Puerto Galera or Dauin?

[MV Dive]

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.

Interesting to read your comments. White Beach can be quiet in the evenings, especially on week days and out of busy times like Holy week etc. Although it can get a little busier during weekends. The dives sites like Giant Clams, Manila Channel are only 10 minutes away from WB. To get to Coral Cove is about 20 minutes. The boats at MV dive resort stay out for 3 dives and serve lunch on board or on a deserted beach. There is really no need to return to base after each dive in you are diving off a comfortable boat with great facilities. As for divers with mixed abilities most high end resorts plan for this and will plan accordingly so that all levels are catered for.

If you wish have a look at www,mvdive.com and I hope this might open your mind a little about diving from White Beach.

 

[Centrals]

Interesting to read your comments. White Beach can be quiet in the evenings, especially on week days and out of busy times like Holy week etc. Although it can get a little busier during weekends. The dives sites like Giant Clams, Manila Channel are only 10 minutes away from WB. To get to Coral Cove is about 20 minutes. The boats at MV dive resort stay out for 3 dives and serve lunch on board or on a deserted beach. There is really no need to return to base after each dive in you are diving off a comfortable boat with great facilities. As for divers with mixed abilities most high end resorts plan for this and will plan accordingly so that all levels are catered for.
If you wish have a look at www,mvdive.com and I hope this might open your mind a little about diving from White Beach.

1. I have yet to come across any divers who would prefer to stay on the boat then dry land after diving if they have the choice.
2. Any resorts in PG will launch different boat to divers with mixed ability.
3. I bet your comfortable dive boat doesn't serve 3 courses hot dinner.
4. How about diver who only want to do one dive in PG and do they have to spend several hrs on the boat kicking their heels?
5. I have yet to come across any divers who would prefer extra travelling time.
6. Staying in White Beach and dive PG!!!!! I must be MAD.
7. I might be biased but at least I am NOT make any money out from it!!!

 

[MV Dive]

Thanks for your reply Centrals, it's nice have a good discussion with you. I have added some comments here. If you are interested the next time you are in PG I would like to invite you for a days diving with us so you can see our boat and service.

1. I have yet to come across any divers who would prefer to stay on the boat then dry land after diving if they have the choice.
That's because you have mostly been diving on the small speedboats and banca's with no on board service.

2. Any resorts in PG will launch different boat to divers with mixed ability.
Quite possibly but maybe not the cheaper Chinese/ Korean dive shops with limited boat space and resources.

3. I bet your comfortable dive boat doesn't serve 3 courses hot dinner.
We do actually serve a hot three course lunch everyday, typically with 3 or 4 choices for main course. We also include hot face towels, ginger tea and other snacks, We provide hot showers and towels, our boat has full charging station for camera's and batteries. We also have on board WIFI, it's a bit like diving on a liveaboard but you still get back to the resort in the afternoon.

4. How about diver who only want to do one dive in PG and do they have to spend several hrs on the boat kicking their heels?
We can provide a speed boat shuttle service back to the resort if requested. but why would you want to travel all the way to the Philippines and do 1 dive a day, Not one of our guests have asked to go back to the resort after one dive.

5. I have yet to come across any divers who would prefer extra travelling time.
You can ask any of our 200 plus divers this year if they enjoyed our service during the extra time on board. The answer will be different to your opinion but as you have never tried our service you will not understand it fully

6. Staying in White Beach and dive PG!!!!! I must be MAD.


7. I might be biased but at least I am NOT make any money out from it!!!

That's fine to be biased Centrals but as least have an open mind and not totally discount other areas near PG. Yes you are right that I do work for the resort but I can still have an opinion.. All I'm doing is offering people a chance to experience a different level of service in Puerto Galera.

 

[Damselfish]

1. I have yet to come across any divers who would prefer to stay on the boat then dry land after diving if they have the choice.

I'm one person that would much rather spend the surface interval on a boat than back and forth to the resort every dive. (I generally prefer eating back at the resort for lunch over a "rustic" lunch on a boat or even worse a beach, unless staying on the boat for 3 dives gets me to further away dive sites. But if there are nice facilities on the boat, I think it's a great option.)

 

[Centrals]

Thanks for your reply Centrals, it's nice have a good discussion with you. I have added some comments here. If you are interested the next time you are in PG I would like to invite you for a days diving with us so you can see our boat and service.

If I want to dive PG I know where I would be based, certainly NOT on White Beach.
200+ divers in a yr!!! Some of the resorts in PG have that number of divers in less than a month!!
I can go out at 0800 for one dive, return to base, have a shower(cold, hot or warm) and a dip in the swimming pool, sign up for the 1100 dive, have a sandwich and wash it down with a brew coffee, feeling sleepy, cancel the dive(at no extra cost), wake up at noon, have a proper meal with ice cream, sign up the 1400 dive. This is vacation. Did I mention the fast internet connection? I have even seen divers worked between dive from their PC!!!!
Do I want to share a big cattle boat with a lot strangers? Definitely NOT.
As far as I know no resort, big or small, in PG(Aussie, chinese, Korean, USA etc) ever use big boat for the local dive because it is NOT necessary. No matter how good your boat can offer on board it is nothing when compare with what I can get on land. The speed boat used by Atlantis does not even come with a canopy for shade and I am pretty sure they have more than 200+ divers in a year!!! The answer is obvious except to you.

 

[Centrals]

I'm one person that would much rather spend the surface interval on a boat than back and forth to the resort every dive. (I generally prefer eating back at the resort for lunch over a "rustic" lunch on a boat or even worse a beach, unless staying on the boat for 3 dives gets me to further away dive sites. But if there are nice facilities on the boat, I think it's a great option.)

I would do that if I don't have the choice ie stay on the boat for 2-3 dives. But there is readily available option.
The OP enquired about dive for a mixed group. No operator in PG would put two mixed group on the same dive boat to dive two different sites for ONE reason.

 

[tendi]

As a follow up....we went to PG and stayed at Atlantis. Atlantis is like an oasis in the middle of...well...in the middle of a dump. The town is not nice. That said, we had a great time.

The food was great. We even got an impromptu tour of the kitchen. They were in the middle of dinner and it was the cleanest most organized kitchen I've ever seen...and I used to own a restaurant. The cooler was full of fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, etc...

The diving was good. We made the trip to Verde Island twice. The first day the diving was great. The second day, it was rough getting back on the boat but still good. Because of the conditions, we opted to discover a new site they had never been to which was fun. For the 3rd dive, the group split. Some chose to do the "washing machine" while others chose to go to the calmer site. The calm site was the wise choice. The washing machine group came back pretty banged up after a 15 min dive. Later we found out a diver was "lost" for almost 30 min after the dive the day before. Surprisingly, he didn't have a safety sausage which I'm sure made it more difficult to find him (smh).

Diving around PG is surprisingly good. We had some excellent night dives. The DMs and boat drivers are very helpful. I didn't lift my gear once.

 

[Trailboss123]

As a follow up....we went to PG and stayed at Atlantis. Atlantis is like an oasis in the middle of...well...in the middle of a dump. The town is not nice. That said, we had a great time.

The food was great. We even got an impromptu tour of the kitchen. They were in the middle of dinner and it was the cleanest most organized kitchen I've ever seen...and I used to own a restaurant. The cooler was full of fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, etc...

The diving was good. We made the trip to Verde Island twice. The first day the diving was great. The second day, it was rough getting back on the boat but still good. Because of the conditions, we opted to discover a new site they had never been to which was fun. For the 3rd dive, the group split. Some chose to do the "washing machine" while others chose to go to the calmer site. The calm site was the wise choice. The washing machine group came back pretty banged up after a 15 min dive. Later we found out a diver was "lost" for almost 30 min after the dive the day before. Surprisingly, he didn't have a safety sausage which I'm sure made it more difficult to find him (smh).

Diving around PG is surprisingly good. We had some excellent night dives. The DMs and boat drivers are very helpful. I didn't lift my gear once.

Thanks for that follow up and info!