I originally planned to dive in Batanes, but after emailing them in January for advice, they told me it wasn’t yet a good season to dive, so I had to go with plan B – either Boracay or somewhere in Cebu. Besides Yapak in Boracay, I was also targeting Caluya Island, which wouldn’t open until March. So I decided to return to Malapascua because of recent news that thresher sharks are now easily encountered in the shallower Kimud Shoal.
In this post:
- Malapascua
- Malapascua in 2020
- Getting There
- Dive Shop and Where to Stay
- Day 0: Stargazing in Malapascua
- Day 1: Two dives in Kimud Shoal and one in Monad
- Day 2: Three dives in Gato Island and a sunset dive in Lighthouse
- Day 3: Back in Kimud for more Thresher Shark Encounters
- Souvenir
- Health problems
Malapascua
A small island off northern Cebu in the Philippines, famous worldwide as one of the most reliable places to see pelagic thresher sharks. These magnificent creatures recently relocated from Monad Shoal to Kimud Shoal, where they now visit cleaning stations at shallower, more accessible depths of 12-15 meters – no more pre-dawn departures required!
Malapascua in 2020
This was my last trip to the Philippines before COVID broke out! Core memories:
- Thresher sharks were still in Monad Shoal at 30m
- We had to start really early
- I was using GoPro7
- I did my first night dives after getting AOWD in 2019
- Went with Divelink Cebu
Getting There
We took an early flight from Manila (6AM) to Cebu via Philippine Airlines. We asked our accommodation to arrange airport pickup at the last minute when we realized lugging scuba and stargazing gear would be too much for our age – kwarentahin.
Here is the cost breakdown:
- Manila to Cebu via Philippine Airlines: we used our PAL Miles and paid for taxes costing Php2,300
- Flight dates: Feb 14-18
You might ask why choose a commercial flight instead of an LCC (low-cost carrier like Cebu Pacific or AirAsia)? Flying PAL gives us 20kg of checked luggage + 7kg carry-on, free seat selection, and overall better logistics in NAIA T2.
- Private car to Maya Port (Php4,000) and private boat right to the front of Mabuhay Thresher Shark (Php2,500) per way
Why not take a bus and a public boat? We just didn’t want to drag our stuff around. This is the cost of bringing our own dive gear, and we might even have to pay for extra kilos once we buy our own BCD.
Dive Shop and Where to Stay
After the dreaded email from Batanes Dive Resort, I immediately emailed dive shops recommended by my Dive Club, redditors, and also Divelink Cebu, who we dove with in 2020. I was excited that Evo has tech diving, but unfortunately they were full as expected because of the season. After a few hours, I heard back from Divelink via email – yes! They could accommodate us from Feb 15 to 17! Another reason for choosing Divelink is their simple price structure. Other dive shops have 10-page-long explanations of their pricing.
Dive Shop: Divelink Cebu (Google Map)
- Php5,400 for three dives inclusive of boat, and environmental fees (Website)
Resort: Mabuhay Thresher (Google Map) booked via Booking.com
- Php1,900 for each night inclusive of taxes and booking fees
Day 0: Stargazing in Malapascua
We arrived at the island around 2pm and unpacked our stuff. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the room, but it’s a 2-bed room with a private bath and balcony. If you’re not picky, it’s spacious enough and overall not bad for the price. The restaurant food is cheaper and true to Filipino flavors – I wouldn’t mind staying again.
At 4pm, we went to Divelink, met our guide, signed up for our dives, and chose our BCDs.
At 8pm, returning from dinner with the skies clearing up after light rain, we decided to set up our stargazing gear – Seestar S30, GoPro13, monocular, and our phones.
Stay tuned for February stargazing post!
Day 1: Two dives in Kimud Shoal and one in Monad
Unlike in 2020, we didn’t have to start early. Our meetup at the shop was 6:15am! We met with the other divers over free coffee, received our briefing from Bernil, our dive guide, and off we went!
As soon as we jumped off the boat, a cute threshie was waiting for us! How lovely is that!
The thresher sharks’ relocation from Monad to Kimud Shoal around September 2022 remains one of Malapascua’s most fascinating mysteries. According to our dive guide and confirmed by the diving community, the leading theory is self-preservation: tiger sharks and hammerheads became increasingly territorial at Monad during the pandemic years, driving the more docile threshers to seek safer cleaning stations. While the exact reason is still debated, the move has been a blessing in disguise for divers – Kimud’s shallower depths of 12-15 meters mean longer bottom times, better visibility, and more ambient light for photography compared to Monad’s 25-30 meters.
After two dives, we went to Monad trying our luck to see a tiger shark, but sadly, no luck.
At night, we set up our stargazing gear again but were mindful not to go past our bedtime. A lot more tourists stopped by and looked at the sky with us.
Day 2: Three dives in Gato Island and a sunset dive in Lighthouse
I forgot to bring my Backscatter Macro Flip lens – only brought my AOI Wide Lens – so I focused on capturing the underwater scenery, the tunnels and passages, and they look amazing!
Among our dive group, only I signed up for a sunset dive to see the mandarin fish. I met a French chemical engineer who’s also working in Taipei, and we shared our thoughts about our love and not-hate of our lives in Taipei.
Day 3: Back in Kimud for more Thresher Shark Encounters
We decided to skip other dive sites and were glad we did – we each had our personal encounters with a threshie! But this time, we met up at 5:45 am and left the shop at 6AM.
One lucky bastard encountered a hammerhead in Kimud though!
In Monad, I got to see a whitetip swimming, but no tiger or hammerhead. But here’s a collection of the colorful lives of Malapascua’s sea creatures.
Bonus! Where to eat in Malapascua?
We didn’t really get to explore the food scene since we had two activities – scuba diving and stargazing – but we can highly recommend the resort’s restaurant for staying true to Filipino flavors at every meal, and the halo-halo at Kaon Nilumad.
Souvenir
A fridge magnet, of course! And we got a dive shirt made of quick-dry material, which I think could be used for cycling.
Health problems
It is unfortunate, but I came down with the flu before I even left the island. I was planning an all-nighter to watch the winter Milky Way. After our last dive in Monad, we headed back to our room and cleaned our stuff. Then I took a shower, when I felt shivers and malaise. I fell onto my stomach and fell asleep. I only woke up to signal Gerald that I was down with something and needed meds. He had to take care of the rest of the cleaning and drying.
My fever was on and off until our flight back to Manila, and I had a dry cough when I visited my parents. I’d saved the last two days of the holidays to ride the bicycle with my father, but I had to rest instead. Back in Taiwan, I had to rest again for the two whole days I’d planned for cycling and stargazing. This is making me think I might have to take supplements, as fruits aren’t enough. I probably have to get a flu shot as well.
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That’s it for now! Stay tuned for more adventures and tips on balancing work and travel!
🌹
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