Where to travel domestically?

[FrogGremlin]

My wife and I are planning to spend a couple of weeks diving around Puerto Galera next March. We have a separate 8-day layover passing through Manila in late February, and thought it would be a good chance to travel (i.e., probably fly) further from Manila to dive a different part of the country.

We'd like to get a bit off the beaten path during the shorter trip (but still stay in air-conditioned lodging and dive with a respectable operator). We love muck, but certainly enjoy walls and such, and would like some contrast to the Puerto Galera diving. Someplace with both boat and (easy - we're in our 60s) shore diving would be ideal. It would be PARTICULARLY nice if we could get from the location back to Manila by 4 PM on departure day for an international flight.

Any suggestions are most welcome.

 

[DevonDiver]

IT's not exactly 'off the beaten' track... but Subic Bay is less than 2 hours drive from Manila and offers a very different diving experience... i.e. wrecks! It is quite possible to drive from Manila to Subic and complete a satisfying days diving before returning that evening. If you want to explore more of the sites, then there is a wide variety of accommodation options. All of the dive sites are less than 15mins speedboat ride from the dive center. The closest site (WW1 armoured-cruiser USS New York) is just a 5 minute hop away from the beach.

Further afield, there are many options if you are happy to take a budget flight... Boho,l, Malapascua etc are all easily accessable.

 

[Cabbie]

Not wanting to hijack, but it sounds like it would be possible to get from PG to Subic in one day - is that right ?

 

[DevonDiver]

You could travel from PG to Subic (ferry and bus/drive) in a single day, but it would not be feasible to do a return trip (with dives) in that time period.

The slowest travel points would be the ferry from PG to Batangas...and then the crawling roads from Batangas to Manila.

Once you hit Manila the new multi-lane expressway linking the city with Clark/Angeles and Subic is fast and trouble-free. The stretch between Clark and Subic is also a spectacular drive for the mountain/jungle scenery also.

 

[boljakool]

if you ask me, diving in Anilao would give you some contrast with PG.

and it's very close to Manila...easy to get to the airport, too.

 

[chip104]

With 8 days, and off the beaten track diving, I'd probably fly out to either:
* Sogod Bay (potential for whalesharks sightings in March). But you're traveling 3 hours south by hire van after flying. Might get bored after 8 days though.
* Sarangani Bay. Laidback, off the beaten track diving. Beautiful pristine reefs.
* Cabilao, Bohol. After landing its just over 1.5 hour by hire care and boat. Lovely macro critters and the resorts are great (polaris).
* Alona, Bohol. I put this down because there's many things to see in bohol and it does offer a contrast to PG diving albeit not off the beaten track. Nice reef diving in bohol.
* Coron. 40 mins to the town. Wreck and adventure diving. For the convenience I recommend you stay at a dive resort and not in a town lodge - Discovery Divers, Dive link, SeaDive, Club paradise ($$$)...

With all these destinations you can still make it to NAIA by 4pm. hope that helps.

The slowest travel points would be the ferry from PG to Batangas...and then the crawling roads from Batangas to Manila.

Just to add, I'd have to say the worse part of the trip would be having to cross Metro Manila via EDSA....especially during rush hour that would take a while and the stop and go traffic can be tiresome. But with 8 days, the travel should be fine.

 

[DevonDiver]

Yeah...the small (on a map) hop across Manila on the EDSA can be a tedious nightmare. If you can, aim to make any Manila transits in the early AM to avoid the worst congestion.

Last Xmas it took me 6 hours to travel the 4km from Makati to my condo in Mandaluyong (I would have walked, but for the shopping I was carrying). It was the single worst journey of my life. LOL

 

[Mike Veitch]

took me 2 hours from airport to makati the other week :shakeshead:

 

[chip104]

took me 2 hours from airport to makati the other week :shakeshead:

It's cause the cab driver thought you were guapo and wanted to admire you longer....

 

[Mike Veitch]

It's cause the cab driver thought you were guapo and wanted to admire you longer....

Ahhh, I so thought it was Jag alright!!! that explains it