# Diving Vacation Combined with Surgical Tourism - Suggestions?



## TallRN (Oct 26, 2020)

Provided tourism is allowed in the Philippines by about February or March, I would love to bring my wife and son with me to have a vacation that might include a beginning scuba or perhaps snorkel experience. I tend to hate crowds and large cities. I would also like to schedule a hemorrhoidectomy if it can be done for less than my deductible here in the USA. I am not talking about a simple lancing as a temporary measure but a full blown removal so I never have to deal with it again. My other reason to go to PI is to scope it out as a possible place to retire and if I did I imagine I would rent in the provinces within an hour driving distance to good shopping. So here is where I need guidance - which island will be a good choice for both if I plan to be there 2 to 3 weeks? Would this island be a good choice for retirement? Does anyone know a good general surgeon who does this procedure on a regular basis? I would also need to rent a condo, house or AirB&B. I apologize if it seems presumptuous of me to ask so many questions but I don't know anyone there to ask. Thanks for your input.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Welcome to the forum TallRN. From what I've heard the best hospitals are in Manila. You could live just about anywhere but the further you are from Luzon or any major large city the harder it is to find Western foods, imported items and Western chained restaurants the choices will be limited, variety is not the Philippines, you get stuck with what's stocked on the shelves and it's seems to be the same stuff including the vegetables. The good news is that the online ordering has greatly improved but shipping times are much longer the further you are from Manila.

Upon retirement your most immediate concern will be your Immigration status, you could have this all accomplished stateside so you'd show up here with your package, I don't recommend doing it from here it could be a long drawn out process and it takes longer because you're on a one year probationary and don't forget this is a 3rd world and so the never ending redundancies and paper work still utilized even on renewals, it's like you have to do the paper work all over again it's never ending.

When it does open up for tourists you will need to have enough "Health Care" coverage to handle a Covid hospital stay and I haven't done a lot of research but I'm seeing at least 300,000 pesos per person for hospitalization costs. And what about your wife can you stay with family In-law members here or live with them, build your home on family land? if not, you can find a lot of information on Condos off of Facebook, you would research the area you want to live along with the Condominiums sold there, it's also good to do this once your here by checking the highways and just about any mall you visit you get hounded by people selling you condos. I would never send money here for any kind of down payment, trust nobody.

It might sound like I'm talking you out of coming here and that's not what I'm doing, it's just a bad time for a visit and I'm not sure when this will change unless there is an effective vaccine, well... everyone's waiting.


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## cvgtpc1 (Jul 28, 2012)

TallRN said:


> Provided tourism is allowed in the Philippines by about February or March, I would love to bring my wife and son with me to have a vacation that might include a beginning scuba or perhaps snorkel experience. I tend to hate crowds and large cities. I would also like to schedule a hemorrhoidectomy if it can be done for less than my deductible here in the USA. I am not talking about a simple lancing as a temporary measure but a full blown removal so I never have to deal with it again. My other reason to go to PI is to scope it out as a possible place to retire and if I did I imagine I would rent in the provinces within an hour driving distance to good shopping. So here is where I need guidance - which island will be a good choice for both if I plan to be there 2 to 3 weeks? Would this island be a good choice for retirement? Does anyone know a good general surgeon who does this procedure on a regular basis? I would also need to rent a condo, house or AirB&B. I apologize if it seems presumptuous of me to ask so many questions but I don't know anyone there to ask. Thanks for your input.


The assumption is your wife is a Filipina citizen? Obvious I suppose but one never knows! Advice given may change if she's not. US naturalization changes some things also. Big thing right now is no Balikbayan so would need a visa like us.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

To get good medical services you will need to be in one of the three major cities. Manila, Cebu and Davao.

Manila has the best as it is the biggest, it however is a very crowded noisy and expensive city. The dive destinations near are Subic to the north and Batangas to the south. I have never dove Subic but is looks like some interesting wrecks for a more advanced diver. I have dove two places in Batangas, one on the west side of the province was nothing special, no real dive shops offering a high level of service. In Batangas you can cross over to Puerto Galeria, the majority of the diving I did there was in strong current, not my cup pf tea and not for a beginner either.

Cebu is the second largest city in the country, there is diving right in the city but I took my rescue diver course there and there was a lot of trash in the water, To the north there are some good dive sites but I have not been there.

Since this pandemic started I have been in Moalboal. It is a 2 hr drive from Cebu and has great diving. The entire coast is a deep wall that starts just off the shore with lots to see. I have over 70 dives since February even with a 3 month halt die to the lockdown, I am on track to get 100 dives here this year. It is a backpacker destination so lots of low cost housing options but it also has some higher end places depending on your budget. Check it out on line and if you find it interesting, let me know and I can provide some more detailed information.

Close to Cebu is also Bohol and Dummagette. Bohol has some great diving, it is a couple hour ferry ride from Cebu. I was there a year ago and can also offer some advice. Dumagette is about a 4 to 5 hour bus and ferry trip from Cebu. The diving there is muck diving, a soft bottom, not a lot of coral or structure but some interesting critters. A day trip from any of the places there is Apo Island, so far the best diving I have seen here, just hard to get to and a little ion the expensive side as a trip is a 3 tank day.

I have been to Davao but never dove there. Perhaps others could comment on diving there.

One thing to consider is that just about any place is a half day travel away, lots of flights, in normal times, from every place to one of the three major cities that act as hubs. You do not necessarily have to limit your options to places with both your medical needs and diving needs as it is easy to get around here. For places near by but that would be a couple flights between them there are lots of ferries that will be direct. Fort example Bohol to Dumagette might need to fly to Manila or Davao and connect but you can take a ferry between them.


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## TallRN (Oct 26, 2020)

My wife is Thai but will become a US citizen. Sorry for the confusion. I am also thinking ahead for multiple eventualities as she has recently recovered from a dangerous form of cancer but the future is uncertain and by the time I retire I could be alone. Don't get the idea that I am planning now for a replacement - I would prefer to retire in the Philippines with her rather than without her.

Ok so far the advice is to plan on Cebu for the first week while I get worked on. Right? Any contact info for a general surgeon would be helpful. The websites I find are likely taking a large cut so using them is likely to inflate the costs so I would like to contact a Doctor's office for a Doc who has surgical privileges in a reputable hospital. If you know someone who has had a good experience maybe you could give me a referral.

For the second week I will check out some of your suggestions. Thanks.

I have been studying the situation there enough to know I can't buy anything unless it is a condo. I might be willing to lease land when the time comes and put a prefab on it - something that could be moved if the neighborhood goes to heck.

I would not mind if my 18 y/o son met a nice girl there. It would be great if he found an interest that did not involve a danged game controller. But that is another topic and I don't expect any advice there.


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## TallRN (Oct 26, 2020)

Sorry for the language. I guess I have strong feelings about video games not expressible without expletives.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Things in the Philippines can be very long-winded which makes your timeline look a bit tight.


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