Where to do a DM course?

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clock115

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Hello all,

I am doing some research about a 2 month DM internship in the Phillippines. It is absolutely overwhelming the amount of fantastic diving there is in the Philippines which makes it very hard to choose a location to do a DM course. I plan on setting my sights on an area and going there to dive with a couple different companies before I commit to where I will do my course at. Here is the list of things that are high priorities to me.

1.) Quality instructing (I want the most rigorous course I can find.)
2.) Variety of diving (I don't want to just dive muck for 2 months. I am talking about somewhere with large pelagics, walls, drifts, nice reefs, macro, etc..)
3.) Price
I am not that concerned with the night life around the area as I will be in the water or around the resort for most of the time.

Here are some of the places I am mostly considering.
1.) Puerto Galera
2.) Dumaguete
3.) Malapascua? (Idk some people say all there is are thresher sharks and some say it has fantastic reef diving as well)


I hear that Atlantis is a good operator that has locations in both puerto galera and Dumaguete but these are only from customers and not DMTs.
Its mainly between Puerto Galera and Dumaguete but I am open to other suggestions as well. I dove in Bali and Komodo Indonesia a few months ago and it was some of the best diving I have ever seen. Will these places in the Philippines be as good or should I pay a little extra for a ticket to Bali and do my DM in somewhere like Bali, Gili Islands, or Komodo.

As you can now tell, I am quite lost in this decision. Any insight into the philippines, DM internship tips, southeast asia diving as a whole will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and happy diving!!
 
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Well well well, what a question :).

Before I can answer, let me try to clarify. You are already a Dive master and you want an additional internship, or you want both? There are no details in your profile. So very difficult to guess. What is your diving experience so far. Where do you live in the US and why do you choose the Philippines? Best regards
 
Hi there,

Sorry for the confusion. I am looking to do my DM course and gain some experience over about 2 months. I am from Minnesota in the states. I am have about 100 dives and just got back from finishing my degrees in Australia. While I was in Australia, I went to Indonesia a few times for diving and I enjoyed the culture and the people. I knew I wanted to do my divemaster course and Malyesia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines were all in the running (I am open to other ideas but really not trying to do it in the Carribean since the reefs don't compare). I have a few good friends that live and spend a good amount of time in the Philippines (Around Luzon) as well. The Philippines seem less touristy than a lot of Thailand and places in Indonesia like Bali. Another strong consideration is that almost everyone speaks English in the Philippines. In addition, I was hoping that the diving in some of the best places in the Philippines would be on par or better than places like Komodo, Indonesia.
 
Got it clock115.

I do not believe that I can answer everything but rather talk about my personnal experience.

I decided to do the DM class in what I thought would be a top organisation. Therefore we made it in Fort Lauderdale in a school were they were certifying dozens of DM and Instructors every year. We are living in Europe and we decided , but it was some 20 years ago, that we did not want to get our instruction in Asia. We were not impressed by local DM in Asia, but things may have changed.

I have no experience in the area that you are referring to as possible dive locations. But I dived in the Philippines and I have read a lot in different dive forum, especially french ones.

I believe that most of the diving in the philippines is less varied than in the Komodos, with one exception: that is the Tubataya reefs. But this one can only be reached by cruise boats and only during 3 months per year.

Good luck in your search.
 
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The diving in the PI is nice but I would rate Komodo as much better (tubataha/anilao excepted).
Scuba Junkies has a location in Komodo, and from watching the DMS training it is a great program.
 
You are right dirtfarmer, Anilao is great. In fact I am going there for 10 days next year. But this is mainly macro dives and the opp said he wanted someting else.
 
PG has more to offer ie. varieties in diving conditions and social life(meeting other people and eating at other places etc). In Anilao you are more or less stuck in one place. PG also attract more divers over the whole week especially during the peak season.
 
You should certainly consider Malapascua and enjoy seeing Thresher Sharks regularly as part of your training. It is not a social hot spot like PG but DMTs can become part of our island community and you can live the true tropical life for your internship. Perhaps Komodo or Sipadan have the edge in terms of overall diving but not in terms of overall experience as you have identified. The Philippines is the definition of relaxed and enjoying the local ways is part of the charm.

If you are looking for rigorous training you can also consider getting some tech training also which is popular in the Philippines and a specialty of ours here on Malapascua.
 

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