Puerto Galera (Big Lalaguna Beach) trip planning

[SpeckledGrouper]

We where in PG last May and had a great time there. Flew Air Canada to Seoul and Asiana on to Manila in a brand new Airbus 350, amazing...
Stayed at Out of the Blue Resort and dove with Action Divers located right next door. No complaints whatsoever. Out of the Blue's restaurant is The Veranda, rated No 1 in PG on Trip Advisor, we had all meals there, no need to go elsewhere. We flew Philippine Airlines from Manila to Cebu, also no complaints. Would go back in a heartbeat and do it all over again.

 

[Divenut1959]

another option to stay is AirBNB..I will be renting a small and very nice cottage for 45 USD/night. Yes I do have to prepare coffee in the morning but otherwise eating out is very reasonable there and I would be doing that even if I stayed in a nice resort. I prefer not to pay for food or drink i may not use or feel obligated to eat at a resort because I paid for it.

My AirBNB place is 5 min walk to my dive operation at Action Divers who will charge me 26USD/dive which is the going rate around Sabang. They are a smaller operations and I enjoyed last year of having 3-4 divers max in the group...made it easy to agree on the sites and our BT skill levels were equal so depending on the dive we had anywhere from 45 mins to 60 mins of dive time.

I have never stayed at El Galleon/Asia Divers but I have seen lots of divers using them...that may be a clue they are good but I don't like to be in groups of 8 -10 divers. Feels like a cattle operation.

if any members would like information on the place I am staying please PM for the details. I will post a trip report with my Airbnb experiences in middle of March when I return

 

[Trailboss123]

another option to stay is AirBNB..I will be renting a small and very nice cottage for 45 USD/night. Yes I do have to prepare coffee in the morning but otherwise eating out is very reasonable there and I would be doing that even if I stayed in a nice resort. I prefer not to pay for food or drink i may not use or feel obligated to eat at a resort because I paid for it.

My AirBNB place is 5 min walk to my dive operation at Action Divers who will charge me 26USD/dive which is the going rate around Sabang. They are a smaller operations and I enjoyed last year of having 3-4 divers max in the group...made it easy to agree on the sites and our BT skill levels were equal so depending on the dive we had anywhere from 45 mins to 60 mins of dive time.

I have never stayed at El Galleon/Asia Divers but I have seen lots of divers using them...that may be a clue they are good but I don't like to be in groups of 8 -10 divers. Feels like a cattle operation.

if any members would like information on the place I am staying please PM for the details. I will post a trip report with my Airbnb experiences in middle of March when I return

Thanks for that info. Looking forward to your trip report!

 

[Tippytoes12]

We flew from Heathrow to Cebu with Asiana last year and they were great , way better than Emirates. On the way back we had enough time to spend a few hours in the transit hotel in Soeul , which made a huge difference. The times of the flights could have been better , but we got a great fare and would not hesitate to travel with them again.

You bet! I will also let you know about Tubbataha. Some report it’s the best diving the Philippines has to offer. Depending on how I like that compared to Indonesia, I may want to return and dive the Visayas.

We are going to PG because like the OP, I also hear it has a nice mix though as a photographer, I know the muck diving is better in Anilao. I was worried the rest of our group would be bored!

Coron has some nice wrecks and beaches...El Nido is pure beach bumming before we hop onto the safari. I’m happy to share our plans with you. Heck, come this April instead.

92 days to go....



Yes, I forgot about that. Thanks! I have not flown Asiana but have read on FlyerTalk that their hard product (plane’s decor/finishes, seating, entertainment, etc.) has gotten a bit worn and weathered and that they have not been as good as the other Asian airlines about maintenance or keeping things updated. Do you have any feedback on it?

w from Heathrow to

 

[cpace]

Just booked 12 nights with Scandi Divers in Puerto Galera (Big Lalaguna Beach). Very reasonable package. The driver for this trip was the relatively inexpensive (much cheaper than most Caribbean locations) airfare from Seattle.

 

[Centrals]

Just booked 12 nights with Scandi Divers in Puerto Galera (Big Lalaguna Beach). Very reasonable package. The driver for this trip was the relatively inexpensive (much cheaper than most Caribbean locations) airfare from Seattle.

Nearly all the sites are very near except Verde island, not to be missed, request to dive alone if you are NOT happy with your fellow divers!

Which airline are you going to use? PAL has non stop flight from Vancouver to Manila, touch down around 07:00.

 

[cpace]

Which airline are you going to use? PAL has non stop flight from Vancouver to Manila, touch down around 07:00.

Going with EVA airlines. Seattle-Taipei-Manila. For us (we live on the Olympic Peninsula), Vancouver B.C. is about 3-4 hour drive in traffic (including a border crossing).

 

[bshort4]

You bet! I will also let you know about Tubbataha. Some report it’s the best diving the Philippines has to offer. Depending on how I like that compared to Indonesia, I may want to return and dive the Visayas.

We are going to PG because like the OP, I also hear it has a nice mix though as a photographer, I know the muck diving is better in Anilao. I was worried the rest of our group would be bored!

Coron has some nice wrecks and beaches...El Nido is pure beach bumming before we hop onto the safari. I’m happy to share our plans with you. Heck, come this April instead.

92 days to go....



Yes, I forgot about that. Thanks! I have not flown Asiana but have read on FlyerTalk that their hard product (plane’s decor/finishes, seating, entertainment, etc.) has gotten a bit worn and weathered and that they have not been as good as the other Asian airlines about maintenance or keeping things updated. Do you have any feedback on it?

Hey my friend---Which live aboard boat did you book with for your trip to Tubbataha? I'm looking into going there next year and have been looking at all the different options. Have flown Asiana airlines my last four trips to the Philippines (from LAX), two trips business class and two economy and loved them. Three of the trips were on the huge Airbus A380 which is only two years old and even in economy I found it very comfortable--always got a isle seat on the upper deck. Inchon airport is one of my favorite airports--more like a giant mall than a airport--easy to navigate. Enjoy your trip to the Philippines, I will be looking forward to your trip report when you get back! Good diving!

 

[EdC]

I was just in Sabang this past October (Atlantis), and returning there is on my short list of destinations. The trip was booked through my LDS and included both the PG and Dumaguette Atlantis resorts. I can't say enough good things about the accomodations, service and food at the Atlantis.) As for as the dive staff they were great but they were catering to full boats of divers with different skill levels so they were all geared to the lowest common denominator. Still we usually had 45-55 min, dives and it was standard practice for the DM to deploy a SMB and for the group surface together. I am not sure if this is SOP for all the ops in the area but it did seem that way.

For me the diving at PG was more interesting than the never ending muck of Dumaguette. Something else to consider about location specific to the PG area is that the shallow water and shore area in Sabang was pretty polluted. There was a faint smell of septic tank in the air most of the time. It was the one drawback for me because I thought the dives directly off shore were some of the most interesting, especially at night, I am told that Puerta Galera proper is a bit cleaner.

When I went I had never experienced any significant current and the Pinnacle at Verde island was perfectly manageable if you paid attention (also the best two dives of the whole trip.) That said, some much more experienced divers in our group did get a little too much excitement at the Washing Machine and ended up trying to get away from the rocks and back to the boat. I wouldn't worry at all though, there is plenty of variety in PG, even a fun wreck a 5 min boat ride away.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Hey my friend---Which live aboard boat did you book with for your trip to Tubbataha? I'm looking into going there next year and have been looking at all the different options. Have flown Asiana airlines my last four trips to the Philippines (from LAX), two trips business class and two economy and loved them. Three of the trips were on the huge Airbus A380 which is only two years old and even in economy I found it very comfortable--always got a isle seat on the upper deck. Inchon airport is one of my favorite airports--more like a giant mall than a airport--easy to navigate. Enjoy your trip to the Philippines, I will be looking forward to your trip report when you get back! Good diving!

Discovery Fleet for Tubbataha. Thanks for info on your flight experience!