I enjoyed Duma Guete more than Puerto Galera. We stayed at both during our invasion last year.
Puerto Galera or Dauin?
- Thread starter tendi
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OP
tendi
Contributor
Why did you enjoy Dumaguete more?
More muck, the water was cleaner (less raw sewage being dumped), more muck, the trip to Apo, more muck, fewer street urchins at the resort (Atlantis) and of course: more muck. I really love muck diving.
OP
tendi
Contributor
I don't like raw sewage. I'm starting to get the feeling maybe Sabang is somewhere I should have went 20 years ago. Is it more of the backpacker group that goes there? We are at the point where we don't mind paying for a nicer place. I wouldn't say we're snobby by any means. I only take one pair of shoes on a dive trip - crappy flip flops. But I'll pay for a nice view, nicer room, someone carrying my gear, etc. I want fantastic diving (that is the #1 goal) and I want it to be quiet if I go to bed at 10:00.
OP
tendi
Contributor
Maybe I should go back to the drawing board. I see flights to Bali are not too bad. Trying to find a great place to take some newer divers that probably still think we're nuts for taking the trips we take.
Damselfish
Contributor
I wasn't crazy about the Sabang area of PG. Atlantis PG was ok and probably the nicest place on the water along Sabang beach - good food and service, but I found our room (lower level near the pool) awkward and uncomfortable with barely adequate AC. Many of the muck dives were great. But there were always the street vendors to dodge in the public way between the hotel/gear room side and the dive shop/bar/water area. I thought the whole general area was a ratty dump, the best I can say is "interesting." I normally love to take walks and explore but didn't especially enjoy it there. I also heard - and was not surprised - about the high bacteria counts in the water (that you wade through to get on the dive boat.) If I wanted to return to PG, I'd look into the area to the west of Sabang, like White Beach, possibly Marco Vincent where our shop ran a trip last year. Or maybe I'd just check out Anilao instead.
In Dauin, we've stayed at Atlantis (for the invasion) and also Pura Vida and it's generally a much nicer area. There's some other nice looking resort options around there too. The muck diving is good there too, though for some reason I thought we got better muck dives staying at Pura Vida than we did from Atlantis, which is just down the beach.
(One thing about the Atlantis resorts is they do an awesome job of logistics that didn't seem matched by the other places we have stayed. I haven't stayed enough places to know what the norm is.)
In Dauin, we've stayed at Atlantis (for the invasion) and also Pura Vida and it's generally a much nicer area. There's some other nice looking resort options around there too. The muck diving is good there too, though for some reason I thought we got better muck dives staying at Pura Vida than we did from Atlantis, which is just down the beach.
(One thing about the Atlantis resorts is they do an awesome job of logistics that didn't seem matched by the other places we have stayed. I haven't stayed enough places to know what the norm is.)
To get some nice non-muck diving and walls - staying in PG you can do trips to Verde Island. Dauin you can do trips to Apo or Siquijor islands. Definitely longer boat rides, often more of a day trip thing. Of the 3 I preferred Apo. I think they can all sometimes have ripping currents. Definitely ran into that on Apo and Verde, don't recall about Siquijor but I would assume so.
White Beach is quite a distance away by boat and the beach is certainly NOT quiet. You definitely won't have any issue of finding anywhere to eat or stay.
The only problem is diving! If you are diving around the local area then you will be fine. But if you want to dive those sites in PG then it is slightly more complicated. I would be very surprised if the boat goes out for one dive and then return to base. You will go out for probably 2-3 dives and stay on the boat during surface interval. Another issue is the mixed ability of your group, one boat can't drop divers in two different sites and pick them up afterwards.
If you do decide to stay at White Beach, please specify your requirement.
As far as I am concerned, PG is prefect for group of friends with mixed diving experience/requirement because of the close proximity of the sites.
Stay at LBC(Big La Laguna Beach) and away from the hustle and bustle of Sabang. And if you can do away with the pool then you ought to check out Campbells Beach Resort which is another 100m down from LBC.
MV Dive
Contributor
Come and check us out at Marco Vincent dive resort. We are based at White beach. you can check out our website at www.mvdive.com
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