8 days Cebu itinerary: suggestions or tips?

[chimong]

I'm planning a Cebu itinerary for October. I want to visit Moalboal, Oslob and Malaspacua. Below is what I have so far based on the information I collected.

Day 1: Arrive at Cebu airport at 9:20am. Go to south bus terminal and take the bus to Moalboal.
Day 2: Dive sardine run and pescador island. Will make an inquiry to Nelson's recommended elsewhere on this forum. Depart for Oslob in the afternoon.
Day 3: Dive whale sharks spot in the morning. Which diveshops are recommended there? Also any safety tips because the whale sharks are such huge creatures? Return to Cebu city in the afternoon. Stay near North bus terminal.
Day 4: Take early morning bus to maya port and then ferry to arrive at Malapascua island.
Day 5-7: Dive Malapascua. I'm mostly interested in large creatures, so besides thresher sharks which other sites do you recommend? Will make an inquiry to Evolution recommended elsewhere on this forum.
Day 8: Take early morning ferry to maya port and then bus back to Cebu city. Departure flight at 5pm.

I'm most worried about transportation delays because if I can't make it to the next town on time it will severly impact the arrangement for the next day and cost diving time. But I learned that however slow they are all buses in Cebu run 24/7 so I think I'm good.

Let me know if you have any suggestions and tips. Huge thanks in advance!

 

[Searcaigh]

Your itinerary is too ambitious for such a short time.

Either do Malapascua only or do Moalboal + Oslob, although I've heard that Oslob is a circus.

Traffic on Cebu Island is a nightmare, on our drive to the south of the island pre-Covid to get the ferry to Negros Oriental it took us over five hours and my mate who was driving didn't get beyond third gear in his Hilux.

 

[Blackcrusader]

I'm planning a Cebu itinerary for October. I want to visit Moalboal, Oslob and Malaspacua. Below is what I have so far based on the information I collected.

Day 1: Arrive at Cebu airport at 9:20am. Go to south bus terminal and take the bus to Moalboal.
Day 2: Dive sardine run and pescador island. Will make an inquiry to Nelson's recommended elsewhere on this forum. Depart for Oslob in the afternoon.
Day 3: Dive whale sharks spot in the morning. Which diveshops are recommended there? Also any safety tips because the whale sharks are such huge creatures? Return to Cebu city in the afternoon. Stay near North bus terminal.
Day 4: Take early morning bus to maya port and then ferry to arrive at Malapascua island.
Day 5-7: Dive Malapascua. I'm mostly interested in large creatures, so besides thresher sharks which other sites do you recommend? Will make an inquiry to Evolution recommended elsewhere on this forum.
Day 8: Take early morning ferry to maya port and then bus back to Cebu city. Departure flight at 5pm.

I'm most worried about transportation delays because if I can't make it to the next town on time it will severly impact the arrangement for the next day and cost diving time. But I learned that however slow they are all buses in Cebu run 24/7 so I think I'm good.

Let me know if you have any suggestions and tips. Huge thanks in advance!

Day 2 is unrealistic. Sardine run can be a shore dive depends on where you enter the water. Doing that and Pescadore in the morning and end around lunch time.

Oslob is a car ride away.

3. Whale sharks are not an apex predator and there is nothing to be afraid of. They swim quite slowly and can be seen on dives. Oslob is where you go to see them being fed. Sometimes if you get lucky you are at the sardines and have a whale shark cruising through and feeding on them.

Cerez buses, some airconditioned some not. The road condition is not good so you are in for a unconfortable bumpy ride of 5 hours. Are you bringing your own dive gear? Many people will book 2 seats as they are really small. I always get a private hire car as I have too much gear and it gives me the option to take stops along the way.

If you dive the sardine run late afternoon 5pm you can see thresher sharks GT's and other predators going after the sardines.

Going to Malapascua does not guarantee seeing them. For this trip I would just go and dive in Moalboall and not do the tiring travel.

Savedra Dive Center | PADI 5-Star CDC in Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines my friend runs and she is an IDC Course director. Her name Koz. Her partner is into photography and knows the area well. I have done over 800 dives in Moalboal. Pescodore island actually offers a lot even if you just dive at around 15m depth around the small island or you do some of the deeper dives to 40m. Can have some ripping fast drift diving there.

I took this video of a whale shark at Pescadore Island

 

[chimong]

Your itinerary is too ambitious for such a short time.

Either do Malapascua only or do Moalboal + Oslob, although I've heard that Oslob is a circus.

Traffic on Cebu Island is a nightmare, on our drive to the south of the island pre-Covid to get the ferry to Negros Oriental it took us over five hours and my mate who was driving didn't get beyond third gear in his Hilux.

I know. But since I'm already there I don't want to waste any time and might as well hit all the highlights even if it takes a little extra effort.

 

[chimong]

Day 2 is unrealistic. Sardine run can be a shore dive depends on where you enter the water. Doing that and Pescadore in the morning and end around lunch time.

Oslob is a car ride away.

Sorry can you be more specific with why it's unrealistic? Are you saying sardine run and pescador are usually arranged on separate trips and can't be done in one day? If I have to choose only one it would probably be the sardine run.

For this trip I would just go and dive in Moalboall and not do the tiring travel.

Savedra Dive Center | PADI 5-Star CDC in Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines my friend runs and she is an IDC Course director. Her name Koz. Her partner is into photography and knows the area well. I have done over 800 dives in Moalboal. Pescodore island actually offers a lot even if you just dive at around 15m depth around the small island or you do some of the deeper dives to 40m. Can have some ripping fast drift diving there.

Thanks for your suggestion. I will consider a more relaxing itinerary as an alternative and check out this shop.

 

[Dan]

While in Malapascua you can dive in Kimud Shoal for Thresher shark, Gato island for Cat & Whitetip reef shark, and dusk diving to see Mandarin spawning. I stayed in Evolution.

 

[chimong]

While in Malapascua you can dive in Kimud Shoal for Thresher shark, Gato island for Cat & Whitetip reef shark, and dusk diving to see Mandarin spawning. I stayed in Evolution.

Wow very nice videos! Thanks for the recommendations. Seems like Malapascua will be a feast for the eyes.

 

[Dan]

Wow very nice videos! Thanks for the recommendations. Seems like Malapascua will be a feast for the eyes.

Thanks! The only Thresher shark cleaning station that I know of in the world. You definitely don’t want to miss it when you are in Cebu. Evolution is also a good dive resort.

 

[Dan]

Your itinerary is too ambitious for such a short time.

Either do Malapascua only or do Moalboal + Oslob, although I've heard that Oslob is a circus.

Traffic on Cebu Island is a nightmare, on our drive to the south of the island pre-Covid to get the ferry to Negros Oriental it took us over five hours and my mate who was driving didn't get beyond third gear in his Hilux.

Malapascua would be my vote.

 

[chimong]

Thresher shark cleaning station

What is that?