Wanted: Filipino Version(s) of ScubaKevDM

[rhadamantus]

most shops in PG are pretty strict with meter depth...so if you show them an OW card, chances are they will only bring you to some of the 34 (or is it 37) dive sites. though, nonetheless amazing, really. (to quote a PPD photographer "the best stuff are above 18 meters ". )

if you are looking for a nice beach nearby, a nice lounge area where you can sip your beer after a day's dive, or lie in a hammock during surface intervals- the best place for you is in Visayas. You can do Cebu (Moalboal), Dumaguete (Dauin/Apo Island), Bohol (Balicasag or/and Cabilao). All of these islands have nice beaches and a number of accommodation types to choose from. Heck, you can even just stay the entire two weeks in Bohol and dove Pamilican, Alona/Balicasag and Cabilao and you would end up wishing you stayed for more!

i personally know Marco and highly recommend him as well for Dumaguete (nice chap, that is if he still is the way he was way back university days :rofl2. For Alona/Balicasag/Pamilican, i can help you get in touch with Holger Horn (used to manage Philippine Island Divers but now has his own shop in Bohol)- funny German guy, he will take care of you. For Cabilao, we can shoot an email to Maria of Polaris and that should be a breeze.

h20 is correct; 1:1 is possible but it will cost you more especially considering you are travelling to PI during the peak season. DMs here are commissioned based on number of divers they are guiding.

 

[chip104]

Great recos Mags, the 1:1 will cost a bit more but with Anna's budget that shouldn't be a problem and it's definitely worth it.

Just a bit more on the DIN - There are plenty of europeans diving the PI that most diving hotspots have the DIN adapters. Once you find a scuba shop you like, fire off an email and see if they have them. If the scuba shop you'll be diving with also offers tech courses, you can be sure that they carry DIN adapters.


ninja edit: also, the Cabilao accomodations are hard to get during that time, so the earlier the better! Unless, of course, you know a PPDer who can sweet talk their way into getting a reservation for you.

 

[annasea]

WOW!!! So many great responses! Thank you, everyone! (I knew I picked the right country to start my overseas diving in. ) Too many people to quote so I'll just blather on below...

DIN isn't really that much of an issue... I bought a yoke converter from Phil Ellis a while back so I'll bring it with me. (I was just hoping to save on a bit of weight.)

I thought about February/March being high season but I hope it's not too late to still make arrangements. I'd like to have the bulk of arrangements made for this trip by the end of the month.

Is the diving and accommodations in the Philippines really that cheap? I assumed most of the resorts would be rather pricey. Would a resort be my best bet then? Do they cater exclusively to divers?

Visayas sounds ideal! As I have no other PI diving to compare it to, it may be the way to go. Expect a PM, Maggie.

Regarding a dive guide, I would like to make pre-arrangements for one for a few days... at least until I get a sense of what the diving is like. Maybe once I'm there and get a chance to meet a few people that are diving regularly, I can match up with someone.

 

[chip104]

Accomodations can vary depending where you are and when you go. You can spend as low as $20/night or up to $100/night for accomodations.

You can choose resorts that cater to divers and have their own dive op (Bohol Divers, Atlantis). For a place like Alona or PG you can stay at a regular resort and go to the dive op of your choice. Most regular resorts are attached to a dive op. Depending on where you are and when you go, the price of diving varies. I have been inquiring to the different ops on bohol and $20/dive is the norm for walk-in divers give or take a couple dollars but you can get deals as low as $17/dive depending on how many dives you do with the op. In other places like Cabilao it goes up to around $25/dive.

So yes, the diving and accomodations in the PI can be relatively cheap.

For the first time in the Philippines it is probably best to go with a resort that has a dive shop (can't go wrong with Atlantis). As for Bohol, the good thing about choosing Alona as a diving point is the proximity to many dive sites as well as the island tourism (chocolate hills, tarziers...).

Bill22 just finished a trip from Malapascua and Moalboal. His dive report can be found a couple pages back if you're interested in seeing pics and the diving around the area.

In the PI, and SE Asia, it is the norm to have a dive guide/DM during your dives. Usually when you go out with a dive op, the guides/DM will be present in the water to lead the group.

I'm sure Mags and the rest will chime in with some good info.

 

[annasea]

Thx, Chip!

I poked around online and found the following. Please feel free to correct any misinformation.

From the Polaris website, I got the impression that the bulk of diving around Cabilao is wall diving. As a new diver, this isn't very appealing. From scubaworldtv, I got the impression that there are "ferocious currents" aruond Cabilao which in addition to the above, pretty much rules it out.

Diving with Action Divers in PG and perhaps staying at the studio Out of the Blue villa seems to be a good idea. Action Divers claims to run with only 4-5 divers. Or Dive VIP PG seems OK. They charge $22/dive plus $8 for Nitrox. Does anyone have any feedback on these two ops?

I received an email from Atlantis re: PG and it's too expensive, I'm afraid. Plus I'd prefer to go with someone smaller and less known.

Club Paradise, Palawan seems lovely but again, too expensive.

From the scubadivephilippines.com website I found out the following...

Contrary to what was written above, Cabilao has nice easy dives on the "house reef". (This would be suitable for me.) The dive site they offer packages for is Sea Explorers -- ~$1100 for 6 nights plus 1 night stay in Manila.

For Boracay they use Calypso Diving and offer shallow wall and reef dives at Crocodile Island and Laurel. (Again, this sounds suitable for me.) Additionally, Calypso runs single day trips to Maniguin and Panagatan Islands.

They seem to offer a nice package to PG through the El Galleon Resort -- ~$767 for 6 nights and 10 dives. Nitrox is $30 for the 5 days.

What about Tubbataha Reef? Has anyone been on the liveaboard that is offered? I emailed for rates so I'm anxious to read the response as well as any feedback on it.

So to summarize...

For PG: Action Divers vs. Dive VIP vs. Asia Divers... any major differences other than Action Divers taking out a small number of divers? Do the others do as well or are they cattle boats? (I couldn't find any further info regarding this.)

Cabilao vs. Boracay... Boracay seems much more touristy than Cabilao, but it seems a bit easier to get to Boracay from Manila than it is to get to Cabilao. Any thoughts on choosing between the two? Has anyone visited Cabilao and used Sea Explorers or do most people recommend Polaris?

Sorry for so many questions... it's just so hard to choose.

 

[rhadamantus]

u will love Tubbataha but uhmmmn... go there on your next visit. . Cabilao is great for wall diving but it also has a house reef that is teeming with awesome macro life. and the good thing bout Cabilao is that safety stops are never boring. there's too much to see while you are killing the time!!!

Doing Bohol and Dumaguete would be perfect for you, i think. From Cabilao, you can transfer to Alona (Panglao) so you can do Balicasag which you would find as awesome. you can then do the landtour to the famous tourist spots around the island before catching a ferry to Dumaguete.

Sea Explorers' rate for 6 nights for Cabilao diving is too expensive (that's almost the rate for a Tubbataha liveaboard!), i think. you'd be best booking directly with either Polaris or La Estrella. But if this is the entire package for Cabilao, Balicasag, maybe (Pamilican), Dumaguete, and Moalboal...i think that would be quite the price (though 6 days is too short for all these places!!!).

anyway, there is always PG. you can never go wrong with PG and its really cheaper than Visayas diving.

 

[jonix]

@anna: don't miss cabilao. it's just awesome. even as a new diver i don't think you'll have any problems with the dives. current was not raging when we were there (last october) as when zee & maggie visited a few months earlier. just inform the dive guides of your preferences. my vote also goes for polaris.

on PG: any of the 3 will do. there's a max to divers on boats it's 8 i think.

here's a link to my cabilao trip report, i went there with caloy (clgsamson). http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ph...-cabilao-trip-report-polaris-dive-center.html

and dive photos
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-photography/205415-cabilao-island-dive-trip-photos.html

i'm planning to dive cabilao again sometime next year hehehe

 

[Hank49]

There is one thing I hate about the Philippines.....





It's too far away.....

 

[annasea]

Almost there!

I've decided on El Dorado resort for one week and I thought I had decided on Polaris for the second but they may not have any space left in March. (Patiently waiting for Maria's email.)

As a back-up plan, I did some googling around and finally found Maggie's suggestion -- Holger Horn's new dive op, Philippine Fun Divers. Has anyone heard how things are actually going for this dive op? The website says they're due to open January 7, 2008, but when I tried sending an email, it bounced back. I also sent one to Holger directly so hopefully that'll go through.

Failing both Polaris and Philippine Fun Divers, I'm thinking about Philippine Island Divers but their lodgings page doesn't have much information.

Does anyone have a recommendation for lodging in Alona Beach? (I'd prefer a recommendation to blindly contacting all of them.)

I know I'm short on time for booking and I'm starting to get antsy so feel free to PM or post. TIA!

 

[clgsamson]

try Isis Bungalows - Resort in Panglao Bohol - Philippines and Lost Horizon Beach Resort Offers White Beaches and Scuba Diving in the Philippines Island of Panglao

They are right beside Philippine Island Divers (diveshop c/o Liza mobile number +639193022166 )

I've stayed in both and dived with PIDs. Nice room (Isis), Good food (losthorizon) and reliable DMs (PIDs), get DM Alan to guide you.