Dive Review of Anilao Photo Academy in
Philippines/Anilao

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Anilao Photo Academy: "A fantastic experience for underwater photographers", Oct, 2018, by Pec Indman, Cozumel, Mexico ( Contributor 13 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 10605 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I stayed at the Anilao Photo Academy for 9 days. I flew into manila in the evening and spent the night in Manila. The van from the Academy picked me up right on schedule, and we drove about 2 hours to get to Anilao. The Academy is a small place with accommodations for about 12 guests. This is a place designed for underwater photographers. Non-divers, even non photographers may be bored (or not) because photographers may spend a long time with one critter trying to get a good shot. All the guides are photographers, and will help you with finding critters and helping you choose the best angle to shoot. The guides are great critter finders. This is muck diving, so not really reefs there, mostly amazing tiny critters (shrimp, crabs, nudibranchs). They offer night dives, and I did my first blackwater dive. The accommodations are basic, nothing fancy, but everything you need including great desk space and lighting in the rooms, universal outlets (no electrical adaptors needed), air conditioning, and wonderfully soft towels. Rooms are cleaned daily. They also did a load of laundry for me. The food is plentiful and I enjoyed the meals. There is beer available for purchase, but this not a place where people get drunk and party. At night folks were either diving or reviewing photos. The staff, including the guys on the boat were friendly, and extremely helpful. There is no pier, so you walk into shallow water and go up a plank type ladder and along the side of the boat to your seat. There was always someone with an outstretched hand to help. This could be a problem if you have physical challenges. The boats did not have a rinse tank on the boat, but it didn't seem to be a problem. They took care of all the gear and helped me check my gear before each dive. There was water, hot ginger tea and snacks on the boat. Cups were labeled with our name so we weren't using plastic disposable bottles. Every diver had a place to keep their camera and gear, with compressed air and a universal power strip. They have lots of gear to borrow. I tried several macro wet lenses and borrowed some extra batteries. There is a small extra fee to have a private guide. I found it well worth it. I paid a little more and got 3 days of diving and evening lecture/discussion/photo review with one of the owners, Tim Ho. It took my understanding to a new level. The weather was mostly great. But a typhoon was coming in just before I was leaving, so we brought the boat back and dove on the house reef, which I loved. I think the only thing I would warn people about is that there were no restrictions where people smoked. I'm sure if it's a problem for you, accommodations would be made. The staff is very polite.
Websites	Anilao Photo Academy
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Philippines, Fiji, Roatan, Cozumel, Grand Cayman
Closest Airport	Manila	Getting There	Flight to Manila and then you arrange a van to bring you to the resort.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	81-°F / 27-°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	- Ft/ - M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	none
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Excellent- see comments above.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Anilao Photo Academy in Philippines/Anilao

Anilao Photo Academy: "A fantastic experience for underwater photographers", Oct, 2018,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Anilao Photo Academy in
Philippines/Anilao