Understand
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 of scattered native style resorts.
Malapascua is known to the locals as Longon and this vision of secret beach is whimsically named Bounty beach.
It lays 8km off the north of Cebu, has a community of about 400 inhabitants.
A walk or a tour unto the whole Island will take you about 3 hours.
One way or another it's main resource is the sea: divers and fishermen work side by side with force of compromises.
Get in
By air
International gateway and national flights to Cebu the city; then you will need to go to the nothern tip of Cebu to Maya.
By bus
There are 2 companies which ride to Maya from the North bus station in Cebu: Ceres and Rough Riders. The journey takes 3 1/2 to 4 hours, video and air con 110 pisos, non air-con 80 pisos.
you could hire a taxi or a private car from Cebu to Maya.
by boat
From Maya a local boat Ferry goes across am and pm with a break at lunch time till 4.30 it take about 1/2 hour cost 40 pisos.
Crossing can be rather wet and bancas have very little shelter from the elements, be prepared on landing to either jump into the shallow waters or walk down a rickety plank depending on the tide. You may have to transfer to a very small banca for the last 200 meters on your way back to Maya.
A private banca can be hired from Maya, the first ferry leaves Malapascua at 6:30.
Malapasca can be reached from Bantayan and from Leyte (San Isidero).
Get around
There is no transport on the island, not that you will need any, as you can walk everywhere.
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.
Scuba diving Waters off the island offers some of the most exciting extreme dives in the Philippines with adrenaline pumping adventure tresher sharks and manta ray encounters.
The dive shops seem mindful of the environment and has a caring attitude to their customers which is as well considering the kind of fish roaming around. They offer introductory courses to advanced scuba diving and there are a couple of wrecks to explore.
Itineraries
Do
Eat
Stay
Mid range
Budget
Stay safe
There is no ATM nor money changers. Hotels might change cash but, on the other hand, they might not and you will have to make your way back to mainland and ride for an hour to get to the nearest bank. Make sure you get there with enough cash for your stay and a little longer for the probable extension.
Malapascua Island is situated in Daanbantayan, Cebu.
It is a recent discovery for diving afficionados being discovered only in the early 90s. It is a tiny island 8 kilometers across a shallow strait from the northernmost tip of mainland Cebu island.
Logon, an insular barangay of Daanbantayan occupies the entire Malapascua Island and has eight hamlets.
Malapascua is actually a diver’s paradise. The island was discovered not for its white sandy beach but for its beautiful coral gardens and excellent dive spots nearby. The first resort to locate in the island was a diving facility. Today, majority of the resorts offer full-service dive facilities. In fact more than half of the visitors to the island are divers and dive afficionados.
Bounty Beach is the name of a stretch of beach along the southern shore. It is the main beach of the island where most of the upscale resorts are found. Cocobana Beach Resort, the largest on the island, the pricey yet exquisite Sunsplash Resort, and Hippocampus Resort are some of the popular resorts that offer excellent accommodations and dining options. Most passenger boats to and from Cebu land at Bounty Beach.
Most of the islanders derive their livelihood from tourism and some get their daily sustenance from the bounty of the sea.
The Island of Malapascua is one of the many places in Daanbantayan that is famous for swimming -- snorkeling -- diving – fishing – sailing – boating -- exploring – and just relaxing.
Local boats that can be rented in the Malapascua / Daanbantayan area, can take visitors to other nearby islands which generally remain unspoilt, such as Carnasa, Kanatarken, Gato, Chocolate Island -- and others
Getting to Malapascua Island is a 4-hour bus trip from the Cebu North Bus Terminal passing through picturesque northern towns of Cebu to Maya, Daanbantayan, the northernmost point of Cebu mainland. Upon arrival at the Maya wharf, motorized outrigger boats will take visitors to the Malapascua island across the narrow channel in 30 minutes or so, depending on the weather condition. The trip frequency to the island takes every 30 minutes for 24 hours. But the trip back to the mainland usually stops at 3:00 in the afternoon.
