Dumaguete, "Land of the Gentle People"

When we did a review of the excellent Atlantis Hotel and Dive Resort in Puerto Galera, Mindoro Island in the Philippines, a review that can be seen here, we learned from their resident manager that they also had a resort in Dumaguete, which is on the East side or Oriental as the locals call it of Negros Island, Philippines.

Now Puerto Galera and Verde Island diving is pretty spectacular in its own right, so when we were invited to go down to the Dumaguete facility, we did a little checking around first. We knew Atlantis runs a first class operation, we experienced it for ourselves, the question is, was Dumaguete diving up to par with Puerto Galera or the other World Class dive destinations in the Philippines? We have always been amazed when it comes to diving and critters in all the previous dive destination in the Philippines we have selected, but would our streak end?

For over a year we put it on the back burner, especially when we thought we heard that it was similar to Puerto Galera and Verde Island diving. We mistakenly thought that meant the diving and critters were similar. Well, we sure misinterpreted what that meant!

We were later corrected and told that the only similarities were that, just like in their Puerto Galera resort, there was an abundance of local dive sites within 15 minutes of the resort, and Atlantis Dumaguete had Apo Island within a fast bangka dive boat ride for wide angle diving similar to how Atlantis Puerto Galera has Verde Island just offshore.

The Dumaguete Expedition Seeds Are Planted

Ok, so now our curiosity was piqued, so we did some more homework. We ran into a fellow underwater videographer where we saw some HD video clips of critters and Dumaguete diving, and oh man!-we couldn’t hop on the plane sooner!

After quick arrangements with affable Gordon Strahan, one of the owners of Atlantis that had invited us to Atlantis Puerto Galera, and a regular at the U.S. scuba shows, arrangements were efficiently made.

One of the things that sets Atlantis apart from many resorts in the region is they answer all e-mails, and fast! I have been interviewed both by the Phillipine Star and Philippine Inquirer about diving in the Philippines and how dive tourism promotions can be more effectively done, and failure to respond to e-mails was one of the issues that was, well, an issue. Atlantis Hotel and Dive Resort’s quick e-mail response is just the beginning in a long list of consistent professionalism displayed by Atlantis.

Getting to Dumaguete, Negros Island, Philippines

Our main international departure point was Los Angeles International Airport.

While the City of Los Angeles typically spends a 1/2 billion dollars more than it hammers Los Angeleans for, building such absolute necessities like a multi-million dollar glass sculpture in the middle of road that bisects LAX as the airport bathrooms attain Third World cleanliness status, major rennovation is finally occurring. We found a new really nice albeit pay lounge that had food, and finally, Internet access.

LAX lounge.jpgLAX lounge 2.jpg

We selected the always excellent Cathay Pacific Airlines. Their food is always good, their planes look very new, clean and well maintained, and they have flat panel LCD TVS right in front of each seat, and even more importantly, about 30 different movies to watch.

We did a 2 hour stopover in the excellent Hong Kong Airport. Here they have all sorts of eateries, Internet access, all sort of shops, even shower facilities for travelers who wish to freshen up. Hello Los Angles airport, are you listening?

Hong Kong airport.jpgHonk Kong airport diner.jpgHong Kong airport Cathay jet.jpg

Upon arriving at Mactan airport in Cebu, you will be pleased to see how quick you get through Customs with just your passport. At Customs baggage, they will ask you if you are transporting electronic equipment like cameras. They don’t really mean a tourist pocket camera, but they mean a big pro videocamera and a pro DSLR kit. They ask about this as they require a deposit for the equipment to ensure you leave with it upon departure and do not sell it in-country to avoid duty fees. If you have $10,000 worth of underwater camera kit, this can amount to over $150, but they do accept a credit cards.

Since divers don’t fall into the duty avoidance category, you may elect to ignore it all and just declare dive equipment. Philippines Customs wherever we go has always been pleasant with us, but that is what you can expect from everyone everywhere you go in the Philippines.

The whole affair takes less than 30 minutes to get checked out, quite a pleasure compared to Los Angles International, where the Department if Immigration scrutinizes returning travelers instead of more efficiently deploying to the parking lots of Home Depots.

Cebu Mactan Immigration.jpgCebu Mactan Customs.jpgCebu Mactan exiting.jpg

Upon exiting Cebu Mactan, as seen in the above photo, one walks a few steps and turns to the right, where a government cab hailer will get you a cab to wherever you need to go. At Cebu Mactan, the cab drivers are good about turning on their meter, but never get into a taxi without the meter on, no matter what they claim. Also, NEVER pay for your bags in the taxi, no matter what they claim about the weight. But do reward the cab driver when they are honest and give them a good tip. Your cab fare in the Philippines will be less than what you would tip a cabbie in the U.S., so you can afford it and the driver just wants to feed his family.

We took the fast ferry from Cebu to Bohol to get some Bohol sightseeing in, then off to Dumaguete the next day.

For those that choose to freelance transfers for fun like we do, cabs are best to take upon arrival in Dumaguete, but getting them to use a meter will be a little harder. Atlantis Dumaguete will pick up guests who arrive either from the ferry pier or from Dumaguete airport flying in from Manila. If you are not a travel writer tuning your travel skills, this is the most convenient option although I find getting around in the Philippines easier and remarkably cheaper than in the U.S.

The drive from Dumaguete to Atlantis Resort in nearby Dauin takes about 30 minutes. Your Atlantis driver will turn left onto a non-descript road, then drive past private homes with chickens and a cow or two in their yards, and you will pass through Atlantis’ security gate.

Dumaguete History

Popular legend has it that the word Dumaguete came from the Cebuano (Visayan) word “daggit” which means “to snatch”. The legend goes onto say that because of the Muslim pirates marauding the area, and the regions ability to attract visitors who frequently elected to stay permanently, the word dumaguet was used to christen the village. Murillo Velarde, a Jesuit cartographer referred to it in 1734, using its present name, as Dumaguete.

Negros is divided into two political provinces, Occidental and Oriental, or West and East. When World War II broke out, the city was occupied by the Japanese Imperial Forces on May 26,1942. It was liberated on April 26,1945 by the combined forces of the U.S. Army and the Filipino guerrillas. On June 15, 1948 or three years later, Republic Act No. 327 created the City of Dumaguete, the largest city of the province. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 116,392 people. A person from Dumaguete is called a "Dumagueteño".

Dumaguete has two seasons, a dry and a wet season. The wet season covers the period from June to November, and the dry season starts from December to May, the hottest being April and May. The average maximum temperature is 34.3 °C and the average minimum temperature is 22.9 °C for the past few years. The relative humidity averages 78%, with the month of December usually the highest.

Checkin at Atlantis Dumaguete

After we arrived, we were taken through the tropical pathway past cottages, the Atlantis Spa, of which you will see plenty of footage of in the HD video we are producing, the main fountain and to the resort front office reception area. All bags were carried by staff.

Atlantis Dumaguete fountain.jpg

The office is interesting as it has all sorts of curios and local crafts, clothing items and locally made art pieces. The cursory tidbits like toiletries, gear items, masks, etc, were well represented.

Atlantis Dumaguete Reception Desk.jpgAtlantis Dumaguete Office curios.jpgAtlantis Dumaguete office sundries.jpg