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Dive Review of Dive Society/El Dorado in
Philippines/Dumaguete

Dive Society/El Dorado, Mar, 2010,

by Phillip C Gans, CO, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 5415.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments The muck diving around the resort was very good. I saw many of the same creatures as I saw in Lembeh. Some of the things that I saw included pygmy cuttlefish, flamboyant cuttle fish, squid, sting ray, cow fish, puffers, including juvenile, lion fish, devil fish, Ambon scorpion fish, leaf scorpion fish, sea horses, thorny sea horse, ornate ghost pipe fish (about four different colors), hairy ornate ghost pipe fish, hairy frog fish, painted frog fish, pink frog fish, juvenile frog fish, halmadi pipe fish. striped pipe fish. stick pipe fish, cockatoo wrasp, wonderpus, octopus, potatoe groper, grouper, spotted ray, turtles, fire worm, flat worms, nudibranches, rock fish, crabs,gobies, porcelain crab, crinoid crab, crown of thorns, flying gormands, pegasis sea wasp, flounder, peacock flounder,crocodile fish, orangutan crab, sea snake, jack fish, mantis shrimp, and snake eel. The diving at Apo Island was also good. The dive operation was well run. They had dives to Apo three or times the week I was there, and once to Siquijor (which is reef and wall diving.) the time to Apo was probably 40 minutes and to Siquijor about an hour. (We saw dolphins on the way back.) When you go to Apo or Siquijor you do two dives and come back in time to do a third dive along the coast or do the house reef. I was able to do three dives each day, and could have done night dives, but choose not to. The dive guides were very good,and had good eyes to see things. they always offered to carry my equipment, even for a shore dive. they went out of their way to be nice. the groups were usually small. For two dives I was with a couple who kicked up a lot of sand, but most of the time I was with good divers. It was very nice to have Nitrox and not be charged a lot for it. The costs for diving is pretty inexpensive. A weeks unlimited diving was about $ 550. most of the guests were from Switzerland or Germany, and they were not all that comfortable with English. the dive masters were very proficient in English. It is probably a better idea to go here with a group because of that. The costs for a simple room were very reasonable, as well as the food costs. I am a picky eater, and I thought that the food was very good. They pick you up from the airport, and the costs to fly from Manila are inexpensive, though you will have to pay for extra baggage weight. The basic rooms are inexpensive and just fine. the sir conditioning worked. it is not a fancy resort, but it is well worth the money and very pretty. The people who work there are very nice. It will not be as elegant as Atomosphere, but it will give great diving and great food at half the cost.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Fiji, Philippines, Lembeh, Bunanken, Palau, Cozumel, Mexico, Jamacia, Dominican Republic, Roatan, Utila, Belize, Sipidan, Layang Layang, Thailand, Burma, Komodo, Wakatobi,
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 80-°F / 27-°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 40-90 Ft/ 12-27 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions I was able to dive almost as long as I liked. All my dives were an hour or longer. they provide complementary Nitrox.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments They did not have speical facilities on the boats for photographic equipment, but the crew took good care of the equipment. Apo Island had nice and healthy corals. The muck diving around the resort itself was excellant and the conditions were good.
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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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