, Apo Island and Dumaguete.

edit: I should expand on the transportation if you're not familiar with these areas. If you arrive in Cebu City/ Mactan, there are convenient fast ferries to Bohol (Tagbilaran) and Dumaguete. Malapascua will take you 4hrs by car and short bangka ride. Another bonus is the beaches are nicer than what you get in PG and Anilao.

Personally, given we have direct flights from HK to Cebu, I might find myself going out there more often.

 

[Traminer]

Thanks Pakman for sharing... is Moalboal that bad compared to Bohol and Malapascua? Am trying to plan my Christmas/New Year diving right now with Bohol and one other dive site. Which ones would you suggest around that time?

 

[pakman]

Actually I should clarify that I have only heard negative reports on Moalboal and that I've never been there myself. But talking to some of the DM's and other travelers when I was touring through the Cebu area, most of them didn't recommend Moalboal. So I better leave this to others who have first hand experience.

If you are doing Bohol, I would suggest trying to do Apo Island or even Dumaguete. Are you flying directly into Cebu or transfering from Manila? If thru Manila, a good itinerary might be to fly to Dumaguete from Manila, dive Dumaguete and Apo Island, take the fast ferry to Bohol, dive Bohol (Alona Beach/ Balicasag Island), then take the ferry to Cebu, and fly back to Manila. Or you can do the reverse, but I figure it would be nice to end the trip in Mactan/ Cebu City. The Dumaguete-Cebu City ferries all stop in Bohol (Tagbilaran).

As an alternative, if you don't want to travel too much and would rather base yourself in Bohol, I believe the Alona Beach dive shops will arrange day trips to Apo Island if you had enough people to charter a whole bangka.

 

[Narcd_dvr]

Aside from pakman's suggestion, you might wanna consider is a dive safari, http://www.savedra.com/safari.htm Unfortutnately, for this safari, it starts at Moalboal, goes to Apo, Sumilon, Balicasag, Cabilao, and ends in Mactan.

 

[chip104]

RBSH,

I have dove in Mactan, Apo Island, and PG. I'd have to say that I liked the Apo Island dive sites out of all of the 3 for diving, but PG was the best overall (things to do, number of dive sites, quality of dives, etc.). You could do Apo Island in a day or in a weekend but PG you'll need to spend a week there to appreciate all the sites.

I wouldn't say the diving in Mactan sucks. All diving destinations are decent all over the Philippines - some are just better than others. I didn't notice any critters when I dove there - I 've noticed many more unusual critters in the Anilao/PG area.

Hope that helps!

 

[RebreatherSuperHero]

Sounds like Anilao is the way to go compared to Cebu area.....Information on dive resorts in Anilao seems hard to come by, and I need to be able to find pure oxygen. It also seems as if diving may be less expensive in Anilao but the resort stay is more.

Some of these places in PG are $30 a night for aircon excluding diving.

Also it seems as if there is way less to do other than diving in Anilao compared to PG. I don't even know if there is any town in Anilao like PG has....

 

[Diver Dennis]

Anilao is a great area to dive with a number of different sites. We dove Bahura a few days ago, right after the Typhoon and it was fantastic.