Which dive location in the Philippines in December?

[Sorrows]

Hello!

I'm sorry if this has been asked elsewhere, but I couldn't find this specific question when I did a forum search.

We are all hearing and reading a lot about the Philippines lately; it sounds wonderful, except that there appear to be so many great diving locations that it's rather confusing. Where to go? Once you've decided that, when to you go?

So my question to the Philippine paradies Divers is this: which location would you choose if you were planning a trip in December?

BTW, we are a family of AOW divers--including our college-aged son who is a newly-certified DM and avid photographer (particularly macro). We are East-coasters, and this will be our first trip to the Pacific.

Thanking you in advance...

 

[Babydamulag]

For a December trip plan for trips closer to the Equator in the tropics. The weather is typically "very wet" during the October to January timeframe. I use the word typically because this year we are experiencing an El Nino and we expect below average rainfall. It is important to note that in the Philippines we are fortunate to have so many islands that are spread over a large portion of the Pacific Ocean. That allows divers to "move" around the weather patterns. I recommend the southern islands of the Philippines for December. For planning purposes, start your trip in Puerto Galera. You can't go wrong starting out there. It allows you to be close enough to Manila (close to the airport) to move to another location. If you want to go to just one place and stay (getting away from weather) then go south. You will arrive in Manila and change to a domestic flight to one of the southern locations. Cebu (and area) is a good bet. Malapascua is very nice place. Go to: Philippine Malapascua island, new boracay in Cebu

The bottomline is everything below 11 degrees latitude is a safe bet that time of year. Hope this helps. You will be surprised with the amount of diverse diving opportunities. The surface activities are enough to keep you busy if you like sort of thing. Welcome PPD. The folks here will help you in your search.

 

[cim72lando]

IF YOU ARE FLYING IN TO MANILA- try to arrive during daytime. Have your resort pick you up from the airport upon arrival so you don't have to spend one night in a hotel in Manila. Go to Anilao, Batangas. Suggested dive resorts in Anilao- Dive 7000 or Club Ocellaris. Stay here for a week. Transfer to Puerto Galera, Mindoro by a van for hire (the resort can help you with the transfer) to Batangas City pier and then by ferry to Puerto Galera. Suggested resort in Puerto Galera- La Laguna Beach Club and Dive Centre or El Galeon. Stay about 5-7 days. Return to Manila and consider going to Donsol, Sorsogon (for the whalesharks, snorkle only) by plane ride to Legazpi City, Albay (& take a 1 hour taxi ride to Donsol). Return to Manila for your return flight.

IF YOU ARE FLYING IN TO CEBU-stay at the Waterfront Hotel, Mactan (right across the airport; walking distance or hotel can send free shuttle) IF you have to stay one night before going to your resort. Go to Malapascua, Cebu for the tresher shark/manta/Dona Marilyn wreck/Gato Island/mating mandarin fish, etc.; stay about a week. Suggested resort= Malapascua Exotic Dive Restort. Then go to Moalboal, Cebu by van (whale shark?) and dive for about 5 days. Suggested resort Magic Island Dive Resort. Or after Malapascua return to Cebu City for crossing by modern ferry to to Tagbilaran, Bohol and stay/dive in Panglao, Bohol for about 5-7 days. The other option in Bohol is to go to Cabilao for about 5 nights (Cabilao Beach Club, Resort). From Bohol (or directly from Cebu City) you can take the same ferry to go to Dumaguete, Negros and stay for about a week in one of the resorts in Dauin (Pura Vida, Atlantis, Bahura). While in Dauin don't miss Apo Island which is a 30 minutes away by your dive boat. Some of the the fast ferries are SuperCat or Ocean Jet. Then take a ferry ride back to Cebu City for your flight out of the Philippines.

There are more reacheable dive destinations if you land in Cebu and want to avoid too many plane rides between destinations. I suggest you do at least 2 dive destinations. My own preference would be Malapascua and Cabilao but it's hard to go wrong in any of these places I mentioned specially if your main interest is macro.

Credit cards and travelers checks are only accepted in the big cities like Cebu and Manila and most resorts will apply a 6% surcharge if you use them. Get a lot of local currency upon arrival in your airport of entry (curency exhange is inside the airport terminal right after you get your luggage). Rates there are better than in hotel lobbies or resorts.

 

[tannebil]

I was there in December. I was able to use credit cards w/o a surcharge at Atlantis in Dauin and at my hotel (Cabana Resort) and dive shop (Savedra) in Moalboal. Diving was excellent in both locations with Moalboal (mostly wall diving) and Dauin (more reef). Atlantis was well run and the food was excellent but it's a resort experience with little interaction outside the resort. Cabana Resort /Savedra was more "local" experience since you are on the "main" street (which is about 2 blocks long, unpaved, and barely wide enough for two cars to pass) of Panagsama Beach. I was happy with both Cabana and Savedra.

Keep your expectations low for the ferry. Operated on time and didn't sink but still felt a bit dodgy.

 

[sierrakilo]

Hi

I live on Malapascua, and the diving is generally great here. However I'd advice you to go somewhere else, if the only time you have available to you is December. In December the water turns green here and the visibility drops markedly. This lasts until the end of January. If you're more into muck diving and a bit of a macro fanatic it shouldn't deter you too much, I guess. There's many people here in December though, even though it's quite rainy. It's not the best time of year to get a discount on the diving, if you're looking for cheap diving.

Best regards,
S. K.

 

[CODMAN]

More info on your plans is needed... What are you looking for? What are your dive interests? How much time do you want to stay? How many destinations do you want to do on this trip? What are you looking at as budget (you want luxury, or super cheap)?

There really are so many possibilities depending on all these! A bit more info will help everybody here help you!

Hello!

I'm sorry if this has been asked elsewhere, but I couldn't find this specific question when I did a forum search.

We are all hearing and reading a lot about the Philippines lately; it sounds wonderful, except that there appear to be so many great diving locations that it's rather confusing. Where to go? Once you've decided that, when to you go?

So my question to the Philippine paradies Divers is this: which location would you choose if you were planning a trip in December?

BTW, we are a family of AOW divers--including our college-aged son who is a newly-certified DM and avid photographer (particularly macro). We are East-coasters, and this will be our first trip to the Pacific.

Thanking you in advance...

 

[Rogersea]

Depending on your budget there are lots of options.. I am currently living in Cebu and I will offer the following advice if you are landing in Cebu:

If you must stay in Cebu City for a night before heading to your dive destination, I would choose the Bellavista Hotel which is in Mactan and there is a free shuttle from Airport(5 Minute ride) the stay is around $60 US, you can find cheaper and much more expensive, but this is the hotel I personally use if I have to stay in Cebu City/Mactan for the evening, buffet breakfast is included in the price and there is a roof top swimming pool, with a so so view. If you dont mind fewer creature comforts, there is a cheaper sister hotel which adjacent to the Bellavista called the Ceasario, you get the same breakfast, access to the pool, but it is more like a motel 6 where the Bellavista might be a Hampton Inn. But I feel very secure at both of these and never worry about leaving my stuff in the room while I'm out.

As far as money goes, Credit Card Usage can be a little pricey, So I suggest hitting the ATM before you leave Cebu City, there are plenty of ATM's in Cebu City I usually use the ones located at Malls or Gaisano shopping centers. Just inform your Debit Card issuer that you are going to the Phils because sometimes they will block usage if not informed(or so I have heard). I have found I get the most reliable exchange from the ATM's and my issuer waives any fees for the first 6 transactions a month.

APO Island, Moalboal and Malapscua do not have ATM's so your better off carrying cash. I am not sure about PG, but Batangas (your point of departure for PG) has plenty of ATM's.

Alona, has an ATM(at least it did last time I was there).

Also, I recommend carrying one or two thousand in $50 or $100 bills because several Dive Centers are priced in US dollars and you will not be assessed any conversion fee if you pay in $$$$'s...

Anyway I hope this info is useful, and feel free to contact me via PM if you have other questions I might be able to help you with.

Cheers,
Roger

 

[Sorrows]

Thanks, everybody. I am trying to take this all in. It's a lot of information!

Codman, good point! Here you go:

Mostly, I just like fish and good viz and warmth. My son and husband like wrecks, but they can live without them. Pelagics and good coral a plus, but we are also into the macro and the muck. As I said, my son is into photography. Mostly we just like to dive. Period. Our dive vacations are pretty much eat, sleep, dive, dive and more dive. For this reason, we normally go to resorts and frequently prefer AIs.

We'd like to go for at least two weeks and no more than two locations.

Places we've been: Belize, Roatan, Utila, Cayman, Cozumel, Florida Keys, and Bonaire. We particularly love Bonaire and have been there three times already. Perhaps that doesn't sound like a lot, but we've only been at this for five years. We normally take a dive vacation twice a year; we're going back to Roatan in March. We normally use a dive travel agency.

I know that Puerta Galera is a very popular place now--not sure what it is like in December--but I've read some stuff (trashy, tacky, etc.) on Undercurrent that concern me. The other place I've read about is Apo Island. I know Bohol is also getting a lot of mention lately, but I don't know much about it.

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Rogersea]

Sorrows,
If you like all inclusives you might book a liveaboard here for one of the weeks and choose a spot like Bohol, Anilao, Moalboal or Apo for the second week.

Bohol is very good diving and there are ample alternative activities should (god forbid) one come down with a sinus or ear problem during what sounds like a lot of diving.

Moalboal also has very good diving and Cebu offers many other activities to keep you entertained should you need a non diving day.

Have not been to Anilao, but it is on my to do list, I think it is a little more off the beaten track than the other two I mentioned.... but it is supposed to have great Macro......

APO has several great dives.... What else is nice about APO is that you can make it a side trip from Moalboal with very little hassle...

 

[CODMAN]

Firstly Sorrows, thanks for the extra info. Secondly, hold on to your hat because after diving Asia (the Philippines in particular) you're not going to want to go back to the Caribean... believe me... I know...:cool2: It blows it all away...

From what you are saying, you will like most of any of the good dive destinations in the PIs. Since it's only 2 weeks, I'd limit myself to only 1 or 2 destinations since travelling cuts down on dive time.

What you heard about PG is correct. There is quite a developped party/ sex trade part of the town, but that's almost exclusivekly in Sabang. PG is divided into 3 beaches: Sabang (the main commercial part), small Lalaguna (the beach next over; maybe 5 minute walk) and Big Lalaguna (10 minute walk). The further away from sabang you stay, the more you avoid the party/ sex trade part of things. Whaddaya want... It's there. it's a reality, and they don't hide it. But it's easily avoided by whoever doesn't care for that stuff!!!

As far as vis goes, the only places I've heard that vis is not that great (less that 30 feet) is Subic and parts of Coron (PPDers please correct me if I'm wrong). Other than that, they will almost all have a bit of what you are looking for. Some are more pelagic oriented (Malapascua), some are more macro oriented (Anilao) and some a varied mix of it all (PG).

If you want to hit more than 1 site and want to minimise travelling, I would suggest 1 week in Anilao followed by 1 week in PG. Anilao is about 3 hours bus ride from Manilla (including traffic), and PG is about 30 minute taxi and 1 hour Ferry from Anilao. Both premium dive destinations where you'll get your money's worth... Lots of macro in Anilao... Folowed by Drift, some pelagics, some wrecks, more Macro in PG...

If you only want to do 1 destination, then pick whichever you want; travelling in between is no longer a consideration. Bohol, Moalboal, Malapascua, Dumaguete, etc...

I know this is not a final anwser to your question, but maybe some food for thought to help you on your way!!!

OH, by the way... Bring ear solution and use it after each dive. It will help reduce chances of missing dives... I did 5 weeks/ 75 dives in PG, diving every day, and never had an ear problem. Good advice from BabyD...

Hope this helps!

Thanks, everybody. I am trying to take this all in. It's a lot of information!

Codman, good point! Here you go:

Mostly, I just like fish and good viz and warmth. My son and husband like wrecks, but they can live without them. Pelagics and good coral a plus, but we are also into the macro and the muck. As I said, my son is into photography. Mostly we just like to dive. Period. Our dive vacations are pretty much eat, sleep, dive, dive and more dive. For this reason, we normally go to resorts and frequently prefer AIs.

We'd like to go for at least two weeks and no more than two locations.

Places we've been: Belize, Roatan, Utila, Cayman, Cozumel, Florida Keys, and Bonaire. We particularly love Bonaire and have been there three times already. Perhaps that doesn't sound like a lot, but we've only been at this for five years. We normally take a dive vacation twice a year; we're going back to Roatan in March. We normally use a dive travel agency.

I know that Puerta Galera is a very popular place now--not sure what it is like in December--but I've read some stuff (trashy, tacky, etc.) on Undercurrent that concern me. The other place I've read about is Apo Island. I know Bohol is also getting a lot of mention lately, but I don't know much about it.

Thanks again for all your help!