Dive Review of Seaquest Dive Center/Visayas Dive Safari in
Philippines/Visayas

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Seaquest Dive Center/Visayas Dive Safari, Apr, 2007, by Gayle & Bob Bringas, OR, USA ( Contributor 13 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 3414.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This is a 5-day, 4-night dive safari from Moalboal, Cebu, to Panglao Island, Bohol. There are 13 dives from a large bangka. No Nitrox, tanks are filled from a compressor on the bangka. It's not the most comfortable mode of transportation. You either stand up or sit on the deck. The tanks are laid on their side on the bow (no tank racks) so you have to step over them (if you're tall) or step on them (if you're short) to get from one side of the boat to the other. The "comfort room" is a roofless enclosure on the stern that sits out over the water. Embarking/disembarking was via a plank angled from the beach to the bow, if the bangka was able to get close to shore. If it had to anchor out (as at Siquijor Island), divers/gear were ferried in small skiffs and then you had to pull yourself up onto the bow. Dive entry was a side-roll off the bow. To exit, you hand up your fins and climb up the dive ladder with your gear. We saw dolphins on every crossing, but not on any of the dives. It was five-and-a-half hours in calm seas from Moalboal to the first stop, Apo Island. We stayed at Apo Resort for two nights. You take only a pack with needed items to the resorts, and leave the majority of your luggage on board the bangka. At Apo Resort, we had a stunnig view of the beach and cove from our room. There is no running water on the island. Fresh water is brought in from Negros Island in five-gallon plastic cans. The generator only runs from 6 PM to midnight. You'd think that the rooms would have been designed with these two facts in mind, but no! We used our dive lights in the bathroom, as it had no other form of illumination if the generator was not running. Space in the shower area was taken up with the barrel of fresh water used for rinsing off. Part of the doorway to the bathroom was blocked by the barrel of seawater used to flush the toilet. The barrel of fresh water was not replenished during our two-night stay---conserve. The granite tile floors are extremely slippery when wet. Meals were served family-style for the safari group and the dive guide. Meals were well-prepared and plentiful, mostly Asian/Filipino cuisine. Apo Island is a marine reserve. Santuary fee is not included in the cost of the trip. No dive gloves allowed. This was some of the best diving on the trip. Slight current, 50-60 foot visibility, water temperatures 82-84 degrees. Lots of big schools of big fish (surgean fish, banner fish, etc.) A turtle or two on every dive, ribbon eels. The only dive with strong current was at Coconut. One-and-a-half hours in calm seas from Apo Island to Siquijor Island (also a marine reserve and sanctuary fee is not included in the dive package.) We spent two nights at the Coco Grove Resort. It's a beautiful resort spead over a large area. Two swimming pools. Grounds are lush, tropical vegetation, well-maintained. The cottages are set back from the beach, so you have garden views, not ocean views. Has electricity and hot/cold running water. All meals were served family-style for the safari group. Food was predominantly Asian/Filipino dishes. Meals were well-prepared and plentiful. Only three dives around Siquijor, as we made dives around Apo on the day we left for Siquijor Island and made a dive at Balicasag Island when we left Siquijor Island en route to Panglao Island. Visibility was 50 feet, slight current, water temperature was 81 to 83 degrees. We saw blue ribbon eel, snake eel, banded pipefish, ornate ghost pipefish, porcelain crabs, plus all the "usual stuff."
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	North Sulawesi, Raja Ampat, Bali, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Red Sea, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Palau, Truk, Tahiti, Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	0-0°F / -18--18°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	50-60 Ft/ 15-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	All guided dives
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Seaquest Dive Center/Visayas Dive Safari in Philippines/Visayas

Seaquest Dive Center/Visayas Dive Safari, Apr, 2007,

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 Seaquest Dive Center/Visayas Dive Safari in
Philippines/Visayas