Puerto Galera April trip plan

[Richard Dayan]

I flew direct on Philippine Air from LAX. This cost me an extra $300, but the 14 hour flight time was sure nice in comparison to the 20+ hours you are looking at.

I arranged a driver through my hotel.(~$90) the night I landed (I landed at about 6pm ish and was through customs etc by 7pm) They met me at the airport and drove me to a basic hotel next to the ferry terminal. I slept 6 hours and caught the first ferry over at 8. The Si-kat means you are fighting manila traffic in and out, and you lost a day of diving. If you are going to take the si-kat bus / ferry then you should stay overnight near the city state tower where the bus leaves from.

I picked up a trike right outside the ferry and 20 minutes later I was at the hotel, and making arrangements for the dives that day, two dives that day only.

On the way back, work with other folks who are staying at your hotel. I was able to split a speedboat / driver and it was $100. They picked us up on the beach front of the hotel and I was at the airport in 3 hours.

I would run out of dives in PG in 8-9 days. Folks recommended Anilao, and you might think about taking the ferry back to batangas after 6 days of diving, have a driver meet you at the ferry terminal and still get in days of diving in Anilao for all the crazy nudis. Or, just take a speed boat from PG to your Anilao resort(30 minutes vs 2 hours) but money.

Updated Schedule:
Sunday night: Depart West coast
Monday night: Arrive Manila: Driver to Batangas
Tuesday AM: Ferry to PG: Trike to Hotel. Arrange Diving Start diving
Wednesday - Tuesday: 6 Days Dive PG!
Tuesday PM: Take Ferry to Batangas, meet driver and travel to Anilao Resort
Wednesday - Saturday 4 Days Dive Anilao!
Sunday: Driver back to Airport (2.5 hours) to catch flight back to west coast arrive Sunday.

Thanks to everyone who posted before as I was planning my trip last year. The 30 hours flying and jet lag was tough and I wanted to get as much diving in as I could. Have fun and enjoy the food.

How do you run out of dives in PG in only 9 days? Last time I was there it took me 2 months to complete 80 dive sites including Verde island.

 

[Luky1]

I stayed 9 nights in PG/Sabang Beach back in May 2018 as a solo diver and first trip to PI. I just started looking at doing a similar trip for May/June 2024 and saw your thread.

When I went late May it was "shoulder season" so prices are less and way less crowded.

El Galleon/Asia divers was a couple hundred yards down the shore from where I stayed (passed it going to town every day). I had quoted them, so had to check them out while I was there. They have a nice set up, but when most places were about empty, they still had mostly full boats so like being on a cattle car (if you are into that; fun with people you know, maybe not if solo. depends what you want/like). I stayed at Out of the Blue resort which was decent (to American standards) and had a pretty good restaurant. Got the pool view/Jacuzzi room so I could hang stuff on my balcony to dry ($108/nt). There were only a couple of other people staying there when I was there so also very quiet, had the pool to myself, etc. only downside was the kitchen had minimal staff and not all food was available. I ate at multiple places in Sabang including Atlantis, Papa Freds, Tamarind, etc. I've been going to Asia for the last 20 years for work (all over China, Korea, Taiwan, HK, Singapore, Malaysia, HK, etc) so I am used to it and like trying new foods.

I used Action Divers next door (associated with hotel) and had a great time. Wake up, shower, go upstairs for breakfast then down the stairs to the dive shop. Service was great as they cleaned and stored my gear and had my stuff set up for me every day (much better than my experiences in Cozumel). Probably 50% of my dives were just me and the Divemaster which was great! I got full bottom time and got to go where I wanted. Other dives maybe had experienced divers, and some not experienced divers (a couple of Chinese chicks with no buoyancy control kept the DM busy one time). I think I got about 28 dives in, including a day trip to Verde Island and a night dive. Definitely my best diving ever and why I want to go back. Except when I got attacked by a huge Titan Trigger by the giant clams (that scared the crap out of me, but I beat him back with my gopro rig ). Sabang Beach is great bang for your buck diving

Back then Air Juan ran a 12 passenger sea plane from Manila bay to PG (and other islands), and the hotel sent a small boat to pick me up at the sea plane dock. Super convenient, about a 30-40 min flight and was like $170 each way. Totally worth it as a time saver but it looks like they may not be in business now. So I am thinking a private van (~$100 I think)/public ferry ($10?) each way this time.

Tropicana Castle had best local exchange rates so I went there to convert a few hundred USD to pesos a couple of times.

Good luck with your trip.

 

[JDelage]

What wetsuit do people like to use in Puerto Galera? 3mm?

 

[blue steal]

What wetsuit do people like to use in Puerto Galera? 3mm?

I used to wear a 3mm Xcell shortie and it was fine. When it came time to replace it I had a custom JMJ 5mm long sleeve shortie.
It also worked out great, easy to pack and dry out.
But it became too tight, that is to say I gained weight.
Now it’s a Henderson thermoprene 3mm fullsuit. It has worked great and keeps me quite warm.

 

[Luky1]

I have a pinnacle 1.5mm full wetsuit for years that has been good for warm water diving. Mainly good to keep the inadvertent stings off... also has rubber knee pads when you want to stop on the bottom.

Shadow — Pinnacle


Much better than the 8mm I have had to use here in "sunny" San Diego... (with 55F water...)

 

[Centrals]

Water is warm in Apr.
We all have different tolerance to cold.
Nowadays, 3mm full suit + 1mm vest with hood + thermal are the bare minimum for me!
I believe in multi-layered.

 

[JDelage]

I dived a 5mm in the middle of the Red Sea in April and that was very, very comfortable. I'm going to look into 3mm...

 

[Searcaigh]

The last time I dived Anilao in 2018 the water temperature was 26C in April and I only brought a 3mm, it was raining and cloudy and impossible to warm up during the SI then I caught a cold after three days of diving.

I almost had a similar issue in Bali last September, and had to purchase a 2mm vest to make me more comfortable.

I'll layer up when possible but a 5mm is probably not a bad idea.

 

[blue steal]

My current tropical suit for Philippines is a 3mm Henderson. It does keep me warm but I actually think a 5mm would be easier to put on and take off, especially with ankle zippers.

 

[bipolarbear]

Everyone is different, of course.

I dive in tech shorts and a t shirt in Puerto Galera during April.