Malapascua Dive site

Monad Shoal/Shark Point 26m+ / 80ft+



Monad Shoal in MALAPASCUA is an underwater island on the edge of a 200m drop off, and is famous as the only place in the world where thresher sharks can be seen everyday. Manta rays have become a common sight over the last year. The shoal also attracts other pelagics such as devil rays and eagle rays. Manta rays and hammerheads are seasonal. Monad Shoal is perfect for Nitrox. Find out more about Monad Shoal and its threshers. Please note that this is a slightly more advanced dive site.



Gato Island 24m / 80ft

Gato Island in MALAPASCUA is one of our most famous dive sites. Gato is a marine reserve and sea snake sanctuary. It has at least five dive sites with a huge diversity of marine life. We are constantly seeing new creatures. At all sites you can see such things as banded sea snakes, cuttlefish (often while mating), seahorses, nudibranchs, frogfish, moray eels, scorpion fish, squid and big-mouthed mackerel. There are many whitetip sharks in residence at Gato, as well as bamboo and cat sharks. The coral is in good condition and the rocky island has many interesting underwater rock formations, overhangs, and swim-throughs.

Going to malapascua

The trip from Cebu City to Daan Bantayan/ Maya (the jump-off point), would normally take between 4 to 4.5 hours by bus. A 4-hour trip, it is long enough for a supposedly leisurely travel so you should take the airconditioned bus, Ceres Tours, to relax a bit while in transit. Maya is some 145 kilometers away from the city via narrow and winding road passing through scenic landscapes along the way.

During the bus ride one will pass Mandaue City and Consolacion

The bus ride is far from smooth over a winding and narrow road all the way to Bogo, a progressive town which is more like a city itself. The bus will reach Bogo about 2,5 hours later and then after a 15 minute stop for unloading passengers will go to the last leg of the journey. The towns of Medellin and Daan Bantayan are located in a peninsula connected to Bogo only by a narrow isthmus. The bus had to slow down as we entered the peninsular towns as the road was surprisingly unpaved

About 4-4,5 hours after leaving one will reach Maya wharf and then continue the journey to the island, this time by boat. Malapascua Island is a 30-minute boatride across a shallow 8-kilometer channel from Maya.

Calangaman island is about 2 hours boatride from Malapascua to the south. Good diving spot. Very romantic. Only one fisher family lives on this islet.

From above this islet looks like a flying seagull.

For the traveller, it is the variety the Philippines offers that is so interesting. The bustling capital of Manila Kontrasts with lonely islands fringed with superb beaches and gardens of coral. There are towns where you will find a thriving nightlife, but you can also visit mountain tribes who still live according to their own laws and traditions. There are huge rice terraces built eons ago with the most primitive of tools; wide sugarcane fields with subterranean rivers and lakes; or shadowy palm forest groves and dense jungle. lf you can learn to be as laid back as the Filipinos amid all this natural beauty, you'11 fit in just fine

Chocolate Hills Bohol Philippines

The world-renowned cone-shaped Chocolate Hills is Nature's expression of beauty, mystery and romance. Spread over the municipalities of Carmen, Sagbayan and Batuan, the Chocolate Hills is the province's signature attraction. It consists of approximately 1,268 hay cock hills with heights ranging from 40 to 120 meters. Formed centuries ago by tidal movements, the hills are considered as a National Geologic Movement. During the summers, the dome-shaped grass covered limestone hills dry up and turn brown, transforming the area into seemingly endless rows of chocolate "kisses"
Two of the highest hills have been developed and provided with facilities such as a restaurant, hostel and view deck.

Where to stay?

If you would like to stay in the Chocolate Hills, you have very little choice. The only facility is the Government run Chocolate Hills resort. Currently, this hotel is undergoing renovation and extention, but, since funds have run out, work on this is suspended, and you'll have to deal with the mess of a half-completed resort. However, the staff are friendly, and if you stay here overnight, seeing the sun rise over this bizarre landscape is worth the inconvenience. The place also has a still functional and mainted swimmingpool, which is behind the unfinished building, a little bit downhill.