Malapascua and Sogod - need help please

[eran_coh]

I am planning a 10 day diving trip to the Philippines next month and would like to dive Malapascua, Southern Leyte and maybe one other place.
Is April a good time to see the thresher sharks? How about the whale shark season?

I will be traveling alone so I will use public transportation to reduce costs. What are the options for traveling from Malapascua to Padre Borgus? Do I have to return to Cebu first? Is that doable in one day?

I think maybe going from Malapascua to Alona beach (for a couple of days) and then Sogod. Is there a ferry going from Bohol to Leyte (I read there is a ferry from Ubay to Maasin, is that correct?) Is that reliable or should I backtrack to Cebu in order to reach Leyte?

Any tip regarding transportation and time to go will be great.

 

[pughio83]

I think there is a ferry from Bohol to southern leyte. I flew in directly and got picked up but I think the ferries are pretty decent. The whaleshark season does extend to end of April though when I went there had not been a sighting since end of feb, which apparently was an odd year! The diving itself is excellent and very varied, from muck and macro ,to wall and very healthy reefs. Highly recommend little lembeh site and ghost town for macro, napantau wall and limasawa island. Diving is very cheap there. Check out peters and sogod bay scuba resort.

---------- Post added March 25th, 2013 at 01:56 PM ----------

Ps make sure you dive padre Burgos Piet at night, it's amazing!! I preferred Leyte to Bohol IMHO, balicasag island is good but less macro, snorkelling off along beach is v good.

 

[ocdiver1]

I just went from Malapascua to Sogod on the trip I just returned from. Is doable in one day. Although I went back to Cebu, there is also a ferry from Maya to San Isidro on Leyte. For sure there is also a ferry Ubay to Maasin, as some friends I met were taking it. Sogod Bay Scuba Resort in Sogod is fantastic..highly recommend them. If you email them they can also provide you with up to date ferry info.

 

[kwhkg]

RE mALAPASCUA contact Matt Reed , evolution diving, active here in SB

 

[Mucksavage]

April is a great time to see Threshers although its currently a 12 month a year show with no bad times.

As mentioned there is an 'informal' ferry from Maya to Leyte but I am not sure how or when it runs and its a little 'native'. Its basically a rickety pump boat. However there is a ferry running from nearby to Bogo to San Isidro in Leyte so you'll have about an hour south from Maya to get it.


Its hard to get exact information. If this one is right it leaves at midday.

Philippines shipping lines, slow ferry and ro-ro shipping schedules, including SuperFerry, Trans-Asia, Cokaliong, Sulpicio, Carlos A. Gothong, Roble, F.T. Palacio, George & Peter, Maypalad, Kinswell, as well as other shipping lines.


Another link here

Matt or I are happy to help you with your Malapascua leg.

Enjoy!

 

[wannadive64]

There are currently plenty of whale sharks in Southern Leyte and hopefully that will continue through May.

There is no longer (since Dec 2012) a ferry from Ubay to Maasin, but there are ferries from Ubay to Hilongos and from Ubay to Bato.

To get to Padre Burgos from Malapascua by public transport in 1 day will be challenging. The Gabisan ferry leaves Cebu at 2.30pm and arrives in Hilongos, Leyte at 5.45pm and that route is reliable.

 

[gee13]

Im also looking at this combo. So whats the best and reliable way to /from Cebu? I dont mind travelling from cebu city. But if theres an option thats not 'native' from a port close to maya that would be good. Im aware of a supercat service that goes to ormoc from cebu city pier. How far is ormoc from the main dive operations? Ie Sogod bay scuba?

 

[ocdiver1]

Im also looking at this combo. So whats the best and reliable way to /from Cebu? I dont mind travelling from cebu city. But if theres an option thats not 'native' from a port close to maya that would be good. Im aware of a supercat service that goes to ormoc from cebu city pier. How far is ormoc from the main dive operations? Ie Sogod bay scuba?

Gee, Ormoc is a good 3-4 hours from Sogod Bay. The closest ferry puts in at Maasin, about 45 minutes away, but is a slow ferry and only runs during the day one day a week I believe (otherwise you get in at like 1 am). A compromise I found was going into Hilongos...about 1.5 hours away by land and serviced by a ferry that takes about 5 hours (Robles). Sogod Bay Scuba Resort is who I stayed and dove with there and whom i'd highly recommend...if you contact them they would also be happy to give you all ferry options just as they did for me (in fact most of what i described is on their website)

 

[Centrals]

Diving in both Malapascua and Sogod Bay are great.
Both places are fairly close to each other(look at the map) but travelling between them is NOT easy. You must have time and patience as well as sense of humour!!!

 

[eagerbeaver]

Like David said, just let us know if you need info about Malapascua.

For getting to Leyte, personally I'd just go back to Cebu and keep it simple. If you cross direct to Leyte then you still have to go south on Leyte, so it's south on Leyte or go south on Cebu. In my mind it amounts to the same thing.

Enjoy!