After roaming around Dumaguete, my friends and I headed off to Apo Island. The day before, we went to DuCoMi, Dauin, and Sumilon Island to dive. I will blog about these dive sites in the coming days.
We booked our diving trip with Glenn Carballo, an amazing dive master who owns Dive Worx. His package included transpo from Dumaguete and back, motorized banca, air tanks, weight belts, and BCDs. We were happy costumers and at the end of our dive trip, Glenn became our friend. For current rates of dive packages, contact:
Dive Worx
Glenn Carballo
333 Real Street, Daro
Dumaguete City,
Oriental Negros
Philippines 6200
Phone: +63 35 422 6715
Mobile: +63 917 7003483
Skype: diveworx
MSN: g_carballo@hotmail.com
Email: diveworx@gmail.com
Getting There:
We drove to Zamboangita, a town about 45 minutes from Dumaguete. From there, we took a motorized boat to Apo Island.
You can also take a bus from Dumaguete that travels to Bayawan. Get off and enter Malatapay Market and walk towards the bay where you can rent bancas to Apo. Rent starts at Php1,500 - 2,500 (round trip) depends on the size of the banca. Trip from Zamboangita to Apo Island is about 30-45 minutes. It's a wet ride, so make sure you put your things in dry bags.
Upon arrival, go to the registration office, register, and pay sanctuary fees.
Apo Island Fees:
Php 100/adult
Php 10/children
Php 10 (Dauin residents)
Docking Fees:
Php 50 : Motorized Boat (Apo Residents)
Php 250: Other motorized boats
Php 500: Yacht
Php 300/person/dive : Apo Island Marine Sanctuary
Php 200/person/dive : Diving outside the sanctuary
Php 50/person : Snorkeling within the sanctuary
We dived at the Sanctuary and it was breathtaking! We saw so many wonderful things -- turtles, colorful hard and soft corals, clown fish, nudibranchs, and different kinds of fish.
I would certainly recommend Apo Island to every diver who has not been there yet.
This small eel was quite friendly.
We had three amazing dives. Every time I browse through all the underwater photos we took that day, it makes me want to dive again. It fascinates me everytime -- the beauty, the peacefulness, the grand work of the One who created it all.
We took lunch at one of the houses in the island. Glenn, our dive master, arranged lunch for us as part of the package. We were served fresh seafood and vegetable. It was one delicious lunch!
Right after lunch, we walked around the island to immerse ourselves a bit to the life of the locals before diving again. We went to the public school, talked to locals, and visited Ciano's Art Craft Shop.
What else to do in the island:
- Sunbathe
- Drift Dive and meet school of Jacks
- Visit the Clown Fish district
- Dive and take photos with turtles
- Chill out with friends
Things to remember:
- Put enough sunblock
- Do not touch anything underwater
- Do not wear gloves when diving (not allowed)
- Do not bring home stones or shells from the island
- Buy crafts from locals (if you want to buy anything at all)
- Let the locals guide you
Where to Stay in the island:The best time to go: It is okay to go all year round, but it's the summer months when most people go -- March, April, and May.
Apo Island Beach Resort
Phone: +63 35 2255490
Liberty's Lodge
Phone: +63 35 321 1036
Mobile: +63 920 238 5704
And this is me, just outside someone's home in the island,
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So nice :)i want to go diving too. maybe i will, and soon.
ReplyDeleteYou'd love it, I'm sure! : )
DeleteHi! Are you a certified diver? Do you think the php300/person/dive is also applicable to non-certified divers? Are the eqipment included already in the price? If you dont mind, can you tell the whole price that you paid for diving. Thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteHi! Yes, I'm a certified diver. The PHP300 fee is collected by the local government as diving fee in the marine sanctuary, it doesn't matter whether you are a certified diver or not. For fun diving sessions, please contact Dive Worx (provided in the article) for fees. This article was written in 2011, I'm sure fees have changed.
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