Philippine Diving Advice wanted

[dlndavid]

After reading Tom's logged dives, all I could say was 3000+ dives WOW!
My wife is from Cebu and I will be diving the PI' s one day, any advice!

 

[TomvdH]

3000+ dives WOW!
My wife is from Cebu and I will be diving the PI' s one day, any advice!

Since my wife is also a Filipina you are asking the wrong guy for advice.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Sure I have an idea or two, but first I promise no more wife jokes. Myr (my wife) is NAUI and PADI certified Advanced, Nitrox, Wreck and an U/W Photographer. She is also my dive buddy, spare air, and soul mate.

Where to start? The Philippines has all kinds of diving, all kinds of marine life (2,500+ species), and more resorts than we can count. I guess I would have to ask what kind of diving you are looking for. How long would you be here diving, and what time of year you would be here. Our biggest problem - hard to make decisions when there are so many choices.

Let us know what you are looking for and we will be happy to give you some ideas.

 

[dlndavid]

Since my wife is also a Filipina you are asking the wrong guy for advice.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Sure I have an idea or two, but first I promise no more wife jokes. Myr (my wife) is NAUI and PADI certified Advanced, Nitrox, Wreck and an U/W Photographer. She is also my dive buddy, spare air, and soul mate.

Where to start? The Philippines has all kinds of diving, all kinds of marine life (2,500+ species), and more resorts than we can count. I guess I would have to ask what kind of diving you are looking for. How long would you be here diving, and what time of year you would be here. Our biggest problem - hard to make decisions when there are so many choices.

Let us know what you are looking for and we will be happy to give you some ideas.

Hi Tom,
No advice about my filipina wife? I found if kept fed, she can be quite nice.
But about the diving in the PI's, not quite sure when we will be there, but I do want to be close to Barrilie in Cebu, my wife's family is there. She does not dive (or hardly swim, go figure) so I will be solo when it comes to diving. Was just looking for general suggestions to begin with to start my research. Does and don'ts, where are where not kinda stuff.
Thanks
David

 

[TomvdH]

Hi Tom,
No advice about my filipina wife? I found if kept fed, she can be quite nice.
But about the diving in the PI's, not quite sure when we will be there, but I do want to be close to Barrilie in Cebu, my wife's family is there. She does not dive (or hardly swim, go figure) so I will be solo when it comes to diving. Was just looking for general suggestions to begin with to start my research. Does and don'ts, where are where not kinda stuff.
Thanks
David

Hi David,

Cebu is definitely a good place to be. It is the center of the tourism (including dive tourism), not Manila. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of great diving all over the Philippines, but if you are going to be in the Cebu area anyway, you will be starting from the center of things. Plenty of shops, resorts and dive locations close by.

We will be promoting this Forum in the community here and I am sure that within a month or so you will have more than enough information and plenty of people to contact about diving together here. Like most divers, we don’t need much of an excuse to get wet.

Stay tuned and by the time you arrive you will have plenty of options and be well equipped with the information you need to take advantage of what mother nature gave us.

 

[travelem]

Just stop by and say hello!!!

 

[shugar]

hi david,

i'm not sure where exactly barrilie in cebu is, but it's not a big island so you shouldn't have a problem running away for a dive or 2 (unless of course her relatives insist on feeding you yet again and having you over for yet another meal... trust me, this can go on for weeks if left unchecked)

the nearest divesites are on mactan island w/c is where the airport is and is part of metro cebu...

there's a liveaboard service on the northwest side of cebu island called MALAPASCUA that also has some resort-based operations... malapascua is the local home of thresher sharks among other big animal encounters

then there's Bantayan Island on the north tip of cebu w/c is what (they say) boracay was about 30 years ago (before over commercialism)... i don't know what the dive ops there are exactly but there are a lot of foreigner (read: westerner) owned ops so i wouldn't be surprised to see more than a few dive ops tucked in between the bars and the cottages

Jag

 

[shugar]

You were told right. Heaven on Earth. As for cheap, well lets just say, this is one place where you will get more than your money's worth - along with a smile.

now that you mention it tom, i was wondering: how much does it cost to dive in other countries? you've been around a lot so i figured you'd know...

here it's more or less $20/ dive (own gear) in most places like galera and about <$10 in anilao... is that a competitive rate?

Jag

 

[partridge]

Hello from down south. I dive mostly here in General Santos but also a lot in Cebu. My wife is from there.

Barili is very close to Moal boal which is very good diving. You can search it on the net. I was there Nov 3-4. Aside from the regular things to see on a dive there, which is a lot, I saw 2 black tips being harrassed by a school of jacks and a small fish being eaten by a jellyfish. I was just lucky. The only problem I have with this place is it is all diving. There is nothing else to do there. Problem if you have a non diving family. A really nice thing about MoalBoal is that the dive shops have scheduled trips during the day. So you can show up alone and still make a dive. Usually its 9 am and 2 pm.

Mactan has not so great diving but 20 minutes by boat and you are in hilutungan and nalusuan islands. These are well kept sanctuaries and offer great diving. I dove them about 2 weeks ago.

Balicasag in Bohol is great diving, but that is a trip from Cebu. I was taking my IDC and a group just came back from there. Schools of barracuda and jacks. Some sharks.

I love diving in Cebu.

 

[TomvdH]

now that you mention it tom, i was wondering: how much does it cost to dive in other countries? you've been around a lot so i figured you'd know...

here it's more or less $20/ dive (own gear) in most places like galera and about <$10 in anilao... is that a competitive rate?

Jag

Jag,


I thought about your question for a few days. For a moment the engineer side of me almost got a hold of me and I was about to embark on a detailed evaluation of the cost of diving in all the great places I have dove around the world, but then I decided that there is no "Fair Answer", as there are too many variables, and the financial variables are not always the most important.

A tank of air, with boat (lets say of six divers), DM can run from US$10/dive up to US$70/dive depending on a lot of things.

Location: Diving in Bahamas per tank is probably 3 or 4 times more expensive than here, but if you live in the USA, what is the cost of the airline ticket to the Bahamas as compared to the Philippines?

Time: For those of us lucky enough to live in the Philippines, good diving is just a few hours away at most, and great diving is a weekend invested and still enough time with the family for Sunday dinner. Great diving in the Red Sea, unless you live in Cairo or Jeddah is a lot more time invested. Even when I lived in Jakarta, traveling to my favorite dive site (Alor) was a three plane and one boat trip (one way), and that's all in the same country. Then, I can't forget to mention that we had to take our own compressors, weights, tanks, etc. which leads me into equipment costs.

Equipment: When I dive I need several people to help me with my cameras, gear, and all the 'stuff' I bring. If you were flying in that 'stuff' would cost you about US$110/bag (one way) from the USA to the Philippines as extra baggage - unless you were on Philippine Airlines which gives a special allowance to divers who sign up for their sports card. Take note perspective divers headed this way. This card is easy to get and can save you a nice piece of change.

Equipment Service: Cheaper by the dive sure, but you know when I was in Puerto Princessa, between two trips to Tubbataha last year, there was no way I was going to find a replacement battery for my wife's Mosquito. Probably sold in every 7/11 in the world, but not in Palawan.

THE WHOLE THING: Actually this is where I wanted to take this note. I was just taking my normal indirect route. Diving the Philippines is not ONLY about the water and what you saw (but your camera did not). It is about the entire environment. Great people, great food, great culture, great sun sets, AND great diving - all at a reasonable cost. It is the combination of these "greats" that make the Philippines the best dive destination in the world, not the cost of a tank of 'gas'. If you want to verify this it’s easy. Just ask anyone here how there weekend dive was, or how the live-aboard trip was. The answer is always about the food, and the people first, then the about the dives. Now a skeptic could say, well because we can dive all the time, of course other aspects play a larger roll! I disagree. We can eat and spend time with friends when we are not diving as well - and do.

So, diving the Philippines is not about price, but about the entire experience. Remember all those Asian philosophers who tried to teach us, "It is the trip, not the destination, that is important." The trip here is Great!!!!

 

[lukeROB]

Jag,


I thought about your question for a few days. For a moment the engineer side of me almost got a hold of me and I was about to embark on a detailed evaluation of the cost of diving in all the great places I have dove around the world, but then I decided that there is no "Fair Answer", as there are too many variables, and the financial variables are not always the most important.

A tank of air, with boat (lets say of six divers), DM can run from US$10/dive up to US$70/dive depending on a lot of things.

Location: Diving in Bahamas per tank is probably 3 or 4 times more expensive than here, but if you live in the USA, what is the cost of the airline ticket to the Bahamas as compared to the Philippines?

Time: For those of us lucky enough to live in the Philippines, good diving is just a few hours away at most, and great diving is a weekend invested and still enough time with the family for Sunday dinner. Great diving in the Red Sea, unless you live in Cairo or Jeddah is a lot more time invested. Even when I lived in Jakarta, traveling to my favorite dive site (Alor) was a three plane and one boat trip (one way), and that's all in the same country. Then, I can't forget to mention that we had to take our own compressors, weights, tanks, etc. which leads me into equipment costs.

Equipment: When I dive I need several people to help me with my cameras, gear, and all the 'stuff' I bring. If you were flying in that 'stuff' would cost you about US$110/bag (one way) from the USA to the Philippines as extra baggage - unless you were on Philippine Airlines which gives a special allowance to divers who sign up for their sports card. Take note perspective divers headed this way. This card is easy to get and can save you a nice piece of change.

Equipment Service: Cheaper by the dive sure, but you know when I was in Puerto Princessa, between two trips to Tubbataha last year, there was no way I was going to find a replacement battery for my wife's Mosquito. Probably sold in every 7/11 in the world, but not in Palawan.

THE WHOLE THING: Actually this is where I wanted to take this note. I was just taking my normal indirect route. Diving the Philippines is not ONLY about the water and what you saw (but your camera did not). It is about the entire environment. Great people, great food, great culture, great sun sets, AND great diving - all at a reasonable cost. It is the combination of these "greats" that make the Philippines the best dive destination in the world, not the cost of a tank of 'gas'. If you want to verify this it’s easy. Just ask anyone here how there weekend dive was, or how the live-aboard trip was. The answer is always about the food, and the people first, then the about the dives. Now a skeptic could say, well because we can dive all the time, of course other aspects play a larger roll! I disagree. We can eat and spend time with friends when we are not diving as well - and do.

So, diving the Philippines is not about price, but about the entire experience. Remember all those Asian philosophers who tried to teach us, "It is the trip, not the destination, that is important." The trip here is Great!!!!

SOLD!!!

I'll be there in a month