Siquijor from Moalboal?

[Cybervlad]

Hello,
I am planning my trip to Philippines which include Manila, Moalboal (Cebu), Siquijor and Bohol+Panglao.
I decided, that travel from Moalboal to Siquijor via Cebu-city is not good idea
because we can go to Liloan and get ferry to Sibulan, then overland to Dumaguete, then ferry to Siquijor.
But I think, it is possible to hire direct boat from Liloan to Siquijor?
Our "crew" will be 7-10 people, so it may be cost effective and faster?
Am I right?

[fundiver198]

Hi vlad

If your "crew" consists of a group of divers, then you might want to consider diving with Sea Explorers. They have branches in Moal-Boal, Siquijor and 4 other places in the Visayas, including Dauin, from where you can dive at one of the highlights of the region, Apo Island. Except from the branch in Malapascua, they will transfer you directly from resort to resort on board one of their diving boats, and you can even take a dive or two on the way, thereby "wasting" no time at all on transport:

Diving Philippines Tauchen Philippinen island hopping scuba insel Sea Explorers

Best regards, Lars

[fundiver198]

Forgot to mention, that they also have a branch at Panglao Island, so except for Manila, you can book your entire vacation with them, if you are divers. And please consider to put in a stay in Dauin as well - after all this is the Dumaguete forum

The resort in Dauin is also by far the best of the six.

Best regards, Lars

[Cybervlad]

Hi Lars,

Thanks you for valuable info!
Unfortunately, there is only 3 divers between us.
But I will think about this opportunity, because "dive-while-transfer" sounds good

[cebudiver]

You can get a boat to take you from Liloan for about 5000 - 6000 peso - the price has gone up a bit with the cost of fuel - ask at the pier
It's still cheaper to take a pumpboat/pedicab/ferry combo - unless you are talking a group of 15 - 20 people - but chartering the pumpboat could be more enjoyable, especially with a cooler of san mig on board

[fundiver198]

Originally Posted by Cybervlad

Hi Lars,

Thanks you for valuable info!
Unfortunately, there is only 3 divers between us.
But I will think about this opportunity, because "dive-while-transfer" sounds good

Hi Vlad

I can not promise you anything, but I think it is likely, that Sea Explorers would be interested in accepting your group of 7, even only 3 off you are divers. Just try to ask them and then compare their offer to the cost of a "self-made" roundtrip in Visayas.

If settling for a "self-made" roundtrip you might want to consider replacing Moal-Boal with Dauin as one of your 3 destinations. The avantage of doing so it that transfer between Panglao, Dauin and Siquijor can be done using fast ferries, which is quick and comfortable, and only with some short distances of land transport. Going to and from Siquijor you will need to pass though Dumaguete anyway, and from there its only 14 km to the dive-resorts in Dauin.

You might skip Dumaguete going from Moal Boal to Siquijor by hiring a pump-boat in Lillion, but going from Siquijor to either Panglao or Cebu requires, that you first take a fastferry to Dumaguete (or its a really long ride on a hired pumpboat).

I won´t judge if Moal-Boal or Dauin has the better diving, but Dauin/Dumaguete is for sure a whole lot more interesting place to stay for the none-divers of the group, as there is very little to do in Moal-Boal except diving. Just to go to a beach, you need to make a several kilometer long "special trip" with a tricycle, as there is no real beach in Panagsama Beach, where the resorts are situated.

If you have time, you might want to include all four places in your roundtrip, and then perhaps spend the most time in Panglao and Daiun, as there are far more things do to or see in those two places than in the other two. Cabilao Island has some nice diving also, but is a very quiet place to stay for the non-divers in the group.

You might also want to consider to skip Manila alltogether and spend a few days in Cebu instead. Cebu is a much more cosy city than Manila in my opinion, and still big enough to have a nice night life, big shopping malls etc.

Some airlines like Cebu Pacific or Singapore Airlines have international flights direct to Cebu. If landing in Manila you will need to take a domestic flight to Visayas anyway, and might as well do this momentarely instead of hanging around in Manila any longer than nessesary. There are domestic flights from Manila to Dumaguete, Tagbilaran (Bohol) and Cebu, but not to Siquijor.

[fundiver198]

Originally Posted by fundiver198

Some airlines like Cebu Pacific or Singapore Airlines have international flights direct to Cebu.

Sorry. Should be Cathay Pacific, not Cebu Pacific. Cebu Pacific is the largest operator of domestic flights in the Philippines, and they also have international flights, but only to nearby destinations like Bangkok, Hong-Kong etc. You can book online on their webpage:

Cebu Pacific Air - It's time everyone flies

Lars

[fundiver198]

By the way, another advantage of Cebu compared to Manila is, that hotel prices are 30-40% lower in Cebu, and most taxi drivers in Cebu are not employed by satan. Most often they will actually turn on the meter voluntarily

[Cybervlad]

Thanx, guys!

Cebudiver, you are right, hiring private boat for 6-7 people will not be cost-effective in comparison with regular boats.

Lars, I already got info from Sea Explorers and discussed it with my friends. We decide to do self-made trip

Also, I spend several hours analyzing airlines schedules and made optimal connections Here is it:
1. Fly from Russia to Kuala Lumpur, overnight
2. Fly from Kuala Lumpur to Manila. City tour, overnigh
3. Fly to Cebu. Trip on Visayas (Cebu-Moalboal-Dumaguete-Siquijor-Bohol/Panglao-Cebu)
4. Direct fly from Cebu to Bangkok
5. 2 days in Bangkok, then fly home.

About Dauin/Dumaguete instead Moalboal. It is possible to arrange diving around Pescador from Dauin/Dumaguete? In this case, we can fly from Manila directly to Dumaguete instead of Cebu.

Oh, of course I carefully read Dumagueteinfo and other web-sites about Visayas and know, that only way from Siquijor to Bohol (Tagbilaran) is via Dumaguete. But thanks you for pointing my attention on this fact

[Cybervlad]

p.s. "Visualization" of our trip:
http://cybervlad.net/t_map-2.gif