Evolution Diving Resort Malapascua Reviews & Specials - Bluewater Dive Travel

Evolution Diving Resort

4.5833333333333
(3 REVIEWS)

Destination: Philippines

Malapascua Island, Malapascua, 6013 Cebu, Philippines | Room only + 2 dives from $60++/ppn

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Evolution Diving Resort Quick Pitch 

A small and friendly resort, Evolution features a quiet and spacious atmosphere with an emphasis on underwater excursions.

 

Quick Information 

  • No of Rooms: 16
  • Dive Center: On-site
  • Amenities: AC, ensuite bathrooms, private balconies, wifi, bar, nitrox
  • WiFi: Yes
  • Nearest International Airport: Mactan-Cebu International Airport
  • Airport shuttle: Yes, surcharge
 

 

How to Get There

Located on Malapascua Island; the resort is approximately a 3-hour drive and 30-minute boat ride away from the airport in Cebu City. Evolution can provide transfers.  

 

Dive Overview

The Philippines are home to a dense population of marine life, boasting colorful reefs and incredible macro life. Malapascua, in particular, boasts encounters with thresher sharks and schooling hammerheads, making this area of the Philippines very special.

 

 

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Accommodations

Types of Rooms, Amenities and Photos

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Evolution Diving Resort Accommodation Overview 

Evolution Diving Resort has developed some of the best value rooms on Malapascua island. All rooms have complimentary drinking water and personal terraces, just meters from the beach, restaurant and dive shop.

 

Evolution Diving Resort Evolution Diving Resort

Deluxe Rooms 

These rooms are the newest construction and are built to exacting western standards. They are located approx. 75m from the water and there’s white sand all the way there. The beds are handcrafted mahogany, with high-end mattresses; the bathroom is split with a spacious, open sink area with granite countertop; the AC is the silent split type and environmental friendly, and there’s a large wardrobe for the storage and hanging of clothes. These rooms give you the comforts of home at a very affordable price.

Facilities: Hot and cold water, AC, TV with personal video library, minibar, desk, room safe, 2 beds, and personal terrace.

 

Evolution Diving Resort Evolution Diving Resort

 

Standard AC Rooms 

As with the deluxe rooms these new rooms have high-end furniture, and quality construction, they are less spacious and suit more budget minded travelers.

Facilities: Hot and cold water, AC, 2 single beds and shared terrace.

 

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Resort Facilities

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Evolution Diving Resort Evolution Diving Resort

 

Evolution Diving Resort Features

  • WiFi
  • Restaurant
  • Bar
  • Dive shop
  • Babysitting

 

Evolution Diving Resort Food & Drinks

  • The Craic House is the best bar on Malapascua. It’s an Irish pub on a Filipino beach, or a Filipino pub with warm Irish hospitality and a Celtic commitment to fun and frivolity. You choose.
  • At the Craic House, you will find a smaller pub-inspired menu and an ever-changing specials board with a local ingredient flair. Using only the freshest local produce and the best imported ingredients available, you will find the menu to be familiar yet miles away.
  • There is also a small wine selection available. The wines have been paired to the menu by a French Sommelier who has extensively sampled the dishes – just ask your server for details. The wines are imported directly from France and Italy.

 

Evolution Diving Resort Activities

  • Diving
  • Snorkeling

 

 

Package & Rates

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RATES & AVAILABILITY

For information regarding rates, availability, and packages drop us an email at bookings@bluewaterdivetravel.com or call us at 310-915-6677 and we will gladly help you plan your dream dive vacation!

 
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Dive Information

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Malapascua Dive Sites

Here are some the dive sites in Malapascua:

  • Dive Monad Shoal - We do daily trips to see the Thresher Sharks on Monad Shoal – it’s a dawn dive and it is the most popular excursion for visitors here. We also do day dives here to see the Manta Rays who swoop in for a good clean. For tech customers, we do day dives here between 30m and 100m where we encounter the Threshers by ourselves over the side of the plateau.
  • Dive Gato Island - A sanctuary and protected breeding location for the beautiful Sea Krait (sea snake). We’re almost guaranteed to see the resident White Tip Reef Sharks. This island is alive with nudibranchs, Harlequin Ghost Pipefish, Pygmy Seahorses and an endless amount of other macro surprises. Gato is always tough for photographers – macro or wide angle? We recommend diving Gato at least twice – one with each set up!
  • Dive Evolution’s House Reef - The house reef is one of the best muck dives in the country. Just 3 minutes from the beachfront is an incredible array of macro delights. Here we repeatedly see pairs of Crinoid Squat Lobsters and Imperial Shrimps. At dusk, dozens of Bobtail Squid appear. Coconut Vein Octopi are regulars and we find seahorses on every dive. Snake Eels poke their head from the sand and Stargazers make occasional appearances too. Robust Ghostpipefish and an array of Mantis Shrimp species are also part of the Evolution House Reef experience. And that’s just for starters.
  • Dive The Dona Marylin - This Philippine ferry capsized over 15 years ago and is now a living, breathing wreck. It takes time to explore all the features and remember those who were lost. It is the perfect location for the PADI Wreck 
  • Specialty. For tech customers, this is an excellent penetration dive with lots of multilevel deep passages to explore. Not qualified to do safe wreck penetrations? Well sign up for our TDI Advanced Wreck Course and give yourself the ultimate diving challenge.
  • Dive The Lighthouse - Another northern site, this is everyone’s favorite night dive. As a photographer, David insists this is the best place to try and capture spawning Mandarin fish in Asia. Our males are big and brazen here and are not put off their mating quest by joyous divers. Lots of nocturnal critters appear after sunset and we love the minute Bobtail Squid that only an expert can find.
  • Dive The Tapilon - Nicknamed after a nearby village, this Japanese WWII wreck has been torn asunder by local salvagers – sometimes to the benefit of divers. You can still see artillery and ammunition strewn around the site and even the skeletal remains of an unfortunate Japanese sailor. A slice of history on our doorstep.
  • Dive The Mogami Maru - For tech customers only, this WWII Japanese Wreck lies in just over 50m. It stands upright and is a perfect decompression dive. Ammunition is still scattered inside the hull – again real history on display.
  • Dive Lapus Lapus - One of the most popular local sites with a wide selection of macro critters from frogfish to nudibranchs and everything in between. Search for the critters nestling amongst the gardens of soft corals waving in the breeze, or stick your head into the small cave to look for cleaner shrimp hiding behind the school of glassfish.
 

 

The Thresher Sharks of Malapascua

Malapascua is about the only place in the world where recreational divers can encounter Thresher Sharks on a near daily basis. Thresher Sharks are natural deep dwellers, spending the vast majority of their time at depths well below recreational and often Technical diving limits.

Local fishermen have known for decades, if not centuries that Monad Shoal is home to Thresher Sharks. Fishermen have been attracted by the fishing potential of the sunken plateau that is Monad Shoal and while there they would regularly see a Thresher Shark breaching. The Thresher Shark is one of a few species that likes to leap from the water and our boat crew (and occasionally customers) still witness this behavior on a weekly basis. As news of this breaching phenomenon spread it was eventually investigated by divers coming through the area on Liveaboards.

Of course, the Thresher Shark is not the only visitor to Malapascua, with giant Pelagic Mantas, Devil Rays, White Tip Reef Sharks and Grey Reef Sharks spotted and cataloged with great frequency. Incredibly, these creatures often share the same cleaning station at the same time – a behavior almost unheard of. The Thresher Shark is of course famous for its beguiling long tail. It is understood that The Thresher Shark uses its tail to hunt, whipping it with such ferocity that it stuns prey such as squid, sardines and perhaps juvenile tuna. The Thresher Shark does not predate on Crustacea like many other species of shark.

The Thresher Shark is an endangered species and remains vulnerable to extinction, especially due to its low fecundity, or frequency of reproduction.  Amazingly the Thresher Shark always gives birth to two pups, one male and one female, and how this occurs remains a mystery. The female Thresher Shark also gestates for a non-specific length of time.

She may opt to give birth early if she feels there is a bountiful food supply, or she may delay delivery by some time in order to find a more suitable location. Once delivered, the female Thresher Shark gives her newborn no further maternal care. The Thresher Shark pups are born fully formed and are delivered folded over allowing them to start their life already equipped with their scythe-like tail.

To see a Thresher Shark here in Malapascua is a once in a lifetime experience and one we love sharing with our divers. However we don’t want to prevent the next generation of divers from seeing a Thresher Shark so we require all customers to respect the already damaged reef and to not contribute further to the degradation of one of the most important marine sites in Asia. Good buoyancy and a respect for the environment are prerequisites for a Thresher Shark dive at Monad Shoal, something we believe all divers should aspire to!!

Evolution is the leading specialist for Thresher Shark encounters in the world. Like all dive shops, we bring our recreational customers to see the Thresher Sharks in the morning. However, we are the only dive center capable of bringing our customers to see the Thresher Sharks at depths ranging from 30 meters to 100 meters. Evolution has logged hundreds of shark sightings at various depths including a recent and incredible encounter at 100 meters during an Advanced Trimix Dive.

 

 

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Dive Center Information

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Evolution Diving Resort Evolution Diving Resort

 

Evolution Diving Resort Dive Center Overview

  • Evolution is constantly replacing and upgrading their equipment for rental and they do all their own servicing so it is guaranteed that everything is done to the highest European standards. 
  • They are an internationally recognized Aqualung Partner Centre and have only Apeks regs for customers.
  • The TDI Five Star Instructor Training Facility and PADI Resort is equipped with Nitrox (and Helium) for certified divers (and if you’re not yet certified, it can be arranged too with a course) and they use aluminum 80l tanks. 
  • The rental tanks have a DIN fitting but there are adaptors for any customers who use Yoke.
  • For the students there is an indoor classroom so you can learn and study in comfort. And if you’re a Photographer there is a camera room at your disposal with both 110V and 220V.
  • Evolution has top of the line facilities for tech, trimix and CCR rebreather diving. They offer rental equipment, various tank sizes and even sidemount training and equipment.

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Other Information

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Practical Information

  • Electricity: 110 & 220 V
  • Time zone: UTC+8
  • Languages: Filipino & English
  • Accept Credit Cards?: Yes, MasterCard & Visa

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Got Questions? Ready to Book?

Call us today at 310-915-6677 or email us bookings@bluewaterdivetravel.com

And let us book your dream vacation!

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Underwater Gallery

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Evolution Diving Resort Evolution Diving Resort

Evolution Diving Resort Evolution Diving Resort

Evolution Diving Resort Evolution Diving Resort

 

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Reviews (3)

5
4
4
4

I stayed and dived here for a week and I would happily come back again.

The rooms are lovely and spacious with good air conditioning, plenty of cupboard space and a nice bathroom. The patio has space to hang wet gear and a rinse bucket for your feet to save bringing all the sand into the room with you. The rooms are set far enough back from the rest of the resort that I did not hear anything at all when I was in my room.

The restaurant was great, especially with my gluten and dairy allergies; they had this written next to my name on a board in the kitchen, so even if I forgot to mention it, they all knew. They gave me a special breakfast on the boat as usually it is overnight oats for everyone. Full breakfast after the early dives was an easy switch and they even made me some special pancakes. They were happy to switch out ingredients and were always double checking things with me; they also have gluten free pasta which is rare. All the staff knew everyone's name by the first day which was lovely.

The diving is early for the Thresher Sharks, leaving before 5am but this made sure we were the first ones at the dive site with no one else around. Group sizes are kept at 4 divers to 1 guide. The boat is lovely and spacious with a separate lounging area if you need a nap and a bathroom too. The staff help with everything and I didn't have to once lift my equipment or jump in with my camera. The guides were great spotting macro which I love and were active in telling other people from other centers to keep off the reef which I like to see.
They offer an afternoon double dive and some nights a night dive too. The other sites that are not for the Threshers were lovely too; I saw flamboyant cuttlefish, octopus, ghost pipefish, leaf-fish, disco clams, nudibranchs and frogfish along with the usual array of colorful reef fish.

Visited on 06/2024 - Submitted on 06/01/2024
5
5
5
5

Evolution took care of our accommodations, diving, food, everything! i really liked how everything was very close. Our rooms had 2 big beds, one small bathroom, and plenty of drawers to put our clothes and other items in. I like how they had a bucket of water right outside the door to clean your feet off before you entered. There was also a small table outside our door on our "porch". You could hang clothes to dry. Again, my biggest appreciation was that once I stepped out of my door, it was just a few yards to my dive gear, the restaurant, an the boat.

The dive guides did an excellent job. They cleaned our gear, brought our gear to the boat every morning, took care of our gear at night, The boats were a little different from others I've been on in the PI. They were still spacious. The crew took your gear from you before you climbed the ladder to get back on the boat. There was water and tea/coffee served on the boat.

The restaurant had a nice variety of food. The menu had seafood choices, burgers, tacos, and it seems like more elegant choices for dinner. They offered a "special" each night. However, this establishment was at a different end of Malapascua than TSD. So, there were a few other restaurant choices. But, we mostly ate at our resort. There was also a place for really good massages like 2 doors down.

This dive operator/resort made everything convenient and enjoyable:)

Visited on 06/2013 - Submitted on 02/26/2014
5
4
5
4

I visited Evolution in September 2013 and stayed and dived with them for about a week. Overall, I was incredibly impressed with their operation. I went by myself, but felt right at home with the people working there and locals on the island. It is run by several esteemed tec diving instructors, so a high level of performance is associated with everything about the dive shop. Although I didn't do any tec diving on this trip, I was able to use a backplate/wing set up on all of my dives. Additionally, all of the divemasters are trained in excellent buoyancy control and precision, so they are really able to point out lots of neat creatures - this is a great spot for macro photographers, especially with Evolution's guides! The boats are great as well, and they even just built a new one specifically geared towards their tec diving trips (there are several good ones here, including a few wrecks).

As for the accommodations and food - accommodations are pretty basic, but very clean and right on the beach. The resort has its own restaurant/bar as well, which serves very good food (many say some of the best on the island!) and is staffed by some incredibly friendly locals. Overall, prices for accommodations, diving, and food were *very* reasonable.

Finally, a note on Malapascua itself. This is a really special place! It has still not been overrun with tourists and resorts (yet), so everything has a very lowkey and relaxed feel to it. Not to mention, this is one of the best places in the world to see thresher sharks - there is a cleaning station here, so they can be seen year round. Truly amazing animals to be with underwater! Other megafauna are common as well (ie, devil and manta rays).

I could not recommend Malapasuca and Evolution more highly! Great diving, great island life, and great operation. I truly hope to go back one day.

Visited on 09/2013 - Submitted on 02/12/2014

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