Great diving in Puerto Galera

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Puerto Galera (or PG as it is known) is an amazing dive location, but also worth a visit for non divers. There are rows of dive lodges and shops along the beaches at Sabang and White Beach, some look a bit tired but they offer cheap accommodation and diving, and from reports they are quite comfortable. We stayed at Infinity, past White Beach but a great resort with a pool and a spa. The service was fantastic.

There are no taxis, you either get your accomodation to arrange transport in their van or Jeepnie, or you negotiate with one of the multitudes of trikes, small motorcycles (mostly 175cc) with covered sidecars attached. They are rough and ready, but they get you there and you often see a family of 5 getting around on one. Sometimes this is even with one of the kids sitting on the sidecar roof. Make sure you try out the Jeepnie buses also, an intrinsic part of the Philippines.

This was our first trip to the Philippines, and while we had expected to see the poverty in Manila, we hadn't realised how widespread it is across the country. PG has its own shanty town sections, some with million dollar coastal views. You can see why typhoons create such havoc here.

Scuba diving is what PG is all about, and it is fantastic. Most of the dive sites are close to Sabang, and I couldn't believe how good the coral and fish life was so close to such a populated shoreline. There are plenty of sites to visit, we saw some great sea life including turtles, sea snakes, and and a proliferation of clown fish. The coral was healthy, and in much better condition than we saw on the Great Barrier Reef earlier in the year. I dived with Marco Vincent. They were having a quiet week and I was the only diver on the three days I dived. It didn't matter, they took the boat out and we dived some great sites.

We tried a few different beach front places for dinner each night, and they were all great. Luca's for great Italian, and Tamarind in Sabang was fantastic.

We will definitely be back.

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Photos

White Beach
Some good dining here at night too

Nemo
There are plenty of clown fish

PG Bay
Port of the Galleons, a safe harbour since 1510

Turtle
This old bloke was scratching himself on the reef

Trike
They don't have taxis, but these get you home

Parasailing
We went parasailing, hired a jet ski, and also did a bit of kayaking

Sabang at night
Plenty of bars and places to eat. Also night dives just off shore