We wanted to try something new for my friend’s birthday this year so we decided to take an open water intro diving course at Portulano Dive Resort in Anilao, Batangas.
It was 3 and a half hours bus ride from Manila. Took the Jam Liner Lemery-bound bus (P186/pax) at their Kamuning Station in Quezon City (they depart every 30 minutes) and we got to Lemery, Batangas at around 11am. It was their last stop. At the bus station itself there were tricycles already which we rode going to the Portulano parking lot in Balite, San Luis (P170, 30 minutes). But we should have took he jeep going to the town proper first and then ride a tricycle because it would’ve been a lot cheaper.
At the Portulano parking lot in Balite we were fetched by the resort staff and took a 10-minute boat ride to the resort.
All meals were buffet and the food was great. I was sold mainly for that reason.
On our second day, we had our intro diving course. We were joined by 2 more students and we started with a sit-down introduction to diving, mainly covering the basics and the most common do’s and dont’s. Below was our classroom.
Not long after filling out some forms and check lists, we were in our wet suits ready for the class in the water. After our pool class we headed on to open water and the dive took about 45 minutes to an hour. I have included a quick video edit of our dive at the bottom of this blog.
It was definitely one of the best new experiences I’ve had. The intro class was P3,500 including a card certificate which can be credited if you’d like to continue and get certified (Portulano offers a full certification class, P16,000 per pax, 2-3 days).
I liked our stay here. It has an isolated feel, the staff were very accommodating and the instructors were very nice. You definitely will find other dive resorts in Anilao with lower rates but Portulano was totally worth it.
Below is our video. Check it out:
