SeaHeid2288
Registered
As I have used these forums a lot for planning, I am hoping this brief report will be of use to others.
Just got back from my first trip to the Philippines. Spent a week in Malapascua (Ocean Vida Resort and Sea Explorers dive shop) and 4 days at Kasai Village in Moalboal (dove with them as well).
Malapascua - The island is a blast! It was very charming and social. We met a lot of friendly people, both locals and tourists. The locals are incredibly resilient. There was some obvious damage to the island and the reefs from the Typhoon, but I was impressed with how much progress they had made thus far. Fortunately, our resort/dive shop were largely unaffected by the typhoon.
Favorite restaurants: Angelinas, Buena Vida (newly opened restaurant). Both italian menus that were surprisingly excellent. They had good choices of Italian wine for cheap as well! Hippocampus and ocean vida have great bars for socializing.
Diving in Malapascua: Sea Explorers was well run, always seemed to be on time- no complaints at all from diving with them. Safety was never a concern. Service was excellent, the deck hands were very helpful with gear etc. They have what appears to be the best boats on the island. Our dive guide was a little inexperienced but it wasn't a major issue. We missed the reef on one of the Kalangaman Island dives and just did a sand dive, but that happens from time to time. Probably more on the captain than the guide anyway. The thrasher sharks are awesome and made the trip worthwhile. If you plan to go there, be sure to have nitrox, it is much needed if you want to stay down long enough. I was surprised by just how terrible the visibility was. At times, we had no more than 4-5 meters of vis. I think this is a time of year thing, but it affected the diving a lot. Made the reefs seem less colorful as well. Without the thrasher sharks, I would've been largely unimpressed with the diving. Gato Island would've been beautiful if the water was clear and blue, but that wasn't the case during my visit. The local diving around the island was decent, but nothing spectacular. But the thrasher sharks were very spectacular!
Staying in Malapascau: It is a small island with limited resources, so don't go there with super high expectations for accommodations. That being said, Ocean Vida was clean, comfortable, and had a beautiful view of the beach/ocean. They have seating for the bar/restaurant right on the beach that is a great way to unwind after diving. The food there was good enough (but Angelinas and Buena Vida were much much better). Breakfast was plentiful and had enough variety. The bar had great cocktails and happy hour twice a day. Staff were all very polite and helpful. Would definitely stay here again.
Moalboal: A lot more non-diving tourists here. Panagsema beach was a blast. We went out there three nights in a row. Again, met a lot of locals and tourists. The food here was not as good as Malapascua, but it was fine. For non-divers, Kawasan falls is a great land based activity. Many people went on day long excursions, we elected to just hire a tricycle to take us there and we explored on our own (didn't want to sacrifice a whole day doing the canyoneering). If you are more into the canyoneering/cliff jumping experience, probably best to go on a guided excursion.
Diving in Moalboal: We had much better visibility in Moalboal than in Malapascua. Clear blue water with 20-30m vis. Pescador island was absolutely gorgeous. Lots of hard and soft corals, tons of fish, a couple small caves to go into, lots of frogfish/nudis/shrimps/crabs if thats your thing. We did two dives here because we enjoyed it so much the first time. Current can be a bit tricky but nothing too crazy. The sardines were cool to see but not something I need to do again. I read on here that the best time to go is in the early morning. Unfortunately our boat didn't go out until 9 am and we did the second dive here. That being said, the visibility was fine and although it was crowded, we saw the sardines just fine. The remaining dives we did were just along the wall (tonga, Kasai wall). The wall is very nice with abundant fish, coral and critters. Unlike other lucky visitors, we did not see a whale shark cruising the wall. But we did see lots of turtles.
Staying in Moalboal: We stayed at Kasai Village. Rooms were very nice and clean, beautiful ocean view, and amazing service. Pool was great too. All the workers were very accommodating and friendly. The dive guide even rinsed and hung up our gear after every dive! It is not walking distance to panagsema beach, but a tricycle ride is only about 10 min, dirt cheap, and the front desk will set it up for you whenever you want. No worries there. Food was fine. I thought the breakfast could use a few more options but I didn't go hungry. We had the half board which was nice (although may be cheaper to just go a la cart). Lunch/dinner menu was probably better than anything we ate in town. This resort was much quieter than those in panagsema and from what we experienced in Malapascua, which was a nice way to end the vacation. Overall, would definitely stay here again.
Overall, I had a great time. Would go back in a heartbeat. Happy to answer any questions
Just got back from my first trip to the Philippines. Spent a week in Malapascua (Ocean Vida Resort and Sea Explorers dive shop) and 4 days at Kasai Village in Moalboal (dove with them as well).
Malapascua - The island is a blast! It was very charming and social. We met a lot of friendly people, both locals and tourists. The locals are incredibly resilient. There was some obvious damage to the island and the reefs from the Typhoon, but I was impressed with how much progress they had made thus far. Fortunately, our resort/dive shop were largely unaffected by the typhoon.
Favorite restaurants: Angelinas, Buena Vida (newly opened restaurant). Both italian menus that were surprisingly excellent. They had good choices of Italian wine for cheap as well! Hippocampus and ocean vida have great bars for socializing.
Diving in Malapascua: Sea Explorers was well run, always seemed to be on time- no complaints at all from diving with them. Safety was never a concern. Service was excellent, the deck hands were very helpful with gear etc. They have what appears to be the best boats on the island. Our dive guide was a little inexperienced but it wasn't a major issue. We missed the reef on one of the Kalangaman Island dives and just did a sand dive, but that happens from time to time. Probably more on the captain than the guide anyway. The thrasher sharks are awesome and made the trip worthwhile. If you plan to go there, be sure to have nitrox, it is much needed if you want to stay down long enough. I was surprised by just how terrible the visibility was. At times, we had no more than 4-5 meters of vis. I think this is a time of year thing, but it affected the diving a lot. Made the reefs seem less colorful as well. Without the thrasher sharks, I would've been largely unimpressed with the diving. Gato Island would've been beautiful if the water was clear and blue, but that wasn't the case during my visit. The local diving around the island was decent, but nothing spectacular. But the thrasher sharks were very spectacular!
Staying in Malapascau: It is a small island with limited resources, so don't go there with super high expectations for accommodations. That being said, Ocean Vida was clean, comfortable, and had a beautiful view of the beach/ocean. They have seating for the bar/restaurant right on the beach that is a great way to unwind after diving. The food there was good enough (but Angelinas and Buena Vida were much much better). Breakfast was plentiful and had enough variety. The bar had great cocktails and happy hour twice a day. Staff were all very polite and helpful. Would definitely stay here again.
Moalboal: A lot more non-diving tourists here. Panagsema beach was a blast. We went out there three nights in a row. Again, met a lot of locals and tourists. The food here was not as good as Malapascua, but it was fine. For non-divers, Kawasan falls is a great land based activity. Many people went on day long excursions, we elected to just hire a tricycle to take us there and we explored on our own (didn't want to sacrifice a whole day doing the canyoneering). If you are more into the canyoneering/cliff jumping experience, probably best to go on a guided excursion.
Diving in Moalboal: We had much better visibility in Moalboal than in Malapascua. Clear blue water with 20-30m vis. Pescador island was absolutely gorgeous. Lots of hard and soft corals, tons of fish, a couple small caves to go into, lots of frogfish/nudis/shrimps/crabs if thats your thing. We did two dives here because we enjoyed it so much the first time. Current can be a bit tricky but nothing too crazy. The sardines were cool to see but not something I need to do again. I read on here that the best time to go is in the early morning. Unfortunately our boat didn't go out until 9 am and we did the second dive here. That being said, the visibility was fine and although it was crowded, we saw the sardines just fine. The remaining dives we did were just along the wall (tonga, Kasai wall). The wall is very nice with abundant fish, coral and critters. Unlike other lucky visitors, we did not see a whale shark cruising the wall. But we did see lots of turtles.
Staying in Moalboal: We stayed at Kasai Village. Rooms were very nice and clean, beautiful ocean view, and amazing service. Pool was great too. All the workers were very accommodating and friendly. The dive guide even rinsed and hung up our gear after every dive! It is not walking distance to panagsema beach, but a tricycle ride is only about 10 min, dirt cheap, and the front desk will set it up for you whenever you want. No worries there. Food was fine. I thought the breakfast could use a few more options but I didn't go hungry. We had the half board which was nice (although may be cheaper to just go a la cart). Lunch/dinner menu was probably better than anything we ate in town. This resort was much quieter than those in panagsema and from what we experienced in Malapascua, which was a nice way to end the vacation. Overall, would definitely stay here again.
Overall, I had a great time. Would go back in a heartbeat. Happy to answer any questions
