Malapascua Island
Malapascua is an isolated island off the northern tip of Cebu. It is a wonderful blend of picturesque beaches, laid-back island atmosphere, excellent food, solid nightlife, friendly people and world-class diving. It is a great place to unwind for a while and get some diving in.
The standard diving around the island ranges from solid reefs at places like Deep Rock and Deep slope to incredible muck diving right off the beach at any of the various House Reefs. It may be fun to try your luck at finding the critters, but sticking close to your guide is the best way to be rewarded with such rarities as pygmy seahorses, blue-ringed-octopuses and pipefish. The intricate sunset mating dances of the mandarinfish at Lighthouse Reef should not be missed.
While the near-shore diving is pretty special, the majority of dive travel here is for the thresher shark cleaning station found at Monad Shoals. These animals are found on 95% of the dives year-round with slow periods experienced most frequently around the full moon. Do not be discouraged by the early hours or the crowd of other divers setting up at the lineup on the bottom. The animals have grown accustomed to seeing divers and swim in to get cleaned regardless of the crowd. When the first shark materializes from the blue your efforts will be rewarded. They will often just swim circles past the group, giving everyone a number of solid views before your NDL is reached.
One caution is that the island has no ATM's and the dive shops do not accept cards for tips, so bring plenty of cash. Getting to Malapascua requires a 3-4 hour taxi ride from Cebu airport and a water taxi out of Maya. Everyone along the way in Cebu will ask for tips including porters, drivers and even just people standing by. Use discretion. The buzz subsides once you step foot onto Malapasua Island.
