Where We Stayed
Malapascua Legend Villas. Since I was the only diver in the group, and my friends were there to just snorkel, we chose a place that had a pool so we could just relax in it when the beach became too hot to swim in. We reserved a “native room” via TravelBook.ph during one of their 20% off promos. Initially, there was a problem in the booking system between Travelbook.ph and Malapascua Legend Villas, and we stood to be booted out the next day even if we were paid. Finally, though, they were able to find a way to make it work. We were even luckier that they upgraded us to their deluxe room that usually costs Php3500 for two plus Php500 for every additional guest. The room was very spacious. It had 1 king size bed and 1 twin bed, just perfect for 4 people, yet still with ample space to move around. It had a balcony overlooking the huge swimming pool.
The swimming pool was large; it was spacious enough to accommodate most of the guests. There were sun lounges by the side, and a mini bar by the edge, though it didn’t seem to function at that time. During the day, the pool doubles as a venue for scuba diving lessons. The room came with breakfast, a choice between Filipino, Continental, or pancakes. Depending on the volume of people, it could sometimes be a la carte or buffet. They had a decent selection of meals. In the evenings, an acoustic singer provided entertainment. In terms of service, the staff was very accommodating. Towels were not replenished automatically though, so we had to keep asking them to do so every day.
All in all, I think it was a good value for money. Malapascua Legend Resort has something for everyone and is very family friendly. 
Malapascua Legend Villas Email: info@malapascualegend.com Or malapascualegend@gmail.com Or call +639308888889
Things to Do
Happy Hour in Ocean Vida Happy hour is from 4 to 6pm. They put bean bags for that cozy sunset feel. We spent every afternoon there. My favorite was the Mango Daiquiri, Php150 for 2 drinks. Our server, Kuya Ram (who introduced himself as Kuya Shining Star), was very attentive. The atmosphere at Ocean Vida encourages you to mingle with other people, yet it also offers private cozy places, in case you want to keep to yourself. The ambiance is very laid back; you see a lot of people sunbathing, reading, or sleeping. Here, we met cool friends like Sarah and Dirk, who were with us in most of our island hopping and diving trips. There are lots of snorkeling places around Malapascua. For the non-divers, this could be a good way to explore the island. For island-hopping, you may haggle with the local boatmen. There are many coves worth visiting. Some of these are Coral Garden, WWII Shipwreck, Dakit- Dakit and Bantique Cove. You may also ask your boatman-cum-local guide to pass by the place where you can do a 50ft cliff dive. Rent a boat, Island Hop, and Explore Go Diving The thresher shark dive in Monad Shoal was worth the early morning start. It’s a 30 m dive and they usually have it between 5 to 7 am. Since I had no license for advanced waters, I availed of the deep dive adventure. I was initially hesitant because of the price and I mulled over it; but they said it was worth it, so I went for it. I felt very safe diving with Kuya Tata (dive master from Ocean Vida); he took real good care of me. Before descending deeper, he gave me a math question to answer and he timed it to check if I was affected by nitrox. The dive site was equipped with a line, and crossing over it meant a penalty. It was a good view deck to observe from, without disturbing the sharks. This was very different from my experience of cage diving with the great white sharks in South Africa; this one had no cages, and we were watching the sharks in their natural habitat. This was the natural cleaning station of thresher sharks, thus making it the only place in the world where they are seen regularly, just before sunrise. Occasionally, you see manta rays as well. The experience of seeing a shark close range without being in a cage initially scared me, but then I realized that as long as you stay out of their path, they won’t harm you. Prior to getting into the water, I told my dive master, “make sure you bring me up in one piece”. Now that I’ve done it, I guess I will always be hungry for more shark sightings. It’s very different seeing them in their natural habitat compared to the monsters movies portray them to be. ” Do one thing that scares you everyday” this was mine, for that day. Well, its good I went for it, now I am just hungry for more.
Visit Kalanggaman Island ( Calanggaman)
We were supposed to take a public boat to Kalanggaman, but we later opted to join a dive tour via Ocean Vida. Although a bit more expensive, we had a bigger boat and we got there faster. They go for 2 dives, but since it was quite pricey, I opted to do just one. This proved to be a good choice as it left me with ample time to explore the island itself.
Kalanggaman is often mentioned as one of the unspoiled beaches in the Philippines; it is usually reached by a 90-minute boat ride from Leyte. In this case, our dive-boat trip originating from Malapascua took us only 70minutes.
As were approached Kalanggaman, we couldn’t help but stand in awe of the long stretch of white sand embraced by clear turquoise waters. Kalanggaman is an island surrounded by water, one side of it was good for snorkeling, and the other side for swimming. You could also rent huts, but in our case, we set shade under the trees.
While there, we were thankful we visited the place. I was lucky because I was able to experience the beauty of Kalanggaman both from above water and into what lies under. While scuba diving in Kalanggaman Islands, I was in luck for good visibility, so I even got to see a pygmy seahorse. There was a variety of things to see underneath, hence making the trip extra worth it.
Catch the sunset
Eat
The food in Malapascua is mostly European-Inspired. There are few places with good ambiance but in general, the food is too pricey for its quality. Food wasn’t bad, but for its price, you tend to expect more.
Few of those we liked are the risotto at Angeline’s Seafood , and the gyro at Hippocampus. Both though, were still pricey.
Chill and Meet People
On our last day, we decided to enjoy our villa. We mingled with other people, learned about different cultures and languages, had beer, and simply had fun.
In general, Malapascua is an expensive destination; the only thing that seems cheap is the happy hour J. Per dive, you spend a minimum of Php2500-3000, depending on your destination. However, for the experience you see while diving, it is definitely worth the visit. If and when I am able to get my certification for the advanced level, I would like to go back for deeper dives, and/or maybe a night dive. For now, I am happy to have experienced Malapascua. It is definitely a place to visit for dive enthusiasts.
When all is said and done, the last thing to do, GO BACK HOME TO THE CITY
The travel fom Malapascua back to the city is another adventure in itself.
If you want to be picked up at the beachfront itself in order for a transfer to the pier, you have to haggle with the boatmen. A banca trip to Maya Pier will set you back by around Php1100-1300. We weren’t willing to do that since we were only two remaining by then, plus we had time to spare.
The first public boat leaving the island was at 6:30 am, followed by other trips at 8am, 11 am and 1pm. As we had to travel to the Danao port for our supposed trip to Camotes, we had to take the 6:30 am boat out. We started by riding a motorbike from our hotel to the pier for Php15. In order to get to the bigger boat, we had to ride a smaller banca next, for Php20. It is only a 5-minute ride in the shallow portion of the sea, but they do it so as not to get you wet, and to shuttle your things as well. The public boat cost us Php 100 for a 45-minute boat ride from Malapascua to Maya pier.
All in all, we spent only Php 135 (15 + 20 +100) each, instead of Php 1100-1300 (to be split only by two persons) had we chosen to take the easy way out.
Once at Maya pier, we rode a bus bound for the city. That day, only a non-aircon bus was available, thus, stopping every now and then to drop off and/or pick up more passengers. The trip took a really long time; we got to the city past lunch time. It was such a hot, long, crowded ride back that once we got to the city, the first thing we wanted to do was take a shower.
Despite the odds, it was still worth it to go to Malapscua.
Related Article:
Northern Cebu: Diving In Malapascua
Northern Cebu : Off To Virgin Island In Sta. Fe, Bantayan, Cebu
Oh my. We are headed to the Philippines in just over a month and are wanting to go scuba diving. After seeing this I’m not sure i’ll be able to get into the water with those sharks!! You’ve got some fantastic information here and we’ll definitely be looking to make our way to Malapascua!!
Hi, Don’t worry our sharks are “tame” if there is such a thing. We hardly have shark attacks. You can head over to Malapascua and see them for yourself. Have fun! 🙂
Looks like fun in the sun! Beautiful place.
Natalie, The Educational Tourist
Love your pictures..esp the scuba diving ones! I only tried it once recently in Spain..didn’t go too deep..apparently beginners are not allowed to do so. How was your experience? Have you dived earlier?
Hi, I have an open water license but I had to have my own dive master for this one since it was more than the depth I was allowed, hence it was called an adventure dive 🙂
SO amazing Karla – the photos are absolutely stunning. Slightly worried about how close you were to those sharks though, no matter how friendly they are usually 😉 – you’re braver than me!! We’re hoping to visit the Philippines over the next year or so – this post will be a great help.
Gabby
Those photos are awesome! Did you see the video of the surfer and the shark in South Africa?!
I’ve heard such good things about the diving and snorkeling around Cebu.
Your photos just make me want to dive there that little bit more!
Wow wow wow. Those pictures are breathtaking.
Some absolutely gorgeous pictures there. What did you use under water? A GoPro? I’ve been aching to make a deep dive, but I’m still not a very confident swimmer, so I’ve to make do with snorkeling :/
Jealous! HA
I have friends who can’t swim but can dive. Its a different skill under water anyway, give it a try. If you want go for an introdive first 🙂
Wow I did not know that you can go to Kalanggaman Island from Malapascua. This is great, thank you so much! Northern Cebu is next on my list! I’m going scuba diving for the first time as soon as the weather becomes friendlier in Anilao and then after that I think I’m ready to go with the sharks?!
http://www.girlunspotted.com
The sharks actually need a more advance certificate. I mean not the first one but if you are okay and brave enough, you can go for an adventure dive, it will cost you more but you will see it. You just need a guide master permanently with you
errrrr ok i’ll keep that in mind. i’m serious about it though, your picture looks so great too i have to do it! thanks.
This reminded me of our time in Cebu (we were on Mactan Island) and didn’t go scuba because Charles had just learnt how to swim. But we’re definitely going back for more!
Lovely pictures and it definitely looks like the place to be 🙂
Malapascua was one of our favorite places in the Philippines, and Kalanggaman is the most picture perfect paradise. Thanks for bringing us back memories from this lovely place!
You are very welcome! I really liked this place a lot
Loving your underwater photos, this place looks incredible!
Simone | The Aussie Flashpacker
Looks like a fun trip! The villa was definitely a good choice to stay in!
My travel partner and I are dying to go to Philippines and hopefully one day soon. Your adventure sounds quite memorable! I have a great fear of the sea; I can’t really stand it because of unknown and sea animals. I mean, I know it’s beautiful and everything but still scary! Just recently, I went to cancun and tried my best to do snorkeling in the middle of the shallow sea! Baby steps 🙂 my last goal to get over my fear with sea is to swim with sharks like you did!
Good luck on your goal. Baby steps is better than no steps at all. Little by little you’ll be able to do it. Goodluck. Try swimming in clear waters first so at least you can see all the way to the bottom 🙂
I love seeing the gorgeous landscapes (and seascapes) of the Philippines through your blog!
Thank you for appreciating 🙂
Big fish, amazing beaches. Oh man, everytime I see more about the Philippines, I want to go back 🙂
There’s a lot of reasons to go back. Message me if ever you do I would gladly help
Looks like a beautiful place to scuba dive! Loved the pics and the creatures you can see inside that clear blue water sea!
The water is really clear! It has a lot to see down there. I had so much fun
Looks amazing! I’m a huge diver and those underwater photos are drool-worthy:) Love all the colors.
Alexis at http://www.worldschoolfamily.com
If you’re a diver the Philippines will have lots of colorful fish for you. Small ones but a variety ☺
The diving pictures are just beautiful! Stokes my desire to get our dive certifications even more! This fall, we are finally going to do it! Thanks for sharing!
Note to self : Added to my bucket list , Thanks!
Looks like you had a fantastic time in a beautiful setting. Those mango daiquiris look delicious!
Wow scubao diving … I love it , never tried it there but hopefully on my next trip ti Pinas
Oh wow. What an amazing experience seeing all that amazing underwater life, not to mention the beautiful beaches and that wonderful place you stayed. Have to get myself over to there!
I’ve been into Malapascua too nut haven’t tried diving with Sharks. A good reason to go back 🙂
Definitely, always find a reason to go back 🙂
I haven’t been to Malapascua yet but you’ve taken me there via photos! I’ve been to Camotes Island near Cebu. It’s great too for its mysterious caves but I think for diving, Malapascua is a better spot. I’ll try to visit soon. 🙂
We were going to go to Camotes Island but then last minute we decided to just take a break and spend a day chilling! We had so much fun in Malapascua 🙂
I’m not really a beach lover, will ask my hubby who is a Cebu local about Malapascua. The accommodations look superb, I wouldn’t mind the while family going, the idea is me staying indoors the whole time haha. There is wifi in the rooms right?
The pictures are beautiful. Would love to Malapascua. Thanks for sharing. Will consider this on our next Cebu trip.
Northern Cebu looks so beautiful! I’m a budding diver myself (on top of all the cooking) and I am always looking for new dive spots around the Philippines. This is definitely on my bucket list now. Amazing underwater shots Karla!
I’d love to visit this place too! In need of vitamin sea 🙁 Love your photos by the way! More power 🙂
Jovelyn,
jovelynbmateo.tumblr.com
Malapascua Island is one of the places I wanna visit next time I take my vacation back home in the Philippines. It is obvious that is worth the time, money, and effort to visit the place for a getaway. The Kalanggaman islands looks so captivating!
Wow, amazing pictures, I loved that turquoise water and nice sandy beaches… Everything is so nice that I would like to stand up and go there! 🙂
You did it! So lucky to have seen them, have so many friend who went there and then woke up at stupid o’clock then saw no sharks whatsover! Malapascua looks stunning though and it would be worth going just for the beautiful beaches