VISAYA MAGIC – COMBO DAUIN AND MOALBOAL

by Per Lagerberg

Exciting diving in the Philippines

Join us on a visit to two destinations in the city centre Filippi Erna, Visayas. Here you will find exciting diving in the Philippines and we will look at Dauin on the island of Negros and Moalboal which is located on the island of Cebu. The central parts of the Philippines offer fantastic opportunities with so-called Island hopping, but of course there are more places where you can find exciting diving in the Philippines.

Dauin / Dumaguete

Atmosphere Tripst

Great, I'll be let in by the guard at the entrance and get out of the car. After a long 45-minute drive from Dumaguete airport, it's nice to stretch your legs. The feeling when I step out every time here is "Wow!" – what an atmosphere!! A quiet secluded paradise with large beautiful areas, almost like walking through a golf course. But here there is also lush greenery, flowers that smell, birds that chirp and even if it is not dead quiet, a calmness that is difficult to describe quickly sets in, it has to be experienced.

Atmosphere Tripst is located in southern Dauin and lives up to its name. For those looking for high class and relaxation, this is the place to be. Or for those who want to end your trip with something very special. High class in everything, close to perfection and with peace and class. The staff is fantastic, sitting and chatting with them is always fun and they always smile at me. After just a few minutes, they know where I live, what my name is and where I come from. I will feel comfortable here. After a few days of great diving, fantastic food, good accommodation and a spa facility that beats most I have experienced, I already know that I will feel like a better and healthier person.

Morning coffee and breakfast with a sea view. A nice murmur from the kitchen, happy people laughing and the scents of the sea, freshly cut grass, freshly brewed coffee, toast wash over me and make me forget about everyday life with a sometimes hectic life and all the "musts".

Vibrant tropical beach with palm trees and a catamaran sailing in clear blue waters for scuba travel adventures.

Vibrant tropical beach with palm trees and clear ocean waters for scuba diving adventures.

Vibrant mandarin fish with striking blue, orange, and yellow coloration in a coral reef.

Colorful reef squid showcasing vibrant underwater marine life for scuba diving adventures.

Colorful tropical Tripst with lush gardens, swimming pool, and ocean view for scuba diving vacations.

About the diving

The diving is incredibly good. Different types of environments, best known for its incredible so-called muck diving, i.e. lying and looking for small funny animals on what at first glance feels like deserted seabeds interspersed with whale sharks, turtles, reefs full of fish, pygmy seahorses on the house reef and corals and between dives small talk with the guides who are incredibly talented and knowledgeable about the marine life. After diving and lunch, I feel only happiness. A little camera care in the generously sized and well thought out camera room and then it's time for lunch.

I spend the afternoon by the pool (one of several), resting and relaxing and reading a book. The staff naturally come and ask if I want something to drink and look after me and make me feel like a VIP guest. After an hour, the skin shines with beads of sweat and it's time to cool off in the inviting infinity pool. Slip into the water and the relaxation is total. It's like a soft blanket wraps around me and again and I'm hanging on the edge looking out over the sea where a few fishing boats are passing and slowly simmering by, again I'm washed over with just happiness. It really is paradise here.

The food is fabulous, it is "fine dining" that applies here. Atmosphere is no ordinary dive Tripst. It is more luxury and relaxation where you are also offered the opportunity to dive. I want to go here again and again and again…. I feel good here!

A bit in contrast to luxury and style but with great charm and clearly more focused on diving and socializing, I sit and drink morning coffee at Sierra Tripst and Critter Republic, Dauin's best breakfast by the way. The view of the sea is incomparable and harmony is a good description before the morning rush starts, more guests arrive for breakfast and the staff begin to toil and the clink of diving tanks is heard, nitrox is analyzed and the classic whine of taps being vented fills the morning.

Here there is the possibility to live in slightly different price scales and standards, but overall it is very relaxing here as well. The apartments at Sierra Tripst are spacious and although they are simply furnished, it gives the feeling of vacation and relaxation. The standard rooms are significantly simpler but fulfill their purpose, to sleep and store me and my things, then there are a few options in between. I'm here to dive!, my wallet tells me simpler is smarter but my heart and dreams tell me luxury. However, the great luxury is to be here and experience the wonderful atmosphere and the best of all exciting diving in the Philippines, which can be found right here in Dauin and Critter republic has really good guides and a nice house reef.

There is more noise, more activity, not the same seclusion as at Atmosphere but something is happening all the time and the diving is the primary thing. The heart of the Tripst, apart from the big pool, is the diving center and there are laughing happy people here all the time. Several groups, several dive targets every day and full speed, three-four dives / day and then get some food and drink between dives, joke with the staff and try to catch up on some rest and relaxation.

Diving day

The guides here are also good, some are better than others at finding certain things and others are better at other things. No matter who I dive with, there is always something fun to watch. 60 minutes underwater goes by fast, the guides are not allowed to dive anymore because they dive so much and almost every day. I stay a few more minutes because I don't want to leave the calm below the surface. Because I love diving, I love being here. Octopuses, shrimps, crabs, turtles, frogfish, rays, barracudas, shoals of snappers, lots of fish and beautiful corals interspersed with sandy bottoms and very strange animals. Almost every day I see something I haven't seen before so every day is an experience here.

Dinner

In the evening I sit at the bar enjoying local cold beer, the sound of people from different parts of the world talking to each other. There are no boundaries, everyone is here to relax and enjoy life. We laugh together and toast, here are all friends. Time passes, more guests arrive, the tables begin to be occupied by hungry guests after a day full of activity. The sound of crackling sizzling food sometimes interrupts when food comes from the kitchen. Someone orders a bottle of wine and I hear the sound of a wine cork popping. The smell of food washes over me and I realize I'm hungry. Browsing through the menu and everything looks good. Lucky I'm here for a few days so I can try several dishes.

After a few hours at full speed around the bar and restaurant, calm returns and most people go to sleep. Time to recharge for a new day full of diving. Some of us go up to the Deco bar up by the main road to continue the evening a little longer. There are a few options nearby that also offer food and drink. For those of you staying at one of the Tripsts in central Dauin, there is the opportunity to try a little more just a few minutes' walk away.

Sea Dreams Tripst

The first feeling when I come here is that it is a bit lonely, but when I go down from the main road I see white fresh buildings with a high finish and I almost get the feeling of being in Spain. Here you have capacity for many guests, but it is easy to disappear and find peace and quiet. Open spaces together with spaces for relaxation, large airy and very fresh and bright rooms with high ceilings, air conditioning and TV etc.

There are several different types of rooms here and the largest can be described as entering an old colonial giant study with a bed in it, the bathroom is bigger than many hotel rooms I have seen in the world and the feeling that I am in a ballroom is present.
When it's time for lunch, I take the steps towards their airy, lovely dining room where the smell of freshly cooked curry spreads and I feel total relaxation. The food is very good and the diving center here maybe the best in all of Dauin.

Experienced staff

Instructors and diving guides work here who are very experienced and who have chosen to work in the same place for a long time, so it is clear that they enjoy themselves. Very knowledgeable and provide great service and their new photo academy will be what will make Sea Dreams the number one dive center in Dauin. The standard is high, the service is good and it is really peaceful and relaxing here. The nicely placed pools make me really feel like I'm on vacation here. Dinner today consists of fish with rice and it is well seasoned and tasty. A glass of wine with the meal and then we finish the day with a couple of beers down at the beach bar where we talk about the day's experiences while I hear the waves lapping against the beach and in the distance the sky is lit up by lightning above a distant island. Life is good!!!

Moalboal

A short ferry ride from Negros is the island of Cebu and one of the most famous diving destinations that offer more exciting diving in the Philippines is Moalboal. What used to be a small fishing village has today developed into a real paradise for divers.

Kasai Village

After a couple of hours' drive from Cebu's new international airport, we arrive in Moalboal. What used to be a sleepy little fishing village with a couple of diving centers is today a completely different place. However, there is peace and quiet to be found here as well and Kasai Village is definitely one of these places. Good accommodation with a good standard and a bit off from other places. When I come here, I'm happy. Here are large open spaces, the sound of water from the pool, the murmur of divers at the diving center and waves from the sea.

After a hearty breakfast and charged batteries in unusually good beds, it's time to dive. That's why you go to Moalboal even though there are some activities on land too. Here you have plenty of space at the diving center. The feeling of being able to spread out and swing both arms and legs and diving gear around and still not be in the way is really wonderful. The soft surfaces on the floor are wonderful, no sand in the wetsuit, no stones to step on. They have really thought about it here. The dive center also offers advanced rebreather diving so I understand that space is needed. Nevertheless, it is very unique to experience the enormous surface to be able to change on. There is also space here for camera care.

Diving Moalboal

The diving here is extremely good and very varied. The dive boats take you along the coast to different places, different types of diving with everything possible to see. From simple house reef diving, to walls at Pescador Island, deep sea night dives, cave diving and trips to Oslob to watch whale sharks. In addition, an incomparable shoal of sardines that have stayed here for several years and sometimes different types of shark that pass by. In addition to all this, also lots of small and different marine life. With the help of experienced guides and their experienced eyes, you really get to experience diving here.

After today's diving with a lovely lunch, it's time to chill a bit at "The Rock bar" A lovely place with a view of the pier and the sea, the sun sets in the west over the island of Negros and an almost magically beautiful light appears. The sea is almost clear and in the distance I see a pod of dolphins swimming in the strait between the islands. Everyone in the bar is laughing and happy, the beer is cold and good. A good day simply at a very organized dive center. Time for dinner and then some rest before the next day begins.
Love the seclusion here but I don't think you should stay here too long, it can get a little too empty even if everything is there. Food, diving, pool, sea, lovely staff and a really lovely and relaxing place to experience.

The morning coffee is strong and good, the sound of the waves reaches me up to the restaurant where I look longingly and dreamily out over the strait with Pescador Island in the middle. Someone on the staff politely asks me if I want more coffee and if I'm going diving today. Of course there will be diving, that's why you go to Moalboal.
Here there is diving directly at the beach and, of course, trips out by boat. Lots of different strange fish, ghost pipe fish, frogfish, scorpion fish, rays and a spawn of fish filling up the beautiful reef. Out in the blue I see barracudas, turtles, eagle rays, tuna and a couple of reef sharks.

There is life here, it could be even more, but it is still fun to see the diversity and, for the fishermen, also a rich life of different invertebrates.
Lunch at the Tripst's restaurant, view of the sea and I gather my thoughts after the morning's dive. Food is always good after diving and with this view it stimulates even more. Laughing staff ask if the dive was good and if I'm going to dive again later or if I want beer with my meal. I would have liked to have a beer now but I have to dive again so a cold mango shake will have to do.
Wonderfully sweet and fresh and the feeling of how life fills me. Imagine if fruit was always this tasty because mangoes in the Philippines beat anything I've experienced.

The afternoon offers diving action. A huge shoal of sardines obscuring the light from the surface. The voice is gigantic and the play of light is absolutely fantastic when they swim completely in sync with each other. When one fish turns, the rest turn too - magic!. 20 minutes later I'm still engrossed in the spectacle and I've forgotten the time. There is nothing else when you get an almost religious experience during a dive. This is how all diving should be but it's time to go up, time is up for the dive and unfortunately I have to leave this experience for this time. The shoal has stayed here for several years along the coast so it is not unusual to see them. Everyone should experience this. It is really exciting diving in the Philippines and the surprises are many.

After a few days of diving, hanging out by the pool, pleasant evenings with a view of the strait and beautiful sunsets, small talk with staff, lovely laughing and happy people, the sea that smells and inspires peace and harmony, it is time to move on.

Moalboal summary

Moalboal has a bit of everything, whether you like big or small. Reef or muck diving, caves with technical diving, rebreather, night diving or just relaxing. Here it is in a nice mix that everyone can enjoy. Divers or non-divers, experienced or beginners. Anything can appear here, even the world's largest fish, the whale shark, is sometimes seen here. On land, there are lots of small restaurants inside the village. Maybe one day you will take a trip with canyoning, an experience for those who like action and adventure. The advantage of Moalboal is that you can get here easily from the Cebu airport. Only a couple of hours by car and you are there. Because it doesn't matter what time you land, it's always possible to get here.
If you want to start with something simple with exciting diving in the Philippines without domestic flights, boats and long transports, Moalboal is absolutely ideal.

For those of you who want to travel and experience more than one place during your trip to the Philippines, Dauin and Moalboal are a wonderful combination. With completely different types of diving and it is relatively easy to get between these places. It applies to all places in the Philippines once you know how it works. But book your trip with Scuba Travel to make it run smoothly. There are several traps and if you don't know how it works, it can get very confusing. It is really exciting diving in the Philippines and especially in the central Visayas where the islands of Negros and Cebu are located.

Really good combo

It is car and ferry that apply and it is of course coordinated through the diving center's services. Half a day can be expected to take between the different places. If you're staying 10-12 days or more, it's a nice combination and easy to arrange. If your holiday is for fewer days, it will perhaps feel difficult to move. Visayas regardless is a great region with friendly helpful people, good and varied diving and easy to move between different places. Development here is fast, so take the opportunity to go before mass tourism has hit these wonderful places here in the Philippines.

Photo: Per Lagerberg

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