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Dive Review of Crystal Blue Resort in
Philippines/Anilao

Crystal Blue Resort: "Anilao is Big on the Small Stuff", Nov, 2016,

by Eric Eckes, CA, US (Contributor Contributor 18 reports with 11 Helpful votes). Report 9407.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Anilao is famous for muck diving and when you go muck diving you expect to see weird stuff. We were not disappointed!

We flew nonstop from LAX to Manila via Philippine Airlines. Upon arriving in Manila it was a three hour van ride south to the tip of Luzon Island and Anilao. Crystal Blue's staff was there to greet us upon arrival in Manila.

The resort sits on a hill and there are a lot of steps. With that said, the resort is amazingly well laid out. The rooms are at the top of the resort affording views of the harbor. Walking down the stairs you pass by the office and come to an outdoor covered restaurant. Below that is the camera room and finally you have the dive shop.

The dive boats are traditional Filipino banca boats which are very stable on the water. Crystal Blue generally limits divers to 4 per guide which was very much appreciated given we had all photographers in our group. The dive guides know the area well and showed us plenty of weird stuff. We saw four different Rhinopias, several Frogfish, Octopi (no blue-ring on our visit), and even the super weird Bobbitt Worm. The highlight was witnessing the hatching of a Cuttlefish. There was relatively little current on most dive sites making this a great locale for amateur through advanced divers.

We were served three meals, buffet style, daily. Breakfast included eggs cooked to order and delicious fluffy pancakes. The food became a little repetitive after several days of diving. I was however, able to finagle ice cream for dinner desert each night.

Our room was very basic, containing two queen beds and an ensuite bathroom. There was plenty of hot water.

The dive operation really excels here. Once you unpack your gear you will not touch it again until you pack to leave. The staff was very attentive to our every need.

Anilao, and Crystal Blue Resort, is a nice alternative to muck diving in Indonesia. It is reasonably priced and very easy to reach from the U.S. west coast. The guides are top notch and know where to find the critters.

Websites Crystal Blue Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Malaysia, Philippines, Truk Lagoon, Palau, Yap, Mexico, Galapagos, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Red Sea, Cocos Island, Cuba, So Cal Local
Closest Airport Manila Getting There LAX direct to Manila

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy Seas calm, no currents
Water Temp 81-84°F / 27-29°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Crystal Blue Resort has a very nice camera room with roomy workstations. Power is 220 and accepts varying plug sizes. The resort has large dedicated camera rinse tanks and compressed air.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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