Category Archives: Resort News

Welcome back Hannah & Stewart

diving in puerto galera

The Scandi Divers Resort dive team would like to welcome back Hannah Nicholson, who previously did her Advanced Open Water Course with us, and has now come back to do her Nitrox course, and who knows what else! Her father Stewart also joined her on this trip to do a Scuba Review before enjoying many fun dives in Puerto Galera with his daughter. Stewart did his Open Water Course way back in 1977! Wow! We are sure the incredible diving in Puerto Galera will convince Stewart to be spending much more time in the water now!

Happy Birthday Terry!

scandi divers resort puerto galera
Congratulations to our Resort Manager and Dive Instructor Terry O’Dowd, who celebrated his 53rd birthday this week!

When it comes to diving, Terry is still as active as ever, and is out every day showing our guests all the incredible sights the waters of Puerto Galera have to offer.

That’s Terry on the right in the photo above along with Eddie Viljoen and John Boo who are both dive instructors here from Taiwan.

Happy Birthday Terry!
Best wishes from all at Scandi Divers!

Verde Island: The best Diving in Puerto Galera!

diving puerto galera verde island

Without a doubt, Verde Island offers some of the best diving in Puerto Galera and is recognised as the most biodiverse body of water in the world! It’s only a 30min boat ride from Scandi Divers and provides an excellent day of entertainment, including lunch on Verde Island during the surface interval/

In our recent trip to Verde Island, 2 of our newly certified divers Cody and Annelei (from the USA and Canada) explored the area down to an amazing 40 meters! Even at the depth the visibility was incredibe, allowing divers to fully appreciate the scope of this area.

During the dives the Verde Island sites delivered the usual abundance of beautiful marine life, including schools of colourful Travellis and Sweetlips passing right before the divers’ eyes, offering an amazing sighting of massive harmonized fish movements. We also observed Groupers in large quantities, and the reefs of Verde Island have a huge variety of hard  corals such as Staghorns and Giant Gorgonian fans, interspersed with many soft corals and sponges.

After diving at Verde Island, Cody concluded that “the Verde dive sites are a MUST-SEE if you are diving in Puerto Galera”. However, the Verde Island dive sites are often prone to strong and sometimes unpredictable currents, and it is recommended only for experienced divers with at least an Advanced Open Water qualification. If you are thinking about doing a dive trip to Verde Island, the Scandi Divers Instructors will gladly provide an assessment of your skills and expertise in order to safely dive on these sites.

Contact us to book a day of incredible diving in Puerto Galera!

Delightful Diving in Puerto Galera

diving puerto galera

It was a great day of diving in Puerto Galera, when we took Seattleites ( from Seattle US 😉 ) Cara Poage and Norm Wallace, on their first fun dive since completing their Open Water Certifications, along with Joanne from Taipai, who had just completed her Scuba Diver Course, fun-diver Noah, Danish Divemaster trainee Dennis Frandsen, and Scandi Divers Instructor Conan.

Even with some strong currents, we had a great dive from Small La Laguna to Big La Laguna and enjoyed seeing  Puffer Fish, Trigger Fish, Sea Snakes, and a Hawksbill Turtle along the way. ( Turtles are always a crowd-pleaser 🙂  )

Excellent diving and we look forward to more of the same!

Welcome back Summer!Welcome back Summer!

Summer is here again, and it’s the perfect time of year to enjoy all the great things Puerto Galera has to offer. Let Scandi Divers Resort provide everything you need to make the most of your summer in Puerto Galera

scandi divers resort puerto galera

You won’t find a better location than Big La Laguna Beach if you plan on staying around the Sabang area. It is without a doubt the nicest beach in the area, with white sandy beaches and calm clear waters. It’s a great beach for swimming, snorkeling or just topping up your suntan.

diving puerto galeraScandi Divers Resort runs a well respected dive center, with a team of guides and instructors with years of experience and knowledge, both local and international, who are also fluent in several languages. Our dive team is here to take you to the best dive sites Puerto Galera has to offer (all within a few minutes of our resort), and provide diver training for all levels, from novices to career divers.

We have several dive trips running throughout the day and also do night dives, and day trips to Verde Island; An experience not to be missed if you are diving in Puerto Galera.

scandi diving resort puerto galeraOur beachfront and terrace restaurants have a wide variety of cuisine available including western and local dishes, and the freshest seafood around. Dine in style while enjoying the stunning views our resort has to offer! We are also the only resorts in Puerto Galera that offer genuine Starbucks coffee to our guests!

diving resort puerto galera restaurantGetting to Puerto Galera from Manila only takes about 3 hours by van and boat, and the one hour boat is quite a pleasure. As you traverse the Verde Passage you may even be lucky enough to see dolphins swimming alongside your boat, but even if the dolphins are feeling shy, you will still enjoy the gorgeous views of the ocean, islands and coastlines of the region.

Book your dream tropical diving vacation with Scandi Divers for memories that will last a lifetime!Summer is here again, and it’s the perfect time of year to enjoy all the great things Puerto Galera has to offer. Let Scandi Divers Resort provide everything you need to make the most of your summer in Puerto Galera

scandi divers resort puerto galera

You won’t find a better location than Big La Laguna Beach if you plan on staying around the Sabang area. It is without a doubt the nicest beach in the area, with white sandy beaches and calm clear waters. It’s a great beach for swimming, snorkeling or just topping up your suntan.

diving puerto galeraScandi Divers Resort runs a well respected dive center, with a team of guides and instructors with years of experience and knowledge, both local and international, who are also fluent in several languages. Our dive team is here to take you to the best dive sites Puerto Galera has to offer (all within a few minutes of our resort), and provide diver training for all levels, from novices to career divers.

We have several dive trips running throughout the day and also do night dives, and day trips to Verde Island; An experience not to be missed if you are diving in Puerto Galera.

scandi diving resort puerto galeraOur beachfront and terrace restaurants have a wide variety of cuisine available including western and local dishes, and the freshest seafood around. Dine in style while enjoying the stunning views our resort has to offer! We are also the only resorts in Puerto Galera that offer genuine Starbucks coffee to our guests!

diving resort puerto galera restaurantGetting to Puerto Galera from Manila only takes about 3 hours by van and boat, and the one hour boat is quite a pleasure. As you traverse the Verde Passage you may even be lucky enough to see dolphins swimming alongside your boat, but even if the dolphins are feeling shy, you will still enjoy the gorgeous views of the ocean, islands and coastlines of the region.

Book your dream tropical diving vacation with Scandi Divers for memories that will last a lifetime!

The News from Scandi Divers & Campbell’s Beach Dive Resort新闻 Scandi Divers & Campbell’s Beach Dive Resort

Welcome to The Scandal! Keeping you up to date with all the latest news
at Scandi Divers & Campbell’s Beach Resort.                              Issue 7

Scandi Goes Tech!
Ethei & Andy
As our followers know, over the last year we have all been working very hard to improve both the resorts & the dive shop. As part of this advancement we are extremely proud to have conducted our 1st Technical Dive course.
Our Tech instructor Ethei coached Andy through his PADI Deep Specialty & IART’s Extensive Range program before taking Stephen & Andy (both part of the I Love Diving Club) through the PADI Trimix course.
Tech briefing    Andy, Ethei, Stephen    Stage bottles
Andy now has a new goal of diving to 100m – with a bit more training the oceans the limit!Congratulations Terry!
Terry gets his reward!
Some get china & these days some get platinum to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Terry is pictured above receiving his 20 years of service award from our PADI regional manager Jimmy Christup. Way to go O’Dowd!Terry waves goodbye
And with that accolade Terry skips    merrily down the beach to start his holiday.
Trekking around Nepal indeed!

(Got a dry suit anyone?!)
Zhai & Stephen

Welcome back to..
Zhai, previously a Divemaster with us returned as a PADI instructor. Well done Z! James from Aus – a long standing Puerto Galera friend got some dives in with Walter. John (one of our webmasters) swung by to do some lasts dives before moving to Thailand. Sam from I Love Diving, Shanghai returned once again bringing with him some students & fun divers.

Terry, Howard & Pat

And last but not least Pat O’Keeffe from Aus returned with his brother to visit Terry & get a DSD.

(Top: Zhai & Stephen & above: Terry with Howard & Pat).

Jen & Da Boyz!

Also diving this month..
As is becoming a regular occurrence instructors & group leaders from the I Love Diving groupShanghai brought many new faces & some returning guests with them last month. In Rake & Zhai’s group; Di Jin, Xiao Tian Yang, Ye Chen, Sha Jun, Jerry, Min Zhang, Yi Zhe Xue & Yu Min Cao. Diving with Felix were: Zhang, DU, Yang, Ying, Xu & Jin. AndJun, John, Wei, Vincent & Jingrui were diving with instructor Sam at the beginning of the month & towards the Sam took Hung Xia, Rui Jue, Jim & Sijie out for a few including the glorious Verde Island.

Scandi boat full of fun divers

From elsewhere in the world we met Thomas from Denmark, from Japan: Yuki, Greg from the US, from Shenzhen, China: Chang, Bainuan, Zhigang, Po On, Yi & Ni Zang. From HK via the UK & Germany Johannes & Alex & Nat & a mate of Jen’s from the UK Haydn came over once again to get some dives done & go to Fred’s for a beautiful steak dinner!
(Top: Nat, Alex, Jen, Soren & Johannes. Above: Terry, Pam, Greg, Precious, Yuki & Jen).

news
Click the link above for
Scandi & Campbell’s website
news

Congratulations to..

Jen & Rogelyn
(Jen & Rogelyn)
Discover Scuba Diving:
Yu Tao, Yui Pen & Coco from China got their first under water experience with Jen diving from the beach in Big La Laguna.
Coco followed that up with another dive to
Manila Channel the next day.
Robert took Tao Tao & his friend to La Laguna Point
after their pool session.
Terry introduced fellow Aussie Patrick to the wonders
of scuba diving.
Rogelyn from Angeles City also got wet with Jen & Robert took Yang from China out
for his 1st ever dive.

Jen in the pool with Tom
(Tom & Jen in the pool with Tim looking on)
Open Water Diver:
A friend of Dr Dave’s from the US came for a visit in September wanting to do a refresher.
Jerry had done his Open Water course a long long time ago, so long in fact he couldn’t remember which dive agency he did it with!
After doing the refresher with Jen, Jerry decided to get himself well & truly up to date by taking the PADI Open Water course.
Tom & his brother Tim came all the way from Alaska to see us. Whilst here Tom took his OW with Jen.
Soren from Denmark earned his stripes with Jen & Peter’s Jennilyn passed her course with the help of Rose from our friends & neighbours LLBC.

David
(David looking happy after earning 2 certs.)
Specialties:
Andy Pang from China took his Deep Specialty with Ethei this month in preparation for his Trimix Course.
David from Aus completed the Advanced Open Water course & the add-on of the Nitrox Specialty with Jen & Terry.Ethei & his twins!
(Ethei & his twins!)
Tech:
As mentioned in our main story Stephen & Andy are now PADI Trimix divers.Well done to you all, we hope to see you again for more diving adventures!
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The latest news from your favourite Beach Dive Resort!‏

Welcome to The Scandal! Keeping you up to date with all the latest news at Scandi Divers & Campbell’s Beach Resort.

Issue 6

We’re back to this..news
Big La Laguna as we know it. Calm clear waters, beautiful sunshine & soaring temperatures, lots of guests & great diving.
But in August we had this!news
For a week we endured impassable beaches, no ferries in or out, very few guests & no diving.
Of course we know that this time of year can be pretty crappy but here in Puerto Galera we’re normally protected from most bad weather.
Typhoon Saola (Gener) passed through the Philippines on the way to mid-China via Taiwan causing massive damage and loss of life in all three countries.
Luckily for us we only experienced a few days of really bad weather & a little bit of inconvenience.
Large areas of Manila & parts of Rizal were affected by the ensuing floods. If you would like to help the victims of typhoon Saola you can make a donation to the Philippine Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org.ph/
news

Mudslide behind Big La Laguna.

n
Kim’s house was left devastated by the mudslide.

news
Fortunately no-one was home at the time.

Resort Renovations
Power To The People! (Well to our guests anyway).

newsnewsnews

The power project continues as the old Scandi generator is getting a well needed overhaul. The brand new generator is already in place in the all new Gen. House up at Campbell’s and has the capacity to run both resorts during a brown-out. Which of course it better for you! Immediate power for air-con/fans, ref.s/TV’s etc 24 hours a day.
Once the old Scandi generator is fixed up it will also go into the gen. house. It’ll be connected to Campbell’s so the new one doesn’t have to work so hard & we have back-up if needed!

Life’s A Gas!
          news
An unplanned project in August was the death of the dive shop compressor. It started to make some strange noises & Arman noticed that there seemed to be metal filings in the oil – not good! On closer inspection it was determined that several inner parts had come to the end of their life.
So now we have a brand new Bauer Poseidon 220L Compressor. Which for the divers reading this means quick tank fills with very clean air & for Arman it means that we have more full tanks at the ready so less running around!
With thanks to Christian & the guys from Whitetip for installing it.

Horse Head Reef

Super Snaps!
Horse Head Reef!!!
Of course the real Horse Head Reef is in fact underwater, this one’s a Facebook find.
Don’t forget that you can have one of your photos published in the next edition of The Scandal!
Send your photos to info@scandidivers

news

Mr Chen & friends from
I Love Diving!

news

Also diving this month..

The I Love Diving club from Shanghai visited us twice last month. On the 1st trip with leader Mr Lin were Rong Zang, Bin Liu, Huang Ting, Xiao Huang, Quan Dan, Cui Yugi, Wie Zhu, Ka Hou, Qi Cong Liang, & Chen Wei.
Later in the month Zhui Chen was accompanied by Chilli, Kitty, Huang, Binglin & Li Gang.
Jeff from the U S of A went diving with Walter.
Ted, Esther, Noel & Cor got in another couple of dives on the way back to Holland after visiting Coron.
(Above: The Mr Lin group)

  

What the..?!
WIN a drink on the house on your next visit if you can spot the freaky hand in this
issue of The Scandal!
Email info@scandi with your answer.

news
Click the link above for
Scandi & Campbell’s website
Big La Laguna at night (from Campbell's)

Congratulations to..

news
Discover Scuba Diving:
Li Gang Xiao came over with friends from I Love Diving earlier in the month and hadn’t planned to dive. However when he saw the beautiful clear waters of Big La Laguna he soon changed his mind! Li & Robert jumped in the pool to do the basic skills & then went around to Small La Laguna with the rest of the group for the dive where we spotted a big Hawksbill munching
on some coral.
1st ever dive and a turtle in the 1st five minutes, how’s that for beginner’s luck?!

Garry with edz & Terry
Open Water Diver
Garry Alinsuot from PG Yacht Club got his Open Water certificate with Edz & Terry.
Garry is going to be laying some new moorings for PGYC and they thought it a good idea that he’d be
able to do it
better wearing scuba!

Well done guys, we hope to see you again for more diving adventures!

like us on facebook
news

Ate Edz

!New Feature!

Welcome to

10 QUESTIONS

To kick us off Edna our Dive Secretary is in the hot seat!

How long have you worked at Scandi/Campbell’s?
I started working for Scandinavian Divers as a waitress when they first opened. I started diving & became a DM then I transferred to the office.
I worked in other places for a while & came back as Scandi’s Dive Secretary in July 2012.
Where did you grow up? 
I grew up in Batangas but have been living in Puerto Galera for over 10 years.
What do you like to do with your time off?
I like to go out & have fun. Relaxing or partying with my friends.
If you could go anywhere in the world right now where would you go?
The 1st thing I would like to do is go to the Red Sea to enjoy my diving dreams.
What’s your favourite drink?
Pineapple juice but it depends on the occasion!
If you were an animal what would you be?
A starfish, a butterfly or maybe a bird.
As a kid were you naughty or nice, shy or outgoing, funny or serious?
I was naughty as a kid, outgoing, funny sometimes serious.
If you were a superhero what special powers would you have?
I want to travel around the world in the blink of an eye.
If you won the Lotto what would you do with the money?
I’d help poor kids to have shelter.
What’s your proudest achievement?
When I finally achieved my instructor certificate & fulfilled my diving dream.

Thanks Edz!

news
Seasoned Scandi divers Ted, Esther & Cor, recently certified Noel, Jen, Walter, Daisey & Lilly.
 follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend

Welcome to The Scandal! Keeping you up to date with all the latest news at Scandi Divers & Campbell’s Beach Resort.

Issue 6

We’re back to this..news
Big La Laguna as we know it. Calm clear waters, beautiful sunshine & soaring temperatures, lots of guests & great diving.
But in August we had this!news
For a week we endured impassable beaches, no ferries in or out, very few guests & no diving.
Of course we know that this time of year can be pretty crappy but here in Puerto Galera we’re normally protected from most bad weather.
Typhoon Saola (Gener) passed through the Philippines on the way to mid-China via Taiwan causing massive damage and loss of life in all three countries.
Luckily for us we only experienced a few days of really bad weather & a little bit of inconvenience.
Large areas of Manila & parts of Rizal were affected by the ensuing floods. If you would like to help the victims of typhoon Saola you can make a donation to the Philippine Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org.ph/
news

Mudslide behind Big La Laguna.

n
Kim’s house was left devastated by the mudslide.

news
Fortunately no-one was home at the time.

Resort Renovations
Power To The People! (Well to our guests anyway).

newsnewsnews

The power project continues as the old Scandi generator is getting a well needed overhaul. The brand new generator is already in place in the all new Gen. House up at Campbell’s and has the capacity to run both resorts during a brown-out. Which of course it better for you! Immediate power for air-con/fans, ref.s/TV’s etc 24 hours a day.
Once the old Scandi generator is fixed up it will also go into the gen. house. It’ll be connected to Campbell’s so the new one doesn’t have to work so hard & we have back-up if needed!

Life’s A Gas!
          news
An unplanned project in August was the death of the dive shop compressor. It started to make some strange noises & Arman noticed that there seemed to be metal filings in the oil – not good! On closer inspection it was determined that several inner parts had come to the end of their life.
So now we have a brand new Bauer Poseidon 220L Compressor. Which for the divers reading this means quick tank fills with very clean air & for Arman it means that we have more full tanks at the ready so less running around!
With thanks to Christian & the guys from Whitetip for installing it.

Horse Head Reef

Super Snaps!
Horse Head Reef!!!
Of course the real Horse Head Reef is in fact underwater, this one’s a Facebook find.
Don’t forget that you can have one of your photos published in the next edition of The Scandal!
Send your photos to info@scandidivers

news

Mr Chen & friends from
I Love Diving!

news

Also diving this month..

The I Love Diving club from Shanghai visited us twice last month. On the 1st trip with leader Mr Lin were Rong Zang, Bin Liu, Huang Ting, Xiao Huang, Quan Dan, Cui Yugi, Wie Zhu, Ka Hou, Qi Cong Liang, & Chen Wei.
Later in the month Zhui Chen was accompanied by Chilli, Kitty, Huang, Binglin & Li Gang.
Jeff from the U S of A went diving with Walter.
Ted, Esther, Noel & Cor got in another couple of dives on the way back to Holland after visiting Coron.
(Above: The Mr Lin group)

  

What the..?!
WIN a drink on the house on your next visit if you can spot the freaky hand in this
issue of The Scandal!
Email info@scandi with your answer.

Forward to a Friend
news
Click the link above for
Scandi & Campbell’s website
Big La Laguna at night (from Campbell's)

Congratulations to..

news
Discover Scuba Diving:
Li Gang Xiao came over with friends from I Love Diving earlier in the month and hadn’t planned to dive. However when he saw the beautiful clear waters of Big La Laguna he soon changed his mind! Li & Robert jumped in the pool to do the basic skills & then went around to Small La Laguna with the rest of the group for the dive where we spotted a big Hawksbill munching
on some coral.
1st ever dive and a turtle in the 1st five minutes, how’s that for beginner’s luck?!

Garry with edz & Terry
Open Water Diver
Garry Alinsuot from PG Yacht Club got his Open Water certificate with Edz & Terry.
Garry is going to be laying some new moorings for PGYC and they thought it a good idea that he’d be
able to do it
better wearing scuba!

Well done guys, we hope to see you again for more diving adventures!

like us on facebook
news

Ate Edz

!New Feature!

Welcome to

10 QUESTIONS

To kick us off Edna our Dive Secretary is in the hot seat!

How long have you worked at Scandi/Campbell’s?
I started working for Scandinavian Divers as a waitress when they first opened. I started diving & became a DM then I transferred to the office.
I worked in other places for a while & came back as Scandi’s Dive Secretary in July 2012.
Where did you grow up? 
I grew up in Batangas but have been living in Puerto Galera for over 10 years.
What do you like to do with your time off?
I like to go out & have fun. Relaxing or partying with my friends.
If you could go anywhere in the world right now where would you go?
The 1st thing I would like to do is go to the Red Sea to enjoy my diving dreams.
What’s your favourite drink?
Pineapple juice but it depends on the occasion!
If you were an animal what would you be?
A starfish, a butterfly or maybe a bird.
As a kid were you naughty or nice, shy or outgoing, funny or serious?
I was naughty as a kid, outgoing, funny sometimes serious.
If you were a superhero what special powers would you have?
I want to travel around the world in the blink of an eye.
If you won the Lotto what would you do with the money?
I’d help poor kids to have shelter.
What’s your proudest achievement?
When I finally achieved my instructor certificate & fulfilled my diving dream.

Thanks Edz!

news
Seasoned Scandi divers Ted, Esther & Cor, recently certified Noel, Jen, Walter, Daisey & Lilly.
 follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend