Trip Advice January 1-17th

[Mucksavage]

In 17 days I would stick to the Visayas otherwise you'll have a lot of travel. Like its been said Moalboal (of the sardines are there), Dumaguete and Apo Island and certainly Malapascua. Dumaguete (and Dauin where you stay) and Malapascua are really great places to dive but also excellent to see the best side of The Philippines - charming, hospitable people living an old word life.

Malapascua has a few wrecks for recreational divers - the Dona Marylin is not historical but its big and a grave to many unfortunate Sulpicio customers. The 'Tapilon' is historic and still has munitions and bits and pieces in the rubble. We found an old telephone hand set there recently from the 40s. Now can we find it again?

Feel free to PM if you want more detailed info on any Visayan area but of course especially Malapascua.

 

[slowhands]

Watch out for Chinese New Year travelers at that time of year. Accommodations should be booked early in popular areas.

I suggest Coron for wrecks. Subic has several, but the viz is terrible. I have gone down to the New York and had to abort because the viz was 1-3 meters.

For a relaxed trip, try Alona Beach and Dauin Beach. Lots of great diving for smaller critters. You might see a thresher at Moalboal, no guarantee, but I like it too.

For a short trip like this, I would limit to 2-3 destinations, you won't have time for much diving if you are always in transit.

 

[DevonDiver]

suggest Coron for wrecks. Subic has several, but the viz is terrible. I have gone down to the New York and had to abort because the viz was 1-3 meters.

Subic is fun on the wrecks but beware that vis is poor.

Firstly, don't go to an area once and then judge those conditions based on that very limited experience.

Secondly, don't go to an area and then do a dive at a site that is directly in front of a river mouth, then judge the rest of the area on that solitary site.


Subic has a reputation for bad viz, because a lot of visiting divers go out for a quick 1-2 dive trips, and are taken to the nearest sites to the dive centres. That saves the dive centres on gasoline costs for their expensive speedboats... especially those centres further away at Barretto... Those nearest sites are the closest to the Olongapo river exit, which is heavily silted.

USS New York has bad viz because of its proximity to the river mouth. That's a shame, because it is a spectacular, world-class wreck within recreational depth ranges.

Most divers who visit Subic don't get much beyond the New York...

Some of those divers don't like to get up early to hit the best dive spots, maybe hangover, maybe the delightful company of the opposite sex, maybe just enjoying sleep rather than diving..... others don't like the idea of spending more than a couple of hours on a dive boat... some just like to be back in their resort shortly after lunch, so that they can top themselves back up with beer and hit on the ladies again... or some just come for a daytrip but don't want to wake up early enough to leave Manila in time for a proper days diving..

Committed, eager divers, who make the effort to explore the full diversity of dive sites at Subic often have a very different story to tell...

Viz in Subic Bay is regularly in the region of 20-25m. Marine life around Grande Island and LST is spectacular. Thousands of schooling Jacks, black tip reefs sharks, octopus, flying gurnard, nudibranch, pipefish... you name it... The water is reliably calm and diving is possible at Subic when all other locations are impossible due to monsoon/storm conditions. All of the dive sites are within 30mins of the shore (sad that most divers only ever experience the ones within 10mins).

I love the USS New York. It's a wreck dive. If you get disappointed because of a lack of coral or pretty fish... then you picked the wrong dive site to visit in Subic. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[krunchy]

Thinking about it, I would do Coron for wrecks then travel to Puerto Gallera or Apo Island area.

This is good advice... after looking at the travel times I'd lose several days just going from one place to another. Coron is #1 on my list because of the wrecks, and I was looking at another good destination. PG is an option because its so easy to get to, but would like to visit somewhere that's really spectacular (like Malapascua). But its hard to ignore the difference in travel time.

 

[Centrals]

Unless you are using public transfer or have someone to share the cost, the private transfer to Malapascua is outrageously expensive!!!
Coron + Malapascua would be ideal for two wks of diving in the country.
Please check if there is direct flight between Coron and Cebu. If there is none than Anilao, PG and even Subic(more wrecks) are good substitutes.