Philippine Diving Rocks

[Rogersea]

Congrats on your first trip. This forum really does make the trip and associate planning much easier.

Cheers,
Roger

 

[fisheater]

Gotta agree.

I just got back from two weeks in the Phillipines. One week (& 30 dives) at Atlantis Puerto Galera and another week (& another 30 dives) at Atlantis Dumaguete.

Amazing creatures. Great diving. Excellent topside accommodations.

I want to go back!


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[guyon]

The dive you describe at Sombrero is called, strangely enough... Sombrero, but there is a much better dive site on the other side called Beatrice. The guides often avoid it because the current can be raging... but I usually push them to go, or download the tide tables and show them when slack tide is... Beatrice is just a coral jungle, last time I was there I followed a sea snake which was nearly 2m long; it did not seem to be bothered by me at all.

 

[leadweight]

I just checked my log and on Nov 5th we dove Beatrice. As I recall the current was strong and all the swimming gave me a backache.

Our trip home was a major malfunction. The Continental flight out of Manila was late. About half an hour from Guam they said the United flight to Hawaii would be held for us and the flight attendants moved some passengers up to empty seats near the front of the aircraft so they could get off faster. When we landed an agent greeted us and said "we would be accommodated". The Mermaid says, "what does that mean?" The Hawaii flight left without us and we were rerouted through Narita. It was amazing that we arrived in Houston only 7 hours late. Right now I am totally jet lagged, attempting to repair myself with coffee.

Fisheater, 60 dives in 2 weeks is amazing. The most I ever did in a week is something like 24.

 

[fisheater]

[snip]

Fisheater, 60 dives in 2 weeks is amazing. The most I ever did in a week is something like 24.

Thanks. I hadn't flown half way across the planet to lounge around the pool, get massages or - for that matter - sleep. I'd come to dive. And dive I did.

Sorry to hear that your trip back was delayed. Mine was delayed a full day, because CebuPacific cancelled our flight out of Dumaguete, right when it was supposed to leave. (No explanation. No apology. No help with anything.) That meant that we missed our Manila flight home. Fortunately, Atlantis came back and picked us up for another day.

Not only did it cost a bunch of money to rebook my flight home and I was delayed 24 hours, but i didn't get to add any more dives.




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[leadweight]

fisheater, sorry about the cancellation and cost to change your ticket back to the US. They probably declined the pilot's credit card when he wanted to fuel up the aircraft, no dough, no go, LOL. Luck is so relative.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Ah the United/Continental merger . . .flights scheds are going to be snafu'd all over the trans Pacific Region, and now their excess baggage fees are just extortionately high as well.

But the Philippines --can't find a greater variety of diving in the world that's better economically for your US dollar, all at the apex point of the biodiverse IndoPacific "Coral Triangle". Wreck diving, walls & drift, deep tech, macro muck diving (and even caves if you're into that); and everybody speaks and understands English ("Taglish") too !

 

[Ed Palma]

The dive you describe at Sombrero is called, strangely enough... Sombrero, but there is a much better dive site on the other side called Beatrice. The guides often avoid it because the current can be raging... but I usually push them to go, or download the tide tables and show them when slack tide is... Beatrice is just a coral jungle, last time I was there I followed a sea snake which was nearly 2m long; it did not seem to be bothered by me at all.

Agree with this. There are times when the conditions on Beatrice are just absolutely fantastic, ie practically no current:

 

[leadweight]

Doc, that first image is kind of how I remember it.

As far as the airlines go, whenever something goes wrong the flight attendants smile and say, don't worry, we are United now, LOL. Tickets from Houston to the Caribbean are insanely expensive right now. Since I have the time, I might as well go back to the Philippines where everything costs less once I get there, and the diving totally blows away anything I have ever seen in the Caribbean.

 

[Kevrumbo]

That's it . . .telling the Boss I'm taking the rest of the year off from work. . .

In Truk 25Nov to 08Dec; Palau 09Dec to 19Dec; and ad lib sidetrip to Philippines (PG, Bohol/Alona Beach/Balicasag I.) 20Dec to ??Jan 2012.

Good Diving & Happy Holidays to all!