Mario's Scuba Diving and Homestay
Mario's Scuba Diving and Homestay
Lagoon Ave, Dauin, Negros Oriental 6200 Philippines
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About
#1 of 3 hostels in Apo Island
Location
4.4
Rooms
4.1
Value
4.5
Cleanliness
4.3
Service
4.4
Sleep Quality
3.7
A homestay and a PADI scuba diving shop in Apo Island, Philippines.
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Property amenities
Restaurant
Diving
Hiking
Snorkeling
Children Activities (Kid / Family Friendly)
Laundry service
Room types
Ocean view
Good to know
HOTEL STYLE
Budget
Family
Languages Spoken
Filipino
Location
Lagoon Ave, Dauin, Negros Oriental 6200 Philippines
Getting there
Car recommended
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Grade: 40 out of 100
40
2 Attractions
within 5 miles
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Detailed Reviews
We chose a medium room at P800/night for five nights with a double bed, a single light and fan powered from rooftop solar energy and a private bathroom. There is no wifi and generator electricity only from 6-10PM, which is the case all over this little volcanic island. The accommodation is simple but clean. And the staff is just wonderful.
After my PADI Open Water Diver Training with the dive instructor Mario and dive master Mac, I believe you cannot chose any better place to learn and dive. Their whole local dive team lives and loves Apo like the back of their hand, and promotes sustainable ways of managing it. They always make a special effort for their guests to feel comfortable before, during and after the dive, with a lot of patience, attention to the variety of Apo’s marine life, joy and humor.
Thanks to the whole team for your warm welcome, we really enjoyed our holidays with you!
After my PADI Open Water Diver Training with the dive instructor Mario and dive master Mac, I believe you cannot chose any better place to learn and dive. Their whole local dive team lives and loves Apo like the back of their hand, and promotes sustainable ways of managing it. They always make a special effort for their guests to feel comfortable before, during and after the dive, with a lot of patience, attention to the variety of Apo’s marine life, joy and humor.
Thanks to the whole team for your warm welcome, we really enjoyed our holidays with you!
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Date of stay: December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mario's is an unique place to stay in Apo Island. With basic clean rooms but an amazing atmosphere. We stayed here for 3 nights and we had to leave with tears in our eyes. We wouldn't like to thank the team at Mario's for the amazing diving and for creating this unique vibe. Mario, Mac Mac, Jed, Chad, Ron, Rechelle, Mila and the rest of the team (I don't remember all the names) thank you for everything and we will be back for sure. It was amazing.
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Date of stay: February 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
From my experience the three most commonly used accommodation in Apo Island are very much the same - Liberty, Apo Island Beach resort & Marios. Be sure to pack all valuables into water proof bags as they are likely to get wet on the journey to Apo Island. We were waist deep into water when getting off the boat. The homestay at Marios is very basic, be prepared as electricity only runs from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. We booked a double room for 500php per night. I believe all 3 places for acccommodation on the island prepare all 3 meals for their guests, we tried to go to Liberty for lunch after some snorkelling and they didnt have enough food to cover my husband and I as they prepared only enough for their guests. (By the way: Liberty have beautiful views from their restaurant). All meals we had at Marios was very authentic cooked fresh by the lovely ladies. The staff are all very friendly and will help organise all your activities during your stay (ie diving, snorkelling). They also supply all the gear. When the lights go out at 9:30pm everyone tends to go to bed as its quite hard to do anything else. Make sure you check for any mosquitos in the net before going to sleep. Be prepared for very basic accommodation, After all, you are there to swim with the giant turtles, and see some beautiful reefs. Some tips: Take insect repellent, The mosquitos love me for some reason, so the one night i forgot to wear any i counted 34 bites. For the ladies bring your hygiene supplies, its very hard to find any on the island. And big one.. make sure you have enough Peso.. No Atm on the Island or Malatapay.
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Date of stay: December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Here is the link to Marios's place homepage where you can find the prices! The best is to call for a room reservation because internet is not really working there! We had our own one, this worked very well.
http://mariosscubadivinghomestay.com/about.html
At first we wanted to stay 2 nights on Apo Island but we liked the atmosphere there and stayed 5 days! Only snorkeling from the beach is beautiful where you can see a lot of turtles and the water is very clear! The diving is awesome! In the dive school of Mario we got our own dive guide Mark and he knows every fish by name! It was fun and all the staff at Mario's place was everytime friendly and helpful! The rooms are basic and comfortable with nice terraces and nice view to the sea! They have a small choice for every meal and its very good! You leave there in the village close to the local people and they greet everytime when you pass by! Save water because there is not so much but enough for everything! Electricity is only von 6 to 9:30p.m. but thats enough - plan your activites and day in another way!
If you do not have a good sleep, take ear pluges because the cocks start to scream about 3.30a.m. and that the whole day but you get used to it.
When you sit in the restaurant everytime comes somebody of the place and tells you stories and talks to you as a friend! We enjoyed our stay so much there!!!
http://mariosscubadivinghomestay.com/about.html
At first we wanted to stay 2 nights on Apo Island but we liked the atmosphere there and stayed 5 days! Only snorkeling from the beach is beautiful where you can see a lot of turtles and the water is very clear! The diving is awesome! In the dive school of Mario we got our own dive guide Mark and he knows every fish by name! It was fun and all the staff at Mario's place was everytime friendly and helpful! The rooms are basic and comfortable with nice terraces and nice view to the sea! They have a small choice for every meal and its very good! You leave there in the village close to the local people and they greet everytime when you pass by! Save water because there is not so much but enough for everything! Electricity is only von 6 to 9:30p.m. but thats enough - plan your activites and day in another way!
If you do not have a good sleep, take ear pluges because the cocks start to scream about 3.30a.m. and that the whole day but you get used to it.
When you sit in the restaurant everytime comes somebody of the place and tells you stories and talks to you as a friend! We enjoyed our stay so much there!!!
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Date of stay: August 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
unfortunately we could not stay at marios place (although we called one day before to ensure our reservation was still valid) but they moved us into marys place, a minute walk away from marios place which was fine for us.
we went diving with marios dive school and figured that they just take too many divers for the available equipment and manpower. as well the equipment was not really in a good shape and although we have reported e.g. faulty regulators they have not been replaced until the next dive ("you can use the second one" is not really what you want to hear in such a situation). as well there was not enough weight for all the divers to put on the weight belts and we had to dive with weight lifting discs in our bcd pockets (which is not so much fun in a case of emergency). we also almost never left on the announced departure times for diving which was basically ok but badly adds up in the end to the other details.
the dive staff seemed - understandable due to the overbooked diving - a bit stressed and not so relaxed as usual, but still friendly. the divesites - all max. 5 minutes boat ride away - are just incredible and definitely made our days on the island.
again, mario and his staff were friendly and nice, but too much business is sometimes not good for the quality.
we went diving with marios dive school and figured that they just take too many divers for the available equipment and manpower. as well the equipment was not really in a good shape and although we have reported e.g. faulty regulators they have not been replaced until the next dive ("you can use the second one" is not really what you want to hear in such a situation). as well there was not enough weight for all the divers to put on the weight belts and we had to dive with weight lifting discs in our bcd pockets (which is not so much fun in a case of emergency). we also almost never left on the announced departure times for diving which was basically ok but badly adds up in the end to the other details.
the dive staff seemed - understandable due to the overbooked diving - a bit stressed and not so relaxed as usual, but still friendly. the divesites - all max. 5 minutes boat ride away - are just incredible and definitely made our days on the island.
again, mario and his staff were friendly and nice, but too much business is sometimes not good for the quality.
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Date of stay: April 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed here one night, staff is nice and helpfull. Food is a set menu at night, and it was actually great. Mario is friendly and make everyone fell at home (as much as possible). Sadly we ran out of Water in the night and couldnt flush the toiliet or take a shower. We told the staff about our issue in the morning, and they said they would fix the problem, but they didn't fix it before we left. So you can imagine the smell in the room, by the way there wasn't a bathroom door, so the smell was really groose. We complained about this and actually got the room for free.
A nice gesture, but I would rather have payed and been able to take a shower and flush the toilet.
A nice gesture, but I would rather have payed and been able to take a shower and flush the toilet.
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Date of stay: February 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed for 4 nights at marios. We were walk ins and were met by Archer. He introduced himself to both of us and helped us get settled in. It was rewlly good to meet him as now we knew who to go to for help. Room was clean and nice. One problem we had with the stay overall is that the electricity is only on for 3 hours a day. This is the case with the entire island. Although not this establishments fault, a generator would have worked wonders as there was a lack of breeze. Despite the room being so open, it became very humid and hot overnight. Food was alright, as a vegetarian I only paid 100 php for all my meals. The staff would let us know what was up for dinner and then ask me what id like, meaning all my meals were made specially for me! We went diving with marios as well. Divemasters were super friendly and loved a good chat. They seemed well able to handle inexperienced divers. Our first dive was called Coconut. This was a drift dive. His had to be the craziest current I have ever dived in. He briefing was a little inadequate because the difficulty of this dive was not fully explained. As my partner and I are dive professionals we thought there were a few things that could be adjusted on the diving side of things. One in particular was not having Open water divers doing that dive site.overall I loved marios and would definitely recommend it!
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Date of stay: November 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Le confort est simple (wifi 2h le soir, électricité de 18h à 22h, pas de climatisation) mais c’est justement ce qui fait tout le charme de ce lieu. Les chambres sont spacieuses et propres. La gérante très sympa, les repas simple mais bon, le prix incroyablement bas pour l’île paradisiaque que c’est. Un séjour inoubliable.
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Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
(For reference: I’m in my late 20’s, 35 logged dives, American).
This is by far the best place to stay on Apo (as long as you are seeking great diving-as opposed to a fancy resort).
Electricity runs from 6-10 PM and there is no wifi. Again, this place is awesome if you are here to dive.
Mario's is a "homestay" so be sure to bring your own toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, etc...). The beds are comfortable and are covered with mosquito nets. They provide towels and there are some small shops on the island in case you forget some necessities. The rooms are basic and like many places in the Philippines, toilets can be difficult to flush.
Our divemasters were AWESOME! Mac and Jed made us feel very safe and comfortable while showing us the best that the island had to offer. We dove up to 3 times a day and we’re never disappointed. I felt totally safe with the dive masters and the equipment we rented was in good condition.
Gliza is an amazing hostess and makes sure that your travel plans are taken care of and makes sure you eat.
This is by far the best place to stay on Apo (as long as you are seeking great diving-as opposed to a fancy resort).
Electricity runs from 6-10 PM and there is no wifi. Again, this place is awesome if you are here to dive.
Mario's is a "homestay" so be sure to bring your own toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, etc...). The beds are comfortable and are covered with mosquito nets. They provide towels and there are some small shops on the island in case you forget some necessities. The rooms are basic and like many places in the Philippines, toilets can be difficult to flush.
Our divemasters were AWESOME! Mac and Jed made us feel very safe and comfortable while showing us the best that the island had to offer. We dove up to 3 times a day and we’re never disappointed. I felt totally safe with the dive masters and the equipment we rented was in good condition.
Gliza is an amazing hostess and makes sure that your travel plans are taken care of and makes sure you eat.
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Date of stay: February 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We definitely didn’t enjoy staying at this place. This is not a homestay, it’s a poorly run guesthouse. The room is very dirty, the fan is not cleaned for ages, the toilet is disgusting. On the top of that, they don’t even have a first aid kit. This morning I asked for betadine and I was given a dirty old box full of old and dirty stuff. That’s totally not acceptable for a supposedly certified dive center.
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Date of stay: April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I'm not sure. Sorry, just seeing this question now.
"Room 3, ground floor, is the only room that i'm aware of that has running electricity even through the timed outages"Read full review
"Ask the staff if someone will occupy the rooms above yours, because you might not be okay with some guests walking too loud upstairs"Read full review
LOCATION
PhilippinesVisayasNegros IslandNegros OrientalDauinApo Island
NUMBER OF ROOMS
9
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