Best of the Visayas, Philippines Trip
One of the most biodiverse regions on our planet
The island region known as the Visayas in the Philippines sits a top the famous ‘Coral Triangle’ and is world renown for it biodiversity. But when you experience what lies beneath those beautiful warm clear blue waters, it’s easy to see why. From thresher sharks & whale sharks to some of the most incredible macro & muck diving in the world as well as some of our planet’s most beautiful, healthy coral reefs, tons of sea turtles and so much more – the Visayas truly has something for every ocean lover. It’s a remarkable area sure to fill your memory with many mind-blowing experiences.
Join Dive Ninjas and our friends at Girls That Scuba as we team up for this special Best of the Visayas liveaboard trip! Everyone is welcome – both male & female divers. Plus sign up now and get a special $400 ninja discount! Read on for more info but don’t wait too long because this trip will sell out quickly. Feel free to contact us at [email protected] or +1-973-619-9976 with any questions.
The Ship
The gorgeous & brand new Philippines Aggressor made its first trip in April 2022. She is a beautiful modern liveaboard purpose built for diving. At 41 meters (135ft) long she has tons of space to stretch out and enjoy the stunning views as we cruise through the many lush islands of the Philippines. The Philippines Aggressor has a massive sundeck both with shaded & unshaded areas as well as a 6 person jacuzzi to relax in after the days diving. Additionally she also boasts another outdoor area to relax on the mid deck, a huge entertainment salon with big flat screen TVs and comfy sofas, a big dining room that feels more akin to being in a nice restaurant than a ship, dedicated camera tables, outdoor cubby holes for all divers, an espresso machine, and the list just goes on and on.
The ship has 3 stateroom options, all equipped with spacious private ensuite bathrooms with rainfall shower heads, side by side style beds (woo! no more bunks!), closet space for your clothes, and personal climate control air conditioning in every room. The lower deck hosts 5 Deluxe staterooms each with 2 beds and 2 larger porthole windows. The mid deck hosts 4 more deluxe staterooms but with wall to wall picture style frameless windows so you can wake up to incredible views. Then on the upper deck the ship has 3 suites that not only have wall to wall windows, but also include their very own private balconies with a table to relax and take in the sea breeze! How many liveaboards have you been on that the rooms have a balcony! All of this complimented by what Jay Clue called, ‘some of the most delicious and extravagant meals I’ve ever seen on a liveaboard’.
Itinerary & Special Trip Features
For this special trip we have created a custom itinerary to dive the best locations dotted around the the thousands of islands that make up the Visayas. We’ll visit Malapascua for the world famous Monad Shoal in search of thresher sharks as well as Gato Island for awesome reef & macro diving. We’ll also visit Dauin & App known for world class muck diving & macro like blue ringed octopus, flamboyant cuttle fish & more as well as some of the most incredible coral reef diving on our planet. Then there’s spotting whale sharks and Moalboal for mind blowing schools of sardines. Plus so many more spots such as Balicasag, Sumilon, Pescador, Hilantagaan, Camotes, Olango, Cabilao, and the list goes on! Get ready to experience everything from deep blue warm waters to for brightly colored reefs teeming with life, and black sand macro! For the macro lovers, there’s fascinating critters such as waspfish, ghost pipefish, pigmy seahorses, blue ringed octopus, and many other unique macro critters, offering lots of diversity. For the coral & big animal lovers there’s tons of turtles, sea snakes, massive schools of jacks, cat sharks, eagle rays, giant frogfish, and so much more.
But it’s not only fun in the water, award winning pro photographer & conservationist Jay Clue will be teaching the PADI AWARE Whale Shark Conservation course free of charge during the trip so you can learn more about these remarkable gentle giants. We’ll also be making a donation to PADI AWARE on your behalf for every one that receives certification for the course. Plus lots more fun Girls That Scuba and Ninja activities along the way. Then we’ll finish it up with the our Crap Photo Contest at the end of the week, so get ready for some craptastic prizes!
What’s The Cost?
Right now we are offering a special $400 discount! There are 3 different room options for this trip:
- Deluxe lower level staterooms at $5,095 USD per person
- Deluxe main level staterooms at $5,295 USD per person
- Balcony suites at $5,645 USD
All rooms have 2 side by style single beds, air conditioning, and private ensuite bathrooms with rainfall showers. The Deluxe Main level staterooms & Balcony suites can have their beds configured to also be 1 King Size bed. All prices are per person and on shared occupancy basis. If you are traveling solo, no problem! We will match you with another solo ninja guest of the same gender. Or if you prefer your own private room a single supplement upgrade is also available for an additional fee.
What’s Included
The trip price includes all diving & activities, AL80 tanks, weights, PADI AWARE Whale Shark Conservation course, presentations, 10 nights accommodation on a shared basis, 4 delicious meals per day (Continental breakfast, hot breakfast (cooked to order), hot lunch, and an elegant chef prepared meal at dinner with tableside service; plus morning & mid afternoon snacks, juices, soft drinks, tea, coffee, local beers & wine, fresh towels in your stateroom as needed, as well as fresh towels on the dive deck for drying off between dives. Additionally Aggressor supplies every diver with a Marine Rescue GPS, a Dive Alert signaling device to use on the trip. Transfers to/from the host hotel to/from the ship are also included on the boarding/disembarking days.
What’s Not Included
The price does not include flights, port & park fee of $120 USD, Unlimited Nitrox upgrade ($150 per person – optional, but highly recommended), rental equipment, Crew Gratuity (10%-15% of trip price is customary but is at your discretion), or credit card processing fees. Please note as of April 1, 2022 Aggressor instituted a fuel surcharge ($285) on all of their trips worldwide to help offset the major increase in fuel prices. As things begin to stabilize this surcharge might be removed before our trip in 2023. Rental gear, Nitrox upgrades, gratuities, & park fees are all paid on board the ship in cash or credit/debit card.
Flights & Trip Add-ons Info
Interested in learning underwater photography or improving your skills? Sign up for a special hands on workshop with award winning pro photographer, Jay Clue. Workshops are customized to your skill level as well as the type of skills you’d like to learn and are open to anyone from those just starting out to the more advanced photographers looking to take their photos to the next level. They include mentoring & workshops with Jay Clue for the length of the trip. Topics could include intro to UW photo basics, shooting full manual, post production, wide angle, macro, shooting with strobes & lights, color balancing, Lightroom master class, and more. You can add-on the workshop when booking or get in touch with any questions and we’ll help design the perfect workshop for you.
Our trip departs and returns from Cebu, Philippines, which makes finding flights easy. Depending where you are flying from, you will most likely have to transit through Manila (MNL) as it is a massive hub and has numerous nonstop flights into it from all over the world. However it is possible to find flights from many airports in Asia directly into Cebu as well. Here are some examples: Delta via Manila or Seoul; Korean Air via Seoul (from main hubs ATL, JFK, LAX); Philippine Airlines (also known as PAL) offers many daily flights via Manila (from many US airports); and Cebu Pacific offers multiple daily flights from Manila to Cebu. Note – this is not an exhaustive list, there are many other airlines flying into Manila and Cebu including All Nippon Airlines (ANA), Turkish Airways, Air Asia, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, KLM, Qantas, etc etc..
Watch: Discover The Philippines
By Aggressor Adventures