Hi all, I'm planning a trip starting the 15th november to Moalboal, diving 4 days diving the more the better and after another 4 days diving the more the better in Malapascua. I have read a lot about it but I appreciate your tips, what do I have to expect ? Chances to find the whale shark with no feeding ? It's 4 days too much in Malapascua ? What about the visibility in the water ?

I have contacted with Savedra diving center in Moalboal, for the moment they are very helpful and looks like they can organize me a full pack of transfers, diving and accomodation for a fair price but I don't know anything about them other what I have seen in Tripadvisor.

It’s been quite a while since I was in Malapascua, but one thing I really enjoyed and that doesn’t get much publicity is the night diving. Typically shallow and packed with interesting life including mandarinfish. Don’t miss it!

Everything else you read on the internet is generally informative. Mid

November does not feature the best visibility but should be OK.

23 hours ago, Troporobo said:

It’s been quite a while since I was in Malapascua, but one thing I really enjoyed and that doesn’t get much publicity is the night diving. Typically shallow and packed with interesting life including mandarinfish. Don’t miss it!

Everything else you read on the internet is generally informative. Mid

November does not feature the best visibility but should be OK.

Thank you so much for the information. One of the "wanna go" reason is the mandarin fish and I love night dive, so I will nor miss it. Right now what I'm not sure about is I have find that due to the flight prices it will be cheaper to stay one more day in Philippines, and I'm not sure if to stay one more day in Malapascua or one more day in Moalboal.

Getting to malapascua takes practically half a day, so if 4 days includes travel time, you're left with 3 full days diving and maybe 1 night dive on the first night. (maybe less if you need to take a flight the next day?)

Last time I was there, we did 3 diving days in Malapascua. We saw the Tiger shark on the last dive of the last day. We were there primarily for the sharks, and wouldn't mind more diving days. If you are also after the macro and night dives, I don't think more days would hurt.

Get in touch with Malapascua Thresher Divers (MTD) if you don't have a dive operator yet :)

Thanks for the tips, I have contracted with Savedra diving in Moalboal which has made a combination with what I ask them. So we are going to do 4 complete days of diving in Moalboal and 4 complete days of diving in Malapascua. I assume that I need a full day to reach Malapascua from Moalboal and another day to go from Malapascua to Cebu City. If I'm not wrong Savendra operates in Malapascua dealing with Thresher Shark Divers but I'm not sure about that.

My whole point is follow my dream of diving right in the middle of a sardine School like a I watched in the Documentaries when I was child, everything else in Moalboal will be a plus, turtles, etc. If I completed 12 diving days in Tulamben doing macro shots with no regrets being primarily a wide angle photographer I'm pretty sure i will find lots of interesting things in Moalboal.

And another of my dreams is diving with Thresher sharks, so Malapascua is the place to go, and somebody talk me also of Gato island like the place to go if going to Malapascua. Once there I'll see

Hi

I’ve dived Malapascua several times—the first time in 2005, and most recently this past March. The island and the diving scene have changed significantly. There’s a lot of partying, noise, and casual "fun divers," etc. The teashers are now mainly found at Kimud; there are hardly any left at Monad Shoal. However, it’s a bit of a circus there—basically a GoPro party with well-dressed female mostly chinese divers using their regulators to blow bubbles for photos with shark. The macro life Malapascua is okay these days, though it was much better in previous years. Be aware that Malapascua is currently very busy; we saw over 25 boats (approx 300-400 divers) at Kimud in March, and it’s not a large dive site. Gato Island also sees a lot of divers. Please keep in mind that you’ll be traveling in November, which is the rainy or shoulder season. This can mean strong winds, rain and poor underwater visibility. We experienced very poor visibility even during the peak season in March. You can find mandarin fish at a site called Lighthouse—there are two or three spots there, finding depending on your dive guide. It’s a very popular location, so it tends to be crowded. I can’t really help you with Moalboal these days. I was there in 1999, which is a bit too long ago to offer any up-to-date advice. Travelling from Moalboal to Malapascua is easy in 1/2 to 1 day depending on time of the day and weekday.

Br Markus Markus

Im also planing a 2 weeks trip to Philippines for 2027.. its mixed family trip with Diving, so im also looking for stunning beaches and nice resorts--

What are the recommended diving sites besides Malapascua Island and Moalboal.

What route would you select around Cebu, from north to south (vice-versa)

Edited July 27Jul 27 by Nando Diver

1 hour ago, Muellema said:

Hi

I’ve dived Malapascua several times—the first time in 2005, and most recently this past March. The island and the diving scene have changed significantly. There’s a lot of partying, noise, and casual "fun divers," etc. The teashers are now mainly found at Kimud; there are hardly any left at Monad Shoal. However, it’s a bit of a circus there—basically a GoPro party with well-dressed female mostly chinese divers using their regulators to blow bubbles for photos with shark. The macro life Malapascua is okay these days, though it was much better in previous years. Be aware that Malapascua is currently very busy; we saw over 25 boats (approx 300-400 divers) at Kimud in March, and it’s not a large dive site. Gato Island also sees a lot of divers. Please keep in mind that you’ll be traveling in November, which is the rainy or shoulder season. This can mean strong winds, rain and poor underwater visibility. We experienced very poor visibility even during the peak season in March. You can find mandarin fish at a site called Lighthouse—there are two or three spots there, finding depending on your dive guide. It’s a very popular location, so it tends to be crowded. I can’t really help you with Moalboal these days. I was there in 1999, which is a bit too long ago to offer any up-to-date advice. Travelling from Moalboal to Malapascua is easy in 1/2 to 1 day depending on time of the day and weekday.

Br Markus Markus

Thank you so much for your tips, I hope I'll have good look with the weather. I know it will be crowded, but anyway I expect I'll take almost a good shot which makes the the trip to worth it.

35 minutes ago, Nando Diver said:

Im also planing a 2 weeks trip to Philippines for 2027.. its mixed family trip with Diving, so im also looking for stunning beaches and nice resorts--

What are the recommended diving sites besides Malapascua Island and Moalboal.

What route would you select around Cebu, from north to south (vice-versa)

I'll tell you my impressions once I come back

10 hours ago, Nando Diver said:

Im also planing a 2 weeks trip to Philippines for 2027.. its mixed family trip with Diving, so im also looking for stunning beaches and nice resorts--

What are the recommended diving sites besides Malapascua Island and Moalboal.

What route would you select around Cebu, from north to south (vice-versa)

Hi,

where exactly do you want to go in the Philippines? Just Cebu? Moalboal and Malapascua are the main spots for diving there. However, there are virtually no super-luxury resorts in those areas. I would not recommend the west road on Malapascua. Lot`s of long strechted villages and most of the time no way to overtake very slow trucks. East road is quicker, but you must path Cebu city which can be very painful depending on daytime or weekday (from my opinion sunday is the best travel day).

You could combine Cebu with Dauin (Negros), though; it’s a very short ferry ride away. Diving in Dauin is primarily macro-focused, but operators run day trips to Apo, where you’ll find corals and turtles. There are few good resorts in Dauin if that’s a priority for you, If you’re looking for beautiful beaches and beach resorts, Boracay is the place to go— but busy with beach party, banana boats......though the diving is... well, let's just say it's not the main draw. Bohol/Panglao offers some good dive sites and excellent resorts, but the diving there is incredibly busy—mostly with Korean divers, as there are now direct charter flights from Korea. I’ve attached a photo of Alona Beach taken before 7 a.m. so you can get an idea of how many people jump into the water later in the day. I counted arround +/- 500 Cylinders walking Alona early morning. On Bohol, I’d actually recommend Anda instead; it’s quieter,beaches are nice and the diving is decent. Just quick info. Let me know if you need any more info. I

Best regards, Markus.

11 hours ago, Nando Diver said:

Im also planing a 2 weeks trip to Philippines for 2027.. its mixed family trip with Diving, so im also looking for stunning beaches and nice resorts--

My take on the philippines Visayas which I haved dived regularly these 15 past years :

• Depend on whether you have itchy feet and want to see a lot or you want to settle in 1-2 places. In two weeks you could do at least three spots (even a fourth one if that is on the road and you optimize your itinerary, but let's not spoil it), traveling in the Phils is quite easy.

• It will also depend on the way you fly out (either Manila or Cebu)

• I would list thise potential places for diving with their pros and cons :

  • Malapascua up north of Cebu is known for threshers, sometimes tigers, some macro it's a nice sandy beach island, however IMO there is not much., I would say plan 3-4 days diving not more of you want travel to other spots. Problem is that it will take you some time to get there in and out since it's 1hour boat+4 hours car drive from Cebu. You should go there first to secure your fly out since it's far out in the sea and not the most reliable place. If ever there is a storm or a typhoon you may not be able to cross the channel (been there, done that).

  • Alona beach on Panglao/Bohol provides all range of resorts from small villas to huge 5 star resorts and restaurants. It's also a good starting point for sightseeing Bohol (chocolate hills, tarsiers, etc.) True it's busy, however to me it provides the best coral and blue water diving on Balicasag island, which has a limited number of diver per day. You'll find there schools of Jacks and Cudas as well as great corals, somtime sin feb if you're lucky a whale shark roaming around. ideal for both diving and family snorkeling. YOu'll have to be selective with the dive center and book your Balicasag trips beforehand, I can wholeheartedly recommend Philippines Fun Divers german/japanese run dive center (think reliable), they answer very fast and they are also very flexible., Since they own two large bankas they always have more "allocations" going to Balicasag, even other dice center join on their boat They will also dive other islands around such as Pamilacan or even Cabilao on demand. Alona local dive sites are not that interesting except for Napaling with sardines schools as well, sometimes a jack school at Doljo. You could stay anythying from 4 days to a week in Alona if you do some land tours with the family, it's also easy to get to since there is an airport that flies internationally or to Manila and a ferry at Bohol Tagbilaran port that takes 2hrs going to Dumaguete (Dauin).

  • Otherwise Anda on the same island is only 2hours drive. It's much quieter (I would say too quiet) than Alona, has good beaches, However I was really disappointed with meh diving consisting of boring uncolorful tan/beige corals with limited fish life, although turtles are plentiful or white sand macro not nearly as productive as Dauin. Your family might like the place personally I haven't seen anything exciting to me.

  • Another option off Bohol is Cabilao island, extremely quiet, used to have great wall diving with lots of coral and snorkeling option for the family but I don't know how it went after Odette typhoon in 2022. Cabilao divers at Cabilao Marine sanctuary beach resort would be my top choice. Excellent accoms and very flexible dive center. Only worth 3 days max on h s small island though.

  • If you take a ferry from Bohol to Dumaguete on Negros island, you easily get to Dauin which is mainly black/whie sand macro diving, black sand beaches. there are a few upmarket options to stay there as well as mid range. Negros is quiet and tidy, however if macro is not your thing, I wouldn't recommand diving Dauin. Apo island is not far away (and day trips can be arranged with the dive centers) tahta said it doesn't compare with Balicasag with regards to schools of fish and fish life in general.

  • Another less traveled option would be Sipalay which is on the opposite side of Negros. Good sandy beach, Good midrange accoms and dive center at swiss run Easy Diving. Deeper diving (in the 30-40m range) is great with schools of fish, however the shallower dives are not that spectacular, a mix of coral, white sand and algae rubble. It takes something like 4 hours car drive to either go to Dumaguete or Bacolod in order to fly out of Negros.

  • Moalboal on Cebu is not that far from Cebu city, I wouldn't stay there with a family (been through I've been 5 times there) it's devoid of beaches. and used to have some "bar life". Lots people coming from Cebu in the morning by busloads or some other men staying overnight with "paid company". However Moalboal hosts two main dive attractions : the sardine school with is a shore dive in front of Savedra and Pescador island which for me used to be the best coral wall dive in the Phils (incredible colored soft corals on the southwestern corner of the isalnd). That said I wouldn't give it more than 2 days diving to flee the mix of backpackers, taiwanese & korean divers, the advantage is that you can do Moalboal just before coming back to Cebu for your flight out (4 hours drive from Mactan airport).

  • I am ruling out Padre Burgos/Sogod Bay which IMO is too far to get to, doesn't provide any beachside and wouldn't advise to take your family too due to uncomfortable resort options (My non diver wife did not like at all the place although she was Ok with all the other ones and honestly I thought that divewise it suffered a lot from Odette typhoon)

Thanks a lot for your tips, the trip is already organized, and due I only have 2 weeks and I hate rush we will do only Moalboal and Malapascua. I don't care about white sand beaches, big 5 star resorts, sunsets, banana boats...I live in Ibiza, I already have this at home. I'm looking for diving nos stop, 2 dives in the morning, one in the afternoon and a night dive if possible. I don't need big luxuries, a proper bed in a clean room with good beers and friends after diving.

I contacted Savedra divers in Moalboal and they have organized everything, accomodation, diving and transfers.

We are going to stay in Tipolo resort in Moalboal and in Blue Coral in Malapascua.. So we are finally going to do 4 complete days of diving in Moalboal and 4 complete days of diving in Malapascua. I have one complete day to go from Moalboal to Malapascua and another complete day to go from Malapascua to Cebu where I will sleep for a night and the day after take the flight to come back to Spain.

What I don't know is what to expect exactly on each site. I know, and that's the reason I'm going to, is that Moalboal is for Sardines and Turtles, but is there something else easy to find really interesting ? pigmy seahorse, electric clam, seahorses, reef sharks...

Also in Malapascua, there is obviously the Thresher shark, and if you are lucky a tiger shark, is there something else really interesting to see ?

1 hour ago, atus said:

but is there something else easy to find really interesting ?

I was replying to NandoDiver asking for general tips in the Visayas.

But to your question about Moalboal, not a specific critter but for me outside of teh sardines school the hightlight would be the coral walls on Pescador island, which is one of my favorite dives in the Philippines. Go the earlier you can in the morning, ther used to be operations that scheduled early morning dives on Pescador for REAL divers, however I don't think anymore as all the dive centers are now waiting for the truckloads of Asian group divers coming from Cebu around 10 AM.

=

where you can find HUGE spanish dancer nudibranches (I really mean HUGE like 40-50cm large!!!), but you need to go deeper around 35-36m to find them

.. or the usual giant frogfish on a sponge in the shallower parts.

@Luko @Muellema thank you, great tips

Lisbon to Manila > Flight to Cebu > Malapascua (5 days )

Return Cebu > ferry from Cebu to Bohol (5 or 6 days ) fly from Bohol > Manila > Lisbon

We are scooter fans, we always rent scooter and explore the islands / beaches/ secrets places 😀

We prefer local places, local culture, local food... away from tourist areas..

Im planning 2 dives in early morning.... and sightseeing in the afternoon..

We are pointing june to august, due the school holidays... but its typhoon season 🥶

Lets see..

Edited July 28Jul 28 by Nando Diver

On 7/28/2026 at 7:55 PM, Luko said:

I was replying to NandoDiver asking for general tips in the Visayas.

But to your question about Moalboal, not a specific critter but for me outside of teh sardines school the hightlight would be the coral walls on Pescador island, which is one of my favorite dives in the Philippines. Go the earlier you can in the morning, ther used to be operations that scheduled early morning dives on Pescador for REAL divers, however I don't think anymore as all the dive centers are now waiting for the truckloads of Asian group divers coming from Cebu around 10 AM.

=

where you can find HUGE spanish dancer nudibranches (I really mean HUGE like 40-50cm large!!!), but you need to go deeper around 35-36m to find them

.. or the usual giant frogfish on a sponge in the shallower parts.

Thank you so much. For me is more than enough to spend 4 days diving.

Ive investigating little more..

By pacific cathay - Lisbon - Swiss - hong kong - Cebu (return same itinerary)

Day 1 travel

Day 2 to 7 malapascua

Day 8 travel cebu - ferry bohol

Day 9 to 15 cabilao & panglao/balicasag and backup pamilacan & anda...

Day 16 ferry to cebu & return

Im diving in early morning and explore hidden beaches in the afternoon, we are renting 2 scooters so we can stay anywhere in the island.

Edited August 3Aug 3 by Nando Diver

I was 2 times in Anda probably a good choice for diving & the afternoon trip.

Be aware that the boats are frequently cancelled (weter or maintenance). You need to be ready to return urgently one or 2 days before to Cebu.
In my opinion it is better to organize the trip with one night on the main island of Cebu before you fly back.

Last november.. it was short really short that we missed our fly. Boat cancelled --> car trip --> fly back to Cebu.. we was lucky.

Next time we will end our trip with 1 or better 2 nights in Cebu

You problaby read my review I posted here. If you have any question... i'm here.

11 hours ago, Nando Diver said:

By pacific cathay - Lisbon - Swiss - hong kong - Cebu (return same itinerary)

I don't understand the way.. can you explain?
How many fly?
From where to where ?

2 hours ago, CaolIla said:

I don't understand the way.. can you explain?
How many fly?
From where to where ?

Lisbon - zurich -hong kong -cebu

There also more options like:

Madrid- hong kong - cebu

London -hong kong - cebu

Munich - hong kong- cebu

Zurich - hong kong - cebu

Paris - hong kong - cebu

If i understand right, theres 2 daily flight from Hong kong to cebu (08am & 15.20pm) with cathay pacific..

I dont like to fly turkish airline, and I would avoid doha or dubai

Edited August 4Aug 4 by Nando Diver

@Nando Diver

We are flying with Singapore air... Zurich (or other country in EU)-> Singapore -> Cebu they are also 2 or more flight / day between SIN and Cebu.

Some travellers are going to Manille... sheaper and more flights.

I bought my tickets with Etihad. So I do Barcelona - Abu dhabi - Manila. Then I take an Air Asia flight Manila to Cebu. Way cheaper and Quicker than go via China or Hong Kong. I've been checking with them and I had stopovers of 16 hours and 1200 euros tickets. With the current Schedule leaving Barcelona 10.00 in the morning I'm in Cebu 17:00 in the afternoon next day local time. With the longest stopover in Manila of 5 and a half hours and 900 euros tickets.

Next time we will end our trip with 1 or better 2 nights in Cebu

16 hours ago, CaolIla said:

Next time we will end our trip with 1 or better 2 nights in Cebu

Probably i do the same and visit moalboal in last 2 days