Opinions on Dumaguete Philippines diving

Am contemplating a dive trip to Dumaguette Philippines (Atlantis Resort)
this upcoming Christmas holiday. The resort also offers day trips to Apo
island, Balicasag, Siquijor and Sumilon & Liloan. Since this is a family
holiday am also interested in topside activities as this is not strictly a
dive vacation. Any inputs on resort, diving conditions, topside activies,
etc is appreciated. I've found limited information on this area of the
Philippines on the web.

William Deertz wrote:

> Am contemplating a dive trip to Dumaguette Philippines (Atlantis Resort)
> this upcoming Christmas holiday. The resort also offers day trips to Apo
> island, Balicasag, Siquijor and Sumilon & Liloan. Since this is a family
> holiday am also interested in topside activities as this is not strictly a
> dive vacation. Any inputs on resort, diving conditions, topside activies,
> etc is appreciated. I've found limited information on this area of the
> Philippines on the web.

I dived there last Christmas and was gobsmacked by the fantastic state of
the reef on Apo Island. Simply incredible. The fish life is also superb.
Even around the Atlantis resort there are small areas protected from
fishing which have some incredible fish life. These areas are an example
to the rest of the world. A small fee is payable when you visit one of
these sanctuaries. Apo Island is fiercely protected - a quota has been set
on the number of divers allowed in each day.

I have dived Balicasag several times over the last five years and it seems
to have sadly been overrun by divers from both Bohol and Cebu. A similar
fate has befallen Cabilao. The authorities could do well to implement
similar policies to those on Apo Island.

Not much info on the non-diving aspects of Dumaguete other than to say that
the city is very cheap, quite clean and has a lot of genuine history.
Seems to be a lot of stuff like trekking, water falls and mountain biking
on offer. Beaches are lovely too. Black sand, but deserted and stretch
for miles so nice for running. Food was excellent, resort beautiful and
staff very nice indeed.

Cheers
Noel

Thanks for the input. You've confirmed what I've heard. Did you stay at the
Atlantis resort while in Dumaguete? I stayed at their sister resort in
Puerto Galera several years back and was quite please with the rooms, food
and overall atmosphere. As for the cost, I've only been to the Philippines
twice and have found everything to be extremely cheap and good value for
money.

Thanks again for the input.





"Noel" <williamgates@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:FVbnb.13469$b71.6637@news-binary.blueyonder.co.uk...
> William Deertz wrote:
>
> > Am contemplating a dive trip to Dumaguette Philippines (Atlantis Resort)
> > this upcoming Christmas holiday. The resort also offers day trips to
Apo
> > island, Balicasag, Siquijor and Sumilon & Liloan. Since this is a
family
> > holiday am also interested in topside activities as this is not strictly
a
> > dive vacation. Any inputs on resort, diving conditions, topside
activies,
> > etc is appreciated. I've found limited information on this area of the
> > Philippines on the web.
>
> I dived there last Christmas and was gobsmacked by the fantastic state of
> the reef on Apo Island. Simply incredible. The fish life is also superb.
> Even around the Atlantis resort there are small areas protected from
> fishing which have some incredible fish life. These areas are an example
> to the rest of the world. A small fee is payable when you visit one of
> these sanctuaries. Apo Island is fiercely protected - a quota has been
set
> on the number of divers allowed in each day.
>
> I have dived Balicasag several times over the last five years and it seems
> to have sadly been overrun by divers from both Bohol and Cebu. A similar
> fate has befallen Cabilao. The authorities could do well to implement
> similar policies to those on Apo Island.
>
> Not much info on the non-diving aspects of Dumaguete other than to say
that
> the city is very cheap, quite clean and has a lot of genuine history.
> Seems to be a lot of stuff like trekking, water falls and mountain biking
> on offer. Beaches are lovely too. Black sand, but deserted and stretch
> for miles so nice for running. Food was excellent, resort beautiful and
> staff very nice indeed.
>
> Cheers
> Noel

Mr Bill wrote:

> Thanks for the input. You've confirmed what I've heard. Did you stay at
> the Atlantis resort while in Dumaguete? I stayed at their sister resort in
> Puerto Galera several years back and was quite please with the rooms, food
> and overall atmosphere. As for the cost, I've only been to the Philippines
> twice and have found everything to be extremely cheap and good value for
> money.
>
> Thanks again for the input.

Yes I stayed at Atlantis. I actually much preferred the Dumaguete resort -
quieter and excellent food.

I think Dumaguete city is also cheaper than Puerto Galera - there are some
pretty classy restaurants and bars there, more like the Spanish Riviera.
Dumaguete is a university city so lot quite a lot of society people around
which adds to the cosmopolitan feel.

One fact that I found amazing is that the southern tip of Cebu is actually
only 15mins away by boat.

Also, enjoy the approach to the airport over the water - great stuff!

Cheers