Family trip to Philippines

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PacNWDad
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Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2014 12:03 pm

Family trip to Philippines

Post by PacNWDad »

My family is travelling to the Philippines this August -- not for diving, but to visit relatives. :)

I would like to stay an extra week and enjoy some of the nice diving PI has to offer. This will be diving with my son, who is 13 and a certified diver (junior open water), but not very experienced (10+ dives). My wife wants to do a Discover Dive, maybe more.

Any suggestions? I have heard a fair amount about Puerto Galera, but I don't think muck diving will be that exciting for a 13-year old who is just starting out. I would like a place with excellent reef diving and some good pelagic sightings. A dive resort with 4-star accommodations, good A/C and reliable wifi would be ideal, as my wife and (possibly) in-laws are going to be spending a lot more time onshore than my son and I.

Advice appreciated!

PacNWDad
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inflex
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Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:35 pm

Re: Family trip to Philippines

Post by inflex »

Puerto Galera isn't just muck diving, but the most exciting things there do come in smaller packages. There's a bay that's muck, but the rest are reefs, canyons, walls, and wrecks. None of the reefs in Phillipines will be that great, save for Tubbataha. Same thing goes for big pelagics (hit or miss anywhere in the world, mostly miss in Philippines). Nice thing about PG is that it is very good for beginning divers. Other areas have very interesting point dives (shoals, sharks, etc), but they aren't as friendly for beginners.

If you're going stay in the Philippines for the diving, I recommend picking a destination that's easy to access relative to the port cities. Travelling with a relatively large group to some of the dive areas may be cumbersome and expensive. Also, you may get some monsoons in August

An alternative would be a take a short flight to somewhere in Indonesia or even Malaysia. Then, your options really open up.
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GearHead
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Family trip to Philippines

Post by GearHead »

Puerto Galera does have Verde Island nearby, which makes a good 3-tank day trip of beautiful reefs and an underwater pinnacle. The group I was with only did two dives in the muck-ish bay, while the rest were on local reefs and walls.
Dumaguette is more known for muck diving. (Where I discovered that muck diving isn't my favorite thing.) However, Apo Island is one of the most spectacular places I've been to so far and is a similar type of day trip to Verde Is.


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