Malapascua Island is one of the popular beach destinations in Cebu due to its fine white sand, snorkeling and thresher shark diving. I’ve visited Malapascua some years ago but decided to go back this year to try their island hopping activity.
We’ve managed to rent a boat for island hopping for 2500 Pesos, life jackets and snorkeling masks included. You should clarify with your guide about who will shoulder the environmental fees because there’s a Bantay Dagat who collects 50 Pesos per head.
Our first stop was in some rock formations in the sea.
There were not much to see and just a few fish swimming around.
The next site we visited is the sunken ship. The ship is believed to be a Japanese sub chaser which sank during World War II.
According to some people, the wreck was bigger before but some people are looting it that’s why the wreck is getting smaller.
Corals have already grown on it.
We’ve caught a glimpse of the lighthouse from the boat.
There’s also cliff jumping.
Water here is so clear and there are lots of small fish but my GoPro was not able to clearly capture them.
Our last stop was the best where you’ll see lots of colorful fish swimming around.
The seabed is covered with corals.
Accommodation
We stayed at White Sand Bungalows for one night. The price is 1800 Pesos for two people and additional of 200 Pesos per extra head. Maybe the price was higher when we went there due to the peak season. The room is actually big and can accommodate around six people since it has an attic. Staff is also friendly and helpful.
We were warned by the staff to keep our valuables safe since there has been a case of stealing the night before we arrived. They said that maybe it happened due to the high influx of tourists because of the Lenten season. They have a safety box where we left our valuables and thankfully nothing was lost during our trip.
Malapascua Beach
The white sand is beautiful but they need to improve on cleanliness. The beach is covered with seaweed and algae and trash being thrown everywhere is not helping the situation. Even their beautiful sandbar is now covered with algae. I’m not a marine expert but if it doesn’t harm marine life maybe they could remove the seaweeds during low tide.
I had fun staring at the small fish hiding in the seaweeds though.
Also, they should have a designated area where passenger boats can dock and pass by.
Your snorkeling trip sounds like a ton of fun and it’s absolutely beautiful. I’d love to visit someday. I’ve spent some time in Key West, they have the same problem with all the seaweed and algae everywhere, it creates quite a smell, yuck