Malapascua - Exotic Island vs. TSD vs. Evolution Diving

[bill22]

I've been twice to Malapascua. The first time in October 2007 when I dived with TSD. The second time was the last week of December 2010 (New Years Eve in Malapascua) and I dived with Evolution. For what it's worth, having dived all over the Philippines (six trips and almost 200 dives there now), I can say that Evolution is one of the most professionally run dive shops I've had the pleasure to dive with there! I would defintely dive with them again

 

[Tjack]

Professionally run out of a bar, hmmmm

 

[Hydreliox]

First negative word I've heard of Evolution since they have been open. The way they run and operate certainly suits me and many others. As far as I am aware (and experienced) Matt and David are not only extremely professional and hospitable, but also genuinely nice guys.

 

[bill22]

Professionally run out of a bar, hmmmm

So let me get this straight... you think Evolution is not professional because they have a bar? :shocked2: Last time I checked so does TSD and Exotic

Do you have a problem with people having a drink or some food after they dive? If you do please don't leave TSD or Exotic out because they do the same

The food by the way at The Craic House (Evolutions "bar" for those who don't know) was excellent! Here's a link to their website... http://www.evolution.com.ph/malapascua/craic-house.html I was reading the menu on the site and remembering the last time I was there and my mouth started watering Even if you don't dive with them you should go eat there while you are on Malapascua

 

[uberdude]

Tjack,
I'm with Bill22 and Hydreliox, I'm a fan of Evolution. I've dived a few places and have more than a few dives in the Philippines. But maybe your a split fin, rest on the coral to take photo's type diver. I can suggest a few dive op's for you as well if that's how you roll

 

[yuhtnav]

I think bill22 misunderstood TJack.

I agree with TJack. The problem is not they have a bar but they run everything, dive, non-dive, from that bar.

From my own experience, everyone, if they were at the bar, was either talking to someone else, having a drink, or working on laptop, so every time I wanted to ask something, I felt like I was about to interrupt. And because I wasn't provided with an orientation, I had a lot of question ...

Both TSD and Exotic have dive shops separate from their bars.

 

[bill22]

I think bill22 misunderstood TJack.

I agree with TJack. The problem is not they have a bar but they run everything, dive, non-dive, from that bar.

From my own experience, everyone, if they were at the bar, was either talking to someone else, having a drink, or working on laptop, so every time I wanted to ask something, I felt like I was about to interrupt. And because I wasn't provided with an orientation, I had a lot of question ...

Both TSD and Exotic have dive shops separate from their bars.

He hasn't been back to clarify what he meant so I guess that means we are both guessing... but no I don't think I misunderstood him.

Not sure what you mean by "orientation". When I arrived, I was shown around, got setup, and went diving. That's what I was there for and they did not dissapoint Again I don't understand your problem or TJacks... the staff is there to help you and if they are doing something else you just say "excuse me" and ask your question. Is there any difference between that and asking a question of someone in a "dive shop" who is busy doing something else, other than setting? The only thing that I can see is that the two you seem to have something against bars.... something obviously most of us don't Or you think an operation can't be "professional" if they don't have a dive shop? I should also say that I never saw any of the staff "drinking" at the bar until after diving was done for the day. Thats a serious allegation to make! I do remember that David did often seem to be on his laptop, often working on underwater photos, but he never minded stopping and talking to customers Lest we forget, Malapascua Island is pretty isolated. Most people take advantage of internet to stay connected to the outside world

I'm quite aware that Exotic and TSD have dive shops. Read my first post in this thread again. I've dived with TSD In addition I know people who have dived with Exotic and I have visited their dive shop and spoken with employees of Exotic. Yet, my own first choice is the operation that is run out of a "bar" I made a statement that based on my experience diving in the Philippines, Evolution is one of the most professionally run operations I've dived with. I'm comparing them to over a dozen different dive operations that I've dived with all over the Philippines.

TJack (and you to apparently) give the impression that because they don't have a dive shop that somehow makes them less than professional. So we have a "difference of opinion" He's entitled to his opinion as are you, but having or not having a dive shop doesn't have much to do with the dive operation in my experience.

I have not always had positive experiences with every dive operation I've come in contact with but don't make negative comments generally (unless it's something blatant) because I'm usually willing to put it down to misunderstanding and let it go. If it's a positive experience (which is normally the case in the Philippines and elsewhere) I have no problem stating so

I like Evolution (as I've already stated). I like the nice laid back vibe. I like the bar and the restaraunt. I like the experience and professionalism that Matt and David bring to their operation. I will dive with them again the next time I'm in Malapascua

 

[yuhtnav]

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He hasn't been back to clarify what he meant so I guess that means we are both guessing... but no I don't think I misunderstood him.

Not sure what you mean by "orientation". When I arrived, I was shown around, got setup, and went diving.

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[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Ok, we may be both guessing. But it doesn't change my personal opinion about the bar.

I didn't get shown around, which makes a huge difference between your experience and mine at Evolution, and yes, being shown around was what I meant by orientation. [/FONT]
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That's what I was there for and they did not dissapoint

Again I don't understand your problem or TJacks... the staff is there to help you and if they are doing something else you just say "excuse me" and ask your question. Is there any difference between that and asking a question of someone in a "dive shop" who is busy doing something else, other than setting? The only thing that I can see is that the two you seem to have something against bars.... something obviously most of us don't

Or you think an operation can't be "professional" if they don't have a dive shop? I should also say that I never saw any of the staff "drinking" at the bar until after diving was done for the day. Thats a serious allegation to make! I do remember that David did often seem to be on his laptop, often working on underwater photos, but he never minded stopping and talking to customers

Lest we forget, Malapascua Island is pretty isolated. Most people take advantage of internet to stay connected to the outside world

I'm quite aware that Exotic and TSD have dive shops. Read my first post in this thread again. I've dived with TSD

In addition I know people who have dived with Exotic and I have visited their dive shop and spoken with employees of Exotic. Yet, my own first choice is the operation that is run out of a "bar"

I made a statement that based on my experience diving in the Philippines, Evolution is one of the most professionally run operations I've dived with. I'm comparing them to over a dozen different dive operations that I've dived with all over the Philippines.

TJack (and you to apparently) give the impression that because they don't have a dive shop that somehow makes them less than professional. So we have a "difference of opinion"

He's entitled to his opinion as are you, but having or not having a dive shop doesn't have much to do with the dive operation in my experience.

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I didn't get to see David until the last day diving. And as far as i can recall, I always saw Matt on laptop at the bar or heard him talking to some people there.


[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By drinking, I didn't mean drinking alcohol, sorry if that caused confusion. What I wanted to emphasize was they never looked like they were there to help people coming in like at a separate dive shop. This has nothing to do with me liking bars or not. I like going to dive shops where the people are there ready to help me and greet me with asking how they may help me. I have no problem getting in line to wait to talk to staff in charge, but I do have problem feeling like about to interrupt people all the times, and I did need to interrupt many times because of no orientation. [/FONT]
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[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I remember we arrived at Evolution at noon. Matt was having lunch, and Matt may have different things to say about the situation, but my impression at that time was he refused to come to greet us because he was having lunch. That's acceptable an excuse but it was not well received by me for after reading so many excellent reviews about Evolution, I hadn't expected to not have even a neutral welcome. We didn't intentionally plan to arrive at noon to interrupt his lunch after all. On another occasion, I distinctly remember talking to my DM once while she was having breakfast at the bar. How would you feel about going into a "dive shop" and see the staff eating and talking to them while they were eating? [/FONT]


[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I could see that for such a small scale, it might not be economical yet for Evolution to have a separate shop. But I highlighted what was noticeable in my actual experience. I, to be honest, didn't hope for you to agree, because it's irrelevant - you've been there, your feelings for Evolution were already shaped by your actual experience with them before. I simply wanted other travelers who share similar preferences as mine to be informed before they make their choices. [/FONT]
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[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]And speaking of dive operation, since you brought it up, of 10 dives I did with Evolution, 4 was led by a Dive Master Trainee, 1 a Rescue Diver. It might be normal or better than average in Philippines, I didn't know, I just compared it with my experiences with dive shops I'd been with before and what with Evolution couldn't be considered excellent. And there was one dive at Dona Marilyn, I got a problem few seconds after trying to descend and had to resurface to get fixed. When I got back in the water, the DM and other divers in my nitrox group was no where in sight. The visibility was quite poor, and there was strong current, if it hadn't been for the DM trainee who was leading the "air" group was still holding to the mooring line at 1m depth waiting for me, I would have had to abort the dive. After we got down to the planned maximum depth of the dive with the mooring line and started kicking against current for a few minutes, we spotted my nitrox group's DM a few meters ahead of us and the "air" DM signaled me to follow her, who seemed until then didn't notice I was missing for a while. I was an inexperienced diver with only 40 dives logged, so I didn't know whether it was acceptable for a DM to not check the divers in her group before and after descending and before moving away from the mooring line, but everywhere else I'd been to, DMs always watched the divers in their groups descending and after the descents were completed, signaled to ask if everyone in the group was ok before leading the group to explore the site. If my DM had done that, she would have noticed I was missing .... Anyway, again, this is my personal experience with Evolution. I'm not trying to change the way you think about Evolution ...[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I didn't compare Evolution with other dive shops around Philippines - it was the first time I'd been to the country, so, we might have different benchmarks in mind when offering our opinions. [/FONT]
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[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I have not always had positive experiences with every dive operation I've come in contact with but don't make negative comments generally (unless it's something blatant) because I'm usually willing to put it down to misunderstanding and let it go. If it's a positive experience (which is normally the case in the Philippines and elsewhere) I have no problem stating so

[/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I have no problem stating a positive experience either; but I also have no problem sharing a negative one. [/FONT]I'm not so willing to put down negative experiences as misunderstandings and not sharing them. Many misunderstandings are no longer just misunderstandings. If travelers don't start sharing those, how later review readers will know how many misunderstandings have happened and whether it is concludible? I will tell the complete stories, positive or negative, on professional review websites, and if I feel it's concludible, I will make conclusion in my review, if not, then leave the stories unconcluded and let the review readers make their own conclusions if they can find more information elsewhere. [/Quote]

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[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I like Evolution (as I've already stated). I like the nice laid back vibe. I like the bar and the restaraunt. I like the experience and professionalism that Matt and David bring to their operation. I will dive with them again the next time I'm in Malapascua

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I never doubted you'd had a positive experience with Evolution and liked them and would come back. I am capable of understanding that many other people can have excellent time there (I read all reviews about Evolution on Tripadvisor before going there) and respect that. I'm just sharing my story and please understand that aside from that our personal views are different, what happened (not necessarily negative) there during my trip were also different from those during yours, and I couldn't become a fan of Evolution based on someone else's positive experience.

 

[scoobydrew]

Having worked on the island for 4 months last year (with none of the companies we are discussing here) I got a fair idea of each operations on the island. The 3 you mention are all well reputed companies and I guess each will have strengths & weaknesses. If I were to return to Malapascua as a paying customer with what I learnt from my time there I would go to Evolution. All 3 will get you out to the dive sites you want to be on and all will have decent boats, crew & equipment.

My reason for recommending Evolution would be that their current size is more suited to providing a personal service (contradicting the previous post - of course I can not comment on other peoples experiences) Even though the other companies have more boats they always appeared to be crammed which of course is a sign of their success but at the same time if you are going to go out on one of the further dive sites having a little extra space on the boat on the 2 hour journey makes a difference.

Evolution is a really well run operation and like other people have mentioned it does have really good land based facilities like a bar and cracking restaurant. TSD & Evolution also have bars with restaurants but after the first month it was Evolution that I found myself hanging out in the most due to the atmosphere and welcoming feeling I got from the crew there.

The bar is at the front of the premises but not the forefront of the operation - the diving comes first!

Whatever happens I will be surprised if you have anything less than an amazing time whoever you go with but if you are looking for recommendations mine is to go with Evolution

Whatever happens

 

[yuhtnav]

...
My reason for recommending Evolution would be that their current size is more suited to providing a personal service (contradicting the previous post - of course I can not comment on other peoples experiences) Even though the other companies have more boats they always appeared to be crammed which of course is a sign of their success but at the same time if you are going to go out on one of the further dive sites having a little extra space on the boat on the 2 hour journey makes a difference.
...

That can be significant factor.

I did have room on the bench to lie down during the over 70min ride to Dona Marilyn.
5 more divers found places on boat to lie down as well (3 on a raised flat surface at center of the boat, one on the floor)
If there had been 2 more divers on boat, some would have had to sit straight up during the whole ride.
But I came during low season (July), so Evolution could be expected to have more divers on boat during peak season, right?
Anyway, it can be far worse on other dive shops' boats, I don't know.