Here is a chronicle of our adventure in Malapascua. The entry below contains activities, prices, and other details that might be useful.
Just an aside, we used my Olympus SW720 water+shockproof “caseless” camera. I cannot ask for anything more from a camera. We had so much fun using it during the whole trip! Imagine, a camera that you can take anywhere, without worrying that it’ll get wet or banged around. Even strangers would look surprised when they see us taking the camera into the water, or throwing it around. Amazing! View my Malapascua photos. View my other Cebu photos: Bantayan and Camotes
Disclaimer: All info in the entry below was valid & accurate during our stay there. Prices, routes, schedules, etc. may have changed as of reading.
We start at the farthest/northernmost island in Cebu, Malapascua. It's more famous for its dive spots and sightings of thresher sharks. I'm no diver, but I'm still very glad that I visited this tiny island. The water was clean, the beach was quiet, you could sleep under the shade without a care and there aren't too many pesky peddlers around.
For more details on the island, go to http://www.malapascua.de/
How we got there:
> Went to Cebu City North Bus Terminal
> Got in CERES (or any) bus with sign "Maya via Bagay". This took us to the Maya pier where bangkas going to the island are waiting. Aircon at 8am (P85), non-aircon every 30mins (P70).
> It's was low tide at the Maya pier when we arrived, so the big bangkas going to the island are too far from the shore. We were transported by mini-outriggerless-bangkas or "taxis" to the big bangkas. The water is only about knee deep high, but we'd have to walk very far and risk our stuff getting wet, so we opted for the water taxis. People being ferried by the water taxis stay still for about 5mins, otherwise the taxi could turn over. P10/pax.
> The big bangkas wait for at least 10 people before leaving. The fare was paid at a booth in the pier. P40/pax.
Day 1:
> Check in at Palm Place. It's about 250 mtrs away from Bounty Beach. Not beach front, but not too far naman. We didn't mind the distance so long as the room and CR/shower were clean. The staff was very helpful too. There was no electricity when we arrived because the generators are only turned on from 4pm-6am (of the following day). P500/day/rm.
[For information on other resorts, click the link above.]
> Lunch at Blue Water Resort. The food took so long to be served! Around P150-P200/meal/pax.
> Picture-taking, beach-bumming, swimming . Though not as fine as Boracay, the sand in Bounty Beach is so clean & white. There’s lots of sea grass along the beach though. I guess that's part of its appeal. There are large grassless areas in the water where Bucky & I swim. I'm scared of swimming by the grassy areas Imagine not knowing if there are creepy crawling creatures that you can't see in the grass. Yikes!
> Dinner at La Dolce Vita. This is a restaurant owned by an Italian couple who fell in love with the island and decided to make it their home for 6 months every year. The restaurant is in a beach opposite of Bounty Beach. It's like being transported to a GB3 resto with a beach for a view. The food was great, too. We had a meaty pizza, chili-garlic spaghetti, and red wine. Around P200-300/meal/pax.
> Massage at the cottage. After dinner, the aleng masahista came by. After an hour under the magic hands of the masahista, the whole day felt perfect: beach, good food, and a relaxed body before going to sleep. What else could I ask for? P250/hr/pax.
Day 2:
> First sunrise in Malapascua. We got up at around 530am to catch the sunrise. It wasn’t such an effort because we slept at around 9pm the previous night. Who wouldn’t, after the very relaxing masahe?
> Breakfast at GingGing’s Eatery. To get to this place from the beach, we looked for the “Sunsplash” sign/arrow. A narrow road leads to Sunsplash Resort & Resto and to the houses farther into the island. We reached a clearing and dirt road and La Isla Bonita Restaurant, turned left at the dirt road, walked a little farther and saw the sign. The food in this place was cheaper and as good as, if not better, than the most of restos at the beach front. A lot of people eat in this place, especially during breakfast and lunch. Yummy mango pancakes! P100-150/meal/pax. We also had our distilled water-bottles refilled here for only P10/liter. A new 1-liter bottle bought in the beach front costs around P35-50. Bucky & I drink at least 3-4 liters of bottle a day, so we saved quite a lot, enough, I think for a merienda.
> Snorkeling around the island. A lot of “canvassers” approached us during Day1, asking if we wanted to go snorkeling. The prices were usually P600 for a half day trip, no matter how many you are. The max num per trip will depend on the size of the boat. We agreed to the price when a lone Italian tourist, named Silvio, agreed to share the expense with us. So P600 was divided into 2, for which Silvio will pay P300, and we pay the other P300. Mask rental was P100/day/pax. We started snorkeling at the Coral garden. There were lots of corals, but some, if not most are dead. Well, at least they looked dead to me, comparing the corals to those in Pandan Island. There were only a few, small fishies. The next stop was the Blue Coral garden. Madaming blue corals dun, not too many fish, and super strong currents. Bucky was getting mad at me because I wouldn’t leave his side. The dead corals looked scary! I couldn’t help thinking that a sea monster might suddenly appear and eat me. Hahaha! The next stop was the supposedly sunken Japanese ship. It didn’t look like a ship, but the skeletons of a boat (I guess) were there. Dami na ring corals na nakadikit. It looked scary. The last stop was at the islets (I forgot the names) seen from Bounty beach. It was already lunch time so the tide was low. We hadn’t anticipated the depth of the water so when we jumped from the bangka, we hit the stones & corals. I was wearing my booties when I hit the water & stones. Sharp rocks cut Bucky’s right foot. Good thing that sea water is a natural anti-septic, so we didn’t worry about infection. Those cuts made me worry, not so much because of infection, but because it might ruin the day for Bucky. Thankfully, he got over the pain quickly. The corals were more alive in the islets, and there were more fish than the 3 previous sites. Total expense for the snorkeling was P250/pax.
> Lunch at Cocobana Restaurant. After a very tiring morning, both of us ate full meals, plus mango milkshakes. The Thai chili-basil chicken and weird-sounding-sausage meals were great. That, or sobrang gutom lang kami. Goodbye, half-rice/low-carb diet. P150-200/meal/pax.
> Picture-taking, beach-bumming, swimming, siesta-by-the-beach. After snorkeling and a filling lunch, plus the cool sea breeze, we couldn’t help but be drowsy. With just our sarong & a spot under the shade of the coconut trees, we had our siesta. We woke up after about an hour, then further explored the east-side of the island. There were more resorts: Sunset, Exotic. There was a large clearing/ grassless beach were we swam & took pictures the whole afternoon. Thank God for the great weather.
> Dinner at La Dolce Vita. We wanted to try the other dishes we couldn’t order the night before. We had the platter of assorted cold cuts, spaghetti pomodoro, and a pork-in-tomato sauce meal. Everything was superb.
> Happy hour at Blue Water resort. We finished dinner at around 730pm so we had more than enough time para masulit ang happy hour. Actually, the only available drinks are gin-sprite and rhum-coke. Hahha! But 3 orders (of buy 1 take one) were enough to make us tipsy. We had drinks by the beach, with only a lampara and drinks on our table. Bucky & I just talked the night away until we got tipsy and sleepy. P80/order (2 glasses/order).
Day 3:
> Breakfast at GingGing’s Eatery. We woke up at 630am for an early breakfast. We still had to prepare & pack our stuff before leaving.
> It was time to leave the island. The first bangka to leave Malapascua for Maya leaves at 8am. The “terminal” is at a booth along Blue Water resort. It was also low tide when we arrived in Maya, so we had to take the water taxis again to get to the pier. Big bangka P40/pax. Water taxi P10/pax.
Well, some good things have to end. I hope to see you again, Malapascua!
Next stop: Bantayan island!