Reef Buddy: Caribbean & Philippines Reviews

I wasn’t sure what to expect before going but pretty much everything was amazing. The staff were engaged and engaging making the learning parts easy. They also took time to make sure the whole group were able to access the information. The diving was brilliant, equipment was well maintained and up to date and the boat was lovely. The activities really felt worthwhile and you could see the difference the organisation was making.
I felt the number of dives per day/week was really good and the other volunteers were friendly and it was easy to settle in. I had worried as an older volunteer I would struggle but there was a good mix of ages.

Honestly went out to the Philippines without a clue what I was actually getting myself into. I don’t study marine biology or anything, and to be fair, learning about coral and fish had never really crossed my mind, but I just wanted to do something decent with my time off rather than just sitting about.

Joined up with Reef Buddy as a proper beginner diver and came away with the absolute best experience and some proper sound mates. We spent four weeks stuck into the project work. Doing surveys and building reef regeneration stuff, but like, proper hands-on and practical, not just sitting reading about it. I even ended up smashing out my Divemaster while I was there. Absolute graft, not gonna lie, but 100% worth every bit of it

I had such a good time with Reef Buddy Philippines. Gary, Tom and Romel made the 2 weeks incredibly enjoyable and were great instructors!

After completing my Advanced Open Water, I was able to get straight into coral restoration work, learning so much about the marine environment in Dauin.

My time was spent creating and maintaining coral trees as well as carrying out reef surveys. There were also plenty of fun dives mixed in!

The other volunteers were lovely and the resort was great. The Saturday evening meals with the team were a particular highlight and a great way to get to know everyone.

I would highly recommend this programme to anyone. The project has a great impact on the local environment and I left with new skills and great memories!

I had an amazing time on the project. I started by completing my PADI Open Water and Advanced Open Water. After that, I was able to join the project and learn about the coral reefs and the challenges they’re facing as well as which fish, coral and invertebrates are counted during a Reef Check survey. We then practice before conducting the surveys. We also enjoyed our Saturday meals out with the team with some really great food and conversation. I would definitely recommend this project. Dauin is a really beautiful place to dive! Thank you to all the staff on the project and the other volunteers.

Had the best time here! Gary, Tom & Ramel are amazing divers and instructors. Taught us so much about diving as well as the environment. We spend two weeks collecting, planting and cleaning coral and doing reef surveys. It was fun and a great contribution to the environment.

The group of volunteers was really nice as well, and they had a dive puppy who was very cute. Would highly recommend this experience to everyone! The resort you stay at whilst you’re there is also amazing and the saturday night dinners with everyone (including family members) was really nice!

I was going to join Reef Buddy in the Caribbean, but could not make the dates work. So I joined them at their new venture in the Philippines. I was their first volunteer on the program - which was amazing! It meant that once I had my dive training done I was able to see what they were doing and how they were setting up FROM DAY 1. This was an incredible learning experience. One I will never forget. Each day, after breakfast, we would dive. Much of the diving was off the beach as their new coral nursery and regeneration zone is within 100m of the base.

The base? I could not have asked for any more! It was a family operated resort hotel, with 2 pools, pool table, and a lovely little bar and restaurant. Most of the staff were my age, and it was cool to hang with them in an evening or when they were not working. We're a short walk from Dauin town centre too. The food in the restaurant, which was all provided, was really tasty local food. I'm lucky as I'll eat anything! Portions were good sized - as after a day in the water, boy I could eat!

I am a student at Mount Holyoke college studying environmental studies, costal and marine biology, and spanish. After school I hope to work in marine ecology. My time with CRB allowed me to develop my skills as a diver and learn how I can implement diving in my studies.

I worked with Nora to do ecology work such as algae and flamingo tongue removal, hunting and gutting lion fish, performing a coral watch, and propagating soft coral and sponges. I worked with Andrew to get my advanced open water certificate, wreck diving certificate, and rescue diver certificate.

Everyone at the dive shop was so welcoming and enthusiastic to share their knowledge. The instructors made sure that I always understood what was going on and encouraged me to ask questions. This is a fantastic program for anyone who wants to begin their diving journey or has a passion for marine ecology.

I had three amazing weeks, collaborating with wonderful people, doing varied, fun, interesting and meaningful work! The program had an excellent balance between theory and practical work, with qualified and knowledgeable instructors, always meeting you with a smile. I have learned so much about the coral ecosystem, and have been inspired to keep working on improving it and spreading awareness of this amazing and beautiful ecosystem.

While the program was incredible, the people were even better! Before going on the trip, I would never imagine being welcomed the way I was. I instantly felt safe and included in the group, and I would never guess that it was possible to make such good friends in such a short period of time.

The program also came with a lot of great opportunities. They really went out of their way to accommodate different research, and to explore and do additional courses if that was of interest. I even got to do a drysuit course🙌

And of course I have to thank the guys for letting me borrow the shark hood! Stylish and warm😎🦈

I participated in the Marine Conservation Program by Caribbean Reef Buddy and I had an exceptionally great time on Carriacou! I spent 7 weeks on the small island and I was able to experience 3 different projects: Coral Reef Gardening, Coral Reef Monitoring and Predators Week. All of these different projects are extremely interesting and I definitely learned a lot. We did reef checks, removed tons of algae, collected garbage, planted soft corals, checked whether a bleaching event happened or not, and killed lionfish. All of that while having amazing dives and being able to enjoy seeing turtles, sharks and several other fishes. The underwater world on Carriacou is definitely outstanding! After my 7 weeks, I could actually see improvements and positive outcomes. It was for example possible to observe that the soft corals which we replanted started to look really healthy again.
The team behind Caribbean Reef Buddy is amazing as well. Gary, Nora and Raquel are extremely friendly and are always there to answer a question. We definitely had a lot of fun on the boat rides and I enjoyed my time there a lot!

For many years, scuba diving was on my bucket list, but for one reason or another, I kept putting it off....until this year!!

I've heard many stories about how exhilarating is scuba diving and also the aspect of how things can go wrong, if you don't pay close attention to your instructor. I would add to that the importance of also picking the correct dive shop!

Carribean Reef Buddy dive shop is by far the best way to learn how to scuba dive! I HIGHLY recommend them!!! Best, Greg Andricopulos