Can anyone tell us where the best scuba diving is in the Philippines? Any suggestions on hotel, dive shop, & hotel? We will be departing from Tokyo. Thanks.

The Philippines is a huge area of islands, and I am not sure who would determine what is the “best” diving there. You also don’t give a price range for hotels. I can suggest the island of Palawan, and in particular the El Nido resort, which has two hotels, see http://www.elnidoresorts.com/. It's very beautiful, and I found the diving to be quite good. I also have been to the Amanpulo many years ago now, and thought that the diving there was very good too. See Amanresorts.com The resorts are quite different in terms of luxury (and price), but both have a lot to offer.

Time of year also makes a huge difference for the Philippines. I would not dive there now, it's the rainy and typhoon season. Affects water clarity and more important currents, as well as beauty of the coral, as the colours are vastly different on a cloudy day. The winter months are good. See weatherbase.com.. For diving in the summer months, I would go to the east coast of Malaysia. Sipidan (which is probably the best diving in SE Asia and one of the top 10 in the world) would be a good choice in the summer too.

Would agree with Cicerone - avoid the rainy season. You will not see to much as vis is much reduced and the currents become unpredictable - for a regular diver this often means a good day out becomes a cancelled dive!

one of the best diving sites is tubbathaa reefs.

I have used this site over the years and found it helpful:

http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/philippines/phildive.html

Kcarey-how much diving do you want to do? If you are going there specifically for multi days of multi dives, there's a beautiful new liveaboard there that does itineraries in at least two different areas of the Phil. islands. I can't comment yet on how good the operation is, as I won't be on it until Nov. 2011, but the photos look great on their website. I think it's called the Sirene. If I find out it's not I will repost with the correct name.

If you are doing land based, several of my dive buddies really like Dumaguete.

susncrg, kcarey posted this question in 2008. It was brought to the top by a spammer who posted just before you did.

Thanks Kathie. Didn't look at the date.

There are a lot of scuba diving spots in the Philippines since they have rich coastal areas. There's a lot in El Nido, Palawan and in Boracay. You could also try Moalboal in Cebu. It's cheap there. Try searching for Bas Diot in Moalboal and see their price range if it fits your budget.

You can check out El Nido. It's a great place for scuba diving. There are a lot of cheap accommodations in the area in case you are in a tight budget. Also, look for great deals on the internet.