Need some advice on Anilao this month

[Rogersea]

Not really understanding the local market there I am having a little problem understanding the rationale for the mid week pricing. Especially since it was my understanding that Anilao was usually only full/busy during the weekends.

After receiving AQV's original quote and reminding them that the website says "special rates for locals and expats avail on request" (and that I had requested them) I got a revised quote which is what I referred to as the firm quote. It was slightly lower than the original quote. It still comes out to $45 a dive as a single diver...(not including the accomodations or MPA fee) Geez that is the same price that you pay per dive for a two dive package at the The Westin St John Resort & Villas in the US Virgin Islands... I will definitely be headed for a little lower end package and while in Anilao swing by to check if the amenities are comparable to the Westin.

Additionally my non diving companion would be charged 2200 Peso's a night for room and board which may not be out of line for the area but it seems a little steep compared to what I am used to in the Visayas and every where else I have been (in the Philippines) with the exception of the Dos Palmas properties I stayed at on Verde and Arreceffi Islands.... But the food at those places was truly world class..

Anyway, since I really want to see Anilao and capture some video of some of the Nudibranchs, I will keep looking and am sure I will find something more in line with my relatively meager budget..

Cheers
Roger

 

[jigo]

$45 per dive is kinda steep.

cost of dive in anilao:
boat rental for two dives: P1500 to 2200 depending on distance
DM fee for two dives: 500 (plus tank), 650 (at aquav inclusive of tank)
two tanks per diver: 360
plus dive pass (i think this is the MPA fee which is P100 or P200 per day, i cant remember exactly how much)

i think i got a lower quote per dive from club ocellaris but i didnt push through since they wont give me the DM i wanted and would not tell me when he is available. i think the lower rate also applied only if they can lump me and my buddy with other divers to reduce cost of boat rental per diver.

i suggest you stick to shore dives during weekdays and ask the resort if they have other groups of divers you can join during weekends. you may not like it, but best chance of having a group to join will be in Aquaventure since they usually have the most number of divers from manila. also, food at aquav is actually pretty good. not as extensive a buffet as dos palmas but tastier than the food in most resorts in anilao.

for shore dives, you can go to dive n trek for unlimited shore dives, same with planet dive for unlimited shore dives to twin rocks, san jose for diving in basura, balai for twin rocks and that other site jag likes, arthur's or crystal blue for arthur's rock.

alternately, you could also find a resort that can rent you a multicab (jeep) that can take you to secret bay or basura for shore dives.

 

[blue steal]

There is a resort fee at AV of 500P which is consumable. Tanks 280, and weight belt 100, divepass 100, entrance fee 10 We were always charged 630 each for DM. boats are 1500-2200, but get the cost up front.
If you solo it during the week dasys it is expensive, but on weekends you can split the cost of the DM & boat. There is not much shore diving by AV.
Like AV for the rinse tanks, showers, food, personnel.
Rooms were average, on the small side, only 2 or 3 having any sort of views.
Dislike: they seem to nickel and dime you with every little thing always check your bill as there are frequent errors always in their favor.

 

[chip104]

If you're looking for cheap dives and just there to shoot nudibranches, do the shore dive package at Planet Dive or Dive n Trek. Ditto on the joining a group for the weekend to lower cost.

 

[Karl_H]

Not really understanding the local market there I am having a little problem understanding the rationale for the mid week pricing. Especially since it was my understanding that Anilao was usually only full/busy during the weekends.

After receiving AQV's original quote and reminding them that the website says "special rates for locals and expats avail on request" (and that I had requested them) I got a revised quote which is what I referred to as the firm quote. It was slightly lower than the original quote. It still comes out to $45 a dive as a single diver...(not including the accomodations or MPA fee) Geez that is the same price that you pay per dive for a two dive package at the The Westin St John Resort & Villas in the US Virgin Islands... I will definitely be headed for a little lower end package and while in Anilao swing by to check if the amenities are comparable to the Westin.

Additionally my non diving companion would be charged 2200 Peso's a night for room and board which may not be out of line for the area but it seems a little steep compared to what I am used to in the Visayas and every where else I have been (in the Philippines) with the exception of the Dos Palmas properties I stayed at on Verde and Arreceffi Islands.... But the food at those places was truly world class..

Anyway, since I really want to see Anilao and capture some video of some of the Nudibranchs, I will keep looking and am sure I will find something more in line with my relatively meager budget..

Cheers
Roger

Owch! I'd understand if that was for a one day trip with entry fee but that seems high for Anilao, particularly if you're there for a few days?

Just for reference I stayed at Arthur's Place last weekend and did 6 dives, two of which were shore dives to the Arthur's Rock area (which I now know is not easy to get too on a low tide with a full moon - there's a 30m crossing of rocks and dead corals in around 1-2ft of water before you can get to swimming depth :shocked2. The other dives were mainly over the channel, including one right out at Devils Point, with an aircon room for two (one diving, one non-diving), lunch, dinner and breakfast from the restaurant (menu, not buffet) plus a few beers in the evening we had a total bill of 11,100 Php including dives, tanks, two-day dive pass, guide, accommodation and food.

In other words thats around $40 US per dive but it includes all accommodation, food and drinks (for two!) - I did share the boat with one other person on the Saturday morning, so those two dive and guide fees would be 'half price' of the single diver cost, but that still doesn't bring things up to the Aqua venture prices you mention.

Arthur's place isn't the most expensive resort but it certainly isn't one of the cheapest so as suggested I think the Aquaventure rate is way over what you should be expecting.....

Karl

PS - The trip above was my fist dive at Devil Point (it's about 40 minutes by banca from Arthur's Place, about 10 minutes past Mapating!!!) If anyone wants an interesting Wide Angle type dive while the viz is good I'd give it a try - not too much to see in terms of macro critters or huge fish shaols, but the hard and soft corals are pristine and we saw two turtles Looks like it's not visited much as there's no damaged corals what so ever!

 

[scottfiji]

you are going to Anilao, you are very lucky!

We saw 100 nudibranch species on my Anilao trip. Club Ocellaris attracts a very loyal crowd of nudibranch lovers and experts year after year. Their guides are top-notch at finding macro life. Regardless of where you stay, your nudibranch count will go up by a factor of 2 or 3 if you have a guide with the proper skills. PM me if you want a couple of great guide names.

Scott

 

[Coo]

Lovin this thread - answers all the questions I have for the area - we are headed there now that we have found out we get Chinese New Year off! As an aside - how incredibly hard is it to do a search for places in this area! I only found a few resorts from my usual google search so THANK YOU for recommending some great options! Will let you know how it goes at my end!

 

[kevinl4270]

You may want to check out Outrigger hotel. I stayed there last fall and had a great time diving with them. I can't recall the priced though. I got it a part of a learn to dive package with an outfitter in Manila. They have some pretty mixed reviews on tripadvisor.com, but I really found the place very clean and comfortable. Good luck.

 

[prandyulo]

I pay 1,200 for two boat dives with DM, and weights if we are at least 4 on a boat at Planet dive, and get an extra bonus of unlimited shore dives for the day plus 500 entrance fee and lunch. Overnight, I can get an airconditoned room for 2,800 good for two or a nice larger place for 5,000 good for 4 people with a large picture windows. check them out at: : : Planet Dive : :

 

[bill22]

Ditto what Scott says about Club Ocellaris... follow the link to my web page to read my report on Anilao and Club Ocellaris. Are you can look up the report here on scubaboard to see some of the photos I took. Haven't had time to add many photos to my web page yet

Although I paid more, Club Ocellaris still remains my single best experience diving in the Philippines. Service, dive guide, food, diversity of species, value... Although I haven't dived these other resorts which I'm sure are good operations also, I believe that for an u/w photographer or videographer you would be hard pressed to do better than Club Ocellaris

I like to save money also, but Club Ocellaris was worth it IMHO.... just my two yen's worth