Recent trip reports for South Leyte / Peter's

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d^2b

Worse diving through photography
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I've seen a fair amount of discussion of South Leyte options, but not many recent trip reports. Am I missing some? I'm thinking of Peter's dive resort in late May of 2025 (post Tubbataha).
 
May 2023? On my own, not really flabbergasted with Peter's dive resort honestly.

 
I've seen a fair amount of discussion of South Leyte options, but not many recent trip reports. Am I missing some? I'm thinking of Peter's dive resort in late May of 2025 (post Tubbataha).
Southern Leyte is slightly off the beaten track.
I was diving/staying with Peter's last Feb and will be returning again in Feb 2025.
I had stayed with Peter's on several occasions. There has been vast improvement on the facility of the resort since my first visit nearly 20 years ago. Top notch operator and no complaint whatsoever.
 
Worth the effort in my book. We were there right after they opened the new rooms above the pool in 2023, and have stayed there a couple of times previously. The new rooms post-typhoon are a great addition, and the diving is still very good in Sogod Bay. First class family management team runs small dive shop and front office. Restaurant small, but good and inexpensive. Added bonus of organized snorkeling with whale sharks via local boatman's cooperative. This is biologist-regulated, fairly low impact whale shark tourism, not the situation found in some other Philippine locations.
 
Is south Leyte good for seeing whalesharks or is Donsol more worth it?
 
Yes, Sogod Bay, Southern Leyte is the best place we have found yet to swim with whale sharks in a controlled, non-impactful way. There is zero feeding or containment. They are there for the plankton bloom.

The boatmen’s collective group has spotters in one-man dugouts that work with the boat to locate whale sharks, and the boat drops snorkelers (about 10 -12 max per boat) in the projected path of the oncoming feeding shark. It’s fabulous. An observer comes onboard to make sure nobody gets too close or touches the sharks. Sometimes we have had a marine biologist from the Manila-based Marine Invertebrates Center on board who answered questions.

The dive shops in the bay all have trips there during the usual season (roughly December - April), with a peak in March. Each boat gets a three hour slot of time to look for them, and they take turns. Usually, it is one boat a time. Trips usually booked in advance. Sightings not guaranteed, but we have never been skunked yet. ✊🪵. This year we are going in April, though, and have heard March was a little a weaker than usual, so who knows?

Although diving is not permitted with the sharks, they do show up on dives in certain areas. Your dive shop or resort will know where chances are best.

Hope this helps.
 
Diving is very good and the chance of seeing whaleshark is the added bonus.
BTW, I had just booked a place at Peter's for next Feb.
 
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