FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
TRAVEL SITUATION
Last update: June 2023: The Philippines has opened for inbound international tourism for more than a year. No quarantine is required on arrival, and you can proceed straight to Marine Conservation Philippines. If you are not fully vaccinated against COVID, to enter the Philippines you need to bring with you a negative test (either PCR 48h, or antigen 24h).
Generally speaking, around the Philippines people are pretty relaxed about covid now being a have-to-live-with nuisance like a seasonal flu. This is especially true in the provinces and in the rural parts like where MCP is based. In big cities like Manila and Cebu some people stil wear facemasks inside, and in hospitals and with some domestic air carriers you must still wear a facemask. Other than that, it’s not noticeable in society.
If you are an international volunteer, please ensure you have the following things in order to volunteer with Marine Conservation Philippines.
• You must have a valid ticket out of the Philippines*
• Your passport needs to be valid for at least six more months at the point of entry
• You do not need to be vaccinated against COVID, but you need a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours of departure from your country of origin, or a lab based antigen test taken within 24 hours. If you are fully vaccinated and have at least one booster shot, you do not need any test. It’s important that you have proof of those vaccinations (we recommend the yellow WHO booklet), and you must have had the last shot at least fourteen days prior to entry into the Philippines.
*. The Bureau of Immigration has confirmed that tourist A) need a ticket out of the country within 30 days from original arrival, but that B) they can extend their tourist visa once they are in the Philippines. So, enter the country with an exit ticket within the first 30 days, and then rebook or cancel it as you need. This is if you enter the country without a visa, and get the free tourist visa on arrival (valid for 30 days.)
*. We ask of all of our interns and volunteers to have travel insurance which would cover them in case of involuntary cancellation pre-departure, hospitalization or recall for family emergencies at home. These are not new requirements born out the corona virus, but has always been our policy, as discussed in our volunteer manuals and on this website. With COVID19 this insurance coverage however is more important than ever. Note that you are highly unlikely to be covered under any sort of national health service from your home country while abroad, and MCP has no insurance policy that covers you either. It is crucially important that you have travel insurance, and that you understand that if you have to cancel your stay with us before your arrival, we will refund you in line with our existing refund policy, and that there may be no refund at all if you are close to your expected arrival. Financial compensation at this point is between you and your insurance company.
People who volunteer with us have very diverse backgrounds. Some come with no prior dive training and others are divemasters. Some have a degree in marine biology or a related field, and others are just passionate and want to help make the world a better place, and are eager to experience life as a volunteer on a project like this. We welcome all, as long as they are ok with our expectations of volunteers. Most volunteers are in their twenties or thirties with the average somewhere in the mid twenties. The composition of the volunteer group changes over time, but generally speaking most participants are from North Europe and North America. Most times there’s about an even mix of ladies and gentlemen, and normally we have about a dozen different nationalities on base. There’s usually around 25 volunteers at a time.
Please see our detailed travel description of how to get to the HQ of Marine Conservation Philippines. To really put a pin on the map there’s also a short movie zooming in on the base from space.
No. We have everything you’ll need, and complete scuba gear rental is included in the volunteer fee. It may be a good idea to buy your own mask though, just because of the comfort of having a mask that fits really well – but it’s completely up to you. As a volunteer you are provided with free rental of brand new and well serviced scuba equipment during your stay. A few volunteers, especially those doing a PADI divemaster internship will wish to purchase their own scuba gear. Should you wish to purchase scuba gear we’ll be glad to guide you with regards to selection, and you’ll be able to purchase the gear severely discounted through us.
If you want to do your laundry yourself, we have tubs and free washing powder you are welcome to use. Almost all volunteers (as well as on-site staff) use the services of a professional laundry company. They come and pick up laundry bags twice a week, and it comes back cleanly washed and folded the very next day. Cost is around 4 USD for up to 8kg,
We work hard to keep a high standard of hygiene in our kitchen and we have our own solar-powered deep wells on the property providing us with the freshest clean drinking water. You can drink our tap water! We are happy to cook vegetarian and vegan options and we try our best to provide for other special dietary needs. Please be aware that certain things, such as halal-meat for example may be impossible to obtain in our part of the Philippines, and that you may need to show some flexibility if you have very rigorous eating habits. We’d appreciate it if you let us know in advance of any allergies. Read more about our food. You can even download our cookbook and help support the local community.
We’ve got solar powered WiFi. It’s pretty fast, but the speed depends on how many volunteers are trying to access it at once. You can’t count on being able to download large amounts data or use Skype – but it’s enough to check your email and see what’s going on on Facebook. Voltage is 220 V, 60hz (as in the UK, Europe, Australia and most of Asia and Africa). Sockets at MCP camp are dual-function and work with both type A (the two round pegs, European style) and C (two flat rods – Asian style) pictured below.
Marine Conservation Philippines only accept volunteers aged 18+. We make exceptions for families wishing to be involved with marine conservation (children must be aged 16 and be able to participate more or less as a grown-up), as well as high-school students accompanied by their teachers. In either case, the responsibility for the children lies with the accompanying adults. Various paperwork including liability releases and assumption of risk must be signed by a parent or a legal guardian. We have found, in the case of elderly volunteers, that many struggle to participate adequately. Potential long swims and carrying of heavy gear takes a toll, and we cannot recommend the project to anyone aged past sixty.
No. We cannot help you organize your itinerary or book flight tickets. For domestic flights from Manila or Cebu airport we recommend using Cebu Pacific, as they usually have cheap flights. You’ll want to fly to Dumaguete (DGT) and from there we’ll come pick you up. If you arrive to Dumaguete by ferry from elsewhere in the Philippines, we’ll need you to go the airport and get picked up from there. The ferry terminal is only ten minutes from the airport.
CANCELLATION: If you need to cancel your stay, this follows our usual cancellation terms and procedures, and how much you get back depends on how close to the expected arrival day you are at the point in time you cancel. If you have booked your stay with us through a travel agency, they are technically the arranger of the trip, and you have to go through them for cancellation. In any case, if the cancellation is based on health reasons you are suggested to get in touch with your airline operators and insurance companies to make any claims you can.
REBOOKING: We try to flexible, and if you let us know three months in advance we offer rebooking of your stay free of charge. There are a number of restrictions on your rebooking.
Terms:
1 The rebooking is personal, and you cannot give your spot to anyone else.
2 The rebooking cannot be used to circumvent normal cancellation terms.
3 Your rebooking is subject to availability on the desired new arrival date. If we don’t have space, we cannot give you a spot and you’ll have to chose a different date.
4 Any payments for the original booking is retained. If you have only paid your deposit, but not paid your balance payment, you will need to pay the balance at the latest one month before your new arrival date.
No. We cannot help you organize your itinerary or book flight tickets. For domestic flights from Manila or Cebu airport we recommend using Cebu Pacific, as they usually have cheap flights. You’ll want to fly to Dumaguete (DGT) and from there we’ll come pick you up. If you arrive to Dumaguete by ferry from elsewhere in the Philippines, we’ll need you to go the airport and get picked up from there. The ferry terminal is only ten minutes from the airport.
Getting a visa and extending your stay is easy in the Philippines. Most of our volunteers are foreigners needing a visa during their stay. You can stay and volunteer with Marine Conservation Philippines on a normal tourist visa, which is both easy get and extend. Almost all nationalities get a one month free tourist visa when arriving in the airport in the Philippines. (See if you’re eligible) When you need to extend your visa (as you will normally need to as a volunteer staying for 6+ weeks) it is easy to do in the immigration office in nearby Dumaguete. If you stay more than 59 days in the Philippines, you will need an ACR-card (Alien currently residing) in the Philippines – it’s a small ID-card, which you’re legally required to obtain. It’s fast to get made in the Immigration Office in Dumaguete; It costs around 100 USD.
Please be aware that in order to be allowed to enter the Philippines, you must have a ticket out of the Philippines also (it can be a third country, it does not have to be where you originally came from).
Please note, that if you enter on a normal tourist visa that you get for free on arrival, you need to have a ticket out of the country within thirty days of entering. There’s two easy ways to fix this.
1: You book your ticket in and out, so that your departure date is within 30 days. Then when you are in the Philippines, you change your departure date to when you actually really want to fly home or onwards.
2: You book your ticket in and out, so that your departure is the real date, and outside of the 30 days. Then you have a second one-way ticket to Bangkok or Singapore, that is within 30 days from your arrival. This is the ticket you show to immigration if they ask. Then, once you are in the Philippines, you cancel the one way ticket, and only have your original ticket left. You of course have to find a ticket that has free cancellation.
Here are some useful suggestions. The Philippines is hot and often humid too. We suggest you choose light clothes. Most volunteers who bring more than a pair or two of long pants and/or anything with long sleeves never use it. If you are a woman and want to be able to do work in the local community (like teaching in schools), please bring some items of clothing that covers your shoulders (a normal t-shirt is fine) and some shorts that aren’t too short. Guys need to cover shoulders too on formal occasions.
If you use tampons, please be aware that they are difficult to find in the Philippines. We recommend bringing your own supply.
If you are prone to getting bitten by mosquitoes, consider bringing some repellant. You do not need malaria-meds, as there is no malaria here. November til June are almost completely dry months, and there are very few mosquitoes anyway. Outside of those months it is also a good idea to bring a rain coat, just in case. No matter which time of year you volunteer, you definitely want to bring a high SPF sunscreen! We recommend something like this one, as it’s safe for corals, and many sunscreens aren’t. Best to bring is both a long-sleeved rash guard and sunscreen!
It’s recommended to bring a little cheap flashlight. You do not need to bring any bedlinen, sleeping bags or similar – we got you covered. (Oh! And if you by any chance are arriving from Denmark or the UK, you will be our best new friend if you could maybe bring some small comfort foods or package from family or friends of our permanent staff. This is how you earn big, big brownie points!)
We make sure that the main part of our research can be carried out by any volunteer, no matter the background. We will train you to become a confident diver with good buoyancy, and teach you to identify different species or help you master whatever work you will be involved with. After your first week or after your initial dive course you will be trained each day until you are ready to take part in the scientific diving. This training typically takes two weeks, although people learn at different speeds. We take you out on identification dives in which we show you the different species and on land we will teach you the species with a lot of pictures and explanation of what to look for. Depending on how fast a learner you are, you can be part of the research team after two weeks of practice. Additionally you may want to do some studying before and volunteering with us. You are welcome to download our survey manuals and primers from the download section
Please download and read our volunteer handbook. It will give you a lot more information on what you can do before you arrive, what life is like on base and what you can expect as a volunteer.
Kindly make sure you have adequate travel insurance.
If you have time, please consider doing some studying ahead of volunteering. In the volunteer manual there is a link to the various survey manuals and presentations we use for training purposes. If you download that and train, you can be half an expert before you even start diving with us.
We can provided adequate meals for volunteers who for whatever reasons prefer to eat gluten free or who have celiac disease as it usually manifests. Kindly note however that our kitchen is not a sterile lab, and that your foods are stored next to “unsafe” foods. There is no separate set of utensils, or kitchenware being used for your cooking, and as such – if you suffer from very strong reactions to trace amounts of unsafe foods or the slightest cross contamination, we cannot recommend you join our program, unless you are prepared to accept full responsibility for your own cooking.
Yes, within reason you can take days off to do local sightseeing or go island hopping. We do not have a set rule about how much is too much, but please be aware that we value your contribution to our project, and that we can’t accomplish anything without the work of volunteers. We’d like for you to participate as much as possible. Please also keep in mind, that when you take days off, we can’t let someone else have your room, bed and lockers. What this means for you, is that when you enroll as a volunteer with our program your fee covers a certain period (six weeks, three months or however long) in which you’ve got three daily meals, diving, dive gear, accommodation etc. available. If you choose not to take advantage of this for a number of days, that’s alright – but the days are not added at the other end of your stay, nor does Marine Conservation Philippines reimburse volunteer for “unspent” days. As such we kindly suggest that it makes more sense to our project, and financially to you, to do your independent traveling either before or after staying with us. One option to consider perhaps, is that you can find fellow volunteers, who wish to travel on and explore the Philippines after staying with us?
MCP operates with continuous enrollment and accepts new volunteers every second Monday. We offer free pick-up service in Dumaguete airport (DGT). Six to ten weeks is the normal length of volunteer stays, although many stay longer – especially if doing an internship or doing divemaster training. We kindly ask all volunteers to stay at least six weeks on the project.
To make your first day with Marine Conservation Philippines the best possible, and to allow for ample time to sort out paperwork, scuba gear and letting you settle in well at base, we ask everyone to arrive no later than 10am. We will meet you in the airport and be waiting for you outside. Once you and your fellow volunteers have arrived, we will drive down to our base from Dumaguete airport. (We’ll wait for any delayed flights) If you cannot arrive in time for the 10am shuttle, please try and arrive the day before and spend the night in a local hotel. (Check Agoda or Tripadvisor for recommendations, and then take a tricycle to the airport the next day)
On your last day on the program, a Monday morning many weeks later, we arrange for a free shared ride for everyone leaving that day. We ask everyone to leave in the morning, so we can ready for the new arrivals. If you have a late flight, perhaps you can enjoy some fast wifi and a coffee in Starbucks in Dumaguete.
Sorry, no. MCP Staff has several dogs and cats and there’s too big a risk it’ll devolve into fights, when the animal hierarchy is disturbed. We cannot risk any animals (including yours) getting hurt. Secondly, due to the communal living situation, we can’t ask anyone to share a room with your animal. It may be other volunteers are afraid of your animal or they could possibly be allergic.
If you are a foreigner, you can legally drive a motorbike in the Philippines if you hold a valid motorbike license from your own country. (A car-only license is not valid, nor is a small moped or “learner’s” license valid. Typically rental bikes here are 125cc or more.). There’s many places you can rent a bike. We recommend using “habal-habal” instead, it’s local motorcycle taxis that are very affordable, and where you help support the local community.
One of the main reasons why the Philippines is so popular with pensioners and holiday makers alike is the pleasing climate. Water temperature range from 26°C in December-February to a balmy 30°C in June-August. Air temperatures follow the same pattern and range from around 25°C to 35°C. December through March are more windy. In our area, the long dry season start in February and ends around the end of June, with the onset of the rainy season. During the first weeks of the rainy season, there’s hardly a day without at least some rain, but after that showers becomes less and less frequent, and our work continues no matter the weather. A few months later the weather is quite akin to a European summer, with comfortable temperatures and occasional showers. Of course at that time the botanical garden we live in is very lush and green. Get specific info on the weather and typhoons here
Please look at our volunteer packages. For volunteers able to stay past twelve weeks, special rates apply for the last part of their stay. People in prolonged internships pay a reduced rate.
MCP is a non-profit organisation. We have no investors or shareholders to generate revenue for, but we must ensure our continued operation. Although we occasionally recieve small donations and are supported by purpose-specific grants, by and large we’re funded through volunteer payments. Noone pays the water or electrical bill for us and there’s a very real cost to employing people, keeping the kitchen running, repaying loans, replacing broken gear, fueling cars, paying rent and utilities, PADI fees and insurance all besides running a safe dive operation. Excess money go to pro-bono work in the community, reinvestment in material and equipment for Marine Conservation Philippines as well as our contingency saving fund. If you are interested, you are welcome to examine how we spend the money
We generally dive twice a day, five days a week. Sunday is off for everyone, and Saturday is usually half a day, meaning we do one dive. From time to time we may do a recreational night dive, (usually in conjunction with someone doing the Advanced Open Water course. If there are additional dive torches, extra spots may be used by other volunteers.) Every second month or so we try to head to Apo Island for a day of diving, usually doing three dives there. In average, you can expect to dive around 10 times a week, as this takes into account that there may be days where you participate in mangrove replanting efforts, educational activities etc.
In terms of marine life, we are right in the centre of the centre of biodiversity. People travel here to see the weird benthic crypto-fauna, that you cannot see in very many other places in the world. It’s informally known as the “muck diving” capital of the Philippines (“muck” in this case is the informal dive lingo for the coconut fronds, leaves, branches, coconut husks etc, that in many areas form a layer of decomposing material on a sandy slope before a coral reef. This sort of disorderly assemblage of hiding places provides habitats for rare, exotic animals such as the blue ringed octopus, mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, seahorses, ghost pipefish, hairy frogfish (to name just a few) All weird and wonderful life, which is what attract many experienced divers who feel they have seen plenty of coral reefs and have some big items on their bucket list. Outside of the shallow muck areas, seagrass meadows and coral reefs provide more traditional scuba experiences. Our work in conservation is centered around the coral reefs, and how they provide ecosystem services, so that’s where you’ll be doing most of your working dives. We monitor more than a dozen different sites, but numbers fluctuate a bit depending on what needs our government partners have, and which areas we need to focus on. On the coral reefs you will find schooling fish life, larger groupers, different marine turtles, larger mackerels and tuna, and in sandy areas there’s rays too of different kinds. We do occasionally see whale sharks, but it’s a few times a year, so certainly not anything we suggest is likely.
Generally speaking, the Philippine’s is really the heart of marine biodiversity, and there’s not much you can’t see here. But there’s a local context too of course. For example, the straight between us and Apo island is a migratory route for whales and whalesharks, but we don’t say people can see them, because it happens only once or twice a year that we randomly meet the gentle giants. If you stay in the Philippines for a while after your stay with us, there’s other great diving to be had with sharks, and there’s some impressive battlefields from World War 2 full of exciting wrecks to explore.
Our booking policy is as follows: A volunteer placement is considered secured, when a 10% non-refundable deposit has been paid. Until then a volunteer placement is not secured. The outstanding balance of 90% is kindly to be paid at least a month prior to your arrival. In case of bookings within a month of arrival, full amount is to be paid as soon as possible. Volunteers who because of banking fees in their end wish to pay everything in one go, rather than split the fee in booking and remaining balance may do so.
Cancellation, for any reason at all, 60 or more days before your arrival will result in a complete refund, less the 10% non-refundable booking fee. Cancellation 59-42 days prior to arrival will result in a partial 75% refund. Cancellation 41-22 days prior to arrival will result in a partial 50% refund. Any cancellation within the last 21 days before your arrival, will not result in a refund. Any refunds cannot exceed the sum actually received by MCP, so any receiving banking fee charges will be deducted from any refunds.
No refunds are issued to volunteers who decide to cut their stay short while with MCP. We require all volunteers to have insurance, and we need volunteers to ensure their insurance would cover involuntary termination of stay, due to medical reasons, family emergencies at home etc. Read our recommendations for insurance.
Most volunteers at Marine Conservation Philippines are already divers when they come, but some learn through the Open Water Course of our program. Normally we only accept volunteers who are divers or intend to be so, but there are a few exceptions. If you already know you would like to work on something else, and you both capable and self-motivated there are opportunities. We try to continually have a media intern (video, photo, web, journalism, social media) and we also welcome people with relevant backgrounds to participate in our education efforts. Get in touch and tell us how you’d like to help, we’ll see what we can arrange.