Planning 2 weeks in Puerto Galera and maybe nearby locations

[bvbellomo]

Both the South China Sea and Taiwan are possible starting points for a war and not far. This is not a safety risk, as a USA-China war would affect everyone everywhere. China is not going to randomly harass or sink a dive boat.

 

[shimmer]

The Philippine government calls the holiday as Chinese New Year.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/nationwide-holidays/2025/

It's in the middle of the week. I don't think it'll be an issue. Try booking hotel reservations to see if rooms are available those dates. Rooms in El Galleon are available as of this time.

 

[Scuba-guy]

I got the best idea for you, forget about Puerto Galera, you should go to Puerto Plata Dominican Republic, they will call you Gringo, and you can call them Amigo, problem solved a perfect match.

 

[Centrals]

OK, be sure and tell the world. I'll mention it to my relatives with the Chinese bloodline and see what they're calling it these days.

Tell the world? The answer is readily available.
They ought to read this!

Chinese New Year - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Spring Festival.

To call it Lunar New Year so as not to confuse with the Western New Year.
Lunisolar Calendar was still in used in the country until Republic of China overturned the Qing dynasty in 1911.

 

[Johnboy70_99]

OK, be sure and tell the world. I'll mention it to my relatives with the Chinese bloodline and see what they're calling it these days.

Yea, I will try to get my Chinese wife and her family to stop calling that too.

 

[YYCLuke]

We gonna get back to talking about diving and not arguing over semantics over a holiday that just makes things busier all over the Philippines? Lol.

If you are planning on diving during this particular holiday, either book now or postpone your trip cause it'll be hell to find hotel and open spots at dive shops over the whole week that CNY/LNY is going on. Been there. Done that twice. If I didn't know the owner of a shop last time I wouldn't have been diving.

 

[bvbellomo]

It seems Feb 6th and later is safe from holiday disruption, and this is earlier than I would have traveled anyway.

The cost of a Philippines trip is only marginally less than the cost of an Indonesian trip. The reason I choose Philippines is shorter flight times. From the airline schedules, that was a mistake. If I can't save more than a hour or so, I am going to Komodo in June.

 

[hdtran]

It seems Feb 6th and later is safe from holiday disruption, and this is earlier than I would have traveled anyway.

The cost of a Philippines trip is only marginally less than the cost of an Indonesian trip. The reason I choose Philippines is shorter flight times. From the airline schedules, that was a mistake. If I can't save more than a hour or so, I am going to Komodo in June.

I don't know where you are in the US. For me, I researched departures from West Coast airports (a bit easier for me). There are nonstops to Manila from LAX and SFO (Philippines Airlines and United Airlines), and one-stops from LAX, SFO, and SEA (many carriers). I got a $800 r/t from LAX (connection in Taipei) in basic economy, and another fee for seat selection (about $60 if I want to select a seat in advance). Not counting getting to LAX, it's about 16-18 hrs for LAX-MNL (with about 13 hrs on the LAX-TPE leg). The nonstops are about 13 hrs, but the price was closer to $1200 for my timeframe.

I did look at Indonesia pre-pandemic--it was going to be close to 24 hrs LAX to, say, Manado airport in North Sulawesi. Admittedly, the land transfer in some parts of Indonesia does look a lot less painful than Manila to Puerto Galera.

Once I'm in MNL, the resort is happy to arrange a private van transfer for you (for $$$). Or, if you feel comfortable doing it yourself, the pinned post at the top of the forum has discussions on taking bus-and-ferry to Puerto Galera. I researched many youtube videos on how to avoid getting ripped off by taxis in Manila, and on getting from a Manila bus station to Puerto Galera via bus and ferry. I'm pretty comfortable doing public-ish transit; I've done quite a bit of public transit transfers in first world countries (Japan, Spain, Portugal), and some third world (/sarc on) such as Portland OR or Chicago IL (/sarc off). I figure about 1 working day for the transfer MNL to Puerto Galera. I will want a full night's sleep when I arrive in the Philippines. I've built in an extra day for the return--where I live, I have to stay overnight either in MNL or in LAX before I make it back home.

Best of luck planning your trip, and have fun!

 

[bvbellomo]

I am flying from CLE (Cleveland Ohio). I can make it to Manila with 1 stop in San Francisco with a 14 hour layover and then a 15 hour flight. Faster (and cheaper) to do 2 or even 3 stops. This could include a later flight to San Francisco with a stop somewhere like Denver. Or a stop outside the US, such as Seoul or Tokyo.

From what I've read, Grab is the way to navigate Manila, and I'd rather take at least a day to recover and maybe find something touristy before going to PG. This saves a lot of money if my flight is late, although travel insurance may cover that. IMO the private transfer rates to PG from the airport are priced ridiculously.

Denpasar is at least 2 stops, with half the routes going west and half going east. It is much further as far as distance and time in the air, but probably 2 hours longer total time with layovers, and the price is close.

I am probably looking at 27 hours from my house to the Manila airport vs 29 to the Denpasar airport. Then 3 boring hours in Manila in a cab, vs less than 1 in Denpasar, and I probably lose more travel time going to PG. I may lose a dive day in Bali, since I am worried about late flights, and paying for a resort day I don't use isn't as bad a missing a boat. But learning to surf or hiking with monkeys or visiting temples or something else in Bali is more appealing than anything in Manila. Either way, I get some of the best dives of my life, but then have to turn around and do it again back to the USA.

 

[tridacna]

maybe find something touristy before going to PG.

Must see: Corregidor Island. If you're a history buff (or not), this is a fantastic day trip while in Manila. Do yourself a favor and go visit the island. Closed down during Covid, but I believe it's back open now.