2nd trip to Phil: ferries, island retreat, snorkeling equipment

1. Ferries from Manila to Coron.
   I came accross two reports saying that departure from Manila was delayed some 20hrs. Is this common? I am travelling in November. Someone also claimed that tickets are more expensive bought on short notice. Correct?

2. I would like to settle down to a less visited island. My preferences are: a beach to swim in, cheap accommodation, lively town within walking distance (5km) or tricycle trip. Local (street) food available. On my previous visit I found this all in Camiguin but had a few hits, too. On Sugar Beach, for example, it was hard to find any fruit or local food. On Siquijor swimming then again was impossible. I want to avoid that kind of places.

3. Can I buy snorkeling equipment in Manila (for a good price)? Where?

My trip will take several months, have plenty of time and no fixed plans.

forget getting the ferry from Manila to Palawan. Fly.

also get a mask and snorkel in your home country. Why faff about trying to find one in a country where hardly anyone can swim?

for a new island to try, think about the Camotes. That has just about all the things to mention, also it links to Leyte and another island and islands at Biliran.

Camotes I have been considering. And Bantayan. What about Caramoan Peninsula? Is it too remote/slow? Pagudpud seems also good but well... it is at the end of the world.

Camotes has more range of activities than Bantayan, it is definitely quieter but not totally dead. They have like live bands on in the two big towns on the weekends and stuff. The two island groups of Bantayan and Camotes are not all that far away. You can easily move between them in a day. With islands, they are much better if you can get onto them from one island, and then get off them and onto another island. Like Bantayan, you can go on from Cebu and then go on by ferry to Cadiz, Negros. Or Camotes, you can go on from Cebu and then get another ferry on to Leyte. That is a weakness of Malapascua. You are stuck there. You have to go back the way you came, unless you charter a boat..

"I would like to settle down to a less visited island. My preferences are: a beach to swim in, cheap accommodation, lively town within walking distance (5km) or tricycle trip. Local (street) food available"

Know somewhere just like that if you want to settle down for a month or so, and its within Callippos suggestions above, PM me if you want details..

what's all this about the human skulls n Biliran. I had a motorbike on there and I did drive round, but I never saw any human skulls. The Biliran waterfalls are indeed excellent and they are better than any Visayan island, even Siquijor. But just what is all this human skulls business.

Thanks again for your trips. Seems like I have plenty of options to choose from. It is amazing how much there is to discover in the Philippines!

I was considering flying from Manila to Coron. But then I checked the prices: P4000 at the cheapest! When you add a taxi to the airport and the airport tax that is almost P5000. (It is strange to think that for the same price one can rent an apartment for two months in Leyte...)

I will follow how prices (and weather) are developing. If I don't get a better price I will take a ferry.

By the way, is there a website for typhoon/storm forecast in the Philippines?

I don't know what the ferry fare is on that particular one, but that won't be cheap either. Even 10 hour ferrries in tourist class are over 1000 now. So it will be at least 2000 and probably more. And then there is other expenses that may come in on top of that. You may have to spend a night or two in Manila where accommodation costs more. You will have to sustain yourself with food and drinks bought on the ferry which cost more than on land.

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