Southern Leyte accomodation and transportation from Cebu City

[Makhno]

Buddies and I stayed at Peter's two years in a row. No complaints, except for the limited menu (same problem at all the Sogod Bay dive places).

Accommodation can match your budget. There's a big house with beds for 4 or 5 people which is cheap (I think they have an even cheaper dorm, if you're not traveling with a group), and other buddies who wanted privacy as couples, or just want more luxury, stayed in other rooms which were more suitable for them.

A buddy who had been to Sogod Bay Dive Resort said they were about equal with Peter's, in terms of price and menu and dive guides, etc.

There are other dining options: a nearby pub can arrange a massive suckling pig feast for a group of 10, or more simply can just provide a few dishes not on the resort's menu. There are some eateries in the village, too.

Be sure to dive the muck sites: Malitbog Lembeh is nearby (a shore dive after a truck ride), but the one in black sand across the bay … name I can't recall … is the one for the hairy frogfish

 

[happybuddha]

Out of curiousity, are Peter's and Sogod Bay the only two dive ops in the area? Last time I was there was '02, I think, and I used Peter's, which was the only one open then, if memory serves.

 

[xrcjdx]

No, there are several shops, most in relatively close proximity. Peter's and Sogod Bay SR are practically next door neighbors, and both often cater to an English as a first language crowd (though by all means not exclusively), both owners being Australian. Contrast that with, say, the Korean shop a few doors down, where English is at best a second language. Southern Leyte Divers, though German owned, caters to a pretty eclectic crowd, but a lot of Germans. I visit on occasion to eat, the food is good, people are nice, and facilities look nice. Leyte Divers as far as I know is Swiss owned, but it's just a little farther down the road (closer to Malitbog) and I don't know much about it, except the time i stopped to check it out the owners were very gracious and pleasant people. The Castle, at the end of Tankaan, has a nice upscale set-up, but the dive boat sucks and I wouldn't recommend it unless you are on a real or practice honeymoon and diving is an afterthought or at least not your main reason for going. The food is decent. Pintuyan is across the Bay, not at all in close proximity but especially not by land, a bit on the pricey side as far as I can tell, and appears to cater to Germans. It's a pain to get to even by Southern Leyte standards, unless you are starting from Surigao. Which can happen, if you are surfing in Siargao. Don't know anything specific about it except they dive off a large hard bottom inflatable, at least they did when i last saw them. They are very, very close to where all the ops go to spot whale sharks in season.

So maybe that is why you hear mostly about Peter's and SBSR on this board in particular. If there is another functional dive op here it slips my mind at the moment.

 

[Centrals]

Out of curiousity, are Peter's and Sogod Bay the only two dive ops in the area? Last time I was there was '02, I think, and I used Peter's, which was the only one open then, if memory serves.

I don't think SBR was opened in 02.