I have spent a fair amount of time in the Philippines now and have come up with my top 3 Islands. These are:
Siquijor Island - The vibe is low key and chilled, with a multitude of waterfalls, beautiful beaches, great hotels, nice restaurants, a large variety of bars from sports bars to quiet beach bars to full on party bars and amazing diving straight off the beach. I dove with Siquijor Divers Center straight in front of the dive shop and saw 10 turtles, amzing coral, in fantastic condition and a huge variety of fish species.
Siargao Island - Similar vibe to Siquijor, however it has a surfing vibe as opposed to a diving vibe. The diving wasn't as good here, but the surfing is amazing. You can battle the crowds and surf Cloud 9 or try one of the numerous and often uncrowded, other breaks on the island and surrounding islands.
Alona Beach, Bohol - Another dive town, but basically Siquijor on steroids. It can get very busy, but a beautiful beach, a huge variety of restaurants and bars and at last count, I think there were over 70 dive shops to choose from. I dove with Valm Divers and did dives on the house reef and a couple of trips to Balicasag Island. I would reccomend both of these.
Hi, I also visited these 3 islands. Each of them is so different and unique. The diving in both Siquijor and Bohol was stunning. I dived with this Bohol dive shop. I think it's the same place as you. I also dived in Anda. The reefs there were very beautiful. I am already looking forward to my next dive trip. I plan to visit Negros and Puerto Galera.
I agree on this completely. Especially Alona beach and Balicasag Island has a special place for me. I haven't been to Siargao yet, since I heard the scuba diving isn't amazing compared to these other 2 you mentioned. Thanks for your story and input!