Savedra Dive Center, Cabana Beach Club Cebu
Savedra Dive Center, located in Moalboal on Cebu (Philippines) is a very accommodating dive service provider. Our trip was back in the middle of December 2010. There were 6 of us (3 couples). The diving was as good as we had hoped for. Through Savedra, we arranged to stay at the Cabana Beach Club Resort which is located just down and across the "street" from the shop. Each couple had our own private cabana with all the amenities (bed, shower, wifi, small refrigerator, tv, and nice view). Alongside the rooms was their restaurant (Italian style food). We ate almost every meal there because it was very good, and convenient. The prices were reasonable too.
Diving at Savedra's house reef was a very nice shallow water entry, which you could then venture out to the wall. We did one night dive there too. Being so close to our accommodations was very convenient. One morning while eating breakfast, my friends saw a thresher shark jump out of the water, at the house reef. Pescador Island was a short boat trip away from the house reef, and we enjoyed several dives there, each with a chance to see a thresher shark feeding on the enormous sardine school that was there. We also saw tuna, large jacks, frogfish and all the typical tropical reef fish like soldier fish, lion fish & lots of different colored anthias (just to name a few). We also heard of reports of whale sharks in the area, but not at all like the large numbers recently seen with the shrimp fishermen in the Oslob area.
The dive staff were responsive to our requests, but never overbearing. We were free to dive at our pace, without somebody looking over our shoulder. Pescador Island in particular is an advanced dive. I think a newer diver could enjoy this sight, but I would definitely recommend a dive guide (1 to 1). Up the shoreline on the house reef, there was a sea fan that was home to a pygmy sea horse. They made that happen for the 6 of us, too.
All of our requests (diving, food & other interests) were all covered by the staff at Savedra. We also did a dive safari package through them. They actually take reservations for another company. We took the 4 day safari aboard a liveaboard, operated by Easy Diving. The boat took us to Bohol, Balicasag & Apo Islands. The boat had fairly limited accommodations (8 pax), limited food supply and our "room" was a hatch that we dropped down through onto our bed. We stored all of our non-diving gear on the bed. For younger people who don't care about amenities, it was adequate. The food situation had us Americans a little frustrated, but it was enough to sustain us. We also had some miscommunication/representation about the trip that we booked. We booked a safari that had us staying 2 nights on shore at 2 different resort locations. Once we were onboard & started talking about the trip with the crew, we were told that we were only getting 1 night ashore. Our money was paid and we were on our way. We decided to accept it, so as not to cast that negative vide for the rest of the trip. It worked out ok. But as always, double check your reservations and confirm what you are in fact paying for.
Having said all of that, the crew of the boat were all very nice and wonderful people to spend 4 days out to sea with. We saw a lot of turtles, barracudas, schooling jacks, large cavernous sponges, wall dives with all kinds of hard & soft corals. The one thing that stood out to me was the lack of sharks. We saw the one thresher shark at Pescador Island. Other than that, I think we saw only a couple small blacktip reef sharks, and maybe a small whitetip or 2.
Would I go back to Cebu? YES! Would I book another trip with Savedra? YES! Would I do another liveaboard safari trip with Easy Diving? YES! I would just have a more open mind, and get all of the itinerary confirmed before spending the money. This area is definitely for a more adventurous type of traveller. Roads in and out are not all paved. And a taxi ride might be a motorcycle with a 3 seater cab. Airline prices are ok, but the extra baggage fees get you everytime. Pack accordingly, and always pack your essentials in your carry-on.
