Philippines in July

[scoobydrew]

Hey there

I'm heading over to the Philippines in July and can either fly in to Cebu or Manila. I'll be diving and relaxing on the beach. Does anyone have any ideas as to where might have a better chance of less rain at that time of year?

 

[eagerbeaver]

Short version = stay south for less rain. Manila and north of there is generally the worst area for heavy rain if there's no storms anywhere else.

 

[altaskier]

And what about August? When I look at this map of the last 60 years of typhoons, it looks like August is a bit stormier than July. It indeed shows that farther south is better. However, I was in Anilao when Megi hit the northern Philippines in Oct. 2010, and we missed only one dive (OK, we also did two beach dives as a substitute for two boat dives).

I'm sneaking in some dives as part of a work trip, where I'll arrive in Manila very late on a Friday night and fly out at noon on a Wednesday.

In Anilao, we would have no transfer flights and we could hit the water by mid-morning Saturday, and dive through Tuesday early afternoon.

If we were to fly to Dauin or Cebu (for example), we wouldn't be able to dive til Saturday afternoon and we would have to stop diving Tuesday late morning. In addition, we'd have to worry about one more flight connection if there were to be bad weather. On the other hand, places like Dauin and Cebu are further south and farther away from the most common typhoon tracks.

Any suggestions from locals?

 

[eagerbeaver]

I'd say you pretty much have answered your own question. August probably worst weather, BUT if a storm hits it's actually usually not that bad. South better for weather but stay near Manila to maximise diving time...the decision Sir, is yours!

---------- Post added ----------

ps - great map link thanks!

 

[Centrals]

And what about August? When I look at this map of the last 60 years of typhoons, it looks like August is a bit stormier than July. It indeed shows that farther south is better. However, I was in Anilao when Megi hit the northern Philippines in Oct. 2010, and we missed only one dive (OK, we also did two beach dives as a substitute for two boat dives).

I'm sneaking in some dives as part of a work trip, where I'll arrive in Manila very late on a Friday night and fly out at noon on a Wednesday.

In Anilao, we would have no transfer flights and we could hit the water by mid-morning Saturday, and dive through Tuesday early afternoon.

If we were to fly to Dauin or Cebu (for example), we wouldn't be able to dive til Saturday afternoon and we would have to stop diving Tuesday late morning. In addition, we'd have to worry about one more flight connection if there were to be bad weather. On the other hand, places like Dauin and Cebu are further south and farther away from the most common typhoon tracks.

Any suggestions from locals?

Not being a local.
You can also include Subic Bay as an alternative.
With such a short duration, either Anilao or Subic Bay is far more logical than others.
Getting to Subic is dead easy by public bus.

 

[DevonDiver]

As Centrals said; both Subic and Anilao are very convenient from Manila - and useful options for maximizing dive opportunities on an otherwise short timescale. It's possible to leave Manila early am and arrive in Subic in time for a scheduled dive trip.

Subic (being a relatively enclosed bay) does suffer from decreased visibility during periods of heavy rain - its surrounded by mountains and primary jungle - and several rivers feeding into the bay can bring a lot of turbidity through organic run-off. That said, it's also a very sheltered location - and tends to be the 'last diveable place' in the Northern Philippines when storms abound.

Anilao (being open ocean) retains better visibility in inclement weather, but is more exposed to storms and rough water. Choice of resort might allow protection from the worst water conditions, if you factor-in the direction of the prevailing wind/waves and the location of the resort.

My best advice is to remain relatively flexible until you arrive - see what the weather conditions are like and then plan accordingly. If there's particularly bad weather in Luzon, then you may be better served taking a flight down south - less diving days, but more enjoyable conditions. It's hard to predict the weather during monsoon/typhoon seasons from week-to-week.