Recommendations for dive shops and accommodations in Coron

[chip104]

I am at the end of a visit to Coron.

I stayed the first few nights at Village Lodge. Rooms at Village are ok but, you are very close to a chicken farm so the noise can be a bit much in the morning. I later moved over to Seadive. Ironically, the reviews of Seadive suggesting noise from pigs and karaoke kept me from booking there originally. These proved to be otoally unfounded. Seadive was very quiet and the staff was very helpful.

I looked at Dive Cal, Coron Divers and Sea dive before selecting Seadive for my diving. Seadive is more expensive than the others but, you get what you pay for.

Dive Cal's equipment was falling apart and the operation seems to prioritize cheap prices rather than safety and quality. This shop is an embarassment to the dive community.

Slightly better was Coron Divers but, as I was walking in they were bringing tanks out of their shop and taking them to Seadive. Curious!? It turns out that the owner, a filipino named Bobby, not to be confused with Arni the filipino operator, refused to dive with tanks filled by his own dive shop because he believes the air to be unsafe. This shop is cheaper than Seadive but, apparently, to save money they dont change the filters in their compressors very often resulting in a very dangerous situation for divers.

If Seadive is good enough for the owner of another dive center, it is good enough for me. Search finished. Seadive still has a few older sets scubapro equipment but, 90% of it was new Seaquest BCDs and Apeks regulators. They have a very professional compressor room running 3 compressors and are the only shop that has certified gas blenders filling their tanks.

The food on the dive boat varies from day to day and is excellent. It is actually better than the food served in Seadives restaurant. Dive groups are small. 3 divers per dive master is the average. Guides are very professional and are also great fun.

Best place for food is Bistro. Owned by a french expat, the food is delicious and an excellent value.

Enjoy Coron it is truly a world class destination for wreck diving.

thanks for your review. Just wondering if you dived with all 3 shops or just Seadive?

 

[rab1412000]

I am at the end of a visit to Coron.

I stayed the first few nights at Village Lodge. Rooms at Village are ok but, you are very close to a chicken farm so the noise can be a bit much in the morning. I later moved over to Seadive. Ironically, the reviews of Seadive suggesting noise from pigs and karaoke kept me from booking there originally. These proved to be otoally unfounded. Seadive was very quiet and the staff was very helpful.

I looked at Dive Cal, Coron Divers and Sea dive before selecting Seadive for my diving. Seadive is more expensive than the others but, you get what you pay for.

Dive Cal's equipment was falling apart and the operation seems to prioritize cheap prices rather than safety and quality. This shop is an embarassment to the dive community.

Slightly better was Coron Divers but, as I was walking in they were bringing tanks out of their shop and taking them to Seadive. Curious!? It turns out that the owner, a filipino named Bobby, not to be confused with Arni the filipino operator, refused to dive with tanks filled by his own dive shop because he believes the air to be unsafe. This shop is cheaper than Seadive but, apparently, to save money they dont change the filters in their compressors very often resulting in a very dangerous situation for divers.

If Seadive is good enough for the owner of another dive center, it is good enough for me. Search finished. Seadive still has a few older sets scubapro equipment but, 90% of it was new Seaquest BCDs and Apeks regulators. They have a very professional compressor room running 3 compressors and are the only shop that has certified gas blenders filling their tanks.

The food on the dive boat varies from day to day and is excellent. It is actually better than the food served in Seadives restaurant. Dive groups are small. 3 divers per dive master is the average. Guides are very professional and are also great fun.

Best place for food is Bistro. Owned by a french expat, the food is delicious and an excellent value.

Enjoy Coron it is truly a world class destination for wreck diving.

hi i stayed myslef in coron village lodge owned by bec fernandez. im not sure if its the same place you stayed in but we were very satisfied with our accomodations. the room was big and clean. the tv had cable and the room came with a/c and hot showers plus the sheets were changed daily. all for 900 pesos
their staff was very friendly and accomodating and would give us tips and recommendations on other activities.
they have one rooster that does make noise in the morning but not a chicken farm.
seadive is located near the pier and you have to passby a narow road flanked by shantys and smelly water to get to them.
however the setup of seadive with their equipment hanging on the wall and bar area make them look more tourist friendly and professional.
coron village lodge is just a house converted to a lodge and does not have a dive shop. it is a short distance away from the pier and has a cozier and quieter feel. but not being a dive place there are no toher divers with whom you could swap stories and pictures with at the end of the day...
as a personal preference, i would definitely pick coron village lodge over seadive anyday.
i also dove with coron divers. their resident DM tantan was very good and gave good briefings. their equipment was good and their operations is solid. im not sure bout the compressor thing. it could b that their compressor was down or undergoing maintenance and not exactly the reason you mentioned. something could have been lost in transaltion there
i am planning to take a dive course with coron divers, so needless to say , i think they are a great outfit offering the same level of quality similar to the rest at a cheaper price.
just like ithacles said the food during the dive trips are excellent, and usually better than the restos because they are fresh catch and cooked during the boat trip.
i also ate in bistro coron which was very good but quite pricey. we went to a local restaurant and got great seafood for like 60 to 100 pesos a plate! i forget the name but i could get it from my friend in coron if anyone is interested.
i too love coron and it was definitely one of the best dive trips ive ever had and cant wait to get back this june