Dive Review of Crystal Blue Resort in
Philippines/Anilao

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Crystal Blue Resort: "Anilao is Big on the Small Stuff", Nov, 2016, by Eric Eckes, CA, US ( Contributor 18 reports with 11 Helpful votes). Report 9407.
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	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Anilao is famous for muck diving and when you go muck diving you expect to see weird stuff. We were not disappointed! We flew nonstop from LAX to Manila via Philippine Airlines. Upon arriving in Manila it was a three hour van ride south to the tip of Luzon Island and Anilao. Crystal Blue's staff was there to greet us upon arrival in Manila. The resort sits on a hill and there are a lot of steps. With that said, the resort is amazingly well laid out. The rooms are at the top of the resort affording views of the harbor. Walking down the stairs you pass by the office and come to an outdoor covered restaurant. Below that is the camera room and finally you have the dive shop. The dive boats are traditional Filipino banca boats which are very stable on the water. Crystal Blue generally limits divers to 4 per guide which was very much appreciated given we had all photographers in our group. The dive guides know the area well and showed us plenty of weird stuff. We saw four different Rhinopias, several Frogfish, Octopi (no blue-ring on our visit), and even the super weird Bobbitt Worm. The highlight was witnessing the hatching of a Cuttlefish. There was relatively little current on most dive sites making this a great locale for amateur through advanced divers. We were served three meals, buffet style, daily. Breakfast included eggs cooked to order and delicious fluffy pancakes. The food became a little repetitive after several days of diving. I was however, able to finagle ice cream for dinner desert each night. Our room was very basic, containing two queen beds and an ensuite bathroom. There was plenty of hot water. The dive operation really excels here. Once you unpack your gear you will not touch it again until you pack to leave. The staff was very attentive to our every need. Anilao, and Crystal Blue Resort, is a nice alternative to muck diving in Indonesia. It is reasonably priced and very easy to reach from the U.S. west coast. The guides are top notch and know where to find the critters.
Websites	Crystal Blue Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Malaysia, Philippines, Truk Lagoon, Palau, Yap, Mexico, Galapagos, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Red Sea, Cocos Island, Cuba, So Cal Local
Closest Airport	Manila	Getting There	LAX direct to Manila
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	81-84°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	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	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Crystal Blue Resort has a very nice camera room with roomy workstations. Power is 220 and accepts varying plug sizes. The resort has large dedicated camera rinse tanks and compressed air.

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Dive Review of Crystal Blue Resort in Philippines/Anilao

Crystal Blue Resort: "Anilao is Big on the Small Stuff", Nov, 2016,

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 Crystal Blue Resort in
Philippines/Anilao