Cebu Diving Review: Malapascua and Moalboal

[johnnyafrica]

Hi guys,

Just got back from 10 days in the Philippines (really 8 days after all the flight time). Flights are insanely cheap nowadays from the US to Asia and I scored a flight from NYC to Manila for $500. Doing some reserach and I ended up deciding on Cebu, and specifically Malapascua to see the thresher sharks.

- Malapascua is not the easiest place to get to. Flights from Manila to Cebu City are required and very cheap via AirAsia or Cebu Pacific. From the airport, you can either take a cab to the bus station, or just barter with the cab driver for a fare all the way to the northern tip of the island. Bus is about 5hrs, and car is 3.5hrs. Once you reach the northern port town of Maya, another 30-45min ferry is required to get to Malapascua island!

- Malapascua is an awesome little island. Without a doubt, it is a divers island now but it feels more rustic than other dive islands I've been to. The beaches are nice and the vibe is overall chilled.

- Diving with the threshers was amazing. Waking up at 4am was not but the euphoria you will on that early morning boat ride to Monad Shoal is enough to energize you. of all the sharks i've seen underwater, I must say that threshers are some of the coolest. Their tails are magnified underwater and they just look so magnificent.

- Diving around the island is mostly focused on macro stuff as lot of the corals and fish have been depleted due to dynamite fishing. Gato Island (about 1 hr from Malapascua) is a great day trip and the coral and marine life are still very healthy.

- I was originaly not planning on going to Moalboal but after copius amounts of beers with other divers, I was convinced. It's one of the few places in the world with schooling sardines that are available year round. From Malapascua, I had to go back to Cebu City, and from Cebu City, I took another cab to Moalboal. All in all, it was a full days trip (10am-6pm)

- The sardines are amazing. I've never seen something lik ethis before. The sheer magnitude of the fish will leave anyone in awe. We would dive for 1 hr, swimming the entire time and clouds of sardines would surround us at all times! best of all, it's pretty much 100% guaranteed as the sardines now reside nearby the shore, and be accessed via shore diving from certain dive shops.

- The corals here are also in better condition. The soft and hard corals are more picturesque than Malapascua with overall more marine life, especially on Pescador Island. I wish I spent more time in Moalboal as the diving is some of the cheapest diving in the world. The vibe of the town is also laid back with great ocean views at all times.

- DO NOT go to Oslob. i was originally planning to dive with the whale sharks there but after learning they are routinely fed fish (They eat plankton), and more or less treated as pets, I quickly canceled plans.

Anyway, I wrote about my trip in some detail with lots of videos for those interested!

Diving With 10 Million Sardines In Moalboal, Cebu - Johnny Africa
http://johnnyafrica.com/diving-cebu-thresher-shark-malapascua/

 

[Freewillow]

your links do not work for me. I am getting the following message :

Access denied. Your IP address [162.158.234.31] is blacklisted. If you feel this is in error please contact your hosting providers abuse department.

 

[johnnyafrica]

Wow really? I've never seen that happen but good to know. Where do you live?

 

[Freewillow]

I'ts working fine, now, although it opens on a "general page " and nothing specific.

 

[gwklein]

I also greatly enjoyed the sardine dive at Moalboal so much so that I did it three times. The dive is much more than sardines, though. There are normal frogfish, giant frogfish, mandarin fish, pipefish, turtles, sea snakes and nudis galore at the dive site, as well. I don't want to start a firestorm, but I think you might have been misled about the whale sharks at Oslob. I did both a dive and a snorkel there. You are correct that the whale sharks are feed fish and other animals between 9 am and 1 pm and that is why at least one generally appears at that time. Otherwise, the whale sharks are not restricted in any way. Whale sharks do eat plankton, but plankton consists of very small fish, shellfish, jellies, larvae, bacteria, plants, fungi, i.e., any small free swimming or floating thing in the pelagic zone. My understanding was that the locals banded together to create an eco-tourist program to make money and to save the whale sharks instead of fishing for them. The site is highly regulated by the locals. No sun screen, perfumes, body lotions, or no flash photography. Intentional touching is also prohibited. Divers must be led on a shore dive by an approved DM (4 to 1 ratio). Snorkelers can only enter the water from an approved boats paddled by two locals (no motors allowed). Local marine "police" are in the water supervising the operation and I saw snorkelers removed from the water for aggressively touching the whale sharks. The program does appear to be sustainable eco-travel program in that it provides a big source of income for the locals and encourages the locals not to eat the whale sharks.