Accessible via a 2 1/2-hour bus ride from Cebu City to the small town of Maya and a 30-minute banca or ferry ride, Malapascua’s fabulous sugar-white soft sand beaches are oft described as “better than Boracay’s”.
Wreck of Doña Marilyn
Expertise Rating: Intermediate
The Doña Marilyn was a Cebu-Manila passenger vessel that sunk in a typhoon over 20 years ago. Around 100m long, the wreck and now lying on its starboard side, amazingly still in one piece. Much of its cargo now lies scattered over the seafloor, home to nurse whitetip sharks and rays. The wreck is covered in a healthy growth of soft coral, and the resident fish grow to a large size. Other common inhabitants are large cuttlefish, scorpion-fish, nudibranchs, flatworms, purple fire sea urchin, zebra crabs and coleman’s shrimp, plus a giant moray eel.
Monad Shoal
Expertise Rating: Intermediate
It is an underwater island on the edge of a 200m drop off and is famous for its rare congregation of thresher sharks (uncommon in Philippine waters). It is the only place in the word where thresher sharks can be seen everyday. Though not generally regarded as a threat, divers should keep away from the thresher’s tail, which it uses to hit and stun its prey. Other shark species are also commonly seen here, including whitetips, hammerheads and silver-tips. Mantas, devil rays and eagle rays visit frequently, making this a pelagic fish lover’s heaven. Perfect for Nitrox.