Malapascua Island’s
Thresher Shark Divers
Scuba Diving Malapascua
Some of the Best Dives in Cebu, The Philippines & South-East Asia
Malapascua Island is a beautiful and as yet undeveloped Island located off the north end of Cebu Island. It has become famous in recent years for its picture postcard beaches, but more so for its diving. In particular, it is the only place in the world where the elusive thresher shark can be seen on a daily basis.
The thresher is a beautiful shark, about 4 meters in length. It’s huge tail for which it was named is about half its body length. They can be seen early in the morning at Monad Shoal, a local sea mound. The site is also home to Giant Mantas, Devil Ray and an assortment of other big fish.
The diving does not end with thresher sharks. Malapascua also has great macro, soft coral gardens, wrecks, muck diving and wall diving. There are mandarinfish, many varieties of nudibranchs, seahorses, frogfish, seamoths and countless other wonderful creatures.
Over the 10 years since the sharks were fist ‘discovered’, there has been some development, but the island still has a very isolated feel. Many call it the next Borocay, but residents do not believe it could ever get that busy.
Do not expect 5 star accommodation here: although some rooms come with AC and hot water, they are fairly basic, electric is not always 24 hours and the tap water is slightly salty. We see that as one of its charms and a trade off for its desert island feel. High end rooms are from about 2000-5000 pesos. There are backpacker rooms available from P300 and up.
Good eats – for such an isolated island there are some excellent restaurant choices including Oscar’s, a eclectic mix of international dishes, including traditional Brit favorites, and Angelina’s, an authentic Italian Restaurant.
Getting there:
Head for Cebu City and then take either a bus or private vehicle to Maya, a journey or 2.5-5 hours. A banka boat will take you the final 30 minutes of the trip. Contact your dive shop or resort to arrange the more comfortable private trip or come by public transport for a bit of an adventure.
For all your diving needs contact Thresher Shark Divers. TSD are a PADI 5 Star IDC Center and offer a full range of PADI course from beginner to Instructor including a unique Thresher Shark Diver Specialty course. They also offer technical diving with nitrox, trimix, twins and IANTD courses. TSD’s dive guides are highly trained in finding great macro for photographers.
Thresher Shark Divers can arrange an all inclusive package with diving, accommodation, airport transfers and meals included.
For Further Information Please Contact
Email: dive@thresherdivers.com, Tel: +63-927-612-3359.
