Trip to Malapascua Island, Cebu

Cebu usually has the cheapest airfare - probably because there are lots of competition and flights among different airlines.  This was my pr...

Cebu usually has the cheapest airfare - probably because there are lots of competition and flights among different airlines.  This was my primary reason why I decided to explore Cebu among my other options. :)
I got my round trip tickets for only P2,100 at Cebupacific (3 weeks before the actual flight). Good deal huh?! 
I'm very good at it! 

It's my 3rd time in Cebu - I pretty much toured the city already and beaches around Mactan Island. 
But Cebu still has more to offer!  These were my options - Bantayan, Malapascua, Sumilon, Danao, and Camotes Island. 

Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort was first on my list!  But I ended up planning for Bantayan.  I only intended to go to Bantayan for 3 days, but I asked around for opinions - where to go, what to do, and ended up booking tickets good for 5 days - Malapscua included!!

Alright, cut the crap! I'm going into details!

Malapscua is 148km away from Cebu City according to Google Map.  If you're driving, you can follow these directions and probably get lost for days http://goo.gl/maps/Na328

How to get to Malapascua without much trouble?

1. If you have extra dough, you can arrange a taxi for P2900 (taxi arranged by the hotel) to P3500 (airport yellow taxi).  This is the quickest way to get to the Maya port.  It should be less than 3 hours.

2. Take the bus! Although it will take 4-5 hours because the bus stops from time to time to pick up passengers along the highway. 

  • From the airport, hail a taxi to Cebu North Bus Terminal.  Yes, you are going north! We paid P200 for the yellow airport taxi.  It took us less than 30 mins to get to the terminal. 
  • Take Ceres Bus Liner - and look for "Maya" signageBuses depart from Cebu City to Maya from 5:00am to 3:00pm. 
  • The bus' last stop is at Maya Port so don't freak out when you've fallen asleep. 

3. Take the passenger boat from Maya to Malapascua.  It operates from 7:30 am up to 4:00 pm.  We paid P80. The boat will stop at the docking area at Logon Village. And then small boats (yes, another stupid boat) will bring the passengers to their accommodation - P50 per person.  See below.

























Accommodation:
My first choice was at Ocean Vida but it was already fully booked.  It's one of the "nicest" resorts in Malapascua. Rates start from P3,100 to P4,700. 

Check out the review: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g659555-d1971678-Reviews-Ocean_Vida_Beach_Dive_Resort-Malapascua_Island_Cebu_Visayas.html

Well, most of the hotels (well, the nice ones) are fully booked!  We were booking 3 weeks ahead of our trip.  #$$#%$!! So we ended up at Cocobana Beach Resort.  The room was not bad actually. It's clean and I love the blanket (yup, i like thick blankets).   Although, they suck with booking.  And they suck with guest-relations.  They seldom smile. 

Check out more reviews:  
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g659555-d805014-Reviews-Bounty_Beach_Cocobana_Resort-Malapascua_Island_Cebu_Visayas.html

Check out the Rateshttp://cocobana.ch/prices.html

























                 View from our balcony















Where to eat in Malapascua?

There are only few restaurants in Malapascua.  Ocean Vida's resto was my favorite - pricey, yes.  They serve European and Filipino cuisine. Ging-ging's is cheap but edible.  It's recommended by the locals. 










What to do in Malapascua?
If you're not into diving, I suggest to skip Malapascua. Malapascua is known mainly for thresher shark diving. And that's it! 

What else to do in Malapascua? 
  • Snorkeling - we paid P1500 for the boat. You can ask the boatman to buy beer for you too and put them in a cooler. :)
  • Rent a motorcycle and check out the light house. 











Here are the highlights of my snorkeling adventure:


It's my first time to see a ship wreck! Awesome but creepy!






This was at the coral garden.  Biggest brain-coral I've seen. 


What I do during sunset. :)



Hanging out with the dogs. I'm so cool! ;)

We walked around. :) 

Filipinos are pervs. LOL

Around the island








THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG.  IT'S 5.55 AM and I really want to sleep. 

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6 comments

  1. Replies
    1. Hello Chichi. Can you give me those resorts that are better than cocobanana? If you were to choose, Bantayan or Malapascua?:)

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    2. HI Lace! cocobana is in Malapascua. Ocean Vida has better accommodation compared to cocobana. Malapascua is more of a diving site, if you're not really into diving, just go to Bantayan.

      In Bantayan, check out http://travelwithchichi.blogspot.com/2013/03/bantayan-cebu.html

      :)

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  2. nice site and posts you got here. more power always ;-)

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  3. Hi! I am a student from University of San Jose-Recoletos here in Cebu City, Philippines. I am really sorry but I will be asking a favor from you. This is regarding our research study, "A Viability Audit of Lechon as a Destination Brand Association of Cebu” and our respondents are local and foreign tourists. Is it ok if you could spare some of your precious time to answer this online survey? I am really sorry for the bother, we just badly need it. This would greatly help us. If you happen to have other friends or acquaintances that you think who are willing to answer too, you may send them the link. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! :)

    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1i0fXFrBVdKjbmjh1Y-nKIzKrCATPGGbKEij2uHcujx0/viewform

    ReplyDelete