Philippines with Mark Strickland both liveaboard and land based

This trip will follow the South Visayas itinerary, taking in some of the Philippine's best dive areas, featuring coral-covered walls, lively reef slopes and muck diving hotspots. Highlights include Balicasag and Cabilao Islands, where jacks school in the hundreds and fan corals grow to extraordinary size. Moalboal and Pescador Island are also not-to-be-missed, with dense schools of sardines often attracting predators like king mackerel, tuna and occasional thresher sharks. Exotics like frogfish, ghost pipefish and sea horses are frequently encountered in this region, along with many other unusual creatures. Towards the end of the trip we�ll explore the reefs and walls of Sumillon and Panglao Islands, known for everything from pygmy seahorses to mantis shrimp to schooling batfish and barracuda.

Famous for being the only place in the world offering regular encounters with thresher sharks, Malapascua also has great wrecks, coral gardens and many unusual critters, including Mandarinfish and flamboyant cuttlefish. Being a 4-5 hour transfer from the Philippine Siren�s base in Cebu, this is an easy, cost effective supplement to the live-aboard trip, but can also be booked by itself.

The 40 meter Philippine Siren is the 3rd vessel designed and built by Worldwide Dive and Sail, using the lessons learnt from their previous two sailing yachts. A spacious air-conditioned saloon has cocktail bar, 42 inch flatscreen and computer server supporting the inter-cabin network. For relaxing between dives there is an expansive leisure deck area and a covered outdoor dining area. Other special features aboard this vessel include kayaks, massage service, laundry service and an onboard boutique.

Built on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi, she is a traditional gaft rigged Phinisi handcrafted from ironwood and teak. Built by divers for divers, you will find no other dive liveaboard as beautiful in Philippine waters. She welcomes up to 16 guests aboard each trip.

Philippine Siren has 8 large air-conditioned cabins, each with their own personal computer, audio-visual entertainment system and ensuite bathrooms with hot water. All rooms are equipped with luxury extras including bathrobes, hair dryers and towels, individually controlled mood lighting and individual controls for your air-conditioning unit.

Philippine Siren offers 4 exciting itineraries according to season. Dive the South Visayas for a classic mix of reef fish, critters and pelagic action. The Southern Leyte itinerary optimizes your chance of seeing large pelagics including hammerheads and whalesharks. Cruise Borocay, Apo Reef & Coron and enjoy highlights of a UNESCO world heritage site, WWII wrecks and a variety of pelagics. Tubbataha is only accessible by liveaboard and is known for the diversity of reef life along its steep walls.

A spacious dive deck ensures comfortable suiting up and Enriched Air Nitrox is free for all certified Nitrox divers. Two high-powered Zodiacs take you to the dive sites.

On board Philippine Siren you will find workstations for the preparation and maintenance of cameras including prep and storage areas, as well as large rinse tanks with fresh water solely for cameras and videos.

Each cabin is fitted with an individual computer and multiple power sources to facilitate the needs of digital photography. The computer features high end specifications and 20” high definition flat screen, which is integrated with the yachts network server in the saloon.

Malapascua Exotic Island Resort is situated on the southern side of Malapascua and is set directly on the eastern end of Bounty beach. A 10-minute walk from the public area of the beach, Exotic is nicely secluded yet close enough for those who wish to mingle. The white sand beaches and turquoise blue waters of the Visayan Sea create a perfect setting for the resorts natural garden frontage.

The northern side of Malapascua has a more panoramic rocky coastline and the island interior is filled with lush tropical flora with an array of colorful flowers found growing amongst the ever-present palm trees. A network of sandy paths intersperse the island taking you from sleepy fishing villages to idyllic deserted bays. The ‘hike’ to the lighthouse is a must, with its spectacular views. A walk around the entire island will take approximately 2 hours and is the perfect way to meet the friendly local people.

The resort offers an international restaurant, bakery, fully stocked bar, coffee corner, dive safaris, Internet café and convenience store; not to mention a perfect white sand beach for the exclusive use of our guests.

The rooftop Exotic Spa is the ideal place to leave your stress behind and offers an array of different massages from Reflexology, Thai massage, Swedish, Shiatsu, Aroma Therapy or the Exotic Combination Massage where east meets west by combining a full body Swedish massage with pivotal shiatsu pressure points, the ultimate relaxation experience.

Exotic has 4 types of well-maintained rooms, all of which have private bath, balcony and 24 hour power year round. There are 8 super deluxe air con rooms with hot shower, satellite TV, mini bar, fridge and 2 queen beds. These rooms can accommodate 2-4 guests. There are 15 deluxe air con rooms also with hot shower, satellite TV, mini bar and fridge.

For more basic accommodation there are 2 standard air con rooms with private bath and balcony and 4 standard fan rooms with private bath and balcony.

Exotic is the pioneer dive resort on Malapascua, established in 1998. They are now the only all inclusive 5* PADI dive operator and resort on the island.

Although Malapascua is probably most famous for thresher sharks, many divers are amazed at the variety of other things that can be seen in the surrounding reefs. Divers leave promising to come back to capture the pygmy sea horse or witness another mandarin fish mating. The waters are full of surprises some expected, some not.

Malapascua is known for some of the best shark diving in the Philippines, famous for the thresher sharks, which can be seen at any time of year at Monad Shoal. This is reputedly the only place in the world where these sharks can be seen within recreational diver limits on a regular basis. At the cleaning stations at Monad Shoal it is also possible to encounter schooling hammerheads and giant manta rays. Exotic offers an interesting PADI thresher shark specialty course for those who would like to know more about what they are seeing there.

Gato Island is another famous shark site where it is practically guaranteed that you will see white tip sharks sleeping within the caves and crevasses and if you have a good eye, bamboo sharks nestling in the cracks.

Malapascua also has a reputation for first class macro diving. It is almost guaranteed that you will witness, amongst other things, a plethora of nudibranch, frog fish, mandarin fish, cuttle fish, sea horses, sea moths, octopus, gunards and pipefish.

Another attraction of the island reefs is the stunning soft coral gardens. Some of the best soft coral in the Philippines can be located around the northern dive sites of Malapascua. Giant sea fans and coral plumes in an array of colors will keep any diver enthralled.

Mark Strickland’s life-long interest in the sea has included over 10,000 dives and careers as lifeguard, boat captain and scuba instructor. His passion for underwater photography has led him to many top dive locales, including Thailand, where he spent 17 years as Cruise Director on a series of live-aboards. An avid marine naturalist, Mark has discovered several nudibranch species. He is co-author and principle photographer for Lonely Planet’s award-winning book, “Diving and Snorkeling Thailand”, and his work appears in many magazines, books and displays around the world. Currently, Mark leads several dive trips each year to his favorite destinations, while working on a career-spanning large-format pictorial book. For a sampling of Mark’s work, visit www.markstrickland.com