Newbie. 11 Weeks Phili. March - May

[tankdula]

1. What previous threads the forum search came up with
I read A Guide on How to Post Correctly and 5 weeks in Philippines (Newbie). (Tried to link but I can't until I've posted 5x).

2. Budget / Type of Accommodations
Cheap. I'm backpacking and staying in hostels.

3. Type of diving you are looking for and dive experience you have
I was certified a few days ago, Padi OW. I hope to have 10 - 20 dives under my belt by the time I reach Philippines but this is no guarantee. I'm seeking high visibility, warm water. Open to drift/current dives but likely need more experience. Prefer accommodations on land (hostel, guesthouse, homestay) but open to liveaboard. I should note, I don't own any dive equipment and was planning to rent aside from maybe purchasing a mask.

4. What kind of marine life do you want to see?
I'm still working on buoyancy and am loathe to damage any reef, but when I "imagine" a dive, it's with coral reef, and smaller marine life/colorful schools of fish. Hope to graduate to macro marine life (giant sea turtles & clams, big fish, sharks) while in Philippines. No wrecks, caves, nothing technical. I welcome recommendations for a class on identifying marine life and an open water advanced course while in Philippines. I read lots of recommendations for "great dives" but am at a loss for what's appropriate (safe) for my very low skill level??? That's really where I need your help.

5. What kind of atmosphere do you want?
A mix. Need some recommendations that are quiet and relaxed, others that are bustling. I'm young and single and prefer a mid 20's- early 40's crowd. I don't mind solitude but prefer to avoid a couples' getaway, kid central or retirement village.

6. Duration of trip?
11 weeks (arriving early March, staying through late May), then onto Indo June - Aug

7. Are you traveling alone or with a group?
solo

8. Want to do non-diving activities as well?
Absolutely. I'd say 60% non-diving (6-7 weeks) and 40% diving (4-5 weeks). I've only done my cert dives and I'm still apprehensive so that's my best estimate for now. I don't want to rush in an attempt to see *everything* possible in the Philippines, and I don't want to spend all my time "en route". So, proximity and making the most of a particular location is important.

Here's what recommendations I have so far, by activity:
1) For snorkeling.
- Donsol. Whale sharks & "summer/dry" season are the primary reasons for my March-May timing...that & an Air Asia sale. I understand there may be locations in Phili where I can dive & see whale sharks? Dunno if it's more of an advanced dive though. If I have any $ left, I'll dive w/ whale sharks in Mozambique, 2012.

2) For trekking.
- Capas. Mt Pinatubo.
- Negros.

3) For nice beaches/landscape & things to do.
- Palawan. Banol Beach. Malcapuya Island. Sabang. Coron. El Nido. (kayaking & trekking?) Bacuit Archipelago.
- Visayas. Damuguate/Apo. Cebu.

I left Boracay off the list of things to do. I'll spend some time in Bali/Indo and feel Boracay will be redundant. You can correct me if it's a must see.

 

[sonar]

as far as i know it's not possible/ allowed to dive with whalesharks (unless u r lucky). Read on puerto galera. It's a busy place with 25+ divesites. I havent been to malapasque (or something like that) but that sounds really nice as well (shark cleaning station) and very relaxing

nice trip btw

 

[Centrals]

2) Trekking:
3-4 days: Mt. Apo(Davao)
Day trip: Camiguin Island. Actually the island has plenty to offer especially on out- door activities.

11 weeks holiday!!!!!! Those were the days!!!

 

[Karl_H]

Hi Tankdula,

There's lot of good questions in your post so I'll attempt to give you some answers on the ones I know about - luckily there's lots of helpful people on this board so you should have questions to everything before too long!

Budget wise cheap accommodation should be no problems, a live aboard would generally not be a cheap option though as most live aboards will cost a lot more than staying in a (good) hotel and diving with the resort dive centre.

Dive conditions in March to May are very good, the viz should still be good while the water temp is still very much on the 'warm water' side.

The equipment thing may be worth rethinking, have a think how many dives, or how many days of diving, you'll be doing and find some typical rates for hiring that equipment - you may find you'll be paying almost the same, or more in some cases, than it would cost to buy that equipment. It adds extra cost to buy but try to find some good quality used gear - this should save you money for the trip while you'll have your own gear to keep at the end of things.

Diving wise you'll have a great choice while here, most destinations will offer plenty of offer reef and macro, not all offer bigger stuff but there's usually an option for this. Just for reference the diving term for macro goes against what the rest of the world tends to describe as macro (except photographers of course!), basically macro photography means the subject image is large (i.e. life size) on the camera film/sensor as opposed to smaller - in other words macro is used to describe the both small and close up photography - usually when people say macro we would normally mean small stuff like shrimp, juvenile life etc.

You'll see plenty of sea turtles (depends what you class as giant - not the monster Caribbean size giant turtles), lots of giant clams, plenty of sharks and bigger fish. For a cheaper option on marine life identity there a few good books on Philippine Sea/SE Asian fish and other species which most resorts will have copies of - just ask to borrow the books and do your own identification after each dive - someone at the resort should be able to help with what is normally seen there.

Dive locations wise, it's probably better to see several over the 11 weeks with breaks between diving. Recommended locations would be:

Subic
if you like wrecks you'll love Subic, if you don't like wrecks the reef is not so good! I noticed you missed the rice terrances off your list 'outside diving'? If you're heading up north it would be worth calling by Subic on the way back.

Anilao
Great diving but very little to do outside of the diving, perfrect for relaxong for a few days - any longer may get boring!

Puerto Galera
The usual location of choice for a combined Dive/Party trip. Some excellent diving (Verde, Canyons) but also some very average diving, plenty of nightlife and enough to see outside of diving to keep you busy for a long time!

Malapascua
I've still not been but it's number one on my 'to do' list. Super high chances of seeing thresher sharks and large rays through the year with the rest of the diving generally regarded as excellent.

Dumaguette
Great diving in a quiet (but not as quiet as Anilao!) setting

Bohol/Alona
Alona is a nice beach but is a lot more family orientated (but not family only) than others, diving is okay to good but the nearby Balicasag Island sites (about 45-60 minutes by boat) are world class. Cabliao is worth a mention too!

That would be my recommendation, other sites worth thinking about would be Moalbol, Southern Leyte (possible whalesharks but may be too late in the season) and Sarangani - I don't know too much about these places so will leave it to the experts

Diving with whalesharks is possible at pretty much all of the sites mentioned - you just need to be very lucky! The only place to 'guarantee*' the whalesharks is Donsol which as you mention is snorkelling only.

Trip wise you can visit most of Luzon and PG from a Manila base, a cheap flight to Cebu from Manila will put you in the heart of the Visaya where most locations can be reached by a single ferry or bus trip. Donsol/Southern Leyte and Sarangani would probably need another flight unless you're up for a much longer ferry/bus trip to get there.

Boracay is worth a visit in my opinion, the diving isn't so good there but gets put down a lot more than it deserves - if you dive with a decent operator who will take you to the decent sites you'll enjoy Boracay - sadly most won't go further than the house reef, or in most cases house rock/rubble. Boracay is different to Bali and well worth a trip while you're in the Philippines. Could be a good stop off between Manila and Cebu?

Hope that helps!

Karl

 

[pughio83]

well you can certainly fit in a lot but a lot of the sugested places are obviously dive locations so if you want topside action too then there are many other places. I have been there quite a few times and still love it. getting on flights to and fro different places is v easy and cheap to do. my suggestions that i enjoyed include-

1)Banaue rice terraces and Segada - topside sight seeing, fantastic views
2)Manila - 2-3 days at most to see some sites and get the idea.
3)Bohol - good diving,nice beaches and topside you have chocolate hills, tarsiers, river cruise etc..
4)Donsol - whaleshark snorkelling (best in mar-april i believe)
5)Palawan - jungle trekking/wildlife, subterranean river canoeing, dugongs, el nido, coron (if you like wrecks)
6)Boracay - go for a week. nice beaches, loads of parties during easter, fun and social. Plus has some good dive sites, with good macro, esp night dives. Plus often there are trips going out to maniguin island and panagatan where i have seen mantas,mobulas,hammerheads. You can have a lot of fun there!
7)Sogod Bay in southern leyte - hopefully going there next april and supposed to have pristine reefs, good macro and good chance of diving with whalesharks (donsol snorkel only).
8) Peurta Galera or Anilao - both good macro, anilao better macro but quiet whereas PG good diving and nightlife planty!!

9) not been but friends say check out malapascua (for thresher sharks), dumagute for macro, moal boal.
10)if you like surfing go siargao, plus just opening up for diving i think?

11)If you have the cash - tubattaha in april - liveaboard! but for backpacker prob off budget!

 

[chip104]

Nice post!

you can see plenty in 11 weeks, especially since you're solo. Just be prepared to spend a bit of time commuting between the locales. Travel time is inherent to seeing the Philippines since it's an archipelago and highways are pretty much non-existent.

Karl put out some great summaries on the dive locales. Pughio mentioned some great non-diving things. For what you mentioned, here are the places I'd reco:

Puerto Galera - it's a mix of atmosphere, the diving is great for beginner divers and transitioning into more advanced sites, and there's plenty of non-diving things to do. If you'll be in PG, you can go over to Anilao for a couple days and also check out Taal Volcano (you can trek up the inner crater). Ditto with Karl on Anilao. Great diving.

Bohol - definitely reco this island since there's plenty of non-diving things to do. You have enough time to check out Alona, Cabilao, and Adna locales. Cabilao and Adna have a more quiet atmosphere than Alona. From Bohol, you can jump off to other surrounding locales - Cebu, Dumaguete, Leyte, Cagayan De Oro.

Camiguin/Cagayan De Oro - Good trekking, rapid water rafting, and good diving. Definitely check it out. You can get here via ferry from Jagna, Bohol or Cebu City.

Coron - although you don't want any wreck diving, I still recommend you check out Coron since it has plenty of other things to do besides diving (plus they have non-wreck dives: Siete Pecados, Barrcuda Lake, and Gunther's Cathedral).

Subic - You don't have to dive Subic but it's relatively close to Mount Pinatubo (if you want to do the volcano trek) and you can stop over to check out the town (as a break to the beach-going). From what you posted, I don't think you'll miss Subic that much.

Boracay - Meh, I wouldn't bother with Boracay but if you have time to spare, go for it. If you want to party and let loose, definitely go for it.

Hope that gives you a better idea.

 

[sarahdee]

Hi there

I would rethink the equipment if you are going to do a lot of diving as rental will add up. If you don't want to carry too much even if you just had mask, snorkel, fins, computer and regs that's a big start and just hiring a BCD shouldn't set you back a fortune. E.g. In our dive shop if you do three dives a day then a full equip package would be EUR 6 per dive. If you do 30 dives that's nearly EUR 200. If you are unsure then perhaps consider leaving room in the rucksack and budget to buy as you go. That way if you hire some fins you really like along the way you know what to buy....

As well as Alona in Bohol consider Anda - around a 1.5 hour drive from Alona or Tagbilarian. The diving here is very good for all levels inc beginners (great vis, mild current and lots to see) and we get a lot of solo travellers, couples and small groups of friends of all ages. It's a long way from the touristy areas of Alona, Boracay but it's definately worth checking out for a few days. Its also not far from Jagna so easy to combine with a trip to Camiguin.

Definately try Apo Island - you can stay in Dumaguete and get boat trips from there

I've never been but top of my wishlist (after listening to all the guests coming through my shop) are Moalboal and Malapascuar.

As for your skill level just try and email in advance and explain or go round several dive centres and talk to the staff. A good resort will tell you no way or put you in a group thats the same level going to suitable sites. If you have 10-20 dives by the time you get here you will be feeling much more confident. It's always best to rack up the dives, as you are doing, while your OW course is still fresh in your mind. You might want to consider doing your advanced course if you find somewhere you liked and want to stay 2-3 days. That way you'll gain some more experience (and confidence) with an instructor and you'll be able to go that bit deeper. Usually 18m is fine but we have a few cool things just a bit our of your reach - like sea horses at 22m.

Non diving I can only speak for Bohol: Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers, Loboc river, dolphin watching, Danao (eco adventure park), lots of caves etc.

Hope that helps!

 

[tankdula]

I just had to thank everyone because ALL of these posts had helpful information and some really robust descriptions. This will certainly help me narrow (and do further reading) on both diving and non diving locations. It's slowly becoming less daunting to piece together a loose itinerary.

A great point from sarahdee and Karl_H that I hadn't even considered is whether to rent or buy diving gear. I am hoping to travel fairly light (under 30lb or 14kg in a 55 +15 liter backpack). As a solo traveler staying in hostels, I'm also concerned about theft. I'll have travel insurance as I'll be flashpacking (small laptop, camera, phone etc).
If I were to set out with a select few pieces, what gear should I purchase (e.g. a mask, regulator)? Not sure what it makes the most sense for a novice to carry. Is it cheaper to rent some gear (e.g. just bcd, wetsuit, fins) rather than a full set?

I'm not even sure how to figure out what I like... My local dive school would probably allow me to test things on their weekend lake certification dives.

Could use a bit more advice here. Thanks again!

 

[Rogersea]

Tankdula,
I would not be too concerned with theft here, you may hear about things that have gone missing but it is truely the exception rather than the rule. Besides, you can always leave gear at the dive store your conducting business with.
My recommendations for personal gear in priority order for your trip are:
1. Mask and Snorkel
2. Fins
3. Personal Dive Computer
4. Rash Guard(if you find you need a wetsuit while in Philippines wetsuits are pretty inexpensive)
5. Regulator(1st/2nd/octo/guages)
6. BCD
IMHO, 1 through 4 will make your travels much more enjoyable......5 and 6 will make you a little less mobile and majority of shops I have seen have decent rental equipment(if they dont you may not want to be diving with them anyway) But you should consider purchasing 5 and 6 when you get back to the states or picking up a set late in your trip. Divers who own their own gear are much more likely to remain active divers.

Now you need to add Moalboal to your list, as it is a nice laid back diving village with several very nice dive sites.




Cheers,
Roger

 

[Pao]

Absolute minimum are mask and computer. An ill-fitting mask can really ruin a dive. Not all dive shops rent out computers and it can be expensive to rent one. A wristwatch style computer can also double as your regular watch (one less piece of equipment to carry).