Travel Guide to Malapascua, Cebu 2022

Good news! We are now settled in!

No more “no electricity” here or “no internet” there. And it feels so good to be back home with everything back to its ‘new normal.’

As a way to celebrate this small win, we decided to go to Malapascua Island! We have been planning to go there ever since stayed in Catmon, Cebu. But we never really got the chance since it was more fun to just go resort hopping on the beaches there.

Most people start off early in the morning or maybe at dawn – getting on a bus by 4 AM and arriving just before lunchtime. However, that was not our case.

We woke up at around 6 AM which was very late than we planned (had to do overtime ‘til 1 AM the night before. Go figure.) We got on a bus at 7 AM and were able to check-in at 1 PM at Malapascua. But hey, don’t let me skip to that part. Let’s rewind and start at the beginning.

How To Get To Malapascua Island, Cebu

Malapascua Island is one of the islands in the northernmost part of Cebu and is still under Daanbantanyan.

💡 Fun Fact!
The name Malapascua was derived from a Spanish term that means bad festivity or bad easter. It was said that a Spanish boat was stranded on that island just a day before Christmas.

Another hearsay about the island is that it’s full of ‘mambabarang’ or local witches who either poison you or put a spell on you. They are said to have an antidote but sell it at a high price.

Quite interesting, right? But this shouldn’t spook you from going there. The people in Malapascua Island are super nice and polite.

Getting back to the travel guide, check out how to get to Malapascua Island and how much it costs:

1. Go to the North Bus Terminal beside SM Cebu MyBus Terminal
2. Look for a bus that goes to Maya New Port (located in Daanbantayan)

• Schedules are different depending on the number of passengers
• The bus fare is supposedly Php 253 per head but the conductor said to pay just Php 250 🤷

3 . When you get to the port, go straight to their tourism office to pay the environmental fee and list your names for the nearest trip.

• Environmental fee is Php 75 per head, Php 120 for foreigners, and free for residents in Daanbantayan
• Boat fare is normally Php 150 per head. But if there are fewer than 22 passengers, you get to pay Php 200 (we did 💔)
• Boat trips are in every 30 minutes

4 . Once on Malapascua Island, you’d be greeted by friendly locals who will offer you island hopping and tour packages. Before you get swindled by any of them, log in your names in their tourism area.

Best to have your accommodation booked prior to getting there. You will need to input the name of the hotel upon logging in your name.

Where to Stay in Malapascua Island

In this part, I’m a bit biased. I have only two – no, three hotel recommendations for your stay in Malapascua. First on the list is where we stayed:

Bluewater Malapascua Beach & Dive Resort

It’s a walking distance from the port of Malapascua and it’s right in front of the beach. You can easily have morning strolls by the beach or watch the sunset by the sea.

We unknowingly booked on Valentine's season. We don't celebrate it but kinda explains the decorations

We were able to get a decent price over online booking. The only mistake (and tanga moment for me) is not checking the ‘free breakfast’ option. So, we had to pay Php 200 per breakfast per head upon checking in. The normal price range is Php 280 for their Filipino silog meals.

The rooms are not so bad. It’s super clean and smelled really good when we first got in. And I love their bed!! Or at least the foam they have under it because, well, you know.

Okay, moving on. They have soap, shampoo, and tissues ready but the downside here is that they don’t have any towels! We didn’t even bring any. Thank goodness we brought our toothbrushes because they don’t have complimentary dental kits either.

Still, it’s super understandable considering the room rates. We were only able to pay Php 1150 per night via Agoda. But no towels? I think we should have asked for them but we were either too shy or too stubborn. We managed anyway.

Did I mention they have a pool?

Hippocampus Beach Resort

This resort is also located near the port and situated right in front of the beach. It has this cool, tropical yet boho-ish atmosphere with its wooden designs, warm lights, low tables, and bean bags. I think this is the best place in Malapascua for young adults and barkadas or a group of friends to stay on their trip.

Aside from their ambiance, they seem to have a live band almost every night. We were lucky enough to watch their fireworks dance that night. The guy was actually holding and twirling real, live fireworks. We had to take a few steps back.

Check out the "Fireworks Dance" on a reel.

Avila’s Horizon Malapascua

Talk about front row seats to the amazing view of the North Beach! We saw this hotel resort pop up during our online search but I didn’t expect it would be right in front of the white-sand beach.

My husband said it would have been nice to stay there and lounge under one of those beach umbrellas and go nowhere else in Malapascua. Maybe next time.

What To Do in Malapascua Island

Malapascua is a small island that is slowly thriving in tourism. Personally, there’s not much to do except lounge at beaches and go island hopping. And that’s exactly what we did in two days. But if you want to make the most of Malapascua, here’s what you can do:

Go to the North Beach a.k.a Langob Beach

This was definitely first on my list. During my first time at Malapascua, I was in love with the powdery, white sand of Langob Beach (or so it was popularly called back then).

Coming back to the same beach, my heart melted once again. I was glad the beach stayed the same despite seeing more resorts nearby. It has a long shoreline filled with the same white, fine sand. The seawater appears bright turquoise or something like that no matter what the weather is (yes, we visited the beach twice both on a sunny and gloomy day. enjoyed the big waves during the gloomy visit)

You can get there through motorcycles, paying Php 50 fare per person one-way. Or you can opt for an island tour where a visit to this beach is included.

Just look how white and powdery the sand is!

Book for Island Hopping to Carnaza & La Manok Islands

We were offered an island hopping tour by one of the local guides in Malapascua. Here are a few details about it:

• Itinerary includes going to Carnaza Island, Lamanok Island, and snorkeling in between
• Whole day trip: 8 AM - 5 PM
• Php 1200 per head
• FREE lunch included
• Can be booked exclusively or join with strangers

I easily get seasick so we decided to pass the opportunity for now. After all, we went to Malapascua for a slow, relaxing trip.

Book for an Island Tour around Malapascua

We took this offer and had the chance to visit their coral sanctuary and snorkel around. The sea current was a bit strong so floating still took so much effort.

You can pay Php 800 per trip (no matter how many people are onboard) at Malapascua Beach & Dive Resort. But you have to pay Php 150 for the goggle and snorkel rent per day. The trip lasts for 3 to 4 hours.

We came across an earlier offer of Php 1000 per trip that already includes life vests and the snorkel sets. Best to choose the latter offer if you come across this from one of the local guides.

Go Snorkeling or Freediving

Snorkeling is already included in any of the island tours or island hopping packages. This was the activity we were looking forward to since my husband hasn’t really tried it.

Island tour includes snorkeling in the coral sanctuary at Dakit-Dakit Island

Malapascua is also a great diving destination. Unfortunately, the pandemic has prevented divers all over the world to visit the island. The corals are super healthy and there are sea cliffs that most freedivers enjoy. I figured there are also thresher sharks in the northern diving spot on the island because most diving resorts had them painted on the walls almost everywhere.

The good news is that the Philippines has opened its doors to international tourists. This means divers and enthusiasts worldwide can go back to Malapascua and get diving once again. It certainly made the locals excited!

Visit the Infamous Lighthouse

You will be able to see this lighthouse even when you’re still riding the boat going to Malapascua. It’s an old abandoned white lighthouse that is one of the perfect spots to witness the sunset.

Back in 2019, it was supposed to be abandoned and a bit unruly so people can just freely hike up there. Now, the place seems to be well-kept and has an entrance fee of Php 25 per person.

Enjoy the Night at Malapascua

Nights in Malapascua are quite peaceful. There aren’t many stores to eat out at night. So, you can eat at the restaurant from where you’re staying or go to their market where all the grilled meals are.

In our case, we had some streetside pizza and pork barbeque and arranged it picnic-like by the beach. There was a live band from where we’re staying so we had some good music while eating right in front of the waves.

Chill by the Beach

50% of our time at Malapascua was just lounging by the beach. We had most of our afternoons at North Beach. We spent our nights sitting in front of the beach with some music. Then we had the last morning of our trip swimming on the beach (yey for high tides!)

Where to Eat in Malapascua

This can be a problem at first. Malapascua is like this sandy, scorchy maze. You’d be walking through a sandy path and the heat is extra humid for some reason. Many restaurants shut down due to the pandemic while others are able to get through it. I was glad my favorite eating place was able to survive, which I’ll later save for the last part of this section.

Restaurant in Hotels

Check the place you’re staying and see if they have a restaurant. Most of the time they do. In Bluewater Malapascua Beach & Dive Resort, they have this amazing pizzeria. I think they serve the best pizza on the island (or at least from what I’ve tried). Their pizzas start at Php 320 each. They also have other delicious meals but all we were craving was pizza.

Hippocampus Beach Resort has its own grilling station so you wouldn’t need to walk all the way to the market to get some grilled chicken, pork, or seafood.

Subad

This is a new, small restaurant that offers affordable silog bowl meals. In my case, I ordered the buffalo wings which tasted sooo good! They are also popular when it comes to take-outs. I could see orders and deliveries going back and forth.

I couldn’t see their restaurant on Google Maps yet but you can follow them on their page and ask for directions. The only landmark is Bebot’s Breakfast which you can already navigate online.

The Beach Hub

This is the go-to eating place in Malapascua. They are known for their fresh grilled meat, fast services, and friendly crew. I was craving for shrimps and I was so happy when they said that cook their shrimps in butter-garlic instead of just grilling it.

We also had a medium-sized squid and scallops to pair it with. Back then, they used to have pots of hot soup and other Filipino dishes all lined up. Now, they have this raw meat ready for you to pick for your meal.

Their price isn’t so bad either. Three shrimps on a stick cost Php 50. A stick of scallops was Php 30. The squid was around Php 200 and up. I just wasn’t able to take any photos because I was so hungry! LOL

⚠️Tanga Moment Here
So, I ate all that. You know, just a few grilled seafood and topped it off with half a pizza before bedtime.

It’s no surprise that I had a bad time lounging on the beach and listening to live music. All I ever wanted to do was to go to the toilet and stay there for the rest of the night!

Saying Goodbye to Malapascua Island

Just like any hotel, we had to check out at 12 noon. We had a quick lunch at a lamaw station near the port. It’s like a rice bowl filled with pork dumplings, boiled egg, and chicharon. We booked ourselves for the 12:30 PM trip and this time, we were able to pay the average fee of Php 150. A lot of people were going home too.

The boat trip lasted for 30 minutes then we walked right to the nearby bus terminal. The bus takes off every hour. In our case, we departed at 2 PM and made it back to the city at 7 PM. Yes, the traffic was crazy as always.

Anyways, that’s it for this travel guide to Malapascua Island this 2022! Malapascua is such a beautiful island. I hope more and more people get to visit the place! The people there are extra nice and the North Beach is just jaw-dropping. So, if you are looking for another travel destination in Cebu this 2022, put this one next on your list!

Also, going there and visiting other tourist destinations in Cebu really helps the locals. The pandemic and typhoon have brought so many challenges to the tourism industry. Visiting places like Malapascua Island may not seem much on a large scale but being able to support local tourism goes a long way.