Kevster
Contributor
Trip Report Sogod Bay S. Leyte
16/02/08-23/02/08
Getting There- From Manila flew to Tacloban which is 3 ½ hr by car to the resort. From talking with other guest flying to Tacloban is more expensive but the better option. There have been various problems with ferries from Cebu recently. Tip- There is a nice statue of Macarthur just outside Tacloban.
Resort- Stayed at Sogod bay dive resort. Found it to be very friendly. Was made most welcome by the owners. Food was ok. Accom was very good value. Make sure you stay in the resort accom rather than the resort bungalows nearby.
Whale Sharks- Not seen. 08 has been a bad season for whale shark sightings compared to previous years. Only a few sightings have been made. These are normally found by local fisherman who get paid for the whale shark sightings. It has been reported that the water temp 28/27 C may have something to do with this. Last year water temps were lower. March is the peak season.
Diving- The diving was excellent.!! Walls, slopes, muck, house reef. Not much current & vis on a few dives was +30 m, best I have dived in Asia. Saw sea snakes most days. I was lucky & dived in small groups of 5/6. Best hard & soft coral I have ever seen. Not much big fish life. Best dive sites Pier night dive & Napantao MPA (great vis, great soft coral, thousands of fish. Perhaps my best dive ever.) Pedro the dive guide was a great spotter and great guide. Another plus was the lack of other divers. Only on 2 out of 16 dives was there another dive boat at the same site.
I would definitely consider a repeat visit. Either for the whale sharks or the diving in Jun/Jul; the reported best month for great visibility.
Conclusion. 16 dives , 3 average dives , rest very good. Take wide angle lens. Rating 8/10.
Trip Report Dumaguete, Negros
24/02/08-05/03/08
Getting There- 1 hr flight from Manila. 45 mins drive from Airport to resort.
Accom El Dororado Resort. $48 per night for full board was good. Resort was ok. Swimming pool and a few bars/ restaurants. Rooms were more than adequate. Food was average.
Diving- By onsite Dive society. Approx 30 divers , most from Europe(Germany). I done Rescue & Deep diver course & a few rec dives. Overall I was a bit disappointed. Apo Island was a disappointment as I was really looking forward to Apo before this trip. Apo Isl is about 40 min boat trip. Vis was 10-15 m, on some of the sites not that much interesting stuff to see. A few sites; Cogen were drift dives with large shoals of the biggest fish I have seen in the Philippines (Jacks, mackerel, Tuna). Pier & car wreck were ok. Pipefish&Sea horses were the highlight in the muck dives. The site I enjoyed the most was the house reef. Very good with a lot of variety. Nudis, eels, rays, turtles, grouper, large shoals of bait fish & lots of reef fish that were very friendly.
Reefs definitely not as good as Sogod but perhaps greater variety in fish life? Sanctuary/camera/general fees were high. I hope they are working.
Would not consider a repeat visit.
Conclusion Approx 15 dives. Ok. Rating 6/10.
I will post some photos later
16/02/08-23/02/08
Getting There- From Manila flew to Tacloban which is 3 ½ hr by car to the resort. From talking with other guest flying to Tacloban is more expensive but the better option. There have been various problems with ferries from Cebu recently. Tip- There is a nice statue of Macarthur just outside Tacloban.
Resort- Stayed at Sogod bay dive resort. Found it to be very friendly. Was made most welcome by the owners. Food was ok. Accom was very good value. Make sure you stay in the resort accom rather than the resort bungalows nearby.
Whale Sharks- Not seen. 08 has been a bad season for whale shark sightings compared to previous years. Only a few sightings have been made. These are normally found by local fisherman who get paid for the whale shark sightings. It has been reported that the water temp 28/27 C may have something to do with this. Last year water temps were lower. March is the peak season.
Diving- The diving was excellent.!! Walls, slopes, muck, house reef. Not much current & vis on a few dives was +30 m, best I have dived in Asia. Saw sea snakes most days. I was lucky & dived in small groups of 5/6. Best hard & soft coral I have ever seen. Not much big fish life. Best dive sites Pier night dive & Napantao MPA (great vis, great soft coral, thousands of fish. Perhaps my best dive ever.) Pedro the dive guide was a great spotter and great guide. Another plus was the lack of other divers. Only on 2 out of 16 dives was there another dive boat at the same site.
I would definitely consider a repeat visit. Either for the whale sharks or the diving in Jun/Jul; the reported best month for great visibility.
Conclusion. 16 dives , 3 average dives , rest very good. Take wide angle lens. Rating 8/10.
Trip Report Dumaguete, Negros
24/02/08-05/03/08
Getting There- 1 hr flight from Manila. 45 mins drive from Airport to resort.
Accom El Dororado Resort. $48 per night for full board was good. Resort was ok. Swimming pool and a few bars/ restaurants. Rooms were more than adequate. Food was average.
Diving- By onsite Dive society. Approx 30 divers , most from Europe(Germany). I done Rescue & Deep diver course & a few rec dives. Overall I was a bit disappointed. Apo Island was a disappointment as I was really looking forward to Apo before this trip. Apo Isl is about 40 min boat trip. Vis was 10-15 m, on some of the sites not that much interesting stuff to see. A few sites; Cogen were drift dives with large shoals of the biggest fish I have seen in the Philippines (Jacks, mackerel, Tuna). Pier & car wreck were ok. Pipefish&Sea horses were the highlight in the muck dives. The site I enjoyed the most was the house reef. Very good with a lot of variety. Nudis, eels, rays, turtles, grouper, large shoals of bait fish & lots of reef fish that were very friendly.
Reefs definitely not as good as Sogod but perhaps greater variety in fish life? Sanctuary/camera/general fees were high. I hope they are working.
Would not consider a repeat visit.
Conclusion Approx 15 dives. Ok. Rating 6/10.
I will post some photos later
![CRW_0060_1.jpg](http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/[URL="http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/92446"][IMG]http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/2981/thumbs/CRW_0060_1.jpg)
