Trouble deciding where to dive, never been to Philippines before!!

[FairyBasset]

Hi fellow Scubaboarders!

Im flying to Cebu in December for just over 2 weeks. I'm currently considering doing 2 different trips on Infiniti liveaboard (Visays and Bohol, Malapascua and Leyte). However the trips are 6 nights with only 4 days diving, which makes them pretty expensive - though obviously hassle free and you get around a bit more.

I'm wondering maybe if it would be better just to do one of those trips and then do some land based diving.
I prefer sharks and big stuff, incl wrecks, canyons etc to small macro (not great eyesight! ) I'm an experienced diver (DM) and very happy in currents. I heard you can see hammerheads (my favourite) on Cabilao but can't find much info on that.

Would it be worth to stay around that area of Cebu, Leyte, Bohol etc or go over to Palawan for some good diving? Don't want to travel around too much, dragging wet gear between islands!

Thanks for any pointers you can give me.

 

[borisphotosafari]

Never been to Phils in December but been diving around there for 4-5 years. It's going to be busy in December. Book your resorts early, no matter where you go.
Malapascua will almost guaranty Thresher sharks on MonadShoal. I did see a tiger shark there in May. The rest of the diving is pretty good too. Frog fish were my favorite. The island doesn't have cars and is very relaxed. I stayed at Tapanee Resort and dove Thresher Shark Divers. They have their own mooring on the thresher shark dive and it makes a difference, less crowded, less bubbles. Highly recommend both. They will pick you up and get you there in a private car in 3 hours plus 1/2 hours ferry.
S Leyte, Peter's Resort, I recommend. It is less crowded and the diving is good. Night dive under the town pier there was awesome. Seahorses, stargazers, ghost pipe fish, blue ring octopus +++. A 6am ferry from Cebu to Maasin, then 45 minute ride. You get to the resort for an afternoon dive.

 

[Luko]

I heard you can see hammerheads (my favourite) on Cabilao but can't find much info on that.

It's been a long time 15 years or so you can't see them anymore ! all fished out. Don't expect sharks except sometimes small whitetips in Cabilao.

For various sharks in the Phils, a Tubbataha liveaboard is your best bet though it only sails from April till June... or as said above Malapascua for threshers (and manta rays) as well as South Leyte for whale sharks.

btw and out of topic : I see from your profile you are missing some Indonesian hammerheads dives such as Alor or Banda sea.

 

[xrcjdx]

another shark option is apo reef - not apo island, apo reef. you can likely catch a short liveaboard trip out of either coron or puerto galera.

 

[FairyBasset]

[QUOTE="btw and out of topic : I see from your profile you are missing some Indonesian hammerheads dives such as Alor or Banda sea.[/QUOTE]

Very true and thanks for the pointer!! I should cover those some time soon! Managed do do Cathedral in South Lombok but no hammers when I was there sadly.

Thanks very much for the facts on Cabilao. Sad though.

 

[FairyBasset]

another shark option is apo reef - not apo island, apo reef. you can likely catch a short liveaboard trip out of either coron or puerto galera.

Ive looked at that option. At the moment its not clear if an apo reef LOB will run while I am there. Thanks for the tip!

 

[xrcjdx]

if you haven't already, send an email to ralph here: Philippines Diving liveaboard - Cave - Wreck - Technical Diving. if the rags is going and you can get on, it's a great opportunity.

 

[All Star Liveaboards]

At the moment its not clear if an app reef LOB will run while I am there. Ive looked at that option. Thanks for the tip!

When will you be visiting the Philippines? We have a trip departing Anilao on All Star Stella Maris December 1-8 heading to Apo Reef, Puerto Galera & Verde Island. There are still a few cabins available with rates starting from $1930 plus fees of $270.

All Star Philippines Trip Info - Details, Rates, Hotels + Checklists

 

[keesmon]

We're doing a two week trip out of Cebu in February.
Though we haven't been to the Phillipines, this is what we came up with to get a taste of the area.
I hope it helps:
2/16 Arrival in Cebu, Transfer to Moalboal
2/17-2/18 dive Moalboal
2/19-2/24 Dive safari from MoalBoal to Sipalay.
2/25 travel day to Malapasqua
2/26-3/1 dive Malapasqua
3/2 transfer to Cebu and flights home

 

[jameseg]

FairyBasset, just a heads up to make sure you check into the status of Infiniti before booking. My wife and I were scheduled to go out on their Nov 24 trip and received word a couple weeks ago that there was a mechanical issue and the boat would need to be dry docked during our trip. Perhaps everything will be fixed by the end of November, but worth checking to be sure.

To the credit of the Infiniti, I will say they were very helpful in coordinating an alternate boat for us.

James