where to do my rescue diver course and have some fun dives on the side :)

[shirtz]

hi all,

my girlfriend will be working in Manila for a few months next year so I plan to visit her and do some diving on the side. plan to be there end of February and early march. Current thoughts are el nido, coron or Puerto Galera. can anyone recommend one of these or another location that would be good to do my course and a few fun dive and not a massive struggle to get back to manila?

id like to spend about a week diving. cheap backpacker acom a bonus

possible to fly to el nido, do my course, boat to coron for a few days then fly to manila?

thoughts?

thanks!

 

[Pengelam]

Shirtz,

My suggestion is to do Puerto Galera or Anilao. Both are very close to Manila. PG is a 2 hour drive and a 45 minute boat ride. Anilao is 2-2.5 hr drive (though I did it in 1. 5 hrs last Sunday afternoon - not recommended for the faint of heart!).

El Nido and Coron aren't that cheap or easy get to.

My suggestion is to go to Divers Sanctuary in Anilao. about a 2 hr drive from Manila. They charger about 4000 pesos per night including all meals. Brand new rooms. Clean. Decent food too. Beer, of course, is extra. The nice thing there is that you can do all your dives as beach dives and don't need to spend additional money for the boat. There is a wall, a nice coral garden and a site called Pinnacle a swim away. Divers come all the way from PG to dive this site.

If there is someone there to share a boat with, then do so. Nice to extend your range. Lots of decent sites 10-15 min boat ride away.

Once your have gotten certified, then go out to El Nido, et. el.

I have a beach house in Anilao, further down the coast but same neighborhood, and can dive right out the back door, so I am biased.

 

[shirtz]

thanks for the fantastic reply. am looking now at Puerto Galera or Anilao. im a backpacker at heart though and prefer to spend my money on beer rather than a nice bed and meals do you know of any decent backpacker acom/shops around Puerto Galera or Anilao?

 

[Centrals]

Frontier or South Sea Divers(over 30yrs in the business) in PG.

 

[xrcjdx]

Don't know south sea but can STRONGLY recommend frontier if you decide PG. There are plenty of backpacker type options available, Rick can help with that.

 

[Pengelam]

.... you're coming to the right place. beers are like a buck a bottle. and to be a legit local, you gotta drink it with ice!

 

[xrcjdx]

So the beer will last longer.

 

[Wingy]

South Sea divers

 

[shirtz]

thanks for all your replies guys. funnily enough its the same price to do it at home, so I might do that and leave Puerto Galera for the fun stuff!