⌛ Family snorkeling

Hello,

We are a Swedish family, two adults and two children, 6 & 10 years old, coming to Cebu the 10 th of Feb and staying for a month.

Me and my husband are both divers, but when we travel the whole family we usually most snorkel and freedive, and maybe just do a few dives. Both the kids snorkel and the oldest is quite a freediver. We when we go "on tour" we bring a small rubber boat where the kids can rest when they get tired of snorkeling.

None of us have been to this area before and the more we read, the more nice places we find. But now we´ve decided we have to choose three places. Our main interest is this:

We want to stay in a bungalow directly on the beach where there is good snorkeling directly from the beach. Preferrably no strong currents. It is also good with nice snorkel/freediving points accessible by boat.

What should we choose? Alona beach (is there good snorkeling from shore there?) Balicasag? Cabilao? Siquijor- what beach? Apo island?

We haven´t booked anything yet but feel we need to at least choose where to begin. We would be so grateful for advice!

 

Apo Island would be the best for you and your family. I've been there couple times and the experience was fantastic. From snorkeling to diving. You will see all kinds of large fish species. They have good snorkeling from shore too.

 

hey Lai..

I've never been to Apo Island but a friend of mine had experienced there diving and snorkeling stuff and she said her time there was amazing..she plans to come back there this summer, perhaps i will be joining her. I love to try snorkeling..:D

 

family snorkeling

What are the months that one can snorkel at apo island? My family is planning to go snorkeling in apo island this august (third week). Do you think the currents are not too strong and it is still advisable to travel to apo island by then? Thanks

 

Petunia, you can in principle snorkel the whole year long at Apo Island.
Where you will snorkel is at the safe side of the island (west) where the current is normally very moderate to zero.
It is a different story when diving at the south/east side of the island where the current can often be quite strong (but for experienced divers terrific for an excellent drift dive).
So my advice for August ......excellent time !
Try also to go once to the dolphins in Bais with the whole family.
You will love it....otherwise the kids will love you for bringing them there :D

 

thanks jellyfish

 

Family snorkelers - coming back again!

Hello and thanks for your replies,

Last year we went to Southern Leyge (sogod bay) and snorkeled with whalesharks. The whole family came really close and it was a magical experience. The diving was also excellent. But the waters was a bit rough for the kids, windy and waves and jellyfish. The loved it anyway because of the friendly people, the hotels eight puppies and the pool. :-)

We also stayed at Cabilao which was perfect for family snorkelers like us. We loved the waters, the marine life and it was so easy to go snorkeling and freediving there.

Then we went to Alona and did a bit of touristing too.

We are thinking about going back this year too, in december/january and would again apreciate input.

This time we will not miss Apo Island. As I understand it, the kids will be able to snorkel from shore at the west side? We are also considering Sipalay. Is there any good snorkeling from shore there?

Is the snorkeling as good in Siquijor?

We are also considering staying in Balicasag. We only went there on a day trip and feel we woul like to see more.

Any other places to recommend? We would be so grateful for any input!