MALAPASCUA ISLAND TRAVEL GUIDE FOR A ONE-DAY TOUR

                        

MALAPASCUA ISLAND TRAVEL GUIDE FOR A ONE-DAY TOUR

By Henry Libo-on

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All Copyright photos by Henry Libo-on, Touristang Pobre. 

Going to Malapascua island has been in my mind for several years now.  What holds me back to go there? There were few questions that remained unanswered and one of them is, it is expensive to go there.  Then one day I decided that I must go even for a day to survey the island and just go back in the future for a longer stay.  That is what I did.  But I ended up touring the tourist facilities on the Bounty Beach area only.  

From Cebu City, I took the Ceres Tours bus at the North Bus Terminal.  From Cebu, the bus will stop at Daan Bantayan - Maya. Travel time is around three (3) hours by Ceres Tours, these are air-conditioned buses. 

From Cebu City, the bus passes by several towns and cities such as Mandaue, Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela, Carmen, Catmon, Sogod, Borbon, Tabogon, Bogo, and Medellin.  Then, the last town that served as the jump-off point for Malapascua is Daan Bantayan.  This is where the Newport of Maya is located.  The next thing to do is to go to the boat terminal and buy a one-way ticket to the island.  The ticket costs P100.00 per person.

Travel to the island takes about 30 minutes.  The boat will dock at the Bounty Beachfront.

From there, explore the island on foot.  I did that so I can survey the facilities like restaurants and bars, accommodation - cottages, resort hotels, PADI Dive Centers, island tour counters, souvenir shops, and others. 

Because this is just a one day visit to survey the facilities and activities on the island, I only visited the most accessible areas, the Bounty Beach area.  I spent about an hour roaming around these areas and decided to catch the next available boat that will go back to the mainland or else I will stay overnight.  Something which I cannot afford to do because I ran out of cash and there is no ATM on the island. In fact, I have to pay my restaurant bill in dollars to save my peso bills for the boat and the bus.

By the way, there is a new boat terminal located on Bounty Beach.  This boat terminal is just a tent where ticket sellers and boatmen congregate or wait for the passengers.

This pathway will lead you to more beachfront hotels, cottages, shops, and Dive Centers.  Malapascua is famous among divers.  It is, in fact, one of the best dive spots in the world which are preferred by Europeans.

Foreigners who were married to their Filipina wives also own the beach resort-hotels, bars, and restaurants as well as operate an island hopping tours, diving activities, and diving lessons, among others. You can tour the island by motorbikes. 

It is nice to be here at night time when the sun is down and the lights are on and tourists congregate on the beachfront to savor the Filipino and European cuisine offered by various bars and restos on the island.  Beachfront dining at night is also popular here on the island.  Tourists enjoy the breeze and the view of the setting sun.

Tranquility is the first thing you will notice upon arrival on the island.  The locals are friendly. 

Although this looks nice for children to play and for adults to enjoy the beach, the sun, and the sea, there is nothing much to do on the island if you are not into Diving.  Just my observation.  If you enjoy swimming and the beach, then this place is for you. You can stay on the island for a few days....just to enjoy the beach, the sun, the sea, and the whole adventure.

When I reached this part of Bounty Beach, I saw a boatload of divers approaching the beachfront.  Maybe they have done their morning dive that day.

On the beachfront and under the Talisay tree, I saw foreign tourists sunbathing.  But, I can feel the soaring heat of the sun on my skin. Do not forget to bring your sunblock as I did.

There are several dive centers on the island as well as numerous overnight accommodations.  These range from a cottage, resort hotel room to sleeping accommodation for budget travelers.  These facilities are spread around this 2.5 by 1-kilometer small island.  Malapascua has several dive spots where Thresher Sharks can also be found.  This gentle creature is famous among divers and it is featured on the logo of some dive centers on the island.

If you are interested to visit Kalanggaman Island off the town of Palompon, Leyte, you can make arrangements here on Malapascua.  Travel time to Kalanggaman Island is 2 hours by a big boat.

There are a lot of souvenir shops on the island.  This one is located right on the beachfront.  A tee can cost around P200.00 apiece.

Blue Corals Resort is located where the action is - the Bounty Beachfront. 

Mabuhay Bar and Restaurant offers affordable food and drinks for bloggers and tourists who are on a budget.

Mabuhay Bar and Restaurant. Together with my travel buddy, big brother Rudy, we had lunch here.  Our bill was $10.00.  The bartender was surprised when I paid her in U.S. Dollars.  Since I cannot find an ATM around this area, I had to save the few pesos I had so I can pay the Ceres Tours Bus on our way back to Cebu City.

Don't worry.  If you are on a budget and creative, just bring a hammock and hang it on one of the trees on the beachfront and sleep on it overnight.  Just make an arrangement with the locals.

The new Boat Terminal on the Bounty Beach.  The last trip from the island to Maya is 5:00 p.m.  But do not wait for that, leave the island as early as 4:00 p.m. If you miss the boat you have to charter a boat which may cost you a thousand peso more or you stay for another night.

The Maya Newport, Daan Bantayan town.  Tourists buy boat tickets here for a boat ride to Malapascua Island. 

What you see is just a few of the vans for hire that takes tourists from all points in Cebu City to Malapascua Island. 

Waiting for us to board and then glide towards Malapascua Island.

 Onboard the Mabuhay 5 for Malapascua Island. 

No man's island in Daan Bantayan, Cebu.  According to some people, fishermen are not allowed to fish closer to this islet. No one can say why. 

How To Get To Malapascua Island.

If you are from any point in the Philippines, make Cebu as your jump-off point. Although you can make the neighboring islands with boat service for Malapascua, tourists still prefer to begin their journey from Cebu City. 

The North Bust Terminal

From here, you take a Ceres Tours Bus because they are air-conditioned.  They take you to Newport, Maya for the boat ride to Malapascua Island.  Fare is P160.00.  If you want a discount, check if you have IDs to support your request for a discount. 

You can also hire a Van or a Taxi but you have to agree on the price before deciding to ride any of these. 

Travel time is approximately 3 hours. 

There are also ships and fast crafts that can take you from, say, Bohol, Ormoc, Dumaguete, and other points to Cebu. 

By Plane, Cebu is accessible from any points from Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao, 

Check your travel agent for other information like schedules, discounts, and others. 

TPs comments regarding the budget.

This one-day tour of Malapascua costs him, P1,000.00 only. 

From his hotel -  Taxi              -  P200.00   - round trip

                            Ceres Bus     -     320.00   - round trip

                            Boat              -     200.00   - round trip

                            Food/Drinks -     250.00   - lunch only 

                            Bottled H20 -        30.00

                          

                        Total - - - - - -  -  P1,000.00  

Convert this to U.S Dollars at $1.00 to P50.00, it is $20.00.  

Unbelievable?  I cannot even believe it when I started computing my expenses.  Anyway, this is just a one-day tour of the island.  If I spend the night there, I might spend another P2,500.00 for hotel accommodation and food.

Finally, this one day tour of the island enabled me to see only the Bounty Beach and part of its tourist facilities.  Someday when I return to this island, I will spend more time exploring the part of the island that I failed to see.  

By the way, all photos by TP are not photoshopped.  What you see is what you get.  TP is advocating for non-photo shopped pictures of places he visited because he had seen pictures of a few travel destinations which looked nice in the pictures but when he arrived in those few destinations, he was shocked to see a different looking place, so different from what he saw in those published pictures.

For example, while searching for a place to spend a weekend, he read a story about a beach where the water was blue.  It looked inviting in that picture.  When he finally arrived at that place and went to check the beach, TP was shocked to see the beach and the sea that looked like a pale version of coffee with less cream.  It was shocking.  So, he began advocating for the non-alteration of pictures through the use of photoshop.  What you see is what you get.

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All photos by Henry C. Libo-on of Touristang Pobre.   

A Selfie of Touristang Pobre. 

Updated on 05 June 2018. 
Updated on 20 April 2019. 
Updated on June 14, 2020.