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Destinations: Alona Beach
The waters near to Alona Beach, Bohol >> Click here to see diving packages for Alona Beach OverviewPanglao Island is situated off the south eastern tip of Bohol and is an increasingly popular tourist destination in The Philippines. Only about 25km long and 10km wide it is very easy to travel round. Lots of sandy coves and beaches fringe the island but it is Alona beach and the immediate surrounding area that attracts most holidaymakers in general and divers in particular. 
Alona, apparently named after a mermaid featured on a TV series filmed at the beach, is a beautiful stretch of powdery sand on a sheltered bay fringed by palm trees. Running the length of the beach is a number of restaurants, dive shops and hotels. The emphasis is firmly on sunbathing and diving which means a very relaxed feel to the place. Evenings are generally spent chatting with new friends and watching the star filled skies. The increasing popularity of Panglao means that an airport is in the planning stage but for now the island retains a nice gentle pace of life. You can spend time wandering around the island and the luxuriant green interior or hop over to neighbouring Bohol and visit the famous natural wonder the Chocolate Hills. You should also try to catch a glimpse of the famous Tarsier monkeys which are unique to The Philippines. Alona Beach is easily reached from Cebu City; firstly by taking a fast ferry to Tagbilaran on Bohol (90 minutes) and from there it is just a short road journey over to Panglao and on to Alona. All of our accommodation packages include complete round trip transfers from Cebu to Alona Beach. The Resort
Alona Vida Beach resort is newly built (December 2006) and is one of the most comfortable resorts on the island. Situated directly on the beach all the spacious deluxe rooms have air conditioning, cable TV and bathrooms with hot and cold shower. Restaurant and BarWithin the resort lies the Coco Vida Bar and Restaurant which serves international and local food. The bar is a great place to relax and watch the world go by at the end of the day. The Dive Centre
Sea Explorers at Alona Beach is a PADI 5 Star centre and one of the first to be established in the area. The centre has all the facilities you would expect including Nitrox availability, (training pool), library, equipment hire ( ) etc. There is also a newly established Technical Diving Centre. Note: The pool will be finished by early summer 2007. The centre is situated right on the beach and access to the boats is a brief walk across the white sands. Bancas and speedboats are used to access the various dive sites. Teaching is available in a full range of global languages. Sea Explorers has a fine international reputation for customer care and innovation and has countless repeat clients – they have also established a unique network of centres throughout the Visayan Islands in The Philippines and feature heavily in our chosen list of resorts. The DivingQuite simply, the diving is great and it’s what keeps bringing divers back to the area. Within easy reach are a number of very well known sites in particular Balicasag and Pamilican. 
Balicasag is a small island within a 40 minute journey from the dive centre. It is a marine sanctuary and the island is ringed by 40m deep walls which play host to hard and soft corals, nudibranch, shrimps and eels. Close to the wall are schools of snappers, fusiliers, turtles and mouth mackerel. Head out a little into the blue water and you may well see the schools of barracuda and big eyed jacks that have made residence here. Watch out too for passing giant trevally and tuna. Usually divers will do 3 dives a day here. Pamilican is also about 40 minutes from Alona Beach and is excellent for drift dives – on occasions manta rays and even whale sharks have been spotted here. Closer to the dive centre, Arco Point often has good currents. It also boasts a swim through tunnel and numerous soft corals. Moray eels, frog fish and even sea snakes are common here. The house reef is ideal for training and orientation dives there are a healthy variety of corals and numerous species of reef fish.
Packages last updated: 22nd July 2008, 1:00pm (Manila time) |
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