Question Whale shark diving near Cebu or Manila?

[bmag78]

From Feb to April there's a bunch of whale sharks in Donsol in the province of Sorsogon in the Bicol region. Pretty cool experience.
The Bicol is a great place to cruise around, underappreciated which means not crowded
Fly 45 minutes to legaspi from Manila then an hour in a taxi.
Very beautiful , uncrowded . Neighboring province Catanduanes is stunning also.

 

[Centrals]

Southern Leyte offers another good chance to snorkel with the gentle giant without any drama. The place, Sogod Bay, is slightly off the beaten track so getting there is time consuming and accommodation in the area is very limited.
The season is from Nov to May. However, the sighting is NOT guaranteed. When I was there in Feb 24, I was informed the success rate was about 94% (Nov - FEB). But it was 100%(4 trips) during the six days that I stayed at the resort. Supply and demand and booking is highly recommended.

 

[cetacean]

I just wanted to point out that I snorkeled with whale sharks a few months ago in the Maldives and in Cancun/PdC just before the pandemic (both are on this list). Going to the Philippines soon so was researching and saw this

Neither South Air nor Isla Mujeresare are what anyone would call responsible. Both had hoards of boats, and at least 20 snorkelers in the water kicking hard. For whatever reason, half the people were there for one thing, to touch/grab the whale shark. While we were TOLD not to touch them, there's zero enforcement of any kind or consequences if you got caught doing so. While it's debatable how unethical touching a whale shark is, it shouldn't be considered "responsible"

All true - however you can choose a reputable operator in Isla Mujeres, I've been with a couple of different u/w charters that were much better than the average operator.

The popular Philippines experience (in Oslob) is like a zoo, definitely not recommended. Encountering one on a dive in Tubataha is a much better experience.

Cenderawasih Bay on the far eastern edge of Indonesia is neither crowded nor rushed. Triton Bay will still let you dive on scuba with the whalesharks as well.