questions about Alona Vida Beach Resort (and Cabilao)

[edpdiver]

I am planning a trip to Bohol in June of this year, and am looking for a place to stay. I am going with my wife and son, and we plan to dive for 7 or 8 days. I am considering a couple of options. The leading contender is Alona Vida Beach Resort, which looks pretty good. I have read reviews. There are not too many reviews I have been able to locate, and they are favorable, except for noise at night from the bar. I was planning to ask for a room away from the bar, and was hoping it would take care of that problem. Has anyone been to this resort recently? We were planning on diving with Sea Explorers, so any feedback on their operation is also appreciated.

Another possibility is the Cabilao Beach Club. However, it does not look like there are many dive sites around Cabilao, so I was thinking that it would not be a good idea to spend 7 or 8 days there. Instead, I might just do one day diving Cabilao while staying at Alona Vida.

I need to have a room that is air conditioned (wife has MS, so this is important for her). Also, I need a place without too much walking or too many stairs for the same reason. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Erwin

 

[Centrals]

Open air live music is definitely irritated. They shouldn't had been allowed at all on Alona Beach. I was staying at Aquatica and the band was seemed playing right by the door step everynight after 9pm!!!!!
There are several secluded resorts(eg. Atlantis, few steps to negotiate though) on Alona as well as on other beaches(eg. Bohol Beach Club) near-by.

Send Felix Sutter(manager at Sea-Explorers) a mail.

 

[joebubbles]

Hi Erwin,
I stayed at Alona Vida in the back room by the pool and I did not find the bar noise to be bad. It certainly is in the heart of the action. I also did a day dive to cabilao which I would definately recommend. There are some dive shop bankas that head over from alona beach to cabilao, but they can be few and far between. I personally hired a scooter and driver to take me over for the day. I got in 3 dives at Polaris dive shop and returned to Alona by evening. South Point is the top dive site at cabilao, while Lighthouse is the famous night dive spot. I wouldn't recommend Lighthouse during the day. The house reef is great too. Don't forget your macro lens for cabilao and your wide angle lens for balicasag.
I have attached my Balicasag and Cabilao videos.

[video=vimeo;11857269]https://vimeo.com/11857269[/video]

https://vimeo.com/11755145

 

[edpdiver]

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

 

[Gilligan]

Just a bit of info re Cabilao.

Going there from Alona Beach is going to result in a fuel surcharge because of the distance + a so called "sanctuary fee" + a "camera fee". It will significantly raise the cost of a days diving and IMO is not worth it. You are not going to see anything at Cabilao that you won't see elsewhere. The current camera fee alone is 500 Pesos which IMO is outrageous, especially for what is there.

 

[edpdiver]

Just a bit of info re Cabilao.

Going there from Alona Beach is going to result in a fuel surcharge because of the distance + a so called "sanctuary fee" + a "camera fee". It will significantly raise the cost of a days diving and IMO is not worth it. You are not going to see anything at Cabilao that you won't see elsewhere. The current camera fee alone is 500 Pesos which IMO is outrageous, especially for what is there.

Interesting. That is good to know. Actually, I am happy to concentrate on Balicasag (dove there several times, and Black Forest is one of top 3 dives ever) and the sites closer to Alona Beach.