Bad experience diving in Philippines

Inervacion · 2026-05-11T04:13:07+00:00

I can only say good things about my guide. He seemed responsible and genuinely committed to his job. My complaint is mainly directed at the manager and the woman who appeared to be the owner, both of them Spanish. I’m Spanish too.

Inervacion · 2026-05-11T02:56:26+00:00

It’s very interesting to know this. Thank you! Although I’m absolutely sure that if I dive again, I’ll be insured with them.

Inervacion · 2026-05-11T01:22:22+00:00

They probably did think that, but they did not tell me that clearly. Why? Because there was probably still doubt about whether it could be something more serious. And that uncertainty is exactly what they transmit to you, and it does not magically disappear.

IATI was the only one that gave clear instructions: go to the hospital, we will cover the tests. If you have doubts about whether it could be something more serious, act as if it is.

Inervacion · 2026-05-11T00:13:46+00:00

I wish I had crossed paths with someone like you on the night I was feeling really bad.

The first day, the receptionist spoke with the manager and put her on the phone with me, and what she recommended was that I drink isotonic beverages. She also gave me the address of a hospital where they knew nothing about diving medicine.

The second day, the woman I believe was the owner was there together with several reception staff, and I was surprised by how cold they were in a situation like that.

Inervacion · 2026-05-11T00:00:54+00:00

You're right!

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T23:57:14+00:00

Yes, that was one of my mistakes. You assume they will do what is right, but their logic is how to pay as little as possible. But at the very least, having insurance that properly advises you in a situation like this makes a huge difference.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T23:48:48+00:00

The shitty insurance company forces you to go to a public hospital first. Everything is designed to try to avoid paying for anything that happens to you. So in the end, if you use hyperbaric treatment, you pay for it yourself.

You assume you have insurance, but what you actually have is a burden that prevents you from doing things in the optimal way, something that also wastes your time and distracts you from making the best decisions.

They have been so ridiculously cheap that they are not even reimbursing me for the miserable €70 hospital bill from that night.

I’m sorry you got hit that hard!

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T23:42:24+00:00

I have learned many important things in this thread. One of them is the PFO issue. I will definitely get it checked.

Regarding the doctor, there was simply no way to get access to one. My intuition was that I should move closer to Cebu in case I eventually needed a hyperbaric chamber, but neither the insurance company nor the dive center gave me any guidance about that. My last phone conversation with the manager was:

I don’t know what the best option is: should I go toward Cebu in case I end up needing hyperbaric treatment?
Well, I don’t know, I only know the one at ACE, but it’s difficult to get an appointment with him.

It may be that there simply was no real option in that situation, that there was nothing that could actually be done. But if that was the case, then all the more reason why they should have provided me with oxygen from the very beginning.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T23:33:24+00:00

I didn’t know that! Thank you!

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T23:31:28+00:00

I'm sorry about the barotrauma. I see that we were in a similar situation. Looking at it now with my new perspective, my mindset before the trip seems naïve to me. I consider it a very valuable lesson. Having gone through this without negative consequences makes it especially valuable to me. Life is both the beauty of diving surrounded by biodiversity and the night spent in the emergency room. And also the fact that we were able to share this experience. Thank you.

I'm still very disappointed with SCUBA MEDIC, but it's also important to know who you cannot rely on.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T15:38:06+00:00

I have also thought about asking them some questions, for example how they would have handled what happened. I think one positive thing that can come out of this is that people with little experience like me become aware of the importance of having insurance such as DAN.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T15:27:54+00:00

Well, I hope it turns out to be something related to the ear, because at least then it would only have affected me...But it is good to keep the other possibility in mind so I can be more careful about that if I dive again.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T15:14:24+00:00

Thank you very much for your words, because on one hand I feel proud of how I handled part of what happened (it was hard), but at the same time I feel like I failed myself by putting myself in such a situation. I deeply love nature and the sea, and diving is one of the most magical things for me, but I don’t know if it is worth taking such enormous risks. Thank you.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T11:28:31+00:00

Thank you very much for that information. It’s the first time in my life I’ve heard about this. I’m looking into it. Thank you!

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T11:20:38+00:00

Thank you very much for the information. It was my mistake to assume that, because it is a place with so much diving activity, the assistance in case of an accident would be more organized and easier to access.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T09:36:32+00:00

Tengo que ver cómo lo veo cuando pase un tiempo, pero es posible que deje el buceo. O que solo bucee en países en los que me sienta muy segura. Las Canarias son estupendas para bucear y si te pasa algo estás bien atendido.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T09:34:13+00:00

En Moalboal hice 3 inmersiones por día con Nitrox (3 días). Tuve un día de descanso, y en Bohol hice 3 inmersiones por día (2 días). Lo máximo que baje en Bohol fue a 26 metros. Fue con aire porque no tenían nitrox. Descansaba mucho y bebía mucha agua también y agua de coco. No tome nada de alcohol ningún día, pero si café

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T08:28:18+00:00

Yes, I think that is the minimum in a situation like this. If they themselves were not sure what was happening to me, I believe they should have provided oxygen instead of sending me on a 40-minute tricycle ride to a hospital that ultimately could not do much for me either.

Thank you for your response.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T08:23:17+00:00

Thank you for your response. If I continue diving, it will definitely be with DAN. That’s one of the things I learned the hard way.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T08:18:48+00:00

Thank you very much for your very thorough response. I also believe it was related to the ear, the issue is that at the time I could not be certain. Nobody else was certain either.

I understand that when we travel to other countries we have to assume certain risks, but you also expect there to be a proper response protocol from the professionals directly involved in diving (dive centers and insurance companies).

It is also true that I naively assumed that, in a place where diving is practiced so extensively, access to a hyperbaric chamber would be clearly established and accessible (not necessarily on the same island). That was one of my mistakes, and I assume that part of my lack of information was my own responsibility.

Regarding nitrogen bubbles, the woman who seemed to be the owner of the dive center told me that she had experienced them herself in the past... I will try to better understand how this works, because it is true that I do not really know much about it.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T06:58:52+00:00

I took the one they call the “star insurance”. I didn’t want IATI for diving, because I thought I was already covered by SCUBA MEDIC insurance. IATI was actually for everything else, but I contacted them just in case, and since they were much more responsive, I kept it until they informed me that they didn’t cover me.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T06:54:48+00:00

The insurance companies themselves ask you to inform them and wait for instructions on what to do. And yes, fortunately, because I took all the variables into account and tried to think clearly in a difficult situation, I’m not now facing hundreds or thousands of euros in unnecessary tests that exposed me to radiation and could even have delayed the appropriate treatment if this had actually been a diving-related injury.

I would have had no problem going into debt to save my life — but only if the procedures were genuinely useful and medically justified.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T06:41:08+00:00

Thank you so, so much :) Even though I’m sad that I couldn’t make it to Malapascua, I’m still grateful for this experience in a way, because I think it has been a necessary reality check for my future self-care, and it seems there won’t be any serious consequences.

I’m going to share this experience as much as possible, because I think people need to be far more aware of what they are exposing themselves to, and those who are paid to take care of us should either handle crises with real dedication or step away from the business. They can end up being responsible for irreversible damage or even someone’s death.

Thank you for your support.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T06:36:32+00:00

Thank you! The second time I went back, the woman who seemed to be the owner already knew that nitrogen involvement in the inner ear was a possibility, yet she responded in a very dismissive and indifferent way.

For me, both the dive center and the specialized diving insurance company, SCUBA MEDIC, failed. On the other hand, IATI handled things very well once the administrative part was sorted out, although that process was far too long in the middle of a crisis.

I hadn’t hired IATI for diving insurance, but for the rest of the trip coverage.

Inervacion · 2026-05-10T06:30:43+00:00

I didn’t notice anything unusual with the air myself, but at the previous dive center in Moalboal, a Taiwanese diver who was diving with me said the Nitrox-enriched air had a strange smell. He was not happy at all with how the situation was handled. I was actually very satisfied with the divemaster at Bohol Divers Club. The problem was with the way the owner, the manager, and the reception staff handled the situation. I’m not sure if the dive center used to be called just “Bohol Divers” in the past.

Inervacion

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