Suggestions / Recommendations please

[Russ_UK]

Hi everyone, I'm after some help, suggestions & information on locations, accommodation and prices for a trip back the the Philippines in February 2011.
I've been to Coron 3 times now & love the people, the island and the diving and will be returning again next year (can't wait to be back).
On the last two trips we arrived in Manila & had a couple of nights in a hotel there before travelling to Coron where we stayed in SeaDive for 17 nights, (in the deluxe rooms with aircon which we found were pretty good for the price we paid). Then back to Manila for three more nights before returning home.
Next year I still want to go to the Philippines for another three weeks and would like to stay about 10 nights in Coron and then have about 7 nights in another resort with the possibility of one or two dives there.
So I'm looking for a few suggestions & recommendations, don't really want anywhere expensive, price wise at a guess up to around 2500 peso per room per night (but cheaper would be better - Seadive was 1400 peso per room per day last month) - would like aircon & somewhere clean & tidy and with a little bit more activity than offered in Coron.

This year my total accommodation cost for the 22 nights was @ 38,000 peso so next year I guess my total budget for accommodation will be about 45,000 peso (could probably go up to 50,000).

I usually fly to and from Manila (and don't mind using a few internal flights), but I guess I could come to or go from Cebu if it was a better option ??

 

[sonar]

think anilao and puerto galera will be most practical; from coron to PG you can go in half a day..Anilao pbb even quicker.. Maybe Donsol to snorkle with whale sharks; a bit more travel though..

If you arrange your flight home from cebu you will have way more options..

 

[shugar]

traveling to/from coron is a manila affair as far as i know... so given you want to spend a good 10 days in coron and want some night life i'd suggest puerto galera.

it's 2.5 + 1hr from manila and is land-travel so that won't eat into your no-fly times on your way home...

there's a night life in PG - from sinful sabang to boring big lalaguna (and everything in between)... dives are diverse and so are accommods options

hope this helps

Jag

 

[Russ_UK]

Thanks for your replies so far, I don't think arranging flights home from Cebu would be too much of a problem . A bit of night life sounds good as Coron is not the most exciting of places for night life. Any accommodation recommendations would be very useful as well (& hopefully I can find them on a google search)

 

[sonar]

most here recommend DiveDojo for your dives (including me). There is a lot of accomodation in sabang; for every price range something

up to 2500pesos sounds extremely expensive.. with such a budget you get a big hotelroom in the more expensive resorts; just dont dive with them cause they are usually less about diving and more about luxury

I paid 8$ a night for a simple bungalow with a kitchen, a fan and cold shower; was clean and nice though. Called sabang inn I believe. They have luxury bungalows well..

 

[Russ_UK]

Thanks sonar, I would prefer something closer to the prices at Seadive (@ 1400) as I would prefer somewhere with aircon, but at the moment I didn't have any idea of how the the prices are in Puerto, it's starting to look very attractive now

 

[sonar]

check Jack & Daniels

friend of mine stayed there. He had 2 floors with everything possible included. Looked awesome; like a normal house. He paid very little cause he stayed there for like 8 months; think he paid like 10$ a day. It also depends on when you go there. I was there in lowwww season; initially they charged me almost double but I could talk it down cause I stayed so long. I think they wanted me to pay somewhere around 1000pesos.. (which would make 1400 for a simple aircon room a good deal)

but I am not the guy to advice on resorts..

I would personally advice you to make a shortlist of places and go there once you arrive. Drop your bags at the divestore (most are next to the beach, where you arrive as well) and walk around. This way you can make a better deal, check the surroundings & have a look first

 

[kwhkg]

look at Resorts | Puerto Galera Online Services

 

[Russ_UK]

Sounds like a good idea sonar, it would be around this time next year so it will be in high season. Are many places likely to be fully booked or will there be plenty of vacancies still available if I waited until I arrive there ?

Thanks for the link kwykg.

 

[Russ_UK]

As stated earlier - I intend to go to Coron for @ 10 days, and from the replies so far I'll probably make Puerto Galera my other location.
So if I go to Coron first how do I get to Puerto Galera, can I get there direct from Coron or will I have to fly back to Manila and get transport from the airport ?
And approximately how long will it take me to get there from either Coron or Manila, and how often do boats / ferries travel there ?
Any times etc. for the return trip to Manila ?
Where do the sail from and what are the sailing times ?
Which is the best place to stay first - Coron or Puerto ?
Any more help / info you can share with me ?