Dive Review of
Seaquest Dive Center/Visayas Dive Safari in
Philippines/Visayas

North Sulawesi, Raja Ampat, Bali, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Red Sea, Papua New
Guinea, Australia, Palau, Truk, Tahiti, Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras

Dive Conditions

All guided dives  

[None]  

Overall Rating

This is a 5-day, 4-night dive safari from Moalboal, Cebu, to Panglao
Island, Bohol.  There are 13 dives from a large bangka.  No Nitrox, tanks
are filled from a compressor on the bangka.  It's not the most comfortable
mode of transportation.  You either stand up or sit on the deck.  The tanks
are laid on their side on the bow (no tank racks) so you have to step over
them (if you're tall) or step on them (if you're short) to get from one
side of the boat to the other.  The "comfort room" is a roofless
enclosure on the stern that sits out over the water. 
Embarking/disembarking was via a plank angled from the beach to the bow, if
the bangka was able to get close to shore.  If it had to anchor out (as at
Siquijor Island), divers/gear were ferried in small skiffs and then you had
to pull yourself up onto the bow.  Dive entry was a side-roll off the bow. 
To exit, you hand up your fins and climb up the dive ladder with your gear.
 We saw dolphins on every crossing, but not on any of the dives.

It was five-and-a-half hours in calm seas from Moalboal to the first stop,
Apo Island.  We stayed at Apo Resort for two nights.  You take only a pack
with needed items to the resorts, and leave the majority of your luggage on
board the bangka.  At Apo Resort, we had a stunnig view of the beach and
cove from our room.  There is no running water on the island.  Fresh water
is brought in from Negros Island in five-gallon plastic cans.  The
generator only runs from 6 PM to midnight.  You'd think that the rooms
would have been designed with these two facts in mind, but no!  We used our
dive lights in the bathroom, as it had no other form of illumination if the
generator was not running.  Space in the shower area was taken up with the
barrel of fresh water used for rinsing off.  Part of the doorway to the
bathroom was blocked by the barrel of seawater used to flush the toilet. 
The barrel of fresh water was not replenished during our two-night
stay---conserve.  The granite tile floors are extremely slippery when wet. 
Meals were served family-style for the safari group and the dive guide. 
Meals were well-prepared and plentiful, mostly Asian/Filipino cuisine.

Apo Island is a marine reserve.  Santuary fee is not included in the cost
of the trip.  No dive gloves allowed.  This was some of the best diving on
the trip.  Slight current, 50-60 foot visibility, water temperatures 82-84
degrees.  Lots of big schools of big fish (surgean fish, banner fish, etc.)
 A turtle or two on every dive, ribbon eels.  The only dive with strong
current was at Coconut.

One-and-a-half hours in calm seas from Apo Island to Siquijor Island (also
a marine reserve and sanctuary fee is not included in the dive package.) 
We spent two nights at the Coco Grove Resort.  It's a beautiful resort
spead over a large area.  Two swimming pools.  Grounds are lush, tropical
vegetation, well-maintained.  The cottages are set back from the beach, so
you have garden views, not ocean views.  Has electricity and hot/cold
running water.  All meals were served family-style for the safari group. 
Food was predominantly Asian/Filipino dishes.  Meals were well-prepared and
plentiful.

Only three dives around Siquijor, as we made dives around Apo on the day we
left for Siquijor Island and made a dive at Balicasag Island when we left
Siquijor Island en route to Panglao Island.  Visibility was 50 feet, slight
current, water temperature was 81 to 83 degrees.  We saw blue ribbon eel,
snake eel, banded pipefish, ornate ghost pipefish, porcelain crabs, plus
all the "usual stuff." 

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