Malapascua

Malapascua is an island in Cebu Province north of Cebu Island. The first image Malapascua offers will stay with you for a long time: an exceedingly beautiful pristine stretch of white sand, crystal clear waters bordered by coconut trees and a dozen scattered native-style resorts. But as with all up-and-coming islands experiencing a boom in tourism, Malapascua is rapidly becoming a second Boracay with modern concrete hotels to cater for the varied needs of the many. Despite this modernization, even the largest of resorts embrace the native build styles for a portion of their rooms. The north of the island remains untouched where the fishermen are just fishermen in native style houses.

Understand


Malapascua is known to the locals as Logon and the local beach was named Bounty Beach by the resort on the island Cocobana, some 20 years ago. It lies 8 km off the north of Cebu, and has a community of about 11,000 inhabitants (as of 2012). A walk or a tour of the entire island will take about 3 hours. The island's main income is from tourists who flock to the island to see the rare thresher sharks, white tip sharks and various rays, or visit for a romantic weekend break.

There are ATMs, a Smart Money store, and a money changer store on the island. Many of the more popular resorts accept major credit cards.

By plane
Mactan-Cebu International Airport is the main gateway to Cebu Island for international and domestic flights. It is 7 km SE of the North Bus Terminal in Cebu city.

By bus
There are 3 bus companies that ride to/from Maya from the North Bus Terminal in Cebu: Ceres, Cebu AutoBus and Rough Riders. The journey takes 3½ to 4 hours, video and air-con, non air-con. Air conditioned buses can also have WiFi for usage. Ask the bus conductor for help.

You could hire a taxi, or a private car from Cebu to Maya, as well as arrange a pick-up with one of the resorts.

By boat
From Maya a local ferry (bangka) goes across am and pm with a break at lunch time, 'till 4:30PM. It takes about 1/2 hour and costs. First boat from Maya is at 6:30AM. A ferry will not leave unless it has enough people, so aim to arrive earlier rather than later.

Crossing can be rather wet and bangkas have very little shelter from the elements.

When arriving/departing from Malapascua shores be prepared to either jump into the shallow waters or walk down a rickety plank. At low tide you can transfer to a smaller boat for.

When arriving to Maya you may have to transfer to a very small banca for the last 200 m.

A private bangkas to Malapascua can be hired from Maya for.

If you have arranged transportation with your resort you don't need to worry about any of the above.

Malapascua can also be reached from Bantayan and from Leyte (San Isidro), but there's no ferry service.

Get around
There is no transport on the island — not that you will need any, as you can walk everywhere.

Alternatively, there are many locals who own mopeds called habal habal, who are willing to give you a lift. They charge a fee of for short ride, and  from south to north. You can rent a motorbike for a whole day for.

See
Snorkeling and fishing. With its spectacular underwater flora and fauna there is much to see, making snorkeling a fine experience. A resort will rent boats, alternatively locals will take you on their fishing rakie. Marine Protected Areas for Snorkeling are:
 * Coral Garden (close to Aabana Beach & Watersport Resort) east side,
 * Lapus Lapus (close to Los Bamboos Resort) northwest point,
 * Dakit Dakit (close to Blue Corals Resort) southwest point

Scuba diving. Waters off the island offers some of the most exciting extreme dives in the Philippines, with adrenaline pumping adventure, thresher sharks and manta ray  encounters. The dive shops seem mindful of the environment and have a caring attitude towards their customers, which is as well considering the kind of fish roaming around. Dive shops offer introductory courses to advanced Scuba diving and there are a couple of wrecks to explore.

Walks. With about 6 km circumference, Malapascua has more than a few spots to see. It has a handful of exotic beaches like Bounty Beach, or Mangrove Bay, and to tower it all there is the lighthouse, very popular when it comes to watching the sunset.

Do
Malapascua is a diving destination. The main attractions are the thresher sharks and mantarays which are regularly encountered at the Monad Shoal. At other divesites, you can see mandarin fish, pygmy seahorses and the blue-ringed octopus.

PADI Instructor Development Course, IDC. Each season more divemasters choose Malapascua as their destination to go pro with the IDC course.

See also Diving in the Philippines&mdash;Malapascua.

Buy
Souvenirs. There are a couple of Malapascua T-shirt vendors around Bounty Beach, as well as craftsmen that sell wooden threshers shark figurines.

Groceries. There are a bunch of local shops scattered around the island. That sell from toiletries and painkillers to light bulbs, water, sodas, and snacks. There are fruit shops that sell bananas, apples, coconuts, tomatoes and other products.

Dive Shop. The big dive centers have a dive shop where you can buy wet suits, masks, knives, etc.

Books. A few hundred books up for free exchange at Malapascua Exotic Dive & Beach Resort (IDC Centre)and also at the Blue Corals Resort.

Eat
You will see local eateries spread all over the island. Do not let their worn aspect put you off of a good and cheap meal; usually rice with choices of veggies, meat, and fish. Some evening stalls barbecue finger-licking pork satay.


 * La Isla Bonita offers Philippine dishes and pizzas
 * Ging Ging's is a popular choice, eatery with a large array of options
 * Kiwi's Restaurant down a track behind Ging Ging's, a small family run eatery with great food and good prices.

Drink
Disco. During high season, there is a popular disco event every Saturday, surrounded by stalls that sell beers and sodas, or food. Not to be missed!



Sleep
On arrival a few official-looking touts await the visitors but they are superfluous, considering the number of resorts, so take your time to choose what suits you best.

Touts won't charge you a fee; they'll get or more from the resorts, so  they might just take you to the closest one or the one paying them the most rather than the best one.

Budget

 * Daño Beach Resort, cell +63 915-666-1584 or +63 927-381-7894. Lemuel Daño is the manager. There are 20 odd bungalows, all facing the sea; they have a thatched roof, bamboo veranda and the concrete cottages are simple, with a large room, and come equipped with a bathroom.
 * MGmatterhorn a small and very clean guesthouse, managed by Marites Monteclar, not on the beach. It's on the way to Bakaw-Kiwi eatery. One fan room good for two and about November 2011 two more air-con rooms. Free Wi-Fi. Prices starting from per day and room. Strictly no cooking in the rooms. Cell +63 915-554-3310 or e-mail maritesmonteclar@yahoo.com. Look the pics on www.malapascua.de. Look for matterhorn. Or go to: https://sites.google.com/site/abougibi/
 * MGmatterhorn a small and very clean guesthouse, managed by Marites Monteclar, not on the beach. It's on the way to Bakaw-Kiwi eatery. One fan room good for two and about November 2011 two more air-con rooms. Free Wi-Fi. Prices starting from per day and room. Strictly no cooking in the rooms. Cell +63 915-554-3310 or e-mail maritesmonteclar@yahoo.com. Look the pics on www.malapascua.de. Look for matterhorn. Or go to: https://sites.google.com/site/abougibi/

Talk
Cebuano is the common language here, followed by Filipino. Most of the staff at the resorts and dive shops speak English fluently. Most locals speak enough to get by.

Stay safe
There is a basic clinic on Malapascua Island, close by to the Barangay Hall. A doctor comes only every Saturday to Malapascua's little clinic. So to help in case of an emergency injuries outside of a Saturday, one still has to go to the next doctor in Daanbantayan, and that is long way by boat and land transport.

For divers to get notice, the next decompression chamber is far away in Lahug, Cebu City, military hospital.