Similan, The Phils or Guam/Saipan?

[floyd2466]

Hi all!

My gf and I are planning on going diving for a week or so in middle of November.

Initially, we had thought of a liveaboard round the Similans. However, The Phils, Guam/Saipan are also options. Be keen to hear people's recommendations (including specific diving locations, liveaboard recommendations, etc)!

Things to bear in mind would include:

1- Season. Is November good/not good time of year for diving in any of the places?
2- Cost. Had thought of Palau, but the cost of getting there and the cost of the liveaboards is way beyond our budget
3- Most important, the diving!! Basically, we find shallow water diving looking at nemos is pretty but gets boring very quickly! We prefer 'dynamic' diving: i.e. big fish, wall diving, etc.

Cheers!

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

For big walls and big fish Palau would be my first pick.

Second pick would be Sipadan (borneo) - quite cheap to get to but resorts on islands pricy.

Third pick would be one of several dive site in the Philippines: have only dived Bohol but I'm sure someone will pipe up soon. Cheap to get to and inexpensive diving.

The walls at Bunaken in indonesa could also fit the bill - let you know in 4 weeks time.

Guam diving is not as good as Palau - if you are going that far you might as well do Palau, Yap or Truk (fantastic wreaks and good unexplored walls).

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[Divehappy]

If you're looking to dive on a budget, I'd say the Similan Islands are a good bet. You can do a four day liveaboard there starting from $US 500 all inclusive (check my site Phuket Diving Safaris for more info).

There is plenty of variety in the Similans - walls (Koh Bon), pinnacles (Richelieu), big boulder sites (Elephant Head Rock, North Point), plus some excellent reefs that go down to 35m (East Of Eden etc).

I've written more about the Similans on Divehappy.com

If you can afford it though, Sipadan is definitely worth it. Sadly I've not been the other places you mention - yet.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[RikRaeder]

I've been doing Saipan since it's close by. I'm not yet a jaded diver and I think there's quite a bit of variety there. I've got a "Saipan Trip Report" on this forum where I described a lot of of the locations. Tinian's about a forty minute ride from Saipan and that offers a day or two's good diving as well. Only drawback with Saipan is that there is NOTHING else to do; repeat NOTHING (except golf).

 

[tboxcar]

Sipadan is always an idea, but $$$$ like mentioned above, Manado (Bunaken Island) is as good if not better than Sipadan IMHO, but the weather might be iffy then, but it is everywhere in November. I have not been to the Similans, but have been 'throughout' the Philippines, and for the value, and experience (and the great people). Go for the Philippines, and if not satisfied get the weekly flight from Davao to Manado. Have fun!

 

[floyd2466]

Thanks, guys!

Actually, given our budget, its fast becoming a toss-up between Similans and Malapascua...Similan, according to Divehappy (thanks mate, for your great link while at the same time not shoving it down our throats!!) would cost around $700 (including get our AOW licence while we are there) for 4d/4n, Malapascua would cost around $7560 for 5 days diving and 6 days basic accomodation on the beach...moreorless the same...plus cost of flight from Japan are almost identical...

It really is a question, therefore, of which has the more intersting diving and best weather conditions in November...