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Dive Review of Liquid in
Philippines/Negros, Dumaguete, Dauin

Liquid, Sep, 2011,

by Greg Liebman, IL, US ( 1 report). Report 6261.

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 3 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments [None]Liquid is a brand-new dive operation built from scratch by owners Tim and Zoe Latimer, who previously managed dive operations at Exotic Resort on Malapascua, Philippines, and Dive Little Corn on Little Corn Island, Nicaragua. The resort currently consists of 8 ensuite cabanas, all with a sea-view, clustered near the beach and next to the pool. Each cabana has a geothermal heated shower, a nice deck, excellent ceiling fan and very comfortable platform bed. There is a main lodge, set above the dive shop and classrooms, that has beautiful views of the sea and mountains, a nice little bar, abundant electrical outlets, DVD/TV/Lending Library and a comfy lay-about lounge area to socialize. WiFi is pretty fast and free, and prices for the cabanas and meals are very reasonable. Breakfast is a small menu of either eggs, homemade muesli or fruit with excellent home made bread. And REAL coffee--all you want! The lunch and dinner menus vary from day to day, with the menu posted on chalkboards the day before. Dinner is a fixed menu,with a single seating, with guests dining together and requested to make reservations each morning. Outstanding food!
The Diving-- I'm becoming a reluctant convert to muck diving, and Dauin/Dumaguete is definitely a place to indulge that growing interest. Whether shore diving, or making a short trip by boat, the macro is exceptionally good. Ornate and robust ghost pipefish abound--some sites you will discover 5 or more in one location! Frogfish on nearly every dive, sea snakes, nudis of every imagineable description, and the highlight-- flamboyant cuttlefish! Though I didn't see any, seahorses, blue-ring octopus, and many other muck diving delights were seen by others while I was visiting. There are several excellent sites up and down a short section encompassing most of the dive operators in Dauin, and several have established mini-marine preserves where fishing is prohibited.
When you're ready for some color and fish, Apo Island and Siquijor are day-trips, and are run regularly from Liquid. Apo lived up to it's reputation for healthy, vibrant coral, and the walls at Siquijor are reminiscent of the walls at Bunaken. (though the fish are less abundant)A tasty picnic lunch is provided for either of those two or three tank trips.Dive guides are local, and as such are masters at finding what you want to see. Dive groups are kept small, and great care is taken to put divers of comparable abilities with one another to improve the dive experience. Experienced divers are given more latitude to dive their own profile within limits, once they've demonstrated their abilities. The dive boat, Sea Dancer, is a typical Philippine bangka with open-top head, GPS,O2 and radio on board, and entry is giant stride. Very accomodating and experienced boat crew that seem to really enjoy interacting with the divers and do everything they can to make the dive more enjoyable. Night dives are available on request, as is most anything else you might like to do. Tim and Zoe are encouraging above-water guests to explore the nearby mountains and parks, and will work hard to put together day or overnight trips to anywhere on the island you might be interested in visiting. Everything at Liquid is new, and reflects their commitment to building a first-rate operation. From rinse tank construction to the hot water rinse-showers, you can tell that both Tim and Zoe are instructors commited to the dive experience. Instruction from open-water though Divemaster programs and the IDC is conducted on-site by Tim, who is a Master Instructor.
Getting to Liquid is relatively easy. However you get to Manila, there are daily flights to Dumaguete at very reasonable prices with both Cebu Pacific and Philippine Air, and Liquid will meet you at the airport for the short drive to the resort. For the budget-conscious, there are also ferries available from multiple islands and Manila. Prices are very inexpensive, and it is clear that Liquid is focused on providing a comfortable but affordable diving experience.
Websites Liquid   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Bonaire, Saba, Cariacou, Grenada, Costa Rica, Bequia, Nicaragua, Red Sea, Bunaken, Lembeh, Malapascua, Providencia, San Andres
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy, dry Seas calm, choppy, surge, currents, no currents
Water Temp 27-30°C / 81-86°F Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 30-80 Ft/ 9-24 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 > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments [None]The boat had a small rinse tank on board for every dive, and the crew indicated that a more substantial tank would be provided if needed.
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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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