FairyBasset
Contributor
Having been given much advice here on ScubaBoard that I was not to miss Apo Reef, I made sure to get it on my plan. I was looking for a way to dive on Apo Reef without taking an expensive liveaboard and I came across Apo Reef Club. I’m so glad I did!!
Michael, the owner is Swiss and set up Apo Reef Club about 13 years ago after falling in love with the reef. Even today his love of every dive there is infectious - you could even think he had never dived there before, as he was so excited!! His enthusiasm creates a wonderful, family style atmosphere in the resort and on the trip out to the reef.
The booking process was easy, being able to transfer money for payment in Europe or the Philippines or by PayPal. They were very fast to answer all queries and helped me plan my travel and transfers, which was extremely helpful. As their location is not near any town you won’t just happen upon it. So, you need to contact them by mail or via the website. They can then organise everything for you. I took the ferry to San Jose Mindoro from Coron, others flew to San José from Manila. It’s also an easy fast boat there from Boracay.
I booked a dive package out to apo reef plus a few extra days in the resort to relax. The bungalows have aircon plus fans, hot showers, comfortable beds and a working safe. They are nicely designed and are all spaced out so you are not crowded.
There is a lovely pool in the centre of the resort overlooking the beach and plenty of loungers to relax. The resort provides half board (anyway there is nowhere else near by to go). You can choose from a variety of breakfast options. Dinner is a buffet with various options and family style dining, which makes for a cosy atmosphere. There is a good menu for lunch, everything from spring rolls to pizza! They have a big garden where the grow lots of their own fruit and vegetables.
It’s obvious that the owner has a very social conscience and employs several disadvantaged people. He has carefully created a family atmosphere amongst his staff and looks after them very well. He is also creating a football, badminton and beach volleyball pitches plus a running track in the fields belonging to the resort for clients - as well as allowing local kids to use them.
If you don’t have your own dive gear, you can rent good equipment from the shop there. They have a well kept compressor.
The boats are extremely basic by international Liveaboard standards, but somehow that adds to their charm. They do the over-night trips to the reef on bangkas. They are quite spacious, but everyone sleeps on board on an upper deck full of mattresses - so if you don’t fancy bunking down with others this will not be for you. The mattresses are comfortable though!! Plenty of room for all your dive stations and for meals.
The trip leaves early in the morning, 4 dives on day one, overnight stay, 3 dives on day 2 and back to the resort in time for sunset. The guides are great fun and very knowledgeable having dived there thousands of times in the last 13 years or so.
The diving was by far the best I’ve done in the Philippines. This is far more my kind of diving than the Visayas. Stunning blue water, so many beautiful fish, big schools of barracuda and jacks and at last my favourite- a hammerhead!! We saw enormous trevally, hunting white tips and huge tuna out hunting. The dives on ego wall and action point were breathtaking. It felt like it was snowing fish, with so many banner fish, moorish idols, sardines, Indian trigger fish, antheas, etc shapeshifting along the wall. The light in the water, the colours were mesmerising.
The final dive was on a small shipwreck which was teeming with life. So many sweet lips on top of the wreck made a wonderful site. Plenty to see in the sand around the wreck too.
Really enjoyed coming back from the dive trip and watching the stunning sunset from the deck of the dive centre drinking a beer! Great location to chill out after the trip.
Prices seem to be quite standard around everywhere I’ve dived In the Philippines, the park fees are quite high though at ca 3000 pesos for the trip. This is also a far more affordable way to visit the reef, with a team who really know the reef, than the LOB options available.
The dive sites at the reef are spectacular and the team at Apo reef club make it absolutely worth making your way out there.
Michael, the owner is Swiss and set up Apo Reef Club about 13 years ago after falling in love with the reef. Even today his love of every dive there is infectious - you could even think he had never dived there before, as he was so excited!! His enthusiasm creates a wonderful, family style atmosphere in the resort and on the trip out to the reef.
The booking process was easy, being able to transfer money for payment in Europe or the Philippines or by PayPal. They were very fast to answer all queries and helped me plan my travel and transfers, which was extremely helpful. As their location is not near any town you won’t just happen upon it. So, you need to contact them by mail or via the website. They can then organise everything for you. I took the ferry to San Jose Mindoro from Coron, others flew to San José from Manila. It’s also an easy fast boat there from Boracay.
I booked a dive package out to apo reef plus a few extra days in the resort to relax. The bungalows have aircon plus fans, hot showers, comfortable beds and a working safe. They are nicely designed and are all spaced out so you are not crowded.
There is a lovely pool in the centre of the resort overlooking the beach and plenty of loungers to relax. The resort provides half board (anyway there is nowhere else near by to go). You can choose from a variety of breakfast options. Dinner is a buffet with various options and family style dining, which makes for a cosy atmosphere. There is a good menu for lunch, everything from spring rolls to pizza! They have a big garden where the grow lots of their own fruit and vegetables.
It’s obvious that the owner has a very social conscience and employs several disadvantaged people. He has carefully created a family atmosphere amongst his staff and looks after them very well. He is also creating a football, badminton and beach volleyball pitches plus a running track in the fields belonging to the resort for clients - as well as allowing local kids to use them.
If you don’t have your own dive gear, you can rent good equipment from the shop there. They have a well kept compressor.
The boats are extremely basic by international Liveaboard standards, but somehow that adds to their charm. They do the over-night trips to the reef on bangkas. They are quite spacious, but everyone sleeps on board on an upper deck full of mattresses - so if you don’t fancy bunking down with others this will not be for you. The mattresses are comfortable though!! Plenty of room for all your dive stations and for meals.
The trip leaves early in the morning, 4 dives on day one, overnight stay, 3 dives on day 2 and back to the resort in time for sunset. The guides are great fun and very knowledgeable having dived there thousands of times in the last 13 years or so.
The diving was by far the best I’ve done in the Philippines. This is far more my kind of diving than the Visayas. Stunning blue water, so many beautiful fish, big schools of barracuda and jacks and at last my favourite- a hammerhead!! We saw enormous trevally, hunting white tips and huge tuna out hunting. The dives on ego wall and action point were breathtaking. It felt like it was snowing fish, with so many banner fish, moorish idols, sardines, Indian trigger fish, antheas, etc shapeshifting along the wall. The light in the water, the colours were mesmerising.
The final dive was on a small shipwreck which was teeming with life. So many sweet lips on top of the wreck made a wonderful site. Plenty to see in the sand around the wreck too.
Really enjoyed coming back from the dive trip and watching the stunning sunset from the deck of the dive centre drinking a beer! Great location to chill out after the trip.
Prices seem to be quite standard around everywhere I’ve dived In the Philippines, the park fees are quite high though at ca 3000 pesos for the trip. This is also a far more affordable way to visit the reef, with a team who really know the reef, than the LOB options available.
The dive sites at the reef are spectacular and the team at Apo reef club make it absolutely worth making your way out there.
