The Philippines

Why The Philippines?

Our BS-AC Branch (Peterborough) had run a trip to the Red Sea for three successive years, each year moving progressively further South to find something new, more interesting and less crowded. So we fancied something new, somewhere different perhaps, even something a little adventurous. Club members had been lucky enough to visit various locations around the world, but The Philippines promised something different. Encouraged by a neighbour who had good contacts and provided me with a fair amount of information, I researched the possibilities. I quickly realised that not only was The Philippines a very viable destination, but it also had lots of advantages.

Compared with many destinations, The Philippines is only beginning to open up although there are several well established safe dive operations out there. There are said to be over 3,000 species of fish and marine animals, about 50% more than the Red Sea and a wide diversity of dives. Additionally, there are over 500 species of soft corals and over 3,000 species of shellfish. A recent PADI (who?) report circulated to instructors said on average divers who discover The Philippines visit 10 times!

What is it like?
First and foremost the diving can be excellent and there is considerable choice - shore diving, islands too numerous to mention (more than 7,000 of them), remote reefs, Japanese wrecks and much more. The water is tropical and warm - mid to upper 20's degrees centigrade (we had 28o most of the time). The marine life is exquisite and in many areas there are very beautiful soft corals. In remoter areas you will see larger pelagics and may be lucky to see them close to some of the island too. Members of our party saw hammerhead and whitetip sharks, manta rays, merlin, large barracuda, sea snakes, moray and, naturally a wealth of coral fish of all shapes sizes and colours. The morning 8 whitetip sharks swam in staggered pairs just a few feet beneath me was a memorable one.

Unlike some locations which may have a few particularly large and developed dive centres, there are many smaller ones in The Philippines, so you need to choose where to go carefully. Criteria will depend on the type of diving you want, budget, how remote you want to get, how long you are prepared to travel to your destination and how long you are staying. There are good sites fairly close to the capital, Manila, such as Subic Bay and Batangas with Puerto Galera just a little further. Better areas are Boracay famous for its pure white sands (which are popular) Cebu and Moalboal, including Pescador Island. Then there is Bohol and surrounding islands with Palawan and the Sulu Sea having the best reputation. These latter areas are harder to get to and therefore more expensive. So it's simply a question of balance; generally the better areas are more remote and thus more expensive.

Although it is possible to dive throughout the year, it is generally considered that the best "season" is December through to May. July to September brings the monsoon, although this can also bring interesting fish.

It would be inappropriate to write anything about The Philippines without mentioning the Filipinos. Frankly, they are unforgettable - especially friendly and relaxed, lacking in pretensions and ever helpful to ensure you have a memorable holiday. The men will help you out of any scrape and the women are simply beautiful, depending on your point of view of course.

Advantages
These are numerous:

• There has been a strong US influence since the Second World War. Some might say this was a disadvantage, but it means that English (with an American accent!) is widely spoken. It also means that the supply of diving kit is good, much coming direct from US manufacturers, and the training in many dive schools is of a satisfactory standard and some of it is excellent.
  
• Cheap cost of living - food, drink (London gin £2 a litre, local beer 40 pence a bottle), general consumer purchases, clothing, petrol (11 pence a litre) etc are all exceptional value. However, you also have to remember that typical wages are only around £1,000 per annum. The Filipinos are not known for their materialism and are a pretty modest nationality.
  
• Food is good, fresh and varied. Some would say that Filipino food, like Thai cuisine is midway between Chinese and Indian. They have various rice dishes, often spicy ones and a good deal of fish. We had various fish and meat meals, good soups and enjoyed our "American" breakfasts. There is plenty of fresh fruit, including many exotic ones, and vegetables. Eating out is excellent value for money. Even if you are not adventurous in your tastes, you should not find the local dishes too extreme; there is something for everyone.
  
• Diversity - shore, Bancas - mid-sized dive boats with outriggers, safaris, liveaboards, basic and luxury hotels, romantic bamboo huts to modern air con suits. Beginners, Novice to Advanced. World class dives. There is a wider variety of diving than say the Red Sea, but equally divers have to allow for tides and currents which can be quite strong in some areas. Water speed can be still or you can have a fast drift dive. In some areas, seas can become rough, but this is not always the case, of course.
  
• Islands - Over 7,000 of them to choose from. Many of them idyllic and very beautiful. Covered in coconut palms and with wide sandy beaches. A few, notably Palawan, still have tracts of jungle, others have turned to agriculture. There are some more industrialised areas around the largest cities -manila and Cebu, for instance, but The Philippines are not known for their industrial base.
  
• You can get the best of all worlds combining a fabulous diving experience with a location which ensures you have a relaxing and scenic holiday in a tropical paradise.
  
• Telecommunications in general are advanced. Much of my arranging was done by e-mail/fax and received quick responses. However, contact with some of the islands is a little patchy.

Given that The Philippines are half the way round the world, there is naturally a "price" to pay for something special and this can generally be summarised as:

• Distance: with the country being 8 hours ahead of GMT and the flight from UK 13 or 14 hours, you "loose" almost a day getting there. Given the distance then, you have to accept that you will not get a cheap flight. However, there are a number of airlines which fly direct or indirect to The Philippines (normally Manila or Cebu) so it pays to shop around for deals or discounts which are available.
  
• The very existence of remoter islands and the geography also means that some of the better dive sites require you to take an internal flight within the country. Such flights are not particularly expensive, but they do add to your journey time.