Padre Burgos or APO Reef or APO Island or some place else?

[rjjj111]

Here are my photos from Southern Leyte: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151769725916828.1073741852.622241827&type=1&l=ad5a8aa974
I hope that my pictures speak louder than words!

Really nice, thanks for the pictures.

 

[xrcjdx]

have been to all 3, several times.

apo reef - a true destination, but i would discourage you, or anyone, from doing it as a day trip from coron. that said, it is more easily doable as a day trip from pandan island off mindoro. but you will only get to see a very, very small part of what is there. apo reef is worth a dedicated liveabord trip, or as part of a liveaboard trip. rags II is highly recommended.

apo island is great, for all the reasons mentioned. liberty's lodge is a fun time. sleeping is not so bad through february. sometime later in march, as hot season starts to spank you, not so much. and it can be done as a day trip - or better 2 - from the resorts at dauin. there are several threads on the board discussing the pros and cons of apo island and dauin/dumaguete. but from this thread alone you should gather enough info to decide if it is worth pursuing within the time frame you have to work.

sogod bay - bingo. as pughio says, it covers all the bases. with a week to spend, and not a particular desire to muck dive for the better part of it, sogod bay is your obvious choice. i have stayed at sogod bay dive resort and peters, multiple times each, and they are both good. lately it has been peter's, and i will be back next month. i met some of the other resort owners in the area, and would have no issue staying with any of them.

any of the resorts can give you up to the minute information about the best way to get there, depending where you are coming from.

 

[rjjj111]

have been to all 3, several times.

apo reef - a true destination, but i would discourage you, or anyone, from doing it as a day trip from coron. that said, it is more easily doable as a day trip from pandan island off mindoro. but you will only get to see a very, very small part of what is there. apo reef is worth a dedicated liveabord trip, or as part of a liveaboard trip. rags II is highly recommended.

apo island is great, for all the reasons mentioned. liberty's lodge is a fun time. sleeping is not so bad through february. sometime later in march, as hot season starts to spank you, not so much. and it can be done as a day trip - or better 2 - from the resorts at dauin. there are several threads on the board discussing the pros and cons of apo island and dauin/dumaguete. but from this thread alone you should gather enough info to decide if it is worth pursuing within the time frame you have to work.

sogod bay - bingo. as pughio says, it covers all the bases. with a week to spend, and not a particular desire to muck dive for the better part of it, sogod bay is your obvious choice. i have stayed at sogod bay dive resort and peters, multiple times each, and they are both good. lately it has been peter's, and i will be back next month. i met some of the other resort owners in the area, and would have no issue staying with any of them.

any of the resorts can give you up to the minute information about the best way to get there, depending where you are coming from.

Sogod Bay is looking like the choice right now. I have been in touch with Peters and another resort in Sogod. Peter's is giving me a cheaper rate on diving and room rate and the email service seems to be a lot better, they are answering all my questions. So I will be staying and diving at Peters place. I will likely save APO Reef for another time and do a dedicated live aboard as you suggest. I went to APO Island for only 1 day of diving once before and the diving there was just OK, nothing special in my opinion compared to other great places in the Philippines. I am not sure if I was not taken to any of the really good dive sites there at APO Island. I hear several people brag about it.

 

[xrcjdx]

apo - on my last trip, a day trip from dauin - we were diving to the least common denominator on the boat. still pleasant, and worthwhile, but for me at least the fun to be had is off the north if the current is screaming. which is often. needless to say, with some noobs and snorkelers on the boat, we were staying on the west.

 

[Centrals]

Apo Reef is nice but too difficult to get there. Day trip from Coron or Mindoro takes too much time. if you want big fish encounter(white tips, tuna etc) then this is the place.
Apo Island is not bad either but my preference is.........
Southern Leyte.
However getting there is NOT that straight forward. Your best bet is via Tacloban instead of Cebu City.
Napantau Marine Sanctury, Limasawa island and Padres Burgos Jetty(night dive) are highly recommended. BTW, bring a magniflying glasses!!!