FairyBasset
Contributor
Having received some very good advice here on ScubaBoard, I decided to start my trip in the Philippines with a few days at Easy Diving resort in Sipalay and then join their six day dive safari from Sipalay to Moalboal, which Easy does in partnership with Savedra Dive Shop in Moalboal. So I’ll round up some key infos for you here, in case you are interested in this trip.
First off, I’d never visited the Philippines before, so I was grateful for all the advice I received here on ScubaBoard. I’m not a big macro fan, so I also wasn’t too sure about where to go in general. So, I decided to try and cram as many different locations as possible in my trip to cover a variety of regions.
I’m really glad I started off at Easy Diving in Sipalay. The booking procedure was simple, efficient and very friendly. In advance Christian the owner and his team are always on hand to help with information and transfers etc. On arrival everyone of the staff at easy diving welcomes you by name. They are all friendly, warm, welcoming and helpful. The easy diving staff make the trek to Sipalay well worth while.
I sadly couldn’t get on the flight from Cebu direct to Sipalay as it was full. So I flew to Bacolod and took a car transfer to the resort. I think that was quite expensive at around 80€ though it did take nearly 4 hours.
The hotel grounds are set out over a steep hill. So there is A LOT of step climbing. Don’t come here if you are not able to deal with steps. In the day time from the beach / sea you can’t see any of the buildings except those by the beach as they are all covered by trees, which is lovely. Coming back from a night dive you can see the room lights twinkling in the trees, which is very pretty.
My room was ok, pretty clean and well kept. Hot water in bathroom didn’t really work. Mattress was very comfortable. Good safes in room. Nice balcony out front to relax on, great ocean view.
On the beach is the restaurant. The food is very good. Everything from local, Italian, Swiss and German to all kinds of sausage delicacies (very Swiss/ German/ Austrian!) It’s a bit irritating that they want you to order lunch at breakfast and dinner in the afternoon but I guess they want to prepare and make sure they have enough. The majority of guests were Swiss and Germans but there were also quite a few Swedish while I was there.
You are encouraged to buy a metal water flask which includes a flat rate for water refills. Very good idea to stop single use plastic waste. They have a massage facility on the beach which is great and the masseuse is well trained.
The dive shop is well organised. Usually 3-4 guests per dive master. I did 4 dives a day which was great. The diving has lots of diversity if you like macro, plus very nice corals, e.g. pygmy seahorses (for those who can still see them!) Mandarin fish on sunset dives, squid, octopus, lots of different clown fish, orangutan, boxer shrimp, nudis, etc. Dive sites all close by to the bay so short boat trips and hassle free. There is a gift shop in the resort which also stocks plenty of dive gear in case you forgot something.
This is a very nice place to stay for a week or so, if you want to hang out in a chilled out atmosphere and do plenty of diving.
The dive safari leaves the beach resort early in the morning and heads to the south of Negros for the first dive. In the six days you cover the south of Negros around Dauin, Apo Island, Siquijor, Panglao Island, Alona Beach, Balicasag, Oslob, Sumilon Island, Liloan, Pescador Island and Moalboal.
The boat is very basic by LOB standards, which is why they recommend you to stay on land. I would definitely agree with that proposal. They organise hotels in the different areas, two nights in Dauin (nice location), 2 nights in Alona Beach (we did not have a nice hotel here, but it was between Xmas and New Year, so they didn’t get into the usual hotel) and Liloan, which also can only be described as basic backpacker style. They also arrange and pay for the dinners each evening. So, this is a very different experience if you are used to the usual type of LOB, however, it’s quite a nice way to actually see something of the places you are diving at.
The boat has plenty of room to lie about and chill between dives, the dive stations are also fine. Charging equipment is limited but easy enough over night on land. Food is plentiful though very Philippino, so perhaps not always everyone’s cup of tea.
The crew were wonderful. Super friendly, smiley, helpful and made for a great trip. The local guide was great, very knowledgeable and happy to point things out. They tried hard to accommodate all our wishes.
The diving in the Visayas region is more macro and lots of wall dives. Diverse, plenty of cool critters and pretty corals. Some dive sites stood out more than others, many places kind of blended into one after a while for me. Apo Island had lovely corals, I also saw a very rare red bubble coral here. Balicasag had a huge school of some kind of wide mouthed sardines which were feeding, which was cool, plus a huge school of jacks. We dived with whale sharks in Oslob, which was far better than snorkelling on the surface with 500+ non swimmers. Great place to find new go pros in the sand, where snorkellers lose them!! Eventually saw a lonely white tip at Sumilon Island - I’d given up hope at that point of ever seeing a shark!! Last dive was the sardine run in Moalboal. That was awesome. It’s the biggest school of sardines in the world with a home base... soooo many fish so close to shore, you just drift along and watch them grouping and moving. Totally mesmerising.
All in all this was a good and cost efficient introduction to diving in the Visayas region. I had a good time, though i will admit on reflection, it’s not really my favourite kind of diving. I prefer bigger stuff, stronger currents etc. The safari is definitely a good option for people on a budget. And Easy Diving resort is definitely a great place to stay for a week or so - you don’t see that much more stuff diving in the other places, so you can stay in a comfy resort and relax!
I’ll follow up with few more reports from my trip soon. Thanks again to all those who gave me advice on my trip.
First off, I’d never visited the Philippines before, so I was grateful for all the advice I received here on ScubaBoard. I’m not a big macro fan, so I also wasn’t too sure about where to go in general. So, I decided to try and cram as many different locations as possible in my trip to cover a variety of regions.
I’m really glad I started off at Easy Diving in Sipalay. The booking procedure was simple, efficient and very friendly. In advance Christian the owner and his team are always on hand to help with information and transfers etc. On arrival everyone of the staff at easy diving welcomes you by name. They are all friendly, warm, welcoming and helpful. The easy diving staff make the trek to Sipalay well worth while.
I sadly couldn’t get on the flight from Cebu direct to Sipalay as it was full. So I flew to Bacolod and took a car transfer to the resort. I think that was quite expensive at around 80€ though it did take nearly 4 hours.
The hotel grounds are set out over a steep hill. So there is A LOT of step climbing. Don’t come here if you are not able to deal with steps. In the day time from the beach / sea you can’t see any of the buildings except those by the beach as they are all covered by trees, which is lovely. Coming back from a night dive you can see the room lights twinkling in the trees, which is very pretty.
My room was ok, pretty clean and well kept. Hot water in bathroom didn’t really work. Mattress was very comfortable. Good safes in room. Nice balcony out front to relax on, great ocean view.
On the beach is the restaurant. The food is very good. Everything from local, Italian, Swiss and German to all kinds of sausage delicacies (very Swiss/ German/ Austrian!) It’s a bit irritating that they want you to order lunch at breakfast and dinner in the afternoon but I guess they want to prepare and make sure they have enough. The majority of guests were Swiss and Germans but there were also quite a few Swedish while I was there.
You are encouraged to buy a metal water flask which includes a flat rate for water refills. Very good idea to stop single use plastic waste. They have a massage facility on the beach which is great and the masseuse is well trained.
The dive shop is well organised. Usually 3-4 guests per dive master. I did 4 dives a day which was great. The diving has lots of diversity if you like macro, plus very nice corals, e.g. pygmy seahorses (for those who can still see them!) Mandarin fish on sunset dives, squid, octopus, lots of different clown fish, orangutan, boxer shrimp, nudis, etc. Dive sites all close by to the bay so short boat trips and hassle free. There is a gift shop in the resort which also stocks plenty of dive gear in case you forgot something.
This is a very nice place to stay for a week or so, if you want to hang out in a chilled out atmosphere and do plenty of diving.
The dive safari leaves the beach resort early in the morning and heads to the south of Negros for the first dive. In the six days you cover the south of Negros around Dauin, Apo Island, Siquijor, Panglao Island, Alona Beach, Balicasag, Oslob, Sumilon Island, Liloan, Pescador Island and Moalboal.
The boat is very basic by LOB standards, which is why they recommend you to stay on land. I would definitely agree with that proposal. They organise hotels in the different areas, two nights in Dauin (nice location), 2 nights in Alona Beach (we did not have a nice hotel here, but it was between Xmas and New Year, so they didn’t get into the usual hotel) and Liloan, which also can only be described as basic backpacker style. They also arrange and pay for the dinners each evening. So, this is a very different experience if you are used to the usual type of LOB, however, it’s quite a nice way to actually see something of the places you are diving at.
The boat has plenty of room to lie about and chill between dives, the dive stations are also fine. Charging equipment is limited but easy enough over night on land. Food is plentiful though very Philippino, so perhaps not always everyone’s cup of tea.
The crew were wonderful. Super friendly, smiley, helpful and made for a great trip. The local guide was great, very knowledgeable and happy to point things out. They tried hard to accommodate all our wishes.
The diving in the Visayas region is more macro and lots of wall dives. Diverse, plenty of cool critters and pretty corals. Some dive sites stood out more than others, many places kind of blended into one after a while for me. Apo Island had lovely corals, I also saw a very rare red bubble coral here. Balicasag had a huge school of some kind of wide mouthed sardines which were feeding, which was cool, plus a huge school of jacks. We dived with whale sharks in Oslob, which was far better than snorkelling on the surface with 500+ non swimmers. Great place to find new go pros in the sand, where snorkellers lose them!! Eventually saw a lonely white tip at Sumilon Island - I’d given up hope at that point of ever seeing a shark!! Last dive was the sardine run in Moalboal. That was awesome. It’s the biggest school of sardines in the world with a home base... soooo many fish so close to shore, you just drift along and watch them grouping and moving. Totally mesmerising.
All in all this was a good and cost efficient introduction to diving in the Visayas region. I had a good time, though i will admit on reflection, it’s not really my favourite kind of diving. I prefer bigger stuff, stronger currents etc. The safari is definitely a good option for people on a budget. And Easy Diving resort is definitely a great place to stay for a week or so - you don’t see that much more stuff diving in the other places, so you can stay in a comfy resort and relax!
I’ll follow up with few more reports from my trip soon. Thanks again to all those who gave me advice on my trip.
