Palau or Philippines? Help!!

[circusoflife]

Oh yeah near Apo you can also see small creatures too in calm waters, nudibranchs, etc.. - if u are into macro stuff. Also plenty of frogfish...

 

[circusoflife]

[video=youtube;nyenGH8fdL4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyenGH8fdL4[/video]

Video gives a good idea of the boat ride to Apo...the underwater video DOES NOT do the place justice...at all.

Look for a video on Youtube - ecotippingpoint about Apo too.

I stayed here --
El Dorado Beach Resort

This place also has inexpensive dorm rooms where I stayed for a few nights after they ran out of space in regular rooms. Swiss run..so more Swiss German tourists there. Very nice grounds/bar/pool area, etc...very relaxing and reasonable price. Easy to mingle with others.

Given the dorm rooms available...this is about as inexpensive for quality one will get for staying so close to world class reefs. Regular rooms are good value too.

Or u could stay on Apo Island...check the net for those places...but there is also good diving on the coast too.

 

[circusoflife]

These videos give a better idea underwater...but still they DO NOT do the place justice!

[video=vimeo;26051073]http://vimeo.com/26051073[/video]

Can only embed 1

Apo Island on Vimeo


Some videos on Balicasag I think on Vimeo...haven't watched them yet.

 

[viva1]

I think we've decided to go to all three places--Yap for 4 days, Palau for 6-7 days and Dumaguete/Alona Beach for 7 days. I think we'll go in May. I heard the weather is good then and seas are calmer.

Not sure whether to stay at The Carolines or PPR in Palau. I like the idea of being in the "jungle" and listening to the birds at Carolines but wonder if it will be an inconvenience going back and forth to PPR to use the beach and snorkel there.

Any thoughts?

I did a scuba diving tour of the all those places noted in 2008 over 3 weeks. Except for Donsol...which at the right season is the place for - whale sharks. I wasn't there at the right time of year...otherwise I would have gone.

I had higher expectations of PG before I went due to things I had read, etc...I'll say it didn't live up to those expectations. (Check the General Travel forum, where have u dived thread - and u can see where I've dived before) As for damage some areas had noticeable damage / rubble areas. Some places are intact, but just not as vibrant looking (Pollution? Natural state of things. Dunno). Not sure how else to describe it. PG guilty of overhype. Fish life not as rich as other places noted from my recollection. U have 200+ dives, but not sure where..but everyone has different expectations / standards so u might go there and enjoy it alot. The scenery in the area is alright.

If u must satisfy ur curiosity go there for a day or two..it's very close to Manila. If I lived in Manila and had only a weekend (2 days) to dive, I might go there -- too much time/money wasted to go elsewhere - though I'm no expert on what else is close to Manila. If I had a long weekend of say 4 days, I would go elsewhere. 3 days...a toss up - depends how bad I wanted to go scuba diving / what I wanted to see.

As for the layout...u can see that on the Internet I suspect. Look on Wiki or Google Images for Puerto Galera. The main village where u stay has a cramped feeling to it. Overbuilding in one space from my perspective. I like more wide open spaces - which all those other places gives. But u gotta work harder to get to those other places. They are more remote.

Padre Burgos - Southern Leyte requires the most effort to get to from that list.

Alona Beach and Dumaguete/Apo are about the same effort I reckon. If coming from Manila, a flight to Dumaguete or Tagbiliran would be fastest then overland a little.

PI has something for everyone from a scuba perspective I reckon..but one really has to do their homework (Like all scuba me thinks) to match one's expectations. Wreck diving go to Palawan. Remote reef - go to Tubbatha. etc...

Get this book and study it! Was invaluable in helping me..but must read carefully...

Amazon.com: Diving Southeast Asia: A Guide to the Best Dive Sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand (Periplus Action Guides) (9780794600761): David Espinosa, Heneage Mitchell, Kal Muller, John B Williams: Books


-- if you LOVE beautiful reefs and don't care about sharks so much...go to APO Island and Alona Beach - Balicasag Island...the reef beauty exceeds that of Palau. Micronesia is more HARD coral. PI is SOFT (really both). I prefer a mix, but if I had to choose, would go more soft. But...if u are planning to go to Yap, well u may as well go to Palau and learn to LOVE DRIFT DIVES!! Hehehehehehehh

 

[Sorrows]

Viva1, I am going to assume that you are using an American tour operator. When I was planning our trip, I noticed that none of them offered many hotel options. It seemed like Caroline's, PPR or the place downtown that reminded me a little of a Motel 6 (sorry!) IMHO, both the places you mention are too far and too inconvenient (not too mention expensive) Sometimes you don't get back to the dock until the late afternoon--so what's the point of staying so far away? And who wants to lay around the pool/play tennis when there is world-class diving available?

In the end, we didn't use our regular dive travel agency (Island Dreams) and let Sam's Tours book the whole thing. We stayed at Sea Passion, which was nice and, more importantly, CLOSE. They have their own little lagoon and Sam's picked us up by boat every day for the--I kid you not--three minute trip back to Sam's. It worked out beautifully. BTW, I still use Island Dreams for other trips--I just don't think they (or any of the other ones) offered a lot of choice in Palau.

 

[Sorrows]

I had higher expectations of PG before I went due to things I had read, etc...I'll say it didn't live up to those expectations. (Check the General Travel forum, where have u dived thread - and u can see where I've dived before) As for damage some areas had noticeable damage / rubble areas. Some places are intact, but just not as vibrant looking (Pollution? Natural state of things. Dunno). Not sure how else to describe it. PG guilty of overhype. Fish life not as rich as other places noted from my recollection. U have 200+ dives, but not sure where..but everyone has different expectations / standards so u might go there and enjoy it alot. The scenery in the area is alright.

If u must satisfy ur curiosity go there for a day or two..it's very close to Manila. If I lived in Manila and had only a weekend (2 days) to dive, I might go there -- too much time/money wasted to go elsewhere - though I'm no expert on what else is close to Manila. If I had a long weekend of say 4 days, I would go elsewhere. 3 days...a toss up - depends how bad I wanted to go scuba diving / what I wanted to see.

As for the layout...u can see that on the Internet I suspect. Look on Wiki or Google Images for Puerto Galera. The main village where u stay has a cramped feeling to it. Overbuilding in one space from my perspective. I like more wide open spaces - which all those other places gives. But u gotta work harder to get to those other places. They are more remote.

Padre Burgos - Southern Leyte requires the most effort to get to from that list.

Alona Beach and Dumaguete/Apo are about the same effort I reckon. If coming from Manila, a flight to Dumaguete or Tagbiliran would be fastest then overland a little.

PI has something for everyone from a scuba perspective I reckon..but one really has to do their homework (Like all scuba me thinks) to match one's expectations. Wreck diving go to Palawan. Remote reef - go to Tubbatha. etc...

Get this book and study it! Was invaluable in helping me..but must read carefully...

Amazon.com: Diving Southeast Asia: A Guide to the Best Dive Sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand (Periplus Action Guides) (9780794600761): David Espinosa, Heneage Mitchell, Kal Muller, John B Williams: Books


-- if you LOVE beautiful reefs and don't care about sharks so much...go to APO Island and Alona Beach - Balicasag Island...the reef beauty exceeds that of Palau. Micronesia is more HARD coral. PI is SOFT (really both). I prefer a mix, but if I had to choose, would go more soft. But...if u are planning to go to Yap, well u may as well go to Palau and learn to LOVE DRIFT DIVES!! Hehehehehehehh

Circusoflife, I have that book. They also publish one for Micronesia. Here's another one I like:
http://www.amazon.com/Diving-Southe...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327609112&sr=1-1.

You are right, though, that one must read these things carefully. Honestly, sometimes it seems as if these guides like everything. That's why I prefer to talk to other divers, read diver's reports, etc.This is especially helpful if you find a diver who is simpatico to your needs, desires, and level of experience.

I've been flirting with the idea of PG for awhile now--as you say, it has been so hyped up and pushed, and then, it is rather inexpensive. Still, something held me back and lately I've been hearing/reading things that make me glad I did. It's a long way to go to be disappointed, no matter how great a deal it is. We finally booked Lembeh for our big dive trip this year--although I seriously considered Dumaguete. And now that I've seen your video of Apo--wow...perhaps next year? We'll have plenty of miles accrued, that's for sure!