Some questions about the Philippines

[cls]

My husband and I are considering the Philippines for a spring dive trip, specifically Atlantis Dumaguette. Since we really don't know much about the diving there I have a few questions.

Is it safe for Americans to travel to and stay in that area? I have seen some travel warnings on the Philippines.

Is it only muck diving at Atlantis Dumaguette or is there also reef or wall diving there?

We're considering spending two full weeks at that one location. Is there enough variety of diving (and food) to make it worth staying two weeks there?

Is April/May a good time to make a trip there?

Looking forward to your help. I really need to get a vacation planned.

 

[Hendrew]

Hi cls

I am a South African who worked in the philippines as a Dive Instructor for a year.

Dumaguette is safe to travel around, and that goes for most areas in the philippines.

You should still be aware that there is still crime around, but that goes around in every city in every country, so if you stay out of the "trouble areas" everything will be fine. Don't be alarmed if you hear people calling you "Joe" or "My friend", that's just how it goes.

There is numerous dive sites around that area, including reef, wall, drift, etc dives. APO Island is an very good dive spot. Can be arranged from Dumaguette

All year round is good for diving in the Philippines, but do expect a bit of rain anytime of the day, mostly at night, the climate is warm and very humid at times.

With food requirements - there is "Western type" food available, The local cuisine is good, mostly consisting of meat, noodles and rice (alot of rice), pork(or so they say) is widely available as-well as chicken(with rice ofcourse) - if you walk down almost any road you will find little shops selling various types of food and drinks. So a variety of food will not be a problem


Traveling from Dumaguette to Cebu is easy, just take a ferry ride over. From there you have a variety of options to get around with, either you can take a taxi, jeepney, scooter(hubble-hubble) or bus.

Once on Cebu Island there is also alot of dive sites.
Also Bohol island has some nice spots - Balicasag Island has some very nice dives to offer, but can be a bit crowded at times

I am sure all the info can be provided from the place you are staying at in Dumaguete

Hope this info helps you a bit

 

[Rogersea]

My husband and I are considering the Philippines for a spring dive trip, specifically Atlantis Dumaguette. Since we really don't know much about the diving there I have a few questions.

Is it safe for Americans to travel to and stay in that area? I have seen some travel warnings on the Philippines.

Is it only muck diving at Atlantis Dumaguette or is there also reef or wall diving there?

We're considering spending two full weeks at that one location. Is there enough variety of diving (and food) to make it worth staying two weeks there?

Is April/May a good time to make a trip there?

Looking forward to your help. I really need to get a vacation planned.

I am an American and have been living in the Philippines for a few years now. I have traveled extensively through out the Philippines having made it to most of the major Islands and most dive destinations.

I have only felt unsafe once in all that time, and that was in Manila, while walking from the zoo back to my hotel. You should not have any problems, the most recent warning was based on specific intel that said a group was planning to attack places which were frequented by westerners, it mostly applied to Metro Manila area.

Two weeks is long enough to enjoy two places and the logical choices for the second location are Bohol(Alona/Cabilao or Anda) or Cebu Malapascua or Moalboal. There is a ton of info on this board about all three of the places I mentioned. You can leave Dumaguette in the Afternoon and Make it to Bohol or Moalboal in the same day and be ready to dive the next day. I believe if you choose Malapascua you might want to over night somewhere in Cebu and make it to Malapascua the following day.. All three locations have decent resorts and good diving.

In general, I think one week is enough time to experience most dive destinations..

Cheers,
Roger

 

[supergaijin]

Safety is no worries- just take normal precautions. ie roaming around at night= not a good idea.

Dumaguete is my favourite area in the Philippines. Sometimes a bit of a mission to get to, but plenty to do once there both underwater and on land. Atlantis is a top-notch outfit.

Apo Island has excellent walls, corals and schooling fishes. Travel by boat is approx 60mins. Coastal reefs mainly concentrate on smaller critters.

Enjoy and don't forget to post back on this thread with your experiences/photos!

 

[eagerbeaver]

You will definitely enjoy Atlantis and you'll most likely find the food keeps you busy any time you are not in the water! Be aware that in Dauin(Dumaguete) all the local diving is critter diving. There are some areas of reef with coral and nice stuff like turtles etc, but the majority of sites close to the resort are muck diving. There is no wall diving locally.

Apo island is near enough to make several trips there and that is where you will find decent wall diving and amazing corals, although not masses of fish.

As Roger says, adding a second destination and splitting your trip might be the best way to ensure you get a nice variety of divesites and make the most foyour tim in the Philippines.

Enjoy!

Matt.

 

[WetLens]

We traveled to the Philippines earlier this year, diving 8 days at Atlantis Puerta Galera and 4 days at Atlantis Dumaguete. Both were great places to stay and dive - Dumaguete had more of a laid back atmosphere. Highly recommend both. While the staff at Duma was not quite as attentive as PG, I rather liked the stay at Duma better.

Only place I felt unsafe was in Manila. As stated earlier in this thread, that unsafe feeling can be experienced in any major city, anywhere in the world.

As far as 10 days diving at Duma goes, it would be too much time for me. Definitely not enough variety to the local diving for that length of time. That said, four days was not enough as we spent two of those days at Apo. If I were to do it again, I would likely spend 4-5 days at Duma and dive locally, then go to Apo for a few days, staying on the island. Yes, the crossing is only an hour, but it can be (and was) a very long hour with any wind. We opted out of the Cebu trip to see the whale sharks, but that is easily another great day of diving. I'll add one caveat to the statement on variety. We dove 4 to 5 times daily. If you intend to make fewer dives per day, say 2-3, you could probably manage the full two weeks without too much repetition.

We traveled in February/March, so can't say much about predicted weather in April/May. Our weather was fine - one especially windy day, but all others were great.

Photos from our trip at: WetLens' Photos : Underwater : Philippines (photos taken in Dumaguete will have "duma" in keywords)

 

[ocdiver1]

I've been to the Philippines many times and it's very safe..you'll have no problems. I've also stayed at Atlantis in Dumaguete..great resort and operation...their unlimited diving package where you can do 5 dives per day is a great value. Food there is fantastic as well. I'd say two weeks is too long to stay there..I'd mix it up with another destination in the Phliippines...many great choices but Malapascua would be my top pick. The most local diving at Dumaguete is mostly muck, but day trips offered to Siquijor, Apo, etc. allow you the opportunity to mix it up with nice reef/walls. One nice thing about going to Dumaguete is that it's less than 30 minutes from the airport...so no long car and boat rides...can just easily connect in with many daily flights from Manila.

 

[gunslinger808]

I just got back from trip to Dauin, Dumaguete. Nov. 12-15. Did 7 dives, 3 of those were at Apo Island. VEry HAPPY with my stay at Mike's Dauin Resort. Very good value, and great dives. Prices were much lower than Atlantis which was also a consideration. I cannot comment on the diving during the time of year you are looking at. I had great weather on all my dives and calm winds no more that 4 mph. Muck diving is a definate draw to Dauin. If you have a camera and are into macro, you will not be disappointed. The staff at Mike's REsort are very proffessional and are used to westerners. The owner is also an American, but he was at DEMA so I did not get to meet him. On out last night dinning, the kitchen staff went to market and picked up a fresh jack -trevally-- very fresh. They will take requests you may have and try their best to accomodate. Will definately stay there when I return. I got a awesome value for my money & from talking with the other guests, so did they. The staff made all the arrangements from airport transports to the dives & meals. I am a PADI DM & this is a what I look for in service and safety while travelling. No worries, as far as security. It's very safe.