Anilao or Bohal, best resort???

Trying to decide between Anilao or Bohal. Love muck but would like to do a little reef diving. Just got back from Lembeh so looking for somewhere different. We like smaller, boutique type resorts, with a house reef, and cater to photogs. We understand you get what you pay for in life.

Any suggestions welcome.

My wife and I have been going to Anilao and staying at Acacia. We have stayed at Acacia three times and plan to return in 2014. It is a smaller resort with a camera area and pool. As with all Anilao resorts the weekends are busy, but the weekdays are quite. Anilao has great muck and good reefs around Beatrice. Like Lembeh, a great guide is the key to muck dives.

Elmer

Thanks will check them out, anyone else???

I've been to Bohol , Alona Beach 6 weeks ago and the diving is primeraly around balicasag Island.

Dove in front of Alona Beach the first day but that was not particulary good.

There is no real good diving from Alona so no great housereef.

I stopped diving after 3 days because i was dissapointed in the diving , did a nice relaxed island tour and spent a few nice evenings on the beach. I still had a good time just not diving...

I'm going diving again in October in Anilao , will be diving with Portulano because they have acces to a housereef. ( i'm traveling solo so have to pay boat, and guide myself )

I have no experience with Portulano so this is not realy a recommodation.If you go out to Sombrero Island there arebetter reefs than in Bohol.

Dove wit Crystal Blue the last time and was quite satisfied with them , nice photoroom , food and nice rooms , no house reef tho.

Frank

Thanks for the input, so hard to tell from the internet, but a house reef would be nice. Leaning to Anilao.

Any other suggestions welcome. Again small, custom good guides would be ideal. Too old for the big party scene.

In Anilao, we have it set up so we have our own batanga with guide for three of us. This allows us to dive when we want and where we want. Our critter count this past May was 189 different animals.

We just returned from Crystal Blue and had a top rated week. Our guide was Edgar, who does not miss any thing. Food was great; shrimp, chicken, pork just about every night. The camera room has been upgraded and lacks for nothing. Even provides individual drying clothe - one of the top rooms we have ever used. Water was 84 - 86!

We booked through : Mike Bartick at : http://www.saltwaterphoto.com/

PM me for more details.

Anilao is one of my favorite spots for macro shooting. Wide angle opportunities are great as well but most people associate Anilao with excellent macro life.

There is a good mix of diving. It is not all muck diving, in fact, far from it. Many of the reefs are lush and beautiful, for example Twin Rocks and Beatrice.

I have stayed at both Acacia and Crystal Blue. Both are good and you would not go wrong with either. Acacia is slightly higher end and the prices will reflect this. The property is beautiful and the acacia tree in the middle of the garden is spectacular.

Dive sites are all within a few minutes by bangka. Traveling end to end of the straight in a bangka would probably take 25 minutes, so I wouldn't worry too much about having a house reef. Average boat rides will probably be in the 10 min range.

How much you enjoy the diving will very much depend on your guide. I have used Edgar at Crytal Blue before and he is fantastic, highly recommended.

In Bohol, I have dove Cabilao. The diving is pretty good but not as good as Anilao - the reefs are healthy and there is a lot of macro life, just less of everything compared to Anilao. If I rated Anilao a 10, I would rate Cabilao a 7. I have not dove elsewhere around Bohol.

Neither place has anything close to a party scene.

I have stayed at both Acacia and Crystal Blue. Both are good and you would not go wrong with either. Acacia is slightly higher end and the prices will reflect this. The property is beautiful and the acacia tree in the middle of the garden is spectacular.

 

Dive sites are all within a few minutes by bangka. Traveling end to end of the straight in a bangka would probably take 25 minutes, so I wouldn't worry too much about having a house reef. Average boat rides will probably be in the 10 min range.

 

How much you enjoy the diving will very much depend on your guide. I have used Edgar at Crytal Blue before and he is fantastic, highly recommended.

I also believe on having a good guide is the key to great muck dives. Edgar, Berting, Don-Don at Anilao are all excellent.

I do not need to use huge fonts, but my enthusiasm is the same. Crystal Blue in Anilao was great. You have muck diving, but it is different than Lembeh, of which I am a huge fan. The diving protocol was similar, with low guide to diver ratios. Tons of nudibranchs (at least in late March) and cephalopods. However, there is also some very pretty coral reef diving, although you should not expect big stuff (except turtles and schools of batfish), although whale sharks have been spotted, it is unusual. The resort is small, personal attention was great. My only concern in the 10 days was the dust in the camera room. It would just take a moment to wipe down the top of the cubicles, so when the fans are on it doesn't get airborne. Of course, I didn't realize it until late in the trip...due to sensor spots on my newly cleaned sensor. I would definitely be back, and intend to in the near future. Mike is a great host, and our guide, Edgar, worked his butt off trying to please seasoned photographers. Do not expect a luxury, inclusive, pool type resort. This is a resort designed for divers and particularly diving photographers. I did nothing but the Eat, Dive, Sleep, Repeat times 4 deal. Have a massage, too. Have two; it was great. There will be a spa soon, too.

Cheers,

Marli

Thanks for all the help, looks like we will get quotes for Acacia. But...now my better half is thinking "hey why don't we just go back to Lembeh and Kasawari?" D'OH!

While lembeh is great, I prefer anilao. Easier to get to from the USA. Water has better viz,, more wide angle, sites, and the people in the Philippines are the nicest we have come across. We like club ocellaris. Been twice, and will be back again.

Many people I have talked to say anilao is much better than Bohol. But haven't been myself.

Dustin

Hi all

I'm new to this forum.

Can someone share the contact information of Club Ocellaris?

I have sent emails to jsvenus@clubocellaris.com and boyv@clubocellaris.com but there is no reply.

Thanks in advance

Last adres i used and gotten a replay from was jsvenus@gmail.com

I'm stil wondering why Anilao resorts are so bad at replaying to there potential customers

Frank

Hi Frank

I've also tried jsvenus@gmail.com and did not receive any reply so I thought it was a wrong address.

Hope some member here have their contact.

sometimes they just stop answering e-mails , they lost me as a potentional customer for that , i will dive with portulano on my next trip....

I like Acacia a lot, but Club O, Planet Dive, Dive Solana and others all have their fans, and for good reason. There's lots of threads here on Anilao resorts with good advice, A little time searching the forum will pay off.

Two tips for those thinking of coming out here: First, a lot of places are really bad about answering email but they all answer the phone, so place a few calls, they costs next to nothing anyway. Second, any resort can arrange for your own banca and guide for a lot less than you might think (in the range of US$50 a half day), you don't need to worry about ratios or crowded boats if you don't want to!

And if anyone is in the vicinity of Dive Solana, drop by the house with the thatch roof next to El Pinoy - if we're there that weekend, come up to the veranda for a cold beer!

maybe I will book with Arcacia and then shop around after i arrive.

Thanks anyway.