Malapascua but no Threshers

[krazymad]

Will be in Alona Beach with 2 family members who will be getting their OW certs. I'm thinking about going to Malapascua once they get certified, but I know the Threshers are too deep for OW divers. Is there anything else noteworthy to see there? If there were no Threshers in Malapascua, would you choose another location like Moalboal?

[Wantonmien]

krazymad - regardless of the Threshers, we found the rest of the diving very good in Malapascua, infact we thought it was better and more varied than MoalBoal - good Macro stuff, nice soft coral reefs, Gato island swim through cave, Chocolate island, mandarins etc etc.

Malapascua trip, June 03 to 08 2011 – some words and pics

[Centrals]

Of course there are suitable sites for ow diver at Malapascua but to save you another trip back to the island I would think Moalboal is a pretty convenient option. A relatively quick 2hrs road journey from Cebu City. BTW, there is nothing wrong of going back to Malapascua for the 2nd time but Moalboal just offer something different. Most divers would prefer to visit various destinations for some reasons.
The school of sardines at Pascado Island(Moalboal) is very interesting. They always hang around in shallow water and the short boat journey getting there is hassle free. Most of the other dives are along the coastal wall and pretty easy ie flow with the current and just watch the depth.
Another alternatvie would be Dumaguette which is few hrs away from Bohol by fast craft. But the return ferry to Cebu city is pretty long though.

[OuterReefAdventure]

Will be in Alona Beach with 2 family members who will be getting their OW certs. I'm thinking about going to Malapascua once they get certified, but I know the Threshers are too deep for OW divers. Is there anything else noteworthy to see there? If there were no Threshers in Malapascua, would you choose another location like Moalboal?

Moalboal is good diving for begginer divers it is really important to have your bouyancy figured out though because there is a lot of wall Diving. In fact no matter where you go Bouyancy Control is of course super important. You might consider spending some extra time in Alona working on that regardless of where you choose to go next.

Dont overlook Cabilao as an option, it is an easy transfer from Alona and the last time I was there(18 months ago) the diving was good.

Dauin is a nice option with the most convenient jump off to dive APO Island. I always stay on APO Island though whenever I go to Negros.

Cheers,
Roger

[scubajo007]

The diving is quite different between Malapasqua and Moalboal. You will find a lot of shallow dives around Malapasqua, whereas Moalboal is almost exclusively wall dives, the bottom dives worth to dive are +30m (90ft) wirth the exception of the coral gardens around Pescador which is down to a depth of 11m(35ft). The travel time from Cebu to either place is almost the same 2-3hours. I would go for Malapasqua as you have a lot of easy dives which are good for beginners. Diving is fairly good at Malapasqua, you can see a lot of good stuff in the shallow areas, even the remains of an old japanese landing craft, this is at only 5m(15ft). What ever you choose, I wish you and the family members good diving

[matt_reed]

Personally I'd still pick Malapascua...there's plenty of good dives here for all levels. And forget that the OW divers good take additional training and that would allow them to go and see the Threshers(which by the way have been very active recently)

[krazymad]

Thanks everyone for the info! I have decided to stick with the plan of going to Malapascua and am sure it'll be amazing.

[bill22]

It shouldn't be a problem. The recommended limit is 18 meters, but I doubt anyone would prevent you from diving Monad Shoal where you're only looking at depths of 18-24 meters. If it turns out that it is a problem, then it's always possible to go ahead and do AOW.

It's a pretty easy dive. You descend to the top of the shoal and then take up a station along the edge of the drop-off into deeper water and wait. If nothing shows up and there is room (sometimes there can be a LOT of divers down there) then you move to a new spot. If you're concerned about it contact the dive shop ahead of time.

I would also recommend Malapascua as a good destination for new divers. There are plenty of shallow dives there and tons to see. I've made two trips there. I dived with Evolution my last trip and can highly recommend them