Malaysia, Philippines or Indonesia for best diving in november?

[snowfish]

CODMAN , thank you very much !
Definetly helps , now we have a direction !
We will make the itinerary after reading up more the Philippine section .
You know what else is cool ??
We are also from Montreal !! actually now living in the Laurentians

 

[Bubble Junky]

If you're going to Boracay, check out Thresher Shark Divers.............

 

[Hank49]

CODMAN , thank you very much !
Definetly helps , now we have a direction !
We will make the itinerary after reading up more the Philippine section .
You know what else is cool ??
We are also from Montreal !! actually now living in the Laurentians

Allow yourself a little more time to travel between destinations in the Phlippines. For this reason, I wouldn't try to go to more than two places in less than three weeks or a month.

 

[cim72lando]

Hi,

As you only have a week's vacation, already in the Philippines, but might be in the the tail end of the typhon season there, consider diving in the central Visayas specifically Cebu, which is away from the typhoon belt. My recommendation for you, will be to go to Malapascua, an island off the norther tip of Cebu but still part of Cebu province. It will offer you a chance to see Thresher and other sharks, mantas, an intact/big/historic wreck (Dona Marilyn), mating Mandarin fish, seahorses as small as your pinky nail and bigger, and tons of other small critters you probably didn't even know exist because you have not been to the Coral Triangle. Tip- stick to the Divemaster and tell him you like to see things of interest before you go underwater. Most divers in the Carribean cut off their 'umbelical cord' to the Divemaster and go fast underwater, missing most of the things worthwhile seeing. Just give him a decent tip at the end of your trip.
If you really want to go to a second destination in the Philippines, consider going to Moalboal, a town in the southwest part of Cebu Province. I think, though you are better off just staying in one place to dive and cut down on packing and unpacking, travel time, etc because of time limitation. Have the resort arrange your transfers, although tourists have been known to be more adventurous.
Cebu (Mactan Airport) and Manila are the only 2 places with real international airports and enough domestic flights to get you to/from Boracay. Tip- exchange your foreign money to the Philippine Peso at the airport. The money exchange is right after you get your bags and pass thru customs/immigration. Get lots of small change. You will get a 6% surcharge on credit card charges in the resorts (credit cards may not be accepted outside the big cities) and the exhchange rate for foreign money in the resorts are horrible (also in big city hotels).

Lembeh, Manadu, Sipadan also offer exceptional diving as they are in the Coral Triangle but when you start pricing these destinations, you will be pleasantly surprised that the PHILIPPINES IS THE BIGGEST BARGAIN IN THE PACIFIC.
l

 

[Ceak]

Hi Snowfish,

I'm too am from Montreal

If it's any help I was in Vietnam two years ago in January and went diving in Thailand since it was the rainy season pretty much everywhere else (malaysia, indonesia). I dove the Similans and Richelieu rock, which is considered by most as THE dive site in Thailand. In two dives at Richelieu rock I saw alot of neet stuff like a school of baracudas, huge cuttle fish, squid, harlequin shrimp, seahorses, ghost pipefish, pineaplefish, lionfish, emperor angelfish, scorpion fish, stonefish, anemone fish, yellow boxfish, moorish idols and hawk fish. I didn't see whale sharks but there had been sightings almost everyday that same week.

My two dives around the Similans were also very nice, awesome vis, lots of coral and fish but I didn't see anything special except for a banded sea snake, a turtle, lots of huge morays and a blue spotted ray. Some people in our group saw a black tip shark.

Snorkeling in the Surin islands was truly awesome, the hard coral was huge and the colors were simply unreal!

If you want some tips on Vietnam just PM me.