We had a pretty interesting way from Bantayan to Malapascua. After reading lots of comments how a boat ride between the two islands isn’t the safest neither the quickest option we opted for land transportation option to reach Malapascua Island.
We had a smooth hour of ferry ride to Hagnaya port. There we negotiated a 700 Php car transfer for 5 person to Maya Port at the tip of Cebu Island. Probably not the cheapest but with huge bags and two kids still the wisest decision as it turned out. We’ve reached the new Maya port in just an hour bought a boat tickets to Malapascua and were on our way in less than 10 minutes.
The pump boat got us to the island in an easy 30 minutes.
Malapascua only recently became a hotspot for tourists and used to be an off the beat gem in Cebu. As a diving spot, its waters are one of the most extreme and most beautiful. Divers flock here to encounter thresher sharks all year round. And those not into diving like us can enjoy the fine sand and crystal clear waters of Malapascua.
Dirt roads abound here. More like footpaths really. I must admit that carrying our luggage for only kilometer or so was a true torture. The island is tiny and you can truly walk almost all of it. The sandy paths wind alongside beach shacks, guesthouses, people’s homes, tiny food stalls and restaurants, and little convenient stores selling all the supplies you could need. It’s rustic and there’s very little infrastructure.
The island is just a kilometer wide by 2 kilometers long and 90% of the people were there to dive. There are a bunch of decent restaurants along Bounty Beach and we just had three days of eating, drinking, working and sunbathing. Mostly we had our meal at the place we’ve stayed, Angelina Beach Resort/Restaurant and at Amihan Restaurant who has arguably the best views of the island while having a meal.
You can go walking almost everywhere in Malapascua Island. You can also rent a bicycle if the distances are bigger and even get a ride a habal-habal motorbike from the locals. I would strongly suggest you not to drive a motorbike yourself since the paths are really narrow and they are going through the backyards of the homes so you really need to know what you are doing and where you are going. They can also help you out carrying all your luggage from the port to your hotel – if we had only known that before 🙂
There are multiple beaches, but Bounty Beach is the popular, long, white sand, almost dreamlike one. There are bars and restaurants and dive shops all along it but there also Banka boats parked everywhere. Logon Beach, is just in front of Angelina Beach resort on the other side but it’s somewhat less beautiful and this is also the spot where public ferries come and go. On the other hand it’s also the best spot to see the sunset.
There are several things to do in Malapascua. The basic activities to do in Malapascua are snorkeling, diving, swimming and, of course, doing nothing. Here’s a list of some of the things to do in Malapascua on your next trip!
Food can be expensive, especially if you want to eat well. For some reason most restaurants offer Italian food as expensive one. But who goes to Philippines to eat Italian, right:)? So bring enough cash since there are no ATM’s on the island
Things to do:
- Diving : if you are coming to Malapascua for diving, you should know that it´s one of the best
spots in the Philippines and you can see thresher sharks in its crystal clear waters
- Snorkeling: You can hire a boat and do island hoping around Malapascua. There are 2-3 spots to do it and you can ask the boatman for prices. They will offer around you around 1000 to 2000 PHP, depending on your skills to negotiate. This was definitely one of the best activities to do in Malapascua on our day trip. Beware of jellyfishes though – especially on the sunken ship spot.
- Beach bumming:
Langob Beach – was our favorite beach in Malapascua. It’s located at the North end of the island and it’s very quiet and peaceful. You can here with habal-habal or with a boat like we did. The beach was clean with no jellyfishes and you will see gorgeous palm trees and a breathtaking 360 degrees view of the bay.
Bounty Beach – on the South part of the island you will find an area full of restaurants, resorts and diving shops. Bounty Beach is the perfect place to spend your day if you just want to chill and aren’t in the mood to do the activities mentioned above. You can get a cold beer or a cocktail and just enjoy the day or your evening.
- Kalanggaman Island trip – The day trip from Malapascua to Kalanggaman Island is one of the best of the things to do in Malapascua. This was actually the soul point for us coming here since we don’t dive. It takes around 2 hours by boat to get to Kalanggaman Island and the day trip costs 800 PHP, lunch included. You also have to pay an entrance fee of 500 PHP in Kalanggaman Island. Kids until 5 y/o get in for free. The island was so beautiful that I’ll do a separate blog entry for it.
At the end I can say that Malapascua is much more than just about Thrasher Sharks. You can easily spend here couple of days exploring it and you will never get bored.
