Scuba diving in southern Leyte
Sogod Bay and Limasawa Island are top scuba diving locations in southern Leyte. There are 3 main dive shops but I believe that 6 operators are in the area.
Dive shop owners can put up information in the comment section at the end of this page if interested.
A twist to the plan would be to just drive your car down there and pull off anywhere along the coast and do shore dives.
This might not go over too well with the dive shops but shore diving in Sogod Bay is a real possibility.
One of the best night dives is right under the pier in town.
Peter’s Dive Shop has been around for quite a while.
link
www.whaleofadive.com
The first picture is of Peter’s swimming pool and the neighbors dive boat.
Occasionally whale sharks are spotted in Sogod Bay but it is not common like in Donsol Bay in Southern Luzon.
Peter’s dive boat.
Peter’s dive shop.
There is not very much walk in business in this area because it’s not on the main tourist trail.
Malapascua or Moalboal on Cebu and Sabang on Mindoro (Puerto Galera) would probably be better for that sort of thing.
Next door to Peter’s is the Sogod Bay Scuba Resort.
link
www.sogodbayscubaresort.com
Both Peter’s and Sogod Bay are English owners.
This place is a rather new development on the bay and it looks successful.
There is little tourist infrastructure in Padre Burgos so most divers will be resort prisoners. It is not my style but most divers are on short holiday so it is perfect.
I have never been inside the complex but it looks new and crisp. I talked to Ron a few years back and he seems like a friendly guy but there is likely friction between the neighboring shops.
Gunters dive shop is on the other side of town and not on the bay. They seem to specialize in dives on Limasawa Island.
I never dove there but suspect the dives are more challenging than in the bay.
This shop seems to get groups of German divers and does not do very much walk in business.
Southern Leyte Divers has more of a tropical feel to it than the other two mentioned. I like the layout of the restaurant. You don’t feel cramped.
From a business standpoint it makes sense to cater to groups from Europe, with divers that just want to dive and eat. It is the only way to stay afloat financially in this area.
Southern Leyte Divers in Padre Burgos Leyte
link
http://www.leyte-divers.com
Two of the residents at Gunter’s place.
Davliz Travel Lodge Hotel
Davliz is just up the road towards town from Peter’s and Sogod Bay’s dive shops.
I don’t know anything about the place but put it up here as a possible option.
Daveliz Travel Lodge Hotel seems like a nice enough place to stay but I don’t know anyone that dives from this shop.
phone
053-5730002
Napantao – There was a lot of construction on Natpantao across the bay from Padre Burgos a few years ago. A French builder was planning a dive shop there. I do not know if it is in operation now but the house reef would be superior to almost anywhere else.
My only worry is that the Napantau Reef is a rather small area, and it probably could not sustain heavy dive pressure and remain pristine.
There is no road access last time I was there.
If anyone could update me on the information, it would be appreciated and added here. Just add comments below.
New Shop – “dutchpickle” also received an email from a new dive shop
Hi folks
For those of you who never met on your visit to southern leyte we now have a new resort beutiful
in the heart of padre burgos called discovery 5 dive shop with resturant and bar and everyone know i am the best in spotting the whaleshark.Check out our website www.philippinescubadiving.com i look forward to answering your questions.Email me at www.whalesharkburgos @ yahoo.com
gary
Whalesharks – Donsol Bay Sorsogon Luzon – video
Pintuyan Sogod Bay – video – Other side of the bay from the dive shops
Picture taken while snorkeling in Donsol in Luzon.
Sogod Bay scuba diving
Climbing Mount Apo
General Santos
Growing Orchids
Judy's Resto Bar
Logging with Motorcycles
Mount Mayon
Balabac Island
Biri Island
Calbiga Cave
Capul Island
Mangrove Swamp Palawan
Mikes's Resort
Here is a good dive link in French – the clear pictures of the whalesharks shows the water clarity in Sogod is much better than in Donsol.
http://www.yummie.fr/p_recit_phils_leyte_cabilao.htm
There are only three dive operators in So Leyte as of the 5 Feb 2010
Sogod Bay Scuba Resort, Peters dive resort and Southern Leyte dives.
Thats it all the others you have mentioned do not exisit anymore
Hi Phil,
Thanks for the update!
I heard that that concrete monstrosity at Napantao went bust !
cheers
dp
does anyon have any information about discovery 5 dive shop in the philippines??
I have dived Sogod Bay five times since 2001 with both Peter’s and Gunter’s (South Leyte Divers). Both do a fine job. I preferred Gunter a bit due to the fact that they were willing to go to Limasawa despite lower numbers and the facility looks a little newer. Both are fine, though. Stayed at Davliz years ago and found it to be a bit subpar compared to the others.
Discovery 5,, yea I dove with them 2008. It was great diving with them..
Gary is a good dive master, never a dull moment. In 2009 I went down to visit and maybe dive again and found him with a broken leg from a car accident.
The boat he had was a possible live aboard with 4 bunks. and is equipped with a kitchen.
Hi all,
I was planning to go to Padre Burgos in Jan to try my luck for Whale Sharks, (as I heard Donsol can get quite crowded), but after looking into the logisitics, i don’t know if it’s worth the hours of travel on a plane/ ferry/ bus to get there… can anyone give advice on which has better overall diving? Is Padre Burgos worth the extra travel, or should I just go to Donsol? This will be part of a longer trip, planning to go to Bohol and maybe Malapascua as well…
Cheers!
Hello Kylie
I think that your chances of seeing a whaleshark are better in Donsol. The waters of Sogod Bay (where Padre Burgos is) are clear. The plankton rich waters of Dnsol are usually cloudy.
Scuba diving is not allowed in Donsol bay – snorkeling only.
Donsol is also less expensive but the reward if you see a whalweshark in the clear waters of Sogod by Padre Burgos would be amazing :)
dp