By: Ken Kollwitz
Crystal Blue Resort is an excellent resort for divers, especially photographers, and more on that later. The resort is located in Anilao, Philippines, in Mabini, Batangas. It sits at the base of a hill like most of the resorts in the area and is easy to get to from almost anywhere in the world. From US West Coast cities like Los Angeles or San Fransico, it is a 14-hour non-stop flight to Manila, and from there, it is a 2.5-hour van ride. That’s easier than getting to some Caribbean Islands unless you live on the East Coast. The ride down to the resort from the main road is one of the steepest I have been on. It’s incredible how easy the drivers make it look. It’s even a challenging road to walk but worth the sightseeing along the way.
The resort has 16 rooms; most have two queens, and a few have one queen plus two larger family rooms. Being built on a hillside, everything has different levels. The main office is at the middle level of the resort. Above it is the two separate family rooms, and above those are eight rooms along with eight more above those. The rooms are all spacious, fully air-conditioned, with queen-size beds, bathrooms, and showers. They have a garden or ocean view, and all have a sitting area outside.
The stairway leading to the rooms is well lit and covered with a vine-type plant, making it a pretty ascent up to your room and back. The main level is also where the vans drop you off and pick you up.
Just across from and below the main office is a circular stairway leading up to a cozy, covered, open-air area with chairs, couches, fans, and awesome views. This area seems always overlooked and is a great place to read a book or relax between dives. Still in the middle of the resort, and just below the office is a walkway leading to the lecture room and the dining area. The lecture room has tables and seats for about 20 people, and this is where you will learn all you can during any photo workshops held throughout the year.
My third favorite area is the open-air dining area, where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served. Not only is the food great with plenty of options, but the ambiance is even better. There’s something nice about enjoying the fresh air, spectacular sunsets, and views of Balayan Bay and beyond and talking with the other guests. The staff is all wonderful as well, and I have to congratulate them because they wear many hats and work long hours. They are incredibly courteous and helpful and sometimes seem to know what you want before you know it. Many have been with the resort for years, and about 18 of them live on the property. Something I find unique about the resort is that they have 3 to 4 extensive gardens high up on the hillside above the property. Here, they grow a number of the items the chefs use for cooking, and one of my favorites was the homegrown Mango.
Below the lecture room is my second favorite area, the camera room, because if I am getting my camera ready, I know the best part is about to happen. For photographers, Crystal Blue has one of the best camera rooms you will ever find. Each person gets their own station with lots of room and plenty of electrical outlets to charge all the stuff we bring. The camera room has an environmentally controlled atmosphere making it the perfect place to do camera repairs and setup for diving. The camera room also has a his and hers bathroom, which can be extremely nice after long dives. Once you have everything ready to go, you only need to carry your camera between the camera room and the dive deck below, which is my favorite area. Why the dive equipment area? Because DIVING is next on the agenda.
Like the rest of the resort, the dive equipment area is well laid out and organized, making life easy for everyone. It is also at the bottom of the stairs. As you get to the bottom of the stairs the tank filling area and compressor room are immediately to your left. All scuba cylinders are filled with Nitrox and stored in designated areas for each boat in front of the compressor room. This is where your tanks are set up and kept to make it easy for the crew to load each boat. To the left of the compressor room is the storage cubbies for each person with boxes for your loose gear, and further to the left is the camera rinse and drying area, equipped with low-pressure air nozzles. Directly in front of the stairs are the hanging gear racks for suits and wet stuff that each person is assigned to depending on the boat they will be on, and to the right of the stairs is the gear rinse area and showers.
The staff at Crystal Blue are excellent. They are all friendly and ready to help take care of everything to ensure you have an excellent trip. If you need something carried or have questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
All dives are from dual outrigger-style Banca boats with a maximum of four divers to one guide per boat. Typically, two dives are offered in the morning and two in the afternoon, which will keep you plenty busy, and in your spare time, you can look at all the beautiful pictures you took during the day. October to May/June is the dry season and is regarded as the best dive season in Anilao. The water temperature averages 80-83F with excellent visibility, and topside temperatures run between 80F-95F.
The diving is excellent and varied throughout the area. With Anilao being a Marine Protected Sanctuary and one of the Philippines' best spots for underwater macro photography, it doesn’t get much better. There are world-class dive sites within minutes of the resort. The Anilao area has much to offer and not only the macro photography and muck diving it is known for. It also has some spectacular reefs that are equally good for wide-angle photography. You can also observe schools of various fishes, some hard and soft coral, sponges, and many colorful crinoids.
As a side note, both times I have been at the resort I had some business in Manila to take care of. It’s a long day but coming back the scenic route is totally worth it. It’s is much longer but beautiful and a great way to see the real Philippines. Here you get more of an idea of how Filipinos live, work, and play. The drive itself takes you through the town of Tagaytay in Luzon which is located at the top of a mountain that has spectacular views of the countryside and the Taal Volcano surrounded by Taal Lake.
From here the road takes you to the Taal Basilica, which sits at the top of a hill in the town of Taal. It was built in 1575 with coral stones and adobe and is Asia’s largest church. It looks big from the outside, but you have no idea how big it is until you step through the massive front doors. Inside, it is amazing, from the architecture and the hand-painted decorations to the religious icons.
Afterwards, it’s about a 60-minute drive to the resort, where a cold drink and dinner will be waiting for you. A trip to the Crystal Blue Resort should be on every underwater photographer's list of places to explore.
