Dive VIP - Puerto Galera

hi there,

didn't dive with VIP but know them, they should be grand,

the two best shops are probably asia divers (i used to work there) or atlantis,

the instructors there all dive at a very high level,

but asia divers and atlantis are probably a bit more pricey,

i think the accomodation for vip is in sunshine cottages which are pretty nice bungalows, especially if you can get a sea facing one,

they cost about 800-1300peso if you book them yourself,

i saw a deal for something like 44e for two dives and accomodation, that's well cheap!

if you have the time and inclination, I'd suggest doing your advanced too,

if you do the open water and then dont dive again for a while, you'll be close to square one again, the extra time under instruction and dives with the advanced give you a chance to really get to grips with your basics,

also, the advanced ow is more about learning through the dives, so much less theory and class then the ow,

also, with the advanced you can go to shark caves and see the white tips and to a nice big wreck (the Alma Jane) at around 30m,

not to say the reef diving there isn't fantastic too, and to be honest you see more colour and life at 3-12m anyway,

hope i helped, any quesions about pg or diving or phils just shout,

FERG

Cheers
I will see how I go with my Advanced open water. I'm not sure I'll like diving yet, but if I do I'll keep it in mind!!!

That's not ridiculously cheap for the Philippines - it's one of the cheapest places I've dived. I didn't dive with VIP, but I'm sure they're fine.

Don't feel that you should do your Advanced straight after your Open Water just because other people might pressure you into it. Personally I think it's better to get a bit more experience after the Open Water before launching straight into the Advanced course. I find it quite amusing that divers described themselves as "Advanced", when they may only have done 9 dives, all in the same location and conditions.

I did my Open Water course with Dive VIP some years ago, and returned in 2005 for some fun dives. They are great, at least if owner "John-o" from New Zealand is still there... he is a great teacher and very precise and responsible, the shop is small and has an informal atmosphere which I enjoyed :-)