Puerto Galero

[CODMAN]

Hi hi,
bus to Batangas, 136 pesos. ferry, about 250 pesos. That's about 9$... And eays, and safe... Oh, I forgot the taxi to the bus station... add 250 pesos...

There are lots of options for diving in Sabang, and each person will recommend their favorite... There are amany many options for diving there! From the deluxe diving/hotle resort, to specialised little custom operations without lodging or restaurants (so you must find your own; which isn't hard)... Most of the good operators can arrange anything you need (transportation, lodging, etc...).

I think that if you can get a better idea of what you want, we can help steer you to an operator that suits your needs better! Ex: all inclusive? Just dive op? Recreational diving? Technical? Courses? Big operators? Small personalised oeprators? There really is so much choice, you need to help us help you!

Cheers!

 

[h2odragon1]

Thanks for all the input. I heard that Atlantis and Asia divers are the best but they charge more and there are equally good dive operations there. I did not realize that Atlantis and Asia had their own hotel. Anybody know how much they paid for a five night stay and dive package??? I would rather get a taxi or a bus to the pier and go to Sabang like H2Odragon suggested. Do the taxi's go by a fixed price or do you have to haggle??

You can haggle if you know how.
If you are looking for diferent dive opperations try Dive Puerto Galera, Dive Philippines, Dive Action Divers I dove with them Nov 2005. good operation, owned by an Ausie. they can arrange accomidations if you want to change that also. There are many dive shops in Sabang and Little LaLaguna as well as other beaches in Puerto Galera Puerto Galera, Philippines. Beach Resorts, Hotels and Scuba Diving Travel Guide and Directory. .
Good luck, you'll have a great time.
Keep the PPD informed, maybe you could meet-up with one or two members when you are there.

 

[hi_diver]

I did a message saying that Deep Blue Sea Inn and Action Divers have a partnership. The price they quoted was $425 for five nights and 10 dives. Since I am there I figured I like to do more than two dives a day. Extra dives are $30 a piece. Has anybody stayed at Deep Blue Sea Inn. Is it a safe and a clean place?? Are the prices right....
Responding to the post by CODMAN, I can go either way, get a hotel and then go with a different dive operator or do both inclusive. Just getting input for a safe and a clean place and some diving at a decent price thats all. Right now I am looking at the deep blue sea Inn. If there are better places for similar prices I wouldnt mind changing the location and dive operator.

 

[TitanDivers]

Hello.

I know I am slightly biased as I was there diving in January and my partner owns the dive shop - but if you get to Puerto Galera, Muelle Pier,
(It is the second stop in Puerto Galera on the Seekat after Sabang),you must try Titan Divers - if you are looking for a place to dive and only dive that is the place.
It is quiet but that is part of the beauty of Muelle Pier, plus we are the only resort in Puerto Galera, and maybe the Philippines that serve the best ever Mexican food.
it is 20 minutes from Sabang so we are not completely deserted, and about 15 minutes away from the most beautiful clean beaches.
if you want some more information -call Trevor on 00639062214972,
or check out our website titandivers.co.uk

Happy safe diving .

 

[CODMAN]

I did a message saying that Deep Blue Sea Inn and Action Divers have a partnership. The price they quoted was $425 for five nights and 10 dives. Since I am there I figured I like to do more than two dives a day. Extra dives are $30 a piece. Has anybody stayed at Deep Blue Sea Inn. Is it a safe and a clean place?? Are the prices right....
Responding to the post by CODMAN, I can go either way, get a hotel and then go with a different dive operator or do both inclusive. Just getting input for a safe and a clean place and some diving at a decent price thats all. Right now I am looking at the deep blue sea Inn. If there are better places for similar prices I wouldnt mind changing the location and dive operator.

hi, not meaning to insult or demean any operators... But 30-$ an extra dive is a lot! The operator where I did my DM cours this past february, the Dive dojo which certainly isn't know as the cheapest on the beach, charges 25$ US a dive!!!! And for every 6 dives you do, you get a 7th free. For rental gear it's 3$ extra, including a computer! And that includes free internet, free cofee (they have the best cofee in Sabang!), small personalised groups (it's a small shop) and free drinks after the diving day is over. So sorry, 30$ a dive extra is a lot in my oppinion... Unless they include lots of extras for that amount.... Which they probably don't...

As you can see, a small shop can offer more for less than the quote you got and I'm pretty sure (others can confirm) that many of the bigger resorts (Asia divers, Atlantis, etc..) don't even charge that much for extra dives...

My take on the choice of the dive shop is more of: Do you want bigger, completely organised services (Atlantis and Asia have very nice dive resorts) with bigger groups, or smaller more customly tailored service for specialized dive shops (places like the Divedojo will take you where and when you want to dive, as long as it is within your abilities and it's safe)? Personally, I really enjoyed NOT staying in an all inclusive resort this time around. It got me to see different parts of Sabang, and be a bit more in contact with the culture and people there. Not that there is anything wrong with all inclusives!

Anyways, It's more food for thought...

 

[bill22]

I did a message saying that Deep Blue Sea Inn and Action Divers have a partnership. The price they quoted was $425 for five nights and 10 dives. Since I am there I figured I like to do more than two dives a day. Extra dives are $30 a piece. Has anybody stayed at Deep Blue Sea Inn. Is it a safe and a clean place?? Are the prices right....
Responding to the post by CODMAN, I can go either way, get a hotel and then go with a different dive operator or do both inclusive. Just getting input for a safe and a clean place and some diving at a decent price thats all. Right now I am looking at the deep blue sea Inn. If there are better places for similar prices I wouldnt mind changing the location and dive operator.

I would want to know why Action Divers is quoting you $30 per extra dive, when they advertise $25 per dive on their website. The cheapest rate at Deep Blue Sea is $35 per night during the off-season. (10 dives X $25) + ($35 X 5) = $425 dollars. They're not giving you any discount even though you are staying for an extended period and multiple dives and they're trying to increase the price for the extra dives.

They look like a nice place and people who have dived with them speak highly of them. I'd try negotiating a little more

 

[bill22]

hi, not meaning to insult or demean any operators... But 30-$ an extra dive is a lot! The operator where I did my DM cours this past february, the Dive dojo which certainly isn't know as the cheapest on the beach, charges 25$ US a dive!!!! And for every 6 dives you do, you get a 7th free. For rental gear it's 3$ extra, including a computer! And that includes free internet, free cofee (they have the best cofee in Sabang!), small personalised groups (it's a small shop) and free drinks after the diving day is over. So sorry, 30$ a dive extra is a lot in my oppinion... Unless they include lots of extras for that amount.... Which they probably don't...

As you can see, a small shop can offer more for less than the quote you got and I'm pretty sure (others can confirm) that many of the bigger resorts (Asia divers, Atlantis, etc..) don't even charge that much for extra dives...

My take on the choice of the dive shop is more of: Do you want bigger, completely organised services (Atlantis and Asia have very nice dive resorts) with bigger groups, or smaller more customly tailored service for specialized dive shops (places like the Divedojo will take you where and when you want to dive, as long as it is within your abilities and it's safe)? Personally, I really enjoyed NOT staying in an all inclusive resort this time around. It got me to see different parts of Sabang, and be a bit more in contact with the culture and people there. Not that there is anything wrong with all inclusives!

Anyways, It's more food for thought...

This is good advice.... I dived with Asia Divers last time and I think they're a great operation, but I'm leaning towards someone smaller this time. There are a lot of quality small operations there that have a great reputation and will get a much better deal money-wise. I'm leaning towards saving a little money so that I can get in more diving....

 

[CODMAN]

Bill, you should really try out the dojo. They are the greatest people, and very good and experienced divers! And on top of all the extra perks I've mentioned (and believe me, free drinks is quite a perk!!!), if you are a good enough diver, they'll take you diving where others won't (or at least most others). When we had advanced divers with us, we did night dives on the Alma Jane wreck (It's an awesome dive at night!!!!), nigh dives at Shark Cave and Canyons. We also did the Sinandigan express during ebbing (one hell of a drift dive). I don't know of any operators who bring their clients to do these... Not to mention if you are interested in technical diving, Ethei the head instructor really knows his stuff and is a great teacher! He showed me how fun tech diving over there can be and convinced me to do my advanced Nitrox course and Deco procedures. Anyways, they are a fun gang to hang out and dive with and definetly shouldn't be overlooked!

Cheers!

This is good advice.... I dived with Asia Divers last time and I think they're a great operation, but I'm leaning towards someone smaller this time. There are a lot of quality small operations there that have a great reputation and will get a much better deal money-wise. I'm leaning towards saving a little money so that I can get in more diving....

 

[bill22]

Bill, you should really try out the dojo. They are the greatest people, and very good and experienced divers! And on top of all the extra perks I've mentioned (and believe me, free drinks is quite a perk!!!), if you are a good enough diver, they'll take you diving where others won't (or at least most others). When we had advanced divers with us, we did night dives on the Alma Jane wreck (It's an awesome dive at night!!!!), nigh dives at Shark Cave and Canyons. We also did the Sinandigan express during ebbing (one hell of a drift dive). I don't know of any operators who bring their clients to do these... Not to mention if you are interested in technical diving, Ethei the head instructor really knows his stuff and is a great teacher! He showed me how fun tech diving over there can be and convinced me to do my advanced Nitrox course and Deco procedures. Anyways, they are a fun gang to hang out and dive with and definetly shouldn't be overlooked!

Cheers!

hmmm... do you think I'll qualify? I've only done 94 dives in the last 11 months... will that be experienced enough? I'll check them out.

I should have about 8 or 9 dive days in PG. Maybe I should try out a few different dive ops while I'm there. It will make a better trip report don't you think?

 

[CODMAN]

I am pretty sure you'll be up to par for that kind of diving. Just don't expect them to take you to these places on your first dive!!! They'll want to assess and size you up first... Also, they might not propose these dives to you... Basically, the best way to do it with them is to tell them exactly what you want to do! They'll do all they can to fit it in for you...

Ah... the Alma Jane at night... What a dive! Idid my 100th dive there and spotted a lovely little frogfish sitting on one of the gurters... There is a lot of fantastic life that somes out at night there!!! Lionfish everywhere...

Definetly trying out a few dive ops would be a good idea! Just make sure you do dojo first... Because after you've been there, you'll be kicking yourself for spending time at other shops!!!

Cheers!