Cebu and Bohol
I went to Cebu in October 2010 with a girlfriend for a week of diving. We stayed at Turtle Bay Dive Resort (located in Moalboal-- west side of Cebu). This was a great place to stay for diving, good food, fabulous dive guides, and posh amenities.
Getting to Cebu is also fairly easy. I flew from LAX to Manila and then hopped on a domestic flight to Cebu (Mactan Cebu Airport). From there it was a 2-hour drive t the resort. We had our driver stop at a grocery store along the way so we could pick up local fruits, snacks, water for the drive/trip.
The wall in the resort's "backyard" was plentiful in underwater life... gorgeous! We saw lobsters, crabs, pipe fish, LOTS of frogfish, nudis, seahorses, two octopus (one was quite large for the area), etc. And within a 20 minute boat ride were amazing dive sites. One of my favorite sites was Pescador Island which is known for the millions of sardines (silver sides) that reside there. Other fun spots were Copton Point (with an airplane wreck you could get into for a fun picture), Dolphine House (with it's black coral).
It seemed like every dive I was seeing something new. We did a muck night dive and I was so impressed! I saw the one thing I was hoping to see a Stargazer! What a trip to see this unique creature. The dive guides are helpful, not pushy and allowed us to stay down longer than usual once they realized we were competent divers. :) Our gear was carried for us to/from the boat and they were always game to go out for afternoon and evening dives. You tell them what you want to see and they'll find it for you!! I was in frog fish heaven!
Topside fun: Kawasan Falls!! Three level of waterfalls and pools with bars and small eateries around. You have to walk trough the forest and small villages to get there. Very surreal experience... especially when you see a family skinning a goat in their yard. Love international travel!
Good for couples, people who **love** macro, and those who want variety in the underwater life. I recommend bringing a fish/creature guide with you as you'll see SO many things on each dive it's easier to start tagging them as you finish your days.
Things to bring: Fish ID book if you're interested in that stuff, macro lens, sunscreen!
