Need Advice for Upcoming 3-week trip to Philippines! april 1-21

[uberdude]

Hi Matt,
Having been to Malapascua twice, stayed at Liquid, and visited Puerto Galera and Boracay (a few times) and been a few other places in the Philippines. I'll offer my humble opinion. If I were you I'd consider getting your advanced open water other wise your experience where ever you dive ,may be slightly limited.

Don't base your diving on price cheapest is not always (actually rarely) the best BUT Liquid Dumagete are great, the guys there are nice and I can recommend them from personal experience. Liquid is only 20 minutes from the ferry terminal in Dumagete, and 40 minutes in traffic from airport. Apo Island is good but IMHO (after all I read I was disappointed) there are better places you haven't considered with better diving. Where ever you go in the Philippines your going to either fly or catch ferries, travel whether you like it or not will be part of your schedule. Flights to everywhere except Boracay are relatively cheap $30 - 100. Boracay is a premier destination and the prices to get there are priced as such .No wrecks.

Malapascua beaches are awesome, the diving is great as well. Night life is severely limited compared to Boracay and Puerto Galera, gret for relaxing. For new divers it's a nice place to dive. We've stayed at Evolution twice and the guys are awesome, their training is excellent Dave and Matt (owners) are both Tech divers and have high standards with their training. If you dive with them try a backplate and wing set up instead of a regular BC they have them for hire. They train people in them for their adavanced course it will change your ideas about diving gear Getting there you fly to Cebu and 2.5 hours in a car or 5 in a bus, then a 40 minute boat ride. If you can hack the travel I think it's a must do. They have a very large ferry the Donna Marylin which sank in a storm in 1988. It's a 90 minute boat ride but a great dive. Near by Gato Island is also a great dive site.

Puerto Galera is based around girls, diving and party. I'm glad (as a couple) I visited it on my second trip to the Phillipines after I was used to certain elements of the tourism industry there. The place is cool with lots of bars, beach is non-existant. Diving is good. It can be prone to big currents swings in some places and not totally new diver friendly if you (or your DM) miss the tides. To get there you'll have to bus/car 2 hours from Manila then boat to the island. There is also a several shallow wrecks in 15-18 m and one deeper (small cargo vessel deliberately sunk) as well- nice dive.

Boracay is really nice as far as beaches, bars and touristy things to do. Diving is OK but the reefs close to the boat stations 1-3 are well trampled by Korean tourist groups. There is a nice wreck diver there (deliberately sunk) Camia a small cargo ship in 28 m of water - nice dive. Nice balance of nightlife, resorts and water sports worth a visit. There are still some nice dives like Crocodile Rock though.

If your were to plan a trip I based on your initiial question I would fly to Manila - Boracay - Cebu travel to Malapascua, ferry from Cebu to Dumagete then back to Manila. I've done this trip and seems the best way maximise time and minimise money. If you go else where I'd pick Devon Divers brain. Hope this helps.

the edit
Sorry I missed the 10 day limit! My recommendation Malapascua and Dumagete if your after a quiet holiday, It'll burn up 3 days in travel but you'll burn 2 days in travel for one destination alone. And if you choose between Boracay or Puerto Galeara I'd go with Boracay.

 

[mattbailey84]

Hi Matt,
Having been to Malapascua twice, stayed at Liquid, and visited Puerto Galera and Boracay (a few times) and been a few other places in the Philippines. I'll offer my humble opinion. If I were you I'd consider getting your advanced open water other wise your experience where ever you dive ,may be slightly limited.

Don't base your diving on price cheapest is not always (actually rarely) the best BUT Liquid Dumagete are great, the guys there are nice and I can recommend them from personal experience. Liquid is only 20 minutes from the ferry terminal in Dumagete, and 40 minutes in traffic from airport. Apo Island is good but IMHO (after all I read I was disappointed) there are better places you haven't considered with better diving. Where ever you go in the Philippines your going to either fly or catch ferries, travel whether you like it or not will be part of your schedule. Flights to everywhere except Boracay are relatively cheap $30 - 100. Boracay is a premier destination and the prices to get there are priced as such .No wrecks.

Malapascua beaches are awesome, the diving is great as well. Night life is severely limited compared to Boracay and Puerto Galera, gret for relaxing. For new divers it's a nice place to dive. We've stayed at Evolution twice and the guys are awesome, their training is excellent Dave and Matt (owners) are both Tech divers and have high standards with their training. If you dive with them try a backplate and wing set up instead of a regular BC they have them for hire. They train people in them for their adavanced course it will change your ideas about diving gear Getting there you fly to Cebu and 2.5 hours in a car or 5 in a bus, then a 40 minute boat ride. If you can hack the travel I think it's a must do. They have a very large ferry the Donna Marylin which sank in a storm in 1988. It's a 90 minute boat ride but a great dive. Near by Gato Island is also a great dive site.

Puerto Galera is based around girls, diving and party. I'm glad (as a couple) I visited it on my second trip to the Phillipines after I was used to certain elements of the tourism industry there. The place is cool with lots of bars, beach is non-existant. Diving is good. It can be prone to big currents swings in some places and not totally new diver friendly if you (or your DM) miss the tides. To get there you'll have to bus/car 2 hours from Manila then boat to the island. There is also a several shallow wrecks in 15-18 m and one deeper (small cargo vessel deliberately sunk) as well- nice dive.

Boracay is really nice as far as beaches, bars and touristy things to do. Diving is OK but the reefs close to the boat stations 1-3 are well trampled by Korean tourist groups. There is a nice wreck diver there (deliberately sunk) Camia a small cargo ship in 28 m of water - nice dive. Nice balance of nightlife, resorts and water sports worth a visit. There are still some nice dives like Crocodile Rock though.

If your were to plan a trip I based on your initiial question I would fly to Manila - Boracay - Cebu travel to Malapascua, ferry from Cebu to Dumagete then back to Manila. I've done this trip and seems the best way maximise time and minimise money. If you go else where I'd pick Devon Divers brain. Hope this helps.

the edit
Sorry I missed the 10 day limit! My recommendation Malapascua and Dumagete if your after a quiet holiday, It'll burn up 3 days in travel but you'll burn 2 days in travel for one destination alone. And if you choose between Boracay or Puerto Galeara I'd go with Boracay.

Wow thanks for the good response. Yeah thats one of the plans i was thinking. Its just i was hoping to make coron for 2 nights to dive a couple real good wrecks. I considered maybe el nido for the open water as its closer to coron but yeah, i think its gonna be a tough squeeze

 

[Hydreliox]

Hey guys, Thanks for the mention. We certainly appreciate it here.

Uberdude...hope you are ok and we miss you guys here at Liquid. Apparently I'm now a trimix diver which is nice I'm looking forward to you getting back and getting some dive cracked in together this time!

I can also recommend Evolution in Malapascua if you are heading that way. The owners are great guys and so are all the staff. I have done a few courses with them and the expertise is incredible! I've spent around a year on the island in total (back and forwards a few times) so if you need any info then I'm happy to help or at least get you in touch with Evolution Plenty of variety there and great diving, including a few wrecks !

If you fancy heading down to Dumaguete and us here at Liquid for a excellent few dives and a plenty of evening laughs with good people then we are always happy to accommodate! Just get in touch and we will see what we can do.

D+R -- stay in touch guys, I hope to see you this way pretty soon again! I promise I will get the Dumatini's and Deco Shots lined up

Anyway, hope to dive with you all sometime soon!

 

[mattbailey84]

Wow tough decision. What about el nido? Iv heard good things there to with submariner diving and also scenery is nice and a ferry from coron.

The only reason i considered pg is because a place called miles seaside riders charges half price for the courses. Just 9500 for advanced and 13500 for open water. Most others is 17000 for both. Anyone know of these guys and if good ? Or of its worth saving $300 to go to pg and miss another spot.

Gonna be tough. If we werent going north wed have tons of time

 

[Poi]

I've just come back from two weeks in the Philippines.

We went to Donsol, Boracay and Malapascua. Went diving at all three and Malapascua was by far the best as you would have thought.

Calypso on Boracay is a very well run place and another vote for thresher shark divers on Malapascua. My girlfriend did her open water while we were there and had great one on one instruction, she was a little nervous but they made her very comfortable in the water and now she's hooked too!

Have fun with the whale sharks, by the way things are going it might not be possible in a couple of years.

 

[DonCebu]

Im thinking its like Cancun and rowdy.

LOL, that is funny !

There is no such place in the Philippines to describe a "rowdy" party place in the Philippines.

( ohh other than maybe the procession for the Black Nazarene )

---------- Post added at 02:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:10 PM ----------

I am not sure why it is when ever I read this forum for recommendations about where to dive the local Cebu dives never get mentioned.
( maybe because it is there are no local dive shops here to promote them )

So maybe you want to try, ​

Nasuluan, Hilutungan, Talima, Tingo Point and shore dives at Marigondon cave. As beginner divers you don't need to go far inside the cave.

 

[DevonDiver]

The only reason i considered pg is because a place called miles seaside riders charges half price for the courses. Just 9500 for advanced and 13500 for open water. Most others is 17000 for both. Anyone know of these guys and if good ? Or of its worth saving $300 to go to pg and miss another spot.

There's some big discrepancies in course pricing around the Philippines.

This isn't a comment on any specific operator - merely generic points to be considered:

Sometimes the advertised courses are deceptive in terms of 'hidden costs'. Do check that you are getting a final price, on a like-for-like basis. Is equipment included? tanks? instructor fees? boat fees? certification fees? will you get a manual? (note: it is PADI standard that you get a manual to keep).

Sometimes the cheap courses attain savings by not offering the same experience as others. i.e. conducting all dives as shore-dives from in front of the dive center. This may be ok if there is an awesome house reef - but it doesn't offer the fullest breadth of experience. If the house reef isn't great, or just a sandy beach, then it'll be a disappointing experience. Pretty much all of the non-specialist PADI courses can be run off a beach over the sand - most reputable dive centers won't do that, because it does little to motivate divers towards a long-term interest in the sport.

Sometimes the cheap course prices are attained by quality impacting measures. Overall dive center costs are lower because they don't spend money on cleaning their compressor as diligently, don't maintain/replace rental equipment as regularly, don't test their cylinders according to industry standards, don't have O2 on the boat, don't first-aid train their staff etc etc etc. There's a thousand costs that can be cut - which the student diver would never be aware of... unless/until something goes wrong.

Sometimes the cheap course prices are attained by savings on instructor salaries. They 'employ' newly qualified instructors who work for free in return for gaining their initial experience. That's a fair saving, but you need to consider the relative experience and skill of the instructor when determining the 'value for money' of a course. We can all appreciate the benefits of a good educator - with scuba diving, experience teaching does count for a lot.

Sometimes courses can be cheaper because the center profits from volume of trade - high student turn-over and maximized course numbers allows a better economy of scale. Consider the quality issues applicable to course sizes. In a big class, each individual losses a lot of practice time 'waiting' for their turn. They get less feedback and assessment on their performance. They get less opportunity to repeat and refine skills. Instructor supervision/awareness is diluted across a wider group - with impacts on safety and quality of tuition.

Sometimes, high saturation in the dive market leads to heavy competition and, ultimately, lower prices. That's a good thing for customers. This can usually be identified if all of the dive centers in a given area have similar low prices. It's rarely a reason for one center to be significantly cheaper than its direct/immediate local competitors.

When considering the 'value' of a course, it pays dividends to consider the goal to be the accumulation of skill, confidence and competence as a diver - rather than just acquiring a plastic card.

Each and every PADI OW/AOW course will result in the same plastic card. They will not, however, result in the same finished product of scuba diver.

Just food for thought.....

 

[Centrals]

Wow tough decision. What about el nido? Iv heard good things there to with submariner diving and also scenery is nice and a ferry from coron.

The only reason i considered pg is because a place called miles seaside riders charges half price for the courses. Just 9500 for advanced and 13500 for open water. Most others is 17000 for both. Anyone know of these guys and if good ? Or of its worth saving $300 to go to pg and miss another spot.

1. With only 10 days I really would not recommended El Nido. Scenery is certainly nice above water but under water? I was not impressed at all. Please check the ferry schedule from Coron as well.
2. I am quite familiar with PG but never heard "Miles Seaside Riders"! Sea Riders, yes but not "Miles Seaside Riders". If you are on a budget then PG is much cheaper than Anilao.

 

[mtabor]

Have to agree with devondiver with he says about pricing.

I can only speak for Malapascua. If your willing to make the journey there you will not be disappointed. I didn't dive with Evolution but the service and food was fantastic. Looked like the shop was organized and the boats were nice. Ate and had beer there a few times. They are up at the nicer and of the beach. They even sold me bottles of baileys at request for a good price haha.

TSD is good as well for food and service. I just preferred the other end of the beach

Malapascua has a lot to offer, is pretty quiet, (unless there is a disco hah) people are great . Gato Island, North Rock, North Point, Kemod Shoal, Chocolate Island, Calaanggaman Island, Nunez Shoal, The Dona Marilyn, The Tapilon and of course Monad Shoal where right now you lose count of the sharks. Get it while you can!! These are just the places i liked to dive while there.

If your on a budget just eat in the village!!!

Have fun!

Mark

Just noticed your from Canada, Im from Nova Scotia eh! Have a good trip, Philippines is a lot of fun.

 

[Rogersea]

There's some big discrepancies in course pricing around the Philippines.

This isn't a comment on any specific operator - merely generic points to be considered:

Sometimes the advertised courses are deceptive in terms of 'hidden costs'. Do check that you are getting a final price, on a like-for-like basis. Is equipment included? tanks? instructor fees? boat fees? certification fees? will you get a manual? (note: it is PADI standard that you get a manual to keep).

Sometimes the cheap courses attain savings by not offering the same experience as others. i.e. conducting all dives as shore-dives from in front of the dive center. This may be ok if there is an awesome house reef - but it doesn't offer the fullest breadth of experience. If the house reef isn't great, or just a sandy beach, then it'll be a disappointing experience. Pretty much all of the non-specialist PADI courses can be run off a beach over the sand - most reputable dive centers won't do that, because it does little to motivate divers towards a long-term interest in the sport.

Sometimes the cheap course prices are attained by quality impacting measures. Overall dive center costs are lower because they don't spend money on cleaning their compressor as diligently, don't maintain/replace rental equipment as regularly, don't test their cylinders according to industry standards, don't have O2 on the boat, don't first-aid train their staff etc etc etc. There's a thousand costs that can be cut - which the student diver would never be aware of... unless/until something goes wrong.

Sometimes the cheap course prices are attained by savings on instructor salaries. They 'employ' newly qualified instructors who work for free in return for gaining their initial experience. That's a fair saving, but you need to consider the relative experience and skill of the instructor when determining the 'value for money' of a course. We can all appreciate the benefits of a good educator - with scuba diving, experience teaching does count for a lot.

Sometimes courses can be cheaper because the center profits from volume of trade - high student turn-over and maximized course numbers allows a better economy of scale. Consider the quality issues applicable to course sizes. In a big class, each individual losses a lot of practice time 'waiting' for their turn. They get less feedback and assessment on their performance. They get less opportunity to repeat and refine skills. Instructor supervision/awareness is diluted across a wider group - with impacts on safety and quality of tuition.

Sometimes, high saturation in the dive market leads to heavy competition and, ultimately, lower prices. That's a good thing for customers. This can usually be identified if all of the dive centers in a given area have similar low prices. It's rarely a reason for one center to be significantly cheaper than its direct/immediate local competitors.

When considering the 'value' of a course, it pays dividends to consider the goal to be the accumulation of skill, confidence and competence as a diver - rather than just acquiring a plastic card.

Each and every PADI OW/AOW course will result in the same plastic card. They will not, however, result in the same finished product of scuba diver.

Just food for thought.....

On the other hand, you could be lucky enough to stumble across a small company like mine, which is run by a very

experienced PADI Master Instructor, which:

1. Has great, well maintained rental gear.

2. A well maintained compressor.

3. A new boat designed to cater to 6 or less divers.

4. Two Emergency oxygen kits, first aid kits, Both boat crew members Certified in CPR and administration of Emergency O2.

5. All inclusive pricing, and low prices.

So, while pricing can be confusing, dont let a low price cause you to think they are necessarily offering you a lower quality product.






Cheers,
Roger