Kenr
Contributor
Hey Everyone,
i just got back from the phil, had a great time. My gf and i spent 6 days in Alona and as always its great diving. I have noticed the place seems to be getting a little busy now. Looks like there is a big resort under construction so get there before it becomes the next Boracay. I had one disappointment, my favorite French restaurant L'Elephant Bleu looks like it got sold and it's not the same real French food, we did find a nice seafood BBQ place across from Helmuts place. We stayed at the Oasis and dove with Seaquest a good outfit.
After that we took the ferry to Cebu and hired a small van to Maya. Once in Maya we had to negotiate a fare for a boat to malapascua. I thought we were lucky that we were able to split the fare with another couple. Unfortuantely the boat captain didn't drop us off in front of our hotel, in fact a long walk and it started pouring rain. Well everything got soaked and we were upset when we finally arrived at Ocean Vida. Enough of all of that bad stuff, just make sure when you hire a boat that they drop you off at your hotel. Ocean Vida is a very nice hotel right on the beach, a little expensive but fine by european and USA prices. We dove at Seaquest just a short walk down the beach instead of the dive shop attached to the hotel. Dives there were 700p cheaper and i couldn't have been happier with Seaquest. We pretty much had our own dive master. A few of the dives it was just me and him. I'm a photographer and he knew just what do, scout for critters and show me and then leave me to find some more. I did do the 5am Thrasher Shark dive. It was very cool, on the boat at 5am and into the water around six just after the sun rose. We went down to 25 meters and there they were, wow. The other dives around the island were also very nice. If you are looking for a beautiful small, kicked back island in the beautiful Philippines it doesn't get any better. Our hotel setup bean bags and tables on the sand in the evening and 200p happy hour 2x1 drinks were great. They even have a good italian restaurant that knows how to make a pizza. Ahh two weeks, the Philippines is really a paradise. Don't miss Malapascua go there before everyone else finds out about it.
Ken
i just got back from the phil, had a great time. My gf and i spent 6 days in Alona and as always its great diving. I have noticed the place seems to be getting a little busy now. Looks like there is a big resort under construction so get there before it becomes the next Boracay. I had one disappointment, my favorite French restaurant L'Elephant Bleu looks like it got sold and it's not the same real French food, we did find a nice seafood BBQ place across from Helmuts place. We stayed at the Oasis and dove with Seaquest a good outfit.
After that we took the ferry to Cebu and hired a small van to Maya. Once in Maya we had to negotiate a fare for a boat to malapascua. I thought we were lucky that we were able to split the fare with another couple. Unfortuantely the boat captain didn't drop us off in front of our hotel, in fact a long walk and it started pouring rain. Well everything got soaked and we were upset when we finally arrived at Ocean Vida. Enough of all of that bad stuff, just make sure when you hire a boat that they drop you off at your hotel. Ocean Vida is a very nice hotel right on the beach, a little expensive but fine by european and USA prices. We dove at Seaquest just a short walk down the beach instead of the dive shop attached to the hotel. Dives there were 700p cheaper and i couldn't have been happier with Seaquest. We pretty much had our own dive master. A few of the dives it was just me and him. I'm a photographer and he knew just what do, scout for critters and show me and then leave me to find some more. I did do the 5am Thrasher Shark dive. It was very cool, on the boat at 5am and into the water around six just after the sun rose. We went down to 25 meters and there they were, wow. The other dives around the island were also very nice. If you are looking for a beautiful small, kicked back island in the beautiful Philippines it doesn't get any better. Our hotel setup bean bags and tables on the sand in the evening and 200p happy hour 2x1 drinks were great. They even have a good italian restaurant that knows how to make a pizza. Ahh two weeks, the Philippines is really a paradise. Don't miss Malapascua go there before everyone else finds out about it.
Ken
