Visayas trip report : Cabilao-Alona-Dauin-Moalboal April 18

[Luko]

So Anda no good ?

No.

 

[J.A.]

No.

Hola Luko
Your reviews/reports were great !! Also your images!
All the information you put on them about the dive sites, accommodations, food, dive guides, etc were extremely useful for my trip planning, thank you very much
I will skip out Anda, now i understand why there's mostly macro photos ( of common creatures) on the web page of all the Anda's resorts i checked besides some turtles ones with boring backgrounds.

I dove in Cabilao in 2011 and liked a lot so i think i will include it again in my plans. I will find out if no other typhoon had affected Cabilao after 2018 .

Thanks again

 

[Luko]

i understand why there's mostly macro photos ( of common creatures) on the web page of all the Anda's resorts i checked besides some turtles ones with boring backgrounds.

Spot on!
The reefs are very greyish in Anda, not that is no coral but it's the kind of leathery or bleak white soft corals that don't look good on wide angle shots. I was very disappointed with the colors, clearly not enough fish, I am not a big fan of turtles photography on whitish backgrounds either.

 

[Centrals]

I will skip out Anda, now i understand why there's mostly macro photos ( of common creatures) on the web page of all the Anda's resorts i checked besides some turtles ones with boring backgrounds.

I dove in Cabilao in 2011 and liked a lot so i think i will include it again in my plans. I will find out if no other typhoon had affected Cabilao after 2018 .

Cabilao was affected by Odette in 2021.

Plenty of info of the damage on Cabilao by Odette.

Romblon if you really like tiny macro. But the one way 9hrs ferry journey might not be everyone cup of tea.
Southern Leyte would be a much better all rounder. Whaleshark spotting season(snorkelling only) is in the winter.

 

[J.A.]

Spot on!
The reefs are very greyish in Anda, not that is no coral but it's the kind of leathery or bleak white soft corals that don't look good on wide angle shots. I was very disappointed with the colors, clearly not enough fish, I am not a big fan of turtles photography on whitish backgrounds either.

Thanks Luko !
So, besides Tubbataha ( i was there in 2011 and liked a lot ) there's actually any other places for w.a. photography of colorful ( with soft corals , sea fans , sponges, fishes ) reefs around Philippines ?

In my previous trip i liked Balicasag a lot , also the wall with soft corals and sardines at Pescador Island in Moalboal , and a couple of dive sites in Anilao. Also i did Apo island, nice hard corals but i will not go again this time.

I will return to Anilao to do macro, but i'm not sure if Moalboal it's still worthy in terms of subject matter for w.a.
Any recommendation for good dives sites for w.a. photography will be greatly appreciated . Specially about some places that I'm considering i.e. Southern Leyte, Coron , Puerto Galera and Sibaltan( Palawan)

 

[Luko]

Thanks Luko !
So, besides Tubbataha ( i was there in 2011 and liked a lot ) there's actually any other places for w.a. photography of colorful ( with soft corals , sea fans , sponges, fishes ) reefs around Philippines ?

In my previous trip i liked Balicasag a lot , also the wall with soft corals and sardines at Pescador Island in Moalboal , and a couple of dive sites in Anilao. Also i did Apo island, nice hard corals but i will not go again this time.

I will return to Anilao to do macro, but i'm not sure if Moalboal it's still worthy in terms of subject matter for w.a.
Any recommendation for good dives sites for w.a. photography will be greatly appreciated . Specially about some places that I'm considering i.e. Southern Leyte, Coron , Puerto Galera and Sibaltan( Palawan)

I'm a bit like you with regards to the Phils : for UW I like Balicasag for the schools of fish, the incredible soft corals on Pescador as well as the sardines schools on Panagsama shores. Apo island is lagging behind in my list because of the relative lack of fish.

With regards to wide angle, Anilao can offer some gems : you probably dived Beatrice, if you haven't that is worthwhile even though often current swept, Twin Rocks which used to host a jackfish school is worth too.
Verde island for its anthias blizzard should not be missed when in Puerto Galera, though I am not a fan (undestatement) of PG settings attracting either cheapo or technical divers or the bunch of "lonely" old men looking for distraction, hence not going back either (I like to move around when I'm going somewhere, the general atmosphere of a place is also part of my appreciation). If you're still going to PG try to locate on Big la Laguna, further away a bit quieter.

On my part, I was disappointed with Southern Leyte in 2022, there might be a few sites still good like Napantao wall even though you can see the shallows have been badly hit, deeper on the wall the coral bushes of black coral is the main feature that will stand out, the dive guide I used confirmed to me Sogod Bay wasn't what it used to be and whole parts really suffered, some other sites are crushed or quite uninteresting (turtles again). On the macro part I don't think it's worth the hassle : the most famous site on Padre Burgos jetty was closed (I wonder whether it has now re-opened) and what they call "little Lembeh" is more little than anything, really nothing to call home about. Add on top there is nothing to do around else than diving and only a couple of dive centers, TBH I won't go back, I've seen much better dive sites.

I really enjoyed looking at your portfolio, although even though I think I recognized in your images some places in Raja Ampat, I'm wondering why don't you prioritize the whole of Indonesia rather than the Phils. In terms of coral color, I think Indonesia is far superior to the Phils. On my "wide angle" list I put Raja Ampat, Komodo, Alor or Bangka on top of the coral color array.

 

[Blackcrusader]

I'd skip Savedra to avoid their crowd and whimsical schedule, I don't see any reason now to use another dive centre than Nelson's or Cebu Dive Center who's manager is at least friendlier than most I've met here.

I'd never think I would have been able to write this but I somehow miss the german divers in speedoes.
Pescador walls when current flows and the coral polyps are open

Giant frogfish this size… and spanish dancer that big! Turtle closeup on Pescador Sardines school vortex

Mark and the sardines

Cebu Dive center is closed. Cameron who managed the place left in 2020 when covid hit. Dale who was the owner with his pinay wife did not rebuild after a typhoon destroyed a lot of Moalboal.

I did a lot of dives with Sevedra in February and March. I have known Koz who runs the place now for over 8 years. Yes Sevedra is very popular with divers doing courses. Sometimes we just had Mark as our guide and he basically just followed along as we know the dive sites.

Moalboal I stayed at the resort that has rooms behind Sevedra, nice and quiet. It has changed a lot and if it were for the fact I went to visit Koz as much as dive I'd agree and do short trips for most.

I think the diving there is not as good as in the past and visbility has sometimes always been an issue along the walls. Pescadore vis can vary but I had pretty decent visibility earlier this year.

Trip Report Thread 'Moalboal: Savedra Dive Centre'

Mar 29, 2024

Recently did a 3 day trip to Moalboal, which is famous for the Sardine ball just off the beach.

Accommodation: We stayed at the Dreamcatcher Hostel, which is in Panagsama approx 300m from the beach. We picked this place on arrival as it’s up a small lane and therefore escapes all the traffic noise. The rooms are comfy enough with fan and a/c. There is a nice area out front with hammocks and chairs to chill. Staff were really nice.

Diving: We initially went into ‘Amigos Dive Centre’ but the music was just too loud for us in there. Asking questions at the reception desk and had to strain...

• carono6333
• Replies: 12
• Forum: Philippine Paradise Divers

• 

 

[Luko]

Cebu Dive center is closed. Cameron who managed the place left in 2020 when covid hit. Dale who was the owner with his pinay wife did not rebuilt after a typhoon destroyed a lot of Moalboal.

I did a lot of dives with Sevedra in February and March. I have known Koz who runs the place now for over 8 years. Yes Sevedra is very popular with divers doing courses. As I am nkown to Koz my dive buddy and I do our own dives at Pescadore without a guide on occassion. Sometimes we just had Mark as our guide and he basically just followed along as we know the dive sites.

Moalboal I stayed at the resort that has rooms behind Sevedra, nice and quiet. It has changed a lot and if it were for the fact I went to visit Koz as much as dive I'd agree and do short trips for most.

Sure!
That trip report is now 7 years old : that's before COVID, before Odette, things have changed indeed!
I was at that time also disappointed how things changed from say 2014 to 2018!
For instance not scheduling morning dives before than 9AM is just beyond me. I remember my first dives in 2001 in Moalboal or even 2010 diving Pescador at 7AM at the time Savedra was german owned and all devoted to diving. One of my best dives ever.

JA just dug up this thread for an UWphoto discussion. This is why I'm replying, everything before should be seen with a times-they-are-a-changin' perspective.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Sure!
That trip report is now 7 years old : that's before COVID, before Odette, things have changed indeed!
I was at that time also disappointed how things changed from say 2014 to 2018!
For instance not scheduling morning dives before than 9AM is just beyond me. I remember my first dives in 2001 in Moalboal or even 2010 diving Pescador at 7AM at the time Savedra was german owned and all devoted to diving. One of my best dives ever.

JA just dug up this thread for an UWphoto discussion. This is why I'm replying, everything before should be seen with a times-they-are-a-changin' perspective.

I got lucky to get a wonderful dive with a whale shark at Pescadore at 11am. Crystal clear visibility the best I had seen in 8 years. One of my best dives there also. The large spanish dancers can be found but needs to be 30m or deeper when I saw them. I also did a couple of dives at Pescadore with my dive buddy and we never went deeper than 15m and went around the wall which was teeming with life and hard and soft corals.

Moalboal has changed for the better when it comes to eateries but yeah I'm getting old and the younger backpacker style is not for me lol.

 

[Blackcrusader]

In terms of coral color, I think Indonesia is far superior to the Phils. On my "wide angle" list I put Raja Ampat, Komodo, Alor or Bangka on top of the coral color array.

I was blown away by the coral colours in Belongas Bay Lombok. Did 12 dives there with Wild Scuba Indonesia and it was awesome. I will go back again for sure.