Malapascua Island is situated in the northernmost tip of Cebu Island, Philippines. It is very tiny, in fact you can walk for 1-2 hours the 2.5 by 1 Kilometer island. This place defines the word “Paradise”. It is very idyllic for a lid-back getaway from the busy Cebu City. Long stretch of fine white beaches, lush tall green palm trees, beautiful sunset and sunrise, and a very rich and vibrant marine sanctuary.
When people hear the word “Mapalascua”, there is only one thing that comes to their mind and that is “Thresher Sharks”. It is a mecca for divers as it is known as the only place in the world where thresher sharks can be seen all year round. But bare in mind that you must wake up at most 4:00 in the morning as most of the divers head to Monad Shoal at quarter to five to catch an eye on the sharks. Thresher sharks live mostly in the deepest part of the ocean, however, Monad shoal serves as the cleaning station of these babies and this happens just before the sun rises. If you are lucky enough, there is a possibilities that you can also spot other sea creatures such as manta rays, hammerhead and white tip sharks. So you better plan that diving getaway now!
How to get there?
Malapascua is part of the Municipality of Daanbantayan, Cebu. It is a three to four hour bus ride from Cebu city. You can hail a cab and tell the driver to take you to the CEBU NORTH BUS TERMINAL if you are coming from the airport or in any part of the city. Once you arrive at the terminal, ask someone or find the bus that has MAYA signage on it. At the present, bus fare for non-aircon is P190 and P210 for air-con buses.
Ceres Bus in North Bus Terminal
I wanted to make the most of our time in Malapascua so my friend and I agreed to meet at the North Bus Terminal at 2:30 in the morning. When we arrived there, the only bus that departs for Maya was the 3:00 am non-aircon bus. And there, our journey begun.
It was still dark when the bus left the terminal so we just slept in the entire ride. The next time I opened my eyes, it was half past six and we were already in the “New Maya Port” in Daanbantayan north tip of Cebu.
New Maya Port
From the new port, you have to register your name first and buy your boat ticket (P100 per head). When we arrive, there were already people waiting for the boat to be full so they can leave. So after paying our tickets, we boarded and the boat then started its engine and we headed for Malapascua Island.
You can buy your boat ticket in this area.
Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side that morning. Gloomy, strong gust of wind, and huge waves. This is not the weather I was expecting. I and the other passengers couldn’t help but to hold tightly on the boat every time the big waves hit our boat. We were a bit soaked. And I even said my prayers deep inside. All in all, it was a rough boat ride. I guess that was the longest 40 minutes of my life. 😀
The longest 40 minute journey ever!
The big boats don’t really dock on the shore of Malapascua, so you have to take a smaller ones to take you to the shore. Mind you, it is not for free. You have to pay an additional P20 for it.
What to do in Malapascua?
“Bounty Beach”
Malapascua is not only for divers. Aside from the famous Thresher Sharks, there is the dreamlike “Bounty Beach” for beach bummers alike. It has a long stretch of white sand beach, beach front restaurants and bars, cocktails in hand during the “Happy Hour” while mesmerizing the gorgeous sunset, amazing people to be with, what else can you ask for?
seashells on the seashore
Sunset at Bounty Beach
Enjoying 1 + 1 cocktails during the happy hour.
We ended our day one in Malapascua at Sea Explorers beach front bar. They offer happy hour from 4:00 to 6:00 and 9:00 to 11:00. My friend and I just savoured our night on the island, chit chat about life while having three rounds of rum cola and pineapple cocktails under the cloudy starless night.
“Langob Beach Heaven”
This beach is a must visit place when you are on the island. Though Bounty Beach is where most tourist busk under the sun, Langob beach is a postcard worthy spot for me. It has the finest white sand shore on the island and the most pristinely bright turquoise water. If I knew about this place earlier, I would have chosen to stay here than in Bounty Beach.
Langob Beach
Walking barefooted and I love the feeling of the powder like sand under my feet.
“Snorkeling”
We decided to charter a snorkeling boat for our own so that we can go and stop by to places that we wanted. Regular snorkeling price is around 300 – 400 per head but renting the whole big boat privately costed us P1000 and its good for 3 hours. The boat man originally offered us P1,300 but we tried to haggle so more and so we ended up paying P1,000 only. Our first spot was the coral garden. The abundance of colorful corals and fishes of different kinds made us feel like we were in a movie. It was amazing.
On board for snorkeling on our private boat..
Before we headed to our next destination, some “Bantay Dagat” (Marine Security) boat approached us and collected 50 per head for environmental fee. I wonder why they didn’t collect that one on the shore before we boarded the boat. We felt like we were being robbed though. (Sigh) We don’t want to think negative about the locals in there so we just paid and headed to the Lighthouse for the Japanese Shipwreck as our second stop.
Sadly we didn’t have our underwater camera with us so no underwater photo this time. 🙁 Watching the skeleton of a World War II Japanese ship wreck was quite an experience. Though, there was not much left of it but it was a great spot for snorkeling. The remnants of the ship is a marine sanctuary. It is already a habitat of different corals and fish fauna. I even saw a huge tiger cowry shell and clam shell down there. I had a great time snorkeling in the Japanese ship wreck.
Before we head back to the shore we went to Dakit Dakit islet for our last snorkeling stop. It was almost noon when we got there and thus the tide was getting higher and the waves was a stronger. So we spent more or less 15 minutes only in there. We saw various species of fish and colorful corals as well.
our friendly boatman
“Thresher Sharks Diving”
As I am a PADI Open Water Diver only I am not capable of diving beyond 18 meters under the water. Thus, I will do thresher shark diving on a rain check. But for those Advanced Open Water Diver, there are plenty of dive shops that will cater all your diving needs.
Some of those are:
Sea Explorers Malapascua
Address: Bounty Beach
Phone: +63 917 320 4158
Devocean Divers Malapascua
Address: Bounty Beach
Phone: +63 917 322 5161
Exotic Island Dive Resort
Address: Bounty Beach
Phone: +63 32 437 0984
Evolution Beach and Dive Resort
Address: Bounty Beach
Phone: +63 917 631 2179
Emerald Green Diving Center
Address: Bounty Beach
Phone: +63 917 882 7137
Divelink Cebu
Address: Sunset Cove, Baranggay Road, Logon
Phone: +63 917 859 2124
Where to eat in Malapascua?
Most of the beachfront resorts have their own restaurants and bars. They offer food from different part of the globe. All you have to do is just pick your choice. I noticed that most of the restaurant are expensive as they cater mostly to foreign tourists. So you better come prepared. We had our breakfast at the restaurant of Hippocampus Beach Resort as it is very close to our accommodation. They have Filipino Style Breakfast, American Style, Omelets, Pancakes, and healthy options like smoothie bowl and fruit bowls.
I had there American style breakfast (P225) and my friend had a pancake (P265).
A breakfast with a view indeed!
“Ging-Ging’s Restaurant” also is very famous option for a cheap and sumptuous food. We had lunch and breakfast in there and they are so cheap. I highly recommend paying it a visit. They are located at the back of the resorts of the bounty beach. A bit hard to find though but don’t be scared to ask the locals for directions. They are very willing to lead you.
We had Chicken Curry and Sweet and Sour Fish for lunch at P100 each!
What a deal.
For the rest of our stay, we mostly spent our time sipping ice cold beverages and listening to the beach waves under the shades of the tall coconut trees in front of the Sea Explorers Restaurant.
Paradise!
Where to stay in Malapascua?
From the New Maya port in Daanbantayan, you will be docking in the Bounty Beach where most of the accommodations are situated. Accomodations ranges from P250 for a bed in a dorm type room to a luxurious air conditioned room in a 5 star beachfront resorts.
At that time, I was really planning on staying at Villa Sandra Guesthouse because it’s recommended by lots of foreign blogs that I had read for a friendly atmosphere. But when we arrived in Malapascua, some guys told me that it is inside the village at the back of Bounty Beach. So we decided to stay at Sunset Beach Resort. It is a 3 rooms beachfront resort run by a family which is living at the back of the main building. We occupied the room on the second floor and it was very spacious, has two double beds, own toilet and shower and a terrace. And it only cost for a thousand, meaning 500 each for us. It was perfect! I’d love to stay there again.
our spacious room in Sunset Beach Resort
Other accommodations are:
Blue Corals Beach Resort
http://www.bluecoralsbeachresort.com/
Address: Daanbantayan, Cebu, Philippines
Phone: +63 917 861 2819
Blue Corals Beach Resort
Hippocampus Beach Resort
https://www.hippo-malapascua.com/
Address: Logon, Daanbantayan, Logon, Philippines
Phone: +63 917 869 1307
Hippocampus Beach Resort
Cocobana Beach Resort
https://cocobana.ch/en.html
Address: Malapascua Island, Daanbantayan, 6013 Cebu, Philippines
Phone: +63 32 318 6785
Cocobana Resort
Villa Sandra
https://www.facebook.com/VillaSandraMalapascua/
Address: Daan Bantayan, Cebu, Philippines
Phone: +63 977 130 0642
Villa Sandra Guesthouse and Restaurant
Malapascua Exotic Island Dive & Beach Resort
http://malapascua.net/
Address: Sitio Pasil, Logon, Daan Bantayan, Bounty Beachfront, Daanbantayan, Cebu, Philippines
Phone: +63 32 437 0984
Exotic Dive Resort
Little Mermaid Dive Resort
http://www.littlemermaiddiveresort.com/
Address: Bounty Beach, Malapascua Island, 6013 Cebu, Philippines
Phone: +63 917 562 6760
Sea Explorers Malapascua
https://www.sea-explorers.com/malapascua/
Address: Bounty Beach, Malapascua Island, 6013 Cebu, Philippines
Phone: +63 917 320 4158
Ocean Vida Resort
http://ocean-vida.com/
Address: Bounty Beach, Malapascua Island, 6013 Cebu, Philippines
Phone: 0063 (0) 9175707249 or 0063(0) 9175685924
Beach Lounge Beds and Bean Bags
right in front of Ocean Vida and Sea Explorers Beach Resort
Bounty Beach, Malapascua
Our stay in Malapascua did not last that long and it was sad to bid goodbye to this spectacular island.
All in all it my friend and I indeed had an amazing experience. I Can’t wait to Go back and see all those spots I have not seen This time.
And I am looking forward to go diving and see the Thresher Sharks next time.
Malapascua Island
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