Traveling to SE Asia - Looking for Dive Recommendations

[north6633]

Well I have a kind of unique situation. My wife and I are going to Vietnam in November of this year. We are doing a 11 day motorcycle trip around north Vietnam beginning November 30th. But due to when thanksgiving falls we will be leaving the states on Nov 17th . So we have 10 days plus or minus on the front of our trip to get a dive trip in.

The question we are struggling with is where to go. We are flying into Hanoi on the night of the 18th and will depart from there for diving. We are looking at Bali, PI or Thailand. We obtained our OW in Nha Trang last November and are not that interested in diving in Vietnam again.

Pricing wise flying from Hanoi to Bali, Manila or Phuket are all comparable. Not sure which would be the best bang for our buck. I have read good things about them all and it sounds like Bali may have an edge for quality of coral and sea life.

I guess a little about my wife and myself, we are new divers with 22 dives each including our open water dives. As I mentioned above we got our OW in Vietnam and our most recent trip and first real diving trip was to Roatan this past March. So we are are looking for a good place to improve our diving skills, we have done a bit of drift diving in a mild current, swim thrus and both have our deep water cert. Like to see more sea life and coral and just learn more.

Bit long winded here, but just not sure where to go.

Thanks in advance

 

[Centrals]

Philippines.
Anilao or Puerto Galera via Manila.
Bohol or Dumaguete or Moalboal via Cebu.

 

[north6633]

Thanks Centrals, I will look into those places. I have some friends diving in Dumaguete right now, looking forward to hearing about their trip.

Have been scouring the posts here in the Asia forum and reading trip reports, so many places and dive operators to choose from. Was looking at Komodo, but the price and times for live abords will not work. So the search continues....

 

[Quero]

I think that it will be easier for you to narrow your options if you think about whether you prefer land-based diving or a liveaboard experience. And for land-based, if you want to dive, dive, dive or do other stuff as well.

Bali area: To be honest, I wouldn't recommend Komodo for divers of your experience level anyway. Bali itself could work since November is at the tail end of the dry season when you can expect good sea conditions. Most diving around Bali is either shore based or from quite small boats, and good sea conditions make both of these more pleasant. For divers of your experience level, I'd recommend Tulamben, Menjangan, and the Gilis. Bali is also excellent for culture and landscapes.

Philippines: November is the beginning of the main dive season in most parts of the PI. For ease of access plus great dives, I like Anilao. Fly in and out of Manila and drive a couple of hours to the area with all the dive resorts.. The diving is outstanding, and everything else, from food options to shopping to cultural interest is minimal. I like Moalboal from Cebu for good diving (the rest is about like Anilao). You can do both shore dives and dives from small outriggers.

Thailand: If you are interested in liveaboard diving, my recommendation would be Thailand, without a doubt. Unlike liveaboard diving in the Komodo area, Thailand liveaboard diving is accessible to relatively inexperienced divers like you. There is virtually no shore diving in Thailand, and daytrips are conducted either form speedboats or from large multi-deck cruisers that even have compressors on board because dive sites are often some distance away. Beyond the diving, the food in Thailand is wonderful, and so are the cultural opportunities, though given your plans to tour VN, perhaps this isn't a prime consideration.