Saturday, August 27, 2011

PHILIPPINES

(does not include Manila)

General – optimal dry season is November to June; typhoon season is July to October.

ALBAY
Dives
Donsol – near Legaspi City; world’s whale shark capital.



BOHOL
Sights & Sites
Chocolate Hills.



DIMAKAYA ISLAND – famous for dugong-viewing.



LUZON
Anilao
Dives
Beatrice – off Anilao; current-swept ridge.
Nudibranch Wall – off Anilao.
Secret Bay – off Anilao.
Sights & Sites
Sabang Harbor – off Anilao; 2 wrecks, reefs, seagrass beds.

Donsol
Diving
Manta Rays – mantatrust.org; among world’s premier manta-viewing locations.

Echo Valley
Sights & Sites
Sagada – “burial cave” and “hanging coffins.”



MALAPASCUA ISLAND – famous for thresher shark viewing in morning (approach cleaning stations).



MINDORO
Dives
Apo Reef – “model marine sanctuary to world.”

Angeles City
Bale Dutung – Paul Street (corner Francis Street, Villa Gloria Subdivision, Pampanga); 011-63-45-888-5163; claudetaya.net; accomplished chef that will prepare meal for 10 or more by appointment only.

Sabang
Sights & Sites
Sabang Beach.



NEGROS ISLAND
Boracay Island
Sights & Sites
Bat Caves – bats erupt.

Dauin
Dives
Apo Island – off Dauin.
Banca – off Dauin; old Philippines banca outrigger; seahorses and ghost pipefish.
Hotels
Atlantis Dumaguete – National Road (Lipayo); 011-63-35-425-2327; atlantishotel.com/dumaguete; has open-air bar & restaurant, as well as onsite spa.
Sights & Sites
Masaplod Sanctuary – off Dauin; dumagueteinfo.com/masaplod-marine-sanctuary.php; corals and turtles.



PALAWAN
Coron Island
Dives
Coron – WWII diving site; 18 Japanese vessels sunk here in September 1944.
Kogyo Maru – sunken, WWII 520' Japanese freighter.
Tangat – sunken, unidentified WWII freighter.
Sights & Sites
Barracuda Lake – crystal clear lake of both fresh and salt water with spectacular rock formations; gets hotter with depth; at 50', water is 95°.
Siete Pecados Marine Park – sloping reef and sandy bottom harboring all kinds reef life.
Subterranean River – world’s longest underground river.



SIARGAO – can take overnight ferry or fly (not reliable in terms of schedule); April to October is optimally season.
Hotels
Dedon Island Resort – Malinao (General Luna); 011-49-040-307-086-690 or 011-63-0917-701-7820; dedonisland.com; owned by soccer star turned furniture maven Bobby Dekeyser; 9 luxury villas on remote white-sand beached island, surrounded by small fishing villages and world-class surf breaks (“Cloud 9”); like impossibly chic catalog photo shoot; rattan chairs and swinging daybeds; open showers in bathroom center lined with beautiful local tiles and surrounded by white beach pebbles; doors and walls made from recycled wood turned into lattice; and local-wood headboards carved with coconut trees and birds; includes trampoline surrounded by installation-worthy lattice sculpture, outdoor cinema, and weathered-wood sea pavilion reached by leisurely swim.
Kalinaw Resort – General Luna; 011-63-921-320-0442; kalinawresort.com; comfortable but stylish villas with lagoon view; exquisite cuisine in beachfront restaurant; wireless throughout resort; run by 2 French guys who left Paris to live better life in tropics; both are designers and inspired by architecture, art & fashion, as well as skateboarding & street culture; Kalinaw means “peaceful” in local Visayan language.
Kawayan Resort – General Luna; 011-63-920-364-0663; kawayansiargaoresort.com; modern and native style cottages with terrace, high perched on wooden piles; discreet & intimate; surrounded by luxurious, peaceful tropical garden; open sky bathrooms with hot and cold rain showers under jungle sun or star-filled sky.



TUBBATAHA – World Heritage Site; 2 coral atolls; only open to divers from March to June; access only from live-aboard. Dives
Amos Rock – deep wall.
Lighthouse – south atoll; hard and soft corals wall.
Malayan Wreck.
Shark Airport/Bird Island.

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