Weekend in the Philippines worth the trouble?

[mountainsean]

Hello-

I've never been to the Philippines, but I will be in Singapore for work in mid-June and will have a few days free to do some diving. I've been looking for options that only require a non-stop flight from Singapore and which maximize # of dives while minimizing travel hassle/time. If you only had a few days in the Philippines where would you suggest heading at this time of year? Would flying into Cebu City and driving to Moalboal be the best bet? I can also get non-stop flights from SIN to Kalibo, Manilla, Davao, and maybe a few others if those are better options. Any suggestions for dive operations that do more than a single 2-tank trip per day? If it's a stay-and-dive resort (or even a short liveaboard?) all the better.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Tippytoes12]

Marlboro.is a great option....we have been to Turtle Bay twice.

 

[FT]

Cebu/Moalboal might indeed be your quickest route. Also worth considering Manila/Anilao; it's about a three-hour drive and the resorts will definitely let you dive three or four times a day. Decent diving from Davao but a little more likely that you'd be limited to a two-tank trip. Any of these places is definitely, definitely worth the trouble.

 

[mountainsean]

Cebu/Moalboal might indeed be your quickest route. Also worth considering Manila/Anilao; it's about a three-hour drive and the resorts will definitely let you dive three or four times a day. Decent diving from Davao but a little more likely that you'd be limited to a two-tank trip. Any of these places is definitely, definitely worth the trouble.

Great info, thanks. If you had to choose between Cebu/Moalboal and Manila/Anilao, which has the better diving in mid-June? The different in drive time is minimal it looks like, and flying home out of Manila would be a bit more convenient for me, so Anilao might make sense if I'm not giving up much from a diving perspective relative to Cebu/Moalboal. Any recommended dive and stay resorts in Anilao?

-Sean

 

[Centrals]

Puerto Galera is another option besides Anilao but do require a ferry crossing. However, the diving is more various and the schedule is a lot more flexible to say the least. Contact South Sea or Frontier Divers, both places do not offer accommodation but Angelyn is right next door to them.
In Anilao you are more or less dive, eat and sleep in the same place but PG offers freedom of choice.
Flight schedule is the deciding factor for a short trip. Otherwise Moalboal is my suggestion for the first time visitor in the country( I did the same).

 

[PhatD1ver]

I'm a fan of Anilao, it's an easy shuttle ride to any of five or six good resorts that will let you dive as much as you want each day... if you have two dive days, this is the best bet to me if you just want to dive... you are kind of locked into a resort, but like Centrals says, it's literally dive, eat, sleep... in PG, you can wander around but I didn't find it that big a deal... I was there for the diving... PG has some challenging dives out on the point, depending on current they can be great.. Anilao overall will provide more than enough for two full days before a quick rest day to be ready to fly...

I personally recommend Aquaventure or El Pinoy in Anilao, I like Aquaventure because there's a great helicopter wreck on their house reef at 30m no one else has that to offer for diving from shore. Anilao is one of the places I never get tired of diving the same sites over and over.