Dumaguete and Dauin

Dumaguete is a small city situated on the south eastern tip of Negros, one of The Philippines' larger islands and part of the Visayas group. The island of Negros and Dumaguete town are still relatively undeveloped, but becoming increasingly popular with tourists due in part to ease of access and to the diverse range of activities available in addition to the diving.

Negros island is beautifully lush and tropical and well known for its verdant sugar cane plantations in the north and coconut plantations in the south. Beaches are partly volcanic sand, giving the island a distinctive grey sand colour.

Dumaguete town is a very friendly place, with the atmosphere you can expect from a place with seven universities and colleges. Malatapay market happens on Wednesdays and would be a good way to spend a break from diving.

Close to the city are trekking in tropical forests, waterfalls, hot springs, hill climbing, golf, and dolphin and whale watching in Bais Bay. Still, the main reason why people come here is for the incredible diving, especially to visit the famous Apo Island.

Dauin dives, all day long…

Dauin is a spot famed for its macro life. Seahorses, ghost pipe fishes, frog fishes, different kind of lion and scorpion fishes and nudibranchs are common. The area referred to as Eel Garden is also rather unique and an excellent place for photographers and night dives.

Apo Island

The main attraction in the area is Apo Island (not to be confused with Apo Reef, Palawan) one of the best known Philippines diving destinations. Surrounded by white sand in contrast to its black sand neighbours, Apo is a tiny marine sanctuary. The island itself covers just 72 hectares and is teeming with fish, beautiful corals and is especially known for green turtles. There are ten dive sites around the island and each has something different to offer from exhilarating drift dives at some locations to gentle shallow dives over hard and soft corals at others. At Apo Island there is a huge variety of fish species, crustaceans and nudibranch. The schools of jacks can sometimes number over 2,000 fish. For both micro and macro lovers this is truly blue heaven. Apo Island is about 45 minutes boat ride away.

House Reefs

Both Pura Vida Resort and Atmosphere Resort benefit from fantastic house reefs. Ideal for extra shore day dives after your boat dives, the perfect environment for great night dives and ideal for easy photography and training.

Sea Explorer’s house reef at Pura Vida has been revitalised over the last few years into a protected artificial reef for these water’s smaller species. Sea horses, Hair Frogfish, a wonderpus and ghostpipe fish have all been spotted. The sandy bottom slopes down from one to twenty metres and there is also a 12m long steel boat wreck.

Atmosphere Divers house reef along the Dauin coast offers two entry points; north and south. A shallow sea grass bed descends to the main reef at about 7 metres, continuing to 20 – 30 metres at each respective end with hard and soft corals and a sandy bottom hiding all sorts of well camouflaged macro life. This area will keep any diver entertained for multiple dives and is an especially great night dive.

In 2011, Atmosphere Divers sunk 3 shipping containers. This artificial reef project is already home to a variety of corals, juvenile and macro species and promises to get better and better.

Masaplod

Reached by boat in around fifteen minutes, you can encounter big schools of fish at Masaplod. Large snappers, sweetlips, stingrays and different kind of scorpion fishes are common at this dive site and sightings of large turtles are also frequent.

Getting to Dumaguete

Negros Island and Dumaguete can be reached via arrivals into Cebu International airport and transferring, or Dumaguete airport (via internal flight from Manila).

Singapore Airlines offer connections to Cebu via Singapore.
Malaysian Airlines offer 2 connections per week to Cebu from Kuala Lumpur.
Qatar Airways offer flights to Cebu via Doha.

Alternatively, fly into Manila on Malaysian Airlines or KLM's daily schedule to Manila, and we can organise one of the frequent internal flights from Manila to Cebu.

If you reach Cebu after about 14.00 hrs, an overnight is usually required as it is not possible to transfer out of daylight hours.

Arriving into Cebu:

You will either transfer overland to Santander and then take a small boat, or you will take a ferry from Cebu to Dumaguete via Tagbilaran (on Bohol island). Each transfer takes 3 to 4.5 hours and is arranged locally according to the best options that fit your international flights, local logistics and the tides.

Arriving into Dumaguete:

There are 2 internal flights daily to/from Dumaguete from Manila. Duration is about 1 hour and from there you are transferred overland for the 15km transfer to resort.

Pura Vida and Atmosphere Resorts are both about 30 minutes (15km) from Dumaguete airport and town.

Overnights in Cebu

These can be arranged as part of your package with transfers, typically at the Marco Polo hotel. Cebu is a bustling but laid back town with a busy sea port and makes for an interesting stop itself.

Marco Polo: A decent 3+* option, located just 25 minutes from the airport close to the business district with a restaurant and bar, and plenty of other local choices.

Those staying at Pura Vida Resort dive with Sea Explorers.

Those staying at Atmosphere Resort and Spa dive with Atmosphere Dive Resorts.

Sea Explorers Dive Centre

This well equipped PADI CDC centre offers excellent facilities for divers with ample storage and rinse areas, changing facilities and equipment rental. Sea Explorers organise a range of local trips and Nitrox is available. Four boats of varying sizes are used to cover everything from transfers to short journeys to local reefs and longer dive trips.

Dive Packs

We recommend that you book your dive packs with Regaldive prior to departure, in order to secure your diving or course and so that the dive centre is expecting you.

Includes: Air tanks and weights for boat and shore dives.

12 litre aluminium cylinders with INT fittings. Some 10 & 15 litre tanks may be available. Divers with DIN regulators should take their own adaptors.

Dive Courses

Please enquire - prices on request.

Extras in Resort

Apo Island Park Fees - per diver per day:

• Outside marine Sanctuary w/o camera: 300 Pesos
• Outside marine Sanctuary with camera: 350 Pesos
• Inside marine Sanctuary w/o camera: 400 Pesos
• Inside marine Sanctuary with camera: 450 Pesos

Dauin/Dumaguete Park Fees - per dive:

• Marine Park fees w/o camera: 150 Pesos
• Marine Park fees with camera: 200 Pesos
• Pier - per dive: 300 Pesos

Equipment Rental - Payable locally:

• Full equipment, excludes computer: €14/day
• Divers with DIN regulators should take their own adaptor
• Nitrox fills 32% and 36%: €3.50 per fill / €25 per 10 fills

You will be requested to fill out a dive medical questionnaire. If you have any pre-exisiting conditon that may affect your diving, please ensure you travel with a fit-to-dive certificate, valid within the last 12 months. Please note that not all localities will have access to a specilist diving medic close by for you to be assessed before diving.

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Atmosphere Dive Resorts

This superb PADI dive centre, situated on the Dauin coast, offers a great house reef, as well as access to many local and more distant sites by boat. This includes the renowned sites of Apo Island and a great Mandarin dive site just off the front of the resort, to see these colourful creatures pop out at dusk.

Longer day trips to Sijiquor Island, Balicasag, Sumilon Island and Liloan Point may be arramged locally for a supplement.

The dive base offers extensive teaching, kit and photography facilities in a very well thought out design. A range of dive courses are available with a choice of digital camera and video rental.

Nitrox is available on site and all their boats have ladders to exit the water.

Dive Packs 

Dive Courses 

Extras in Resort

Equipment rental per day in Pesos (Php):

• Full kit: 850 Php
• BCD: 250 Php
• Regulator: 250 Php
• Wet suit: Php 250
• Mask & Snorkel: 250 Php
• Fins: 175 Php
• Compass: 250 Php
• Dive computer: 700 Php
• Dive computer (per week): 3,500 Php
• Nitrox: 250 Php per fill / Unlimited fills per day (min. 3 days) Php 750
• DIN & International valves available

Special Trips:

• Apo Island: 700 - 1,000 Php (dependant on board basis at hotel)
• Siquijor: 1,200 - 1,500 Php (dependant on board basis at hotel)

Apo Island Park Fees - per diver per day:

• Outside marine Sanctuary w/o camera: Included in Atmopshere's pre-booked dive packs
• Outside marine Sanctuary with camera: Included in Atmopshere's pre-booked dive packs
• Inside marine Sanctuary w/o camera: Included in Atmopshere's pre-booked dive packs
• Inside marine Sanctuary with camera: Included in Atmopshere's pre-booked dive packs

Dauin/Dumaguete Park Fees - per dive:

• Marine Park fees w/o camera: Included in Atmopshere's pre-booked dive packs
• Marine Park fees with camera: Included in Atmopshere's pre-booked dive packs
• Pier - per dive: Included in Atmopshere's pre-booked dive packs

Payment on site: Php, USD & Euros, Mastercard & Visa, American Express (5% surcharge)

The closest hyperbaric chamber is in Cebu or Manila. There are 2 private hospitals in Dumaguete, 30 minutes drive away.

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The Philippines is an island nation located in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. The Philippine archipelago comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean. These islands are home to spectacular scenery, pristine beaches, incredible sights and lively cities. Dramatic drop offs, wrecks, caves and a richly varied marine life also guarantee fabulous diving. Combined with the renowned Philippine hospitality and warmth, an unforgettable dive holiday awaits.

You will find a true blend of cultures; the people are generally of Malay descent, but Philippine history has introduced Chinese, Spanish and American elements as well. The Philippines is a predominantly Christian country where eight out of ten Filipinos are practising Catholics. Filipino hospitality is legendary and the Philippines is the fiesta nation of Asia. Fiestas celebrate harvests, births and victories, as well as religious events. The Filipinos like to party and celebrations are found in every ethnic group and may be large regional events or small local happenings.

Resorts have been hand picked, not only for their comfort and surrounding scenery but most importantly, for their proximity to incredible dives sites. Whilst out of the water guests can relax on some of the best beaches in the world, enjoy the local markets, festivals and sights or even spend a night in the exciting and bustling Manila or more laid back Cebu.

As the Philippines is a strong Catholic nation, festive holidays such as Easter are very busy. Either book well in advance, or avoid the main religious holiday periods where possible.

Climate

The climate of The Philippines can broadly be described as hot and tropical. Most people visit The Philippines during the dry season. However, many regular visitors attest that the best time to visit is during the wet season and that the proliferation and variety of marine life is best June, July and August.

Dry season: December to May

Wet season: June to November

During the dry season, easterly winds prevail and air temperature is in high 20's to mid 30ºC. February to May are generally the hottest. Wet season winds are from the west, with air temperature in mid to high 20s. You can often strike lucky and have weeks of brilliant blue skies and unlimited sunshine. On the other hand, the rains, when they come, are impressive and prolonged. There are few rivers, so run off and its effect on water visibility is not generally a problem.

The Philippines is a large country and has many climatic variations from east to west and south to north.

Best underwater visibility: April to July

Water temperature average: 24 - 30ºC

Time

8 hours ahead of GMT.

Language

Filipino is Officially the national language of The Philippines. This language is based on Tagalog which is the most widely used of the 70 plus dialects used within the country. English is also prevalent throughout the country, especially in tourist destinations. English is also widely used as the medium for education, communication and business. Eight major dialects spoken by majority of the Filipinos: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense.

Currency

The unit of currency is the Philippine Peso (PHP). 1 Peso = 100 Centavos.

The US dollar is the most widely recognised foreign currency. Euros & GBP are also readily exchanged.

$1 USD - 42 Pesos
€1 Euro - 55 Pesos
£1 GBP - 65 Pesos
As of March 2012

The majority of larger towns have ATMs, however, facilities for money withdrawal or changing are far less widespread away from the main centres of population. There are bank machines at the airport. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted in most towns, but you may be required to pay an extra 3 - 5% surcharge for their use. Outside of the main towns, not all places accept credit cards. Please refer to your individual destination notes for each resort, but as a guideline, please see below:

• Malapascua, Ocean Vida and Hippocampus: Credit cards cannot be accepted, please ensure you carry sufficient cash. USD and GBP are accepted and Ocean Vida has a licensed exchange.
• Dumaguete: Banks and ATMs are available in Dumaguete town. Pura Vida and Atmopshere accept credit cards.
• Palawan, Dimakya Island Club Paradise: Accepts credit cards
• SY Philippine Siren: GBP, Euro & USD Currency. Credit card payment only possible when docking at the following ports: Cebu, Philippines. 3% charge applies.

Tipping

Tipping is expected for many services. The standard is 10% of the total bill or optional where there is a 10% service charge.

Flight Information

Regaldive can offer their packages to the Philippines on Malaysian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways or KLM.

London - Manila: Daily departures with Malaysian via Kuala Lumpur. KLM good for regional UK departures, via Amsterdam.

London - Cebu: Singapore Airlines daily flight via Singapore. Malaysian Airlines 2x week via Kuala Lumpur, Qatar Airways via Doha

Internal flights:

Manila - Cebu: Multiple daily flights
Manila - Busuanga: 2 flights daily
Manila - Dumaguete: 2 flights daily

Baggage on internal flights:

The below only applies only to extra flights within the Philippines built into your itinerary, not if it is part of your international ticket.

Baggage allowance: Checked bag - 20kg / Hand baggage - 5 to 7kg

Nb: Internal flight to/from Busuanga (Palawan). This is a shorter air strip and the airline may not permit any extra weight.

Payment for extra kilos on check-in (guideline):

Cebu Pacific: Php 150 per kilo
Philippine Airlines: Php 169 per kilo

Transfers

Whichever island you are staying on, you are met at the airport/ferry port and transferred to your resort. Whether by flight, jeepney or banca boat, there are fantastic sights to enjoy on your journey there and back. Although some transfer can take up to a whole day, most clients pass feedback that this was a very interesting part of their overall trip.

The below information is to give you a general idea of transfer times between regions; actual transfer times may differ slightly according to individual arrangements and ferry timetables, tides etc.:

Cebu - Dumaguete: 3 to 4 hours by vehicle, ferry and hotel shuttle
Cebu - Bohol / Panglao / Cabilao: 3 to 4 hours by vehicle, ferry, vehicle
Cebu - Malapascua: 3 to 4 hours by vehicle and outrigger

Dumaguete - Bohol / Panglao / Cabilao: 3 hours by hotel shuttle, ferry and vehicle or 3 to 4 hours by Outrigger conditions permitting
Dumaguete - Malapascua: 6 to 7 hours by vehicle, ferry, vehicle and outrigger

Panglao - Cabilao: 1+ hour vehicle and boat
Panglao - Malapascua: 6+ hours by vehicle, ferry, vehicle and outrigger

Cabilao - Malapascua: 6+ hours by vehicle, ferry, vehicle and outrigger

Manila - Cebu: 1 hour by internal flight
Manila - Dimakya or Coron, Palawan: 3-4 hours by internal flight, vehicle and boat
Manila - Puerta Galera: 3 hours by vehicle and boat
Manila - Caticlan or Kalibo: 3 hours by internal flight, vehicle and/or boat

Passports

Please always check your own entry requirements regardless of your nationality. Your passport should always have at least 6 months validity on date of return from travel. Always check for last minute changes in entry requirements and other nationalities should check with their consular office.

Visas

British nationals have a tourist visa issued on arrival, valid for 20 nights. If you wish to travel for longer than this in the Philippines, you will need to apply for your visa before travel. Other nationalities should check with their own consulate.

Vaccinations

Vaccination requirements are subject to change and should be confirmed before departure. For the most up to date advice please consult your travel clinic or GP. Further information regarding vaccinations for travel to this country can be found at www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk and from your local healthcare provider. We recommend protection, as a minimum, against typhoid, tetanus, hepatitis A and polio.

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