Trip Report: Alona / Moalboal Feb '11

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mscott556

Contributor
Messages
363
Reaction score
401
Location
West Palm Beach, FL
# of dives
200 - 499
This was my second trip to the Philippines and I had a great time over there. Visibility was a bit low on all dives and water temp was about 26C but it was still enjoyable. Here's the breakdown:

Manila
Stayed at Howzat Inn for p1200 and was very satisfied. It was about 20 minutes from the airport and early morning traffic going back was no problem. I didn't get to check out any of the bars there because I was exhausted on arrival.

Alona Beach
I talked a guy with a van down to p300 for the ride from Tagbilaran to Alona and just checked out the area while I was waiting to check-in to my room. I ended up with a room at Alona Vida and it was okay. The room itself was nice but my only complaint was the lack of a mini-fridge. The room had no view but at least it was right behind the bar which was actually on the beach. My room there was p3200/night.

I did seven dives with Seaquest and two with Genesis. The first day was Balicasag and the sites were: Black Forest, Diver's Heaven, and Rico's Wall. Black Forest was the most interesting of the three. The second day I dove at BBC, Arco Point, and the house reef...nothing special at any of those. The third day, Seaquest was going back to BBC and Arco so I went with Genesis back to Balicasag. Seaquest set me back p15,000 for seven dives w/gear/comp/camera. I believe Genesis was around p5000.

On my last day in Alona, I rented my own boat for p1500 and went on the dolphin watching/island hopping tour. There were plenty of dolphins to see as they swam and jumped around the boats. I also took the land tour which included the tarsiers, floating river, hanging bridge, and chocolate hills for another p1500. You can easily do both tours in a day and I recommend them both. Just be aware that there are small entrance fees at most stops and the cost of lunch on the floating river was another p400.

After my tours, I took the ferry from Loon to Argao (p105) which was about a two hour trip. From the port in Argao, I took a tricycle over to Carcar (p300) and then the bus down to Moalboal (approx p50).

Moalboal
I stayed at Cora's Palm Court and paid approx p1115/night. I ended up staying in three different rooms (because of the way I booked) and all were good enough for me. The big room had cable tv/aircon/hot water. The sea-side room was a fan room and the third room, which was the cheapest, had aircon but didn't have hot water.

My six dives were with Savedra and cost me about p12,000. Dive sites included Pescador Island and some different spots along the shore. Pescador was great, and despite the low vis, was able to see two white tip sharks along with schools of sardines and tuna.

Non-diving activities inlcluded relaxing at White Beach and the Sunday cockfight at Badian (p1500), and a daytrip to Kawasan Falls (p800). If you are in Moalboal, you should definatley take a day off to go swim at the falls.

Early on the 16th, I took a tricycle to the bus stop (p70), the bus up to Cebu (p91), and then a cab to the airport (p200). Don't forget to save some Pesos for the airport terminal fees (p200/Cebu and p800/Manila).
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Overall, I enjoyed Moalboal more but both islands were a lot of fun. I'll try to post pics later when I've got some more time here at work. I'll gladly try to help if anyone has any questions.
 
Excellent summary! Wow....that was written in a TRAVEL WRITER style! We look forward to pictures. Keep your head down in the box!
 
thanks for the trip report! cool set of pictures too. looks like you had a great time.
 
Just came from moalboal myself and i have to stay that has to be one of my best dives ever.
Viz was kinda bad, but managed to get some good vids. On the day we left, the other divers said viz was almost perfect, oh well :)
Ill borrow my friends laptop and post a vid here.
 
We were also there last weekend, and I have to agree, Pescador Island is totally awesome in spite of the low viz and rough seas. I'm trying to find time to edit my video.
 
 
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Joe they do get disorienting but yes i was excited hehe.
I did make a bunaken/lembeh video but its in my friends lappy (i sold mine a few weeks back).
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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