Good advice from Bill there Andy! Best to knock on as many doors as possible. I was in Moalboal over the last 2 weeks as well as Dumaguete to dive Apo Island.
Regarding Moalboal shops I found out a few things that might be helpful: most of the shops are owned/operated by Germans, Nelson's is the exception but a good exception. I did my dives there with Visayan divers, a good bunch of people and a stable resort. The busy season starts up within a month so openings will happen.
A new shop run by a friendly British fellow named Carl Dales might be another good option: Cebu Dive Centre (
Diving in Cebu Philippines - Cebu dive boats - diving boats Cebu) I met Carl and the DM Raj there, very nice and the new setup they have is pretty slick.
Savedra and SeaQuest seem to have a very strong share of the business. There may be options there as well.
For cheap long term accommodations the shop that hires you will usually arrange. Mollies Place and Pacitas may give you some options.
The diving is easy, hardly any current, as a DM you are spoiled because the boat boys do all the slugging. You just help with gear and supervise the dive.
Of worthy note: Moalboal is a very small town and everybody knows everybody. Get the lowdown on the info from the longtime expats living and working there. And not meaning any offense, the women can be a bit aggressive so take you time if romance crosses your mind.
All in all the people and times i had there were great!
I would have done some diving with the other shops but I did an unexpected trip to Dumaguete and Apo Island. If you have a chance you might want to consider working for one of the many shops in Dumaguete city that go to Apo. The city is small (~60000) yet not so small as the micro village of Moalboal (~3000). This was my favorite diving of the two sites I went to. I was an amazing mix of drift and shallow reef diving, saw huge schools of fish. Current is definitely strong here and you should get to know the sites thoroughly before leading people; however i think there is only 6-7 dive sites around the island. You do three tank charters (which means you will probably get more pay as it is a longer day) and have a tasty lunch on the beach of the island at one of the little inns' restaurants. I dove with Adventure Diver. They were great.
Good luck! Let me know how it works out!
Jason
After all I've only made three trips to the Philippines. There are many people here on the board, that have dived many more places than I. I can only tell you what I would do myself, based on talking to other people and reading trip reports from other areas.
