Transfer Anilao to PG - worth it?

[cetacean]

Love critters. Don't like critters on garbage. Lembeh is pretty filthy too. Guess you're happy with that
My diving resume is just fine and comprehensive
Tina Villa in PG two years ago three dives and a room for $75.
BlueRibbon Anilao three dives and a room $175. You do the math

"Love critters..."

Umm... clearly not, if you don't like Lembeh and Anilao. Don't bother going to Ambon, you'll be disappointed... you can skip trying to find Rhinopias as well.

 

[cetacean]

Wow, you must have dived with the wrong people I think. We had brilliant dives, every one was high quality. Little rubbish under or on water.

What is wrong with being stuck at your hotel? Most dive resorts around the world are isolated from towns, there are only a few locations where the resorts are all in the town. Yes, a lot (all?) resorts at Anilao are on hillsides. Did you not research where you were staying?

So good, we are going back again early in 2025.

It was so good I was there in January, and I'll be back next March.

 

[diveUAE]

It's about 45 minutes from anilao to Batangas pier. You should be able to get a taxi for much less than $60.
The boat to PG is not much. I haven't done it in a couple of years but you can find the price online. The ferry to downtown PG , Mueller Pier is good size steel boat. No more bancas since the accident a few years back
You should be able to find people to share the taxi . .... It's a popular route.
If you're not a critter diver or photographer you might not like anilao. I wouldn't go back to anilao for free lol.
You could easily do 12 days in PG and it's also about half the price of Anilao too.

Thanks. We love critters - this year we did Dauin (super) and Moalboal (Ok). Have been to Malapascua (fantastic) and Bohol (good). We've also been to Lembeh and loved it.

Your comments about garbage is making med think though - what time of year did you visit? Maybe some months has more garbage than others?
From my research it also seems Anilao is more expensive than PG, but really wanted to do both - might have to settle for PG though.
Where else did you find good in Philippines (I'm not a fan of wrecks - but my husband loves anything connected to WW2)
Don't mind about the city - with 4 dives a day we're pretty exhausted.

@diveUAE

I don't believe they offer banca transfers across to Puerto Gallera anymore... so your only options are public ferries or private water taxis. I would always take the prviate water taxi option (in part because ~200 USD to travel on my schedule is more important than saving a few $).

To the comment above - I *much* prefer Anilao to PG. Anilao is a world class criter location... PG can be a bit of a dump. Many better places to dive in the Philippines, depending on what you want to see.

Yeah - vacation time is important, but I do find 170 $ + to be excessive
Where would you recommend for critters and reef if not PG (or Dauin, Mala, Moalboal, Bohol) - in February?

Did this in September last year. Buceo's car to Batangas wharf took 85 minutes, could not use their boat for first bit due to typhoon, so was car all the way. Then slow ferry took 2.5 hours. Trike to Sabang was about 20 minutes. Ferry was 450 pesos pp (US$8.00). Car was US$60 and trike 350 pesos pp (US$6.20). So for two people, US$37 each.

On the way back we took fast boat from Sabang and it was 2000 pesos each (US$35) and was worth it. Only took 30 minutes. Then car we booked with our dive shop, 4500 pesos (US$80). Worth using the Buceo car as showed us exactly where to book etc. Could be confusing without this help.

Thank you for the details! Very appreciated. So if we could get a fast boat from Batangas price would be: 60$ for the car, 35 $ each for the fast boat= 130 for 2? But then we would still need a trike or car to the resort? Otherwise it's 170 $ more to take the convenient direct water taxi.

 

[diveUAE]

1. US$60.00 for the transfer from Buceo to Batangas Pier is excessive but it is the easier option.
2. Ferry to Balatero(P600.00) is about 1hr and the boat is big. Check the schedule and make sure arrive at least an hr earlier. 10:00 schedule should give you plenty of time to make two dives on the same day.
3. Unless prearranged by your host in Anilao/PG, the only viable option to travel from Balatero to Sabang is by TRIKE only. It is only P250.00 per each vehicle.
4. No more ferry goes to Mulle for quite a while.
5. I would go to PG first and then Anilao. It is easier to travel from Anilao to the airport in a hurry.

Thanks!
2. I was hoping to do 2 dives in Anilao, before the transfer, don't seem to be possible, if we don't take the direct water taxi.
3. thanks - will remember. How long is the ride (time)?
5. We arrive at 6 pm, so easiest is getting to Anilao after arrival - departure is 6 am, so would transfer the afternoon before and spend the night close to the airport.

 

[cetacean]

Thanks!
2. I was hoping to do 2 dives in Anilao, before the transfer, don't seem to be possible, if we don't take the direct water taxi.
3. thanks - will remember. How long is the ride (time)?
5. We arrive at 6 pm, so easiest is getting to Anilao after arrival - departure is 6 am, so would transfer the afternoon before and spend the night close to the airport.

@diveUAE

Let me try this again...

If you like Lembeh, you will likely love Anilao. On a good day they are about the same, and many times Anilao is even better (a few more of those rare critters, including more wonderpus and mimic octopus).

The other big difference is many of the Anilao sites are either white sand or coral - vs. the typical black sand you find in Lembeh. Provides a very interesting contrast to what you find. Last - Anilao is known for having both more nudibranchs and more types of nudis that what you'll find in Lembeh (we were last there in January, full of tiny frogfish, not quite as many nudibranchs as we expected).

If the trash didn't bother you in Lembeh, it won't bother you in Anilao. Most sites are significantly cleaner (except in front of a couple of villages, but that trash tends to be full of life).

Two very unique aspects of Anilao:
The have the best night dive you can imagine in 15ft of water. The "pier" (which is not really a pier) is full of life at night. Many octopus, bobbit worms, gobies, crabs, stargazers, shrimps, etc. It's one of the best night dives we've ever done, and we do this dive every time we visit Anilao.

The second is blackwater diving. If you've done one of these then you know they can be addictive. If you haven't, you should - in Anilao. Very easy to do here and the critters you find on these dives are incredible (look up "paper nautilus" as an example). We've done blackwater dives in several diferent locations - they are best run (and you get the best critter experiences) in Anilao (becauase you need to do this kind of dive over deep water, which Anilao has very close to the shore). We enjoy this type of diving so much that in January (our last visit to Anilao) we did 2 dives in the morning, sat out the afternoon, and then did 2 blackwater dives each evening for the first dive days of our trip. Great experience...

Larval octopus and hunting diamond squid, along with the paper nautilus - amazing experience.

 

[Centrals]

@diveUAE
1. Water taxi is min. P10,000.00 per boat!! There is NO regular schedule but you might be able to share one if there is demand. I have noticed operator in Sabang is offering this service. Remember: it is NOT regular so you might not find anyone to share the boat. Boat + van transfer to Manila is P15,000.00(~US$270.00) ie. with no one to share the cost. There are less costly alternatives( not public transport) but.....a bit less convenience.
2. Correct.
3. The ride by trike from Balatero to Sabang is about 20mins. Where are you staying? You might need porters to carry your luggage to eg. Big or Small La Laguna.
4. Your only option. There are plenty of nice hotels near T3(10 mins walking distance) but none at T1 and T2.

 

[bmag78]

Thanks!
2. I was hoping to do 2 dives in Anilao, before the transfer, don't seem to be possible, if we don't take the direct water taxi.
3. thanks - will remember. How long is the ride (time)?
5. We arrive at 6 pm, so easiest is getting to Anilao after arrival - departure is 6 am, so would transfer the afternoon before and spend the night close to the airport.

I stayed at Blue Ribbon Resort in December of 2022 , a decent well reviewed Resort. Nothing remarkable about the weather then. I took for granted that they're going to take me to decent sites. Very disappointed.

I like all the usual places in the Philippines. Southern Leyte is good but has been discovered recently.
Another seldom visited place is APO reef (not Island) accessible from Pandan Island (thru Batangas port also). An excellent place
I work in the scuba industry so when I go on vacation I don't go on dedicated dive trips and don't do four dives a day. That's why I don't like get stuck in a hotel. I'll do two or three dives in a day then hop on a motorbike for a cruise or go look for a golf course.
Simple fact of the matter , and what this other person in the thread doesn't understand , is that not everybody likes muck diving. I would much rather see a whale shark than a flamboyant cuttlefish and finding this elusive rhinopia isn't on my bucket list of Apex creatures to find.
Furthermore I'll stand by my contention that Puerto galera is less than half the cost of Anilao.
Three dives and a room at Tina Villa for 75 bucks versus $175 at Blue ribbon for three dives and a room. Those prices were on the same trip in the same month.
I deliberately avoided anilao for 35 years but eventually broke down and went there just to see what all the fuss was about. Now I know and don't need to go back
Enjoy your trip wherever you end up

 

[ecmdtan]

Am traveling to Anilao tomorrow. Will be there for 2 weeks (diving and working) and concentrating on my macro photography skills (or lack thereof).

But I have found Anilao to be more expensive compared to other places. Maybe because of its proximity to Manila?...Anyways, would be my first time there, and going there mainly for the critters, so am looking forward to it. Just hope where the place I am staying has got a good enough internet connection for my work.

 

[Centrals]

I deliberately avoided anilao for 35 years but eventually broke down and went there just to see what all the fuss was about. Now I know and don't need to go back
Enjoy your trip wherever you end up

We all have different preferences on diving, nothing wrong with that. But as in every aspect in life, some peoples have different mentality that their preferences...... LOL.
I went to Anilao and Lembeh once and never ever again. It is NOT my cup of tea.
Southern Leyte is very good especially it is well off the beaten track so mass tourism is NOT an issue. As for Apo Reef, it is only for those with determination and inclination. Getting there is even more demanding, either LoB or long ride, than Southern Leyte.

Am traveling to Anilao tomorrow. Will be there for 2 weeks (diving and working) and concentrating on my macro photography skills (or lack thereof).

But I have found Anilao to be more expensive compared to other places. Maybe because of its proximity to Manila?...Anyways, would be my first time there, and going there mainly for the critters, so am looking forward to it. Just hope where the place I am staying has got a good enough internet connection for my work.

Just enjoy the dives.

 

[ecmdtan]

Just enjoy the dives.

Thanks. I intend to!!