Recommendations wanted for Phillipines trip

[Kupu]

True, the water clarity can be very good in the shallow lagoons around Coron as seen in the IG pix. Beautiful.
And as mentioned by YCCLuke, also not bad on the more shallow wreck dives. I don't have my logbook on hand for reference but think it was the Okikawa Maru where the dives along the main deck were always very nice with plenty of light.
And then there's the Akitsushima were sometimes you can barely see someone a body length away while outside of the wreck.

 

[iho]

Here is the example of Coron vis in August. April might be little better. Subic got amazing wrecks too but near the same vis.

 

[rsqdvr]

Here is the example of Coron vis in August. April might be little better. Subic got amazing wrecks too but near the same vis.

That is super helpful! Thanks so much.

 

[Smit]

I know this has been asked many times before and I have read all of the threads posted in the last year. Even with that, I still had a couple of specific questions that I hoped someone who is familiar with the area could shed some light on. I am an experienced traveler and diver but this is my first trip to the Phillipines. My wife doesn’t dive so this is a solo trip. Everything will be land-based because of that, I don’t want to pay the crazy liveaboard single surcharges.
I am planning a trip to the Phillipines in Late April/Early May 2025. I plan on spending about 5 days in PG at Scandi Divers Resort but wanted to add an additional spot for another 4-5 days.

I really enjoy wrecks but I also wanted to dive in the stereotypical crystal blue waters that parts of the Phillipines is known for. Coron seems like the place to be for wrecks. Is there amazing vis there? Would a trip to Balabac be doable or is that too much for a 10-12 day trip?

Thanks for any advice.

I've only been to the Philippines once, to Puerta Galera, Dauin, and Panglao. In my experience the visibility has not been great. Some places cloudier than others but nothing that compared to 100' plus visibility you get in the Caribbean.

Having said that, the diversity of the ecosystem is much better in the Philippines. IMO, the diving is great because of the diversity, not the visibility. If you go there with the expectation the visibility is going to be amazing you might end up being disappointed.
My 2 cents.

 

[Volleyball]

I know this has been asked many times before and I have read all of the threads posted in the last year. Even with that, I still had a couple of specific questions that I hoped someone who is familiar with the area could shed some light on. I am an experienced traveler and diver but this is my first trip to the Phillipines. My wife doesn’t dive so this is a solo trip. Everything will be land-based because of that, I don’t want to pay the crazy liveaboard single surcharges.
I am planning a trip to the Phillipines in Late April/Early May 2025. I plan on spending about 5 days in PG at Scandi Divers Resort but wanted to add an additional spot for another 4-5 days.

I really enjoy wrecks but I also wanted to dive in the stereotypical crystal blue waters that parts of the Phillipines is known for. Coron seems like the place to be for wrecks. Is there amazing vis there? Would a trip to Balabac be doable or is that too much for a 10-12 day trip?

Thanks for any advice.

I just got back this past Tuesday from a trip that went to the Maldives and Coron; yet if you want water like Balabac, you should look into El Nido (which you can fly to) or Malapascua which you cannot fly to but has thresher sharks. Both El Nido and Malapascua are stunning and are somewhat developed unlike Balabac

Second time in the Phils, the first time in Coron. The beauty of Coron is you can fly there and even when the viz is bad, it's usually descent inside the wrecks. Any questions, ask away...Here's some footage:
With Coron, I'd recommend staying downtown as you'll be by all the restaurants, along with fairly cheap services like massages, laundry, etc. Another tip would be when you reach out to dive shops, see if you can add a tour such as a visit to Coron Island (a different island than Coron) as this will save you time and probably $$$. They have Barracuda Lake you can dive which is fresh water on the top, that is pretty scenic

I did a week PG this past Nov-Dec, and I only found the diving alright. They boast about 100+ dive sites but all the dive boats typically wouldn't go that far from the shore. Saw manta shrimp, sea snakes, and turtles, a few nudis but not much else. This is why I "diversify" my diving as I dislike parking myself for a week in case I don't like diving and as I stated, we did both the expensive Maldives and the (relatively) cheap Coron on the same trip

We're planning our next trip there next month, from Manila will fly into Dumaguete, head to Dauin where it is octopus mating season, then take the ferry and head to Moalboal for the sardine bait balls, then the most brutal part of the trip, getting from Moalboal to Malapascua. A direct private transfer is stupid expensive but if you're willing to make this long drive even longer, you can find very affordable private transfers from Moalboal to the Cebu airport and from the airport to the ferry port that goes to Malapascua

 

[YYCLuke]

I just got back this past Tuesday from a trip that went to the Maldives and Coron; yet if you want water like Balabac, you should look into El Nido (which you can fly to) or Malapascua which you cannot fly to but has thresher sharks. Both El Nido and Malapascua are stunning and are somewhat developed unlike Balabac

Second time in the Phils, the first time in Coron. The beauty of Coron is you can fly there and even when the viz is bad, it's usually descent inside the wrecks. Any questions, ask away...Here's some footage:
With Coron, I'd recommend staying downtown as you'll be by all the restaurants, along with fairly cheap services like massages, laundry, etc. Another tip would be when you reach out to dive shops, see if you can add a tour such as a visit to Coron Island (a different island than Coron) as this will save you time and probably $$$. They have Barracuda Lake you can dive which is fresh water on the top, that is pretty scenic

I did a week PG this past Nov-Dec, and I only found the diving alright. They boast about 100+ dive sites but all the dive boats typically wouldn't go that far from the shore. Saw manta shrimp, sea snakes, and turtles, a few nudis but not much else. This is why I "diversify" my diving as I dislike parking myself for a week in case I don't like diving and as I stated, we did both the expensive Maldives and the (relatively) cheap Coron on the same trip

We're planning our next trip there next month, from Manila will fly into Dumaguete, head to Dauin where it is octopus mating season, then take the ferry and head to Moalboal for the sardine bait balls, then the most brutal part of the trip, getting from Moalboal to Malapascua. A direct private transfer is stupid expensive but if you're willing to make this long drive even longer, you can find very affordable private transfers from Moalboal to the Cebu airport and from the airport to the ferry port that goes to Malapascua

I recommend just taking the bus to the city from Moalboal if you don't have much luggage. Takes roughly the same time, maybe half hour longer than a car and is quite safe. And cheap, like 180 pesos. A private car shouldn't be more than 3000 pesos, if it is just bargain down cause taxis would rather have a fare going back to the city than to do it for nothing. I've done that multiple times.

 

[Centrals]

The non AC bus is P170.00 and my bag goes to the storage compartment. I just took the first available bus regardless of AC or not.