Philippines - diving, trekking, culture - advice please

Hey there,

We will be in the Philippines from 26th November, departing 22nd December for Borneo where we will dive in Sipidan, Kapalai and Mabul and trek etc for three weeks.

In the Philippines I want to do my PADI open waters course as soon as possible, and my partner will do his rescue dive course.

We are thinking of doing the courses in the Cebu area. We also definitely want to dive on Palawan and Donsol and hope to check out some Thresher Sharks. We have read such varied comments about diving in the Philippines. Some people absolutely rave about it, and some complain incessantly about rubbish, depletion etc. We are not changing our travel plans, so please don't only respond with negativity cos it really won't help! Some constructive advice would be really appreciated. ie. best place to do PADI, recommended dive sites and operators.

Other things we want to do - some trekking in the hills, Bohol Chocolate Hills etc. We love nature and wildlife and local culture so would love to get amongst it.

All the best and look forward to hearing from you,

Miranda and Oliver

You have to remember philippine travel connections are still not paved to jump on/off to move about quickly, its better for you to spend longer in close area- than try to see eveything in less than a month. Recommended: Manila fly to palawan first and do your diving in coron-- then spend a weeks exploring it. then slowly head down southward to elnido,port barton then sabang... then puerto princesa where you can fly to cebu..in the Visayas- recommendation-Bohol(Panglao for diving)- choc hill( but better go to loboc river and the jungle trails) then siquijor- magical- island- quite off the track but good exploring by motorbike. then maybe bantayan island up north- then malapascua(threshers)- this is considerably close to each other- 5/6 hours journey in between.

In palawan check out Taophilippines.com- its one boat doing good eco-expedition to remote islands diving, snorkel and village stay if theyre around at that time..

Hi Bluesunday, thank so much for your quick response. Very helpful indeed. We looked up photos of El Nido etc...absolutely stunning, and thank fr the website recommendation.

Couple of questions if you can spare us a wee bit more of your time:

1. Miranda intends to do her PADI open waters fairly soon after our arrival. We had been recommended to do this somewhere in the Cebu area because weather better. Are you aware of any weather issues in Palawan around end of November/beginning of December?

2. It's great that you flagged the cenrtal places we were planning to visit. We wanted to go to Donsol for whale sharks...do you know anything about this?

3. Apart from the chocolate hills Miranda kinda had her heart set on some treks in the rice terraces of North Luzon. In order to do this, we would cut back on some of the island hopping. Any views on this?

Thanks so much,

M & O

Donsol Whalesharks - fly to Legaspi then van to Donsol. Your timing is usually not the best season to spot them but you might get lucky. No need for diving by the way.

North Luzon - a week of trekking in Banaue and Sagada

November/December is a beautiful time to be in the North Luzon mountains... very remote chance of a storm, but a glance at www.maybagyo.com will tell you if anything is rolling in. In the absence of storms, weather is generally cool and clear. You need a week to do it right, though, as Leng says... no point in doing all that riding just to look around for a day or two.

On the amount of time you have I would personally be inclined to go straight to Coron, spend a few week working down to PP, then fly back to Manila and finish up with a week in the mountains, maybe a detour to Donsol if there's time (as Leng says, you're a bit out of season for the sharks). Weather issues are highly unlikely in Palawan and what you'll see there, in terms of nature, culture, and marine activity, is as good or better than what you'd get in the Visayas. I see no reason not to do your dive courses in Palawan: among others, Andy at Sangat (near Coron) is a highly competent instructor, not the cheapest but you get what you pay for! With only a few weeks to spend, too many destinations can sound good on paper but the travel can be a pain.

Of course that's just me, and your priorities may well be different!

Hey thanks for this great feedback.

1. Do you not think it would be worth flying to Bohol for the Chocolate Hills?

2. To trek in north luzon do we need to book a trek with tour operator or can we just turn up and sort out when we get there?

3. Do we fly up north from manila or is it bus/jeepney etc?

Thanks so much for your advice.

Miranda and Oliver

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<hr>Do we fly up north from manila or is it bus/jeepney etc?<hr></blockquote>
Bus is the way... either Manila-Baguio-Sagada-Banaue or the opposite.
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<hr>To trek in north luzon do we need to book a trek with tour operator or can we just turn up and sort out when we get there?<hr></blockquote>
No need for tour operators, everything can be arranged up here. I live in Sagada and I'm pretty familiar with the trekking options, let me know how many days you want to spend and how rugged you want to get and I'll try to poinjt you at something that fits.

Hey if ur already in visayas island bohol is worth a trip and swing by Dumaguete City and Siquijor. Dumaguete City is the jump off point to Apo Island- Philippines top 5 dive spot. Its only 25 mins ride to malatapay jump off point and another 45 banca ride. Dumaguete is the city of gentle people and its called a university town too.
While in Dumaguete check out this hostel www.haroldsmansion.com its a hip and friendly hostel in town.

PIkayaker, thanks for your email, I think we'd like to spend 5-6 days or thereabouts in North Luzon. Love the idea of getting to Ifuago, and getting an idea of local culture.

M & O

KIDS Foundation will be having their 2nd trek this October called A Trek to Remember. Theyre doing this biannually to help communities in far flung areas.
For more details check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pO50DeOTgI :) Have a good day ahead!