Trip Report Malapascua, Philippines
Location: Malapascua Island is just off the northern tip of Cebu, Island.
Dates: 23 29 Jan 05
Total Number of Dives: 20
Dive Shop: Thresher Shark Divers. Highly recommended.
Web Site: http://www.malapascua-diving.com/
Accommodations: We stayed in a room above the dive shop. No shortage of resorts on the island, Thresher Shark Divers (or whomever you dive with) should be able to hook you up with a room. Expect to pay 10-35USD per night per room.
Water Temp: 25c
Visibility: 10-20m
Type of diving: All dives were from a boat all dive operators on Malapascua dive off the traditional Philippine boat called a banca basically a glorified canoe (although to be fair they can be up to fifty foot long with a 6cyl diesel engine) with bamboo outriggers for stability. We didnt do any night dives, although they were offered. None of the dives had anything more than moderate current. We did one wreck dive (The Dona Marilyn) no penetration.
Favorite Dives: Lapus Lapus Incredible soft coral for as far as you can see. Sponges covered with worms.
Gato Island/The Tunnel Great swim-thru, huge puffer fish, White Tip Sharks, Banded Sea snakes, Crabs, Scorpionfish and so much more
Thresher Shark Dive/Shark Point/Monad Shoal the signature dive of Malapascua. Incredible creatures.
Nunez Spectacular Wall Dive
Things we liked about Malapascua: The dive shop was excellent small groups, very accommodating and excellent value. Everyone on the island was super friendly. The soft corals around Malapascua will blow you away. The Thresher sharks were as great as we thought they would be. Gato Island is an amazing place there is at least three dives there all excellent but the tunnel was fantastic (we did it twice)! Macro critters Pygmy seahorses, tons of nudibranchs.
Things we didnt like: Visibility was a little disappointing. Water was colder than expected. Lack of reef fish. Dynamite fishing we were told it was miles away, and yes, sound travels well underwater, but when you FEEL the concussion from the dynamite its a little freaky.
Travel tips: Malapascua is definitely a place where you can just show up (except maybe around holidays), so dont sweat it. Do bring lots of pesos credit cards (and sometimes even travelers checks) will have fees associated with them up to 6%. Also changing USD to pesos is sometimes difficult and expect to get about 5% less than the actual exchange rate.
Location: Malapascua Island is just off the northern tip of Cebu, Island.
Dates: 23 29 Jan 05
Total Number of Dives: 20
Dive Shop: Thresher Shark Divers. Highly recommended.
Web Site: http://www.malapascua-diving.com/
Accommodations: We stayed in a room above the dive shop. No shortage of resorts on the island, Thresher Shark Divers (or whomever you dive with) should be able to hook you up with a room. Expect to pay 10-35USD per night per room.
Water Temp: 25c
Visibility: 10-20m
Type of diving: All dives were from a boat all dive operators on Malapascua dive off the traditional Philippine boat called a banca basically a glorified canoe (although to be fair they can be up to fifty foot long with a 6cyl diesel engine) with bamboo outriggers for stability. We didnt do any night dives, although they were offered. None of the dives had anything more than moderate current. We did one wreck dive (The Dona Marilyn) no penetration.
Favorite Dives: Lapus Lapus Incredible soft coral for as far as you can see. Sponges covered with worms.
Gato Island/The Tunnel Great swim-thru, huge puffer fish, White Tip Sharks, Banded Sea snakes, Crabs, Scorpionfish and so much more
Thresher Shark Dive/Shark Point/Monad Shoal the signature dive of Malapascua. Incredible creatures.
Nunez Spectacular Wall Dive
Things we liked about Malapascua: The dive shop was excellent small groups, very accommodating and excellent value. Everyone on the island was super friendly. The soft corals around Malapascua will blow you away. The Thresher sharks were as great as we thought they would be. Gato Island is an amazing place there is at least three dives there all excellent but the tunnel was fantastic (we did it twice)! Macro critters Pygmy seahorses, tons of nudibranchs.
Things we didnt like: Visibility was a little disappointing. Water was colder than expected. Lack of reef fish. Dynamite fishing we were told it was miles away, and yes, sound travels well underwater, but when you FEEL the concussion from the dynamite its a little freaky.
Travel tips: Malapascua is definitely a place where you can just show up (except maybe around holidays), so dont sweat it. Do bring lots of pesos credit cards (and sometimes even travelers checks) will have fees associated with them up to 6%. Also changing USD to pesos is sometimes difficult and expect to get about 5% less than the actual exchange rate.
