Dive Review of Sea Explorers Philippines/Pura Vida Resort in
Philippines/Dauin

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Sea Explorers Philippines/Pura Vida Resort: "Diving diversity at Dauin (Pura Vida Resort / Sea Explorers)", Feb, 2018, by Phil Johnston, Bayswater, AU ( Sr. Contributor 26 reports with 25 Helpful votes). Report 10150.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	My first visit to Dauin was a great experience. My beachfront bungalow at Pura Vida was well furnished in a pleasant, well-maintained garden setting. Restaurant food (in an outdoor dining area) was reasonable quality although service was a little slow at times. Free access to a local gym for Pura Vida guests was a bonus. The diving operation is run by a separate business (Sea Explorers), who bill separately to the resort itself. The gear storage area was close to the beach departure/arrival point for dive boats, & staff were highly organised in moving diver’s gear crates on/off the dive boats from the storage area. Boats crews were very helpful in donning gear & assisting divers into/out of the water. Sea Explorers run a number of outrigger style diving boats which were in fairly good condition although with pretty basic, small rinse tubs for cameras. The only negative was the unavailability of a large tank, which I needed as I am not a small person (they did have 15 litre tanks but none were available at the time of my visit). Diving operations were split into 1 or 2 tank local dives, and longer day trips to sites such as Apo Island and whale shark dives at Oslob. Most of the local sites were pure muck dives on volcanic black sands, although other local sites such as Dauin South did have some reasonable hard coral formations. Macro critters such as ghost pipefish, frogfish, dumpling squid, Ambon scorpionfish, cockatoo waspfish, sea horses, nudibranches and shrimps were seen regularly at the muck diving sites. My dive guide (Airen Daguinotas) was an exceptional spotter who pointed out many small &/or camouflaged critters I would otherwise have missed. I wouldn’t rate Dauin quite as highly as Lembeh as a macro dive destination, but it was pretty close. I enjoyed “Mainit” as the best of the local sites. The dive commences as a macro dive site over black sand however large coral bommies are soon encountered with prolific fish life. The site is a “no take” zone & this was reflected in the number of larger fish (jacks, bonito & cod) seen here. The dive ends at the southern end of the reef, where underwater hot springs and sulphur deposits on the sand are seen. I did a 3 tank day trip to Apo Island, & was very impressed by the healthy, lush hard & soft corals. Like Dauin itself Apo had areas of hot sands with gas bubbles arising from the sand. Many turtles, cuttles and a very large banded sea snake were seen at Apo, my guide Airen again spotted some nudies & other small critters. I rated Apo as a world class dive site for the beauty of its corals. I also visited Oslob & Sumilon. Whales sharks are fed with krill at Oslob every morning, apparently this can attract up to half a dozen individual whalesharks. Whilst the site is crowded with snorkelers & the whale sharks’ behaviour is not totally natural, viewing 2-3 whalesharks at close quarters was a unique experience. Sumilon Island was dived on the return trip to Dauin. Like Apo Island, it is surrounded by a very healthy fringing reef of hard corals. Small tropical fish life was prolific at this site. The quality of the resort and diving operations, and the diversity of marine life from small macro critters, hard corals, turtles and whalesharks in the Dauin/Apo/Oslob area makes this an excellent diving destination. I would highly recommend Airen Daguinotas as an enthusiastic, attentive and very personable dive guide, she works freelance and can be contacted on acdshenyen@gmail.com
Websites	Sea Explorers Philippines
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia/Bali, Cocos, Cozumel, Tonga, Galapagos, Tahiti, Maldives, Mozambique, Bahamas, Red Sea, Roatan.
Closest Airport	Dumaguete	Getting There	Direct flights from Manila & Cebu City, then 40 minute drive to Dauin
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	25-26°C / 77-79°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	5-25 M / 16-82 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Standard restrictions eg no deco diving
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	> 2
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Smallish fresh water rinse tubs on dive boats, didn't check out the facilities at the dive centre.

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Dive Review of Sea Explorers Philippines/Pura Vida Resort in Philippines/Dauin

Sea Explorers Philippines/Pura Vida Resort: "Diving diversity at Dauin (Pura Vida Resort / Sea Explorers)", Feb, 2018,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Sea Explorers Philippines/Pura Vida Resort in
Philippines/Dauin