The best of Cebu
MACTAN, MOALBOAL, LILOAN AND MALAPASCUA OFFER SOME OF THE FINEST DIVING IN THE PHILIPPINES JEROEN VAN MARLE STRAPPED ON HIS TANK AND FINS TO PICK THE BEST PLACES TO GO UNDER
Conjuring up images of dazzling white beaches fringed by palm trees, colorful outrigger fishing boats bobbing on the waves and spectacular underwater encounters with marine life, Cebu is one of the most popular destinations in the Visayas.
Thanks to its busy international airport, it’s the main gateway to the Philippines for divers from across the world. Mactan, Moalboal, Liloan and Malapascua are the four main diving destinations and, with a choice of several resorts and dive centres for each, it’s very easy to set off on a diving expedition or to rent equipment and a boat for a private trip.
MACTAN ISLAND
Connected to Cebu Island by two bridges, Mactan Island is home to some of the largest and most upmarket hotels in the Visayas. The island has several five-star resorts, most of them with their own dive centres. Accommodation and diving may not be as cheap as at other locations, but there’s plenty of choice when you’re looking for a dive centre, the quality is top notch, and there are some exciting dive sites that are not too far from the shore. The busy public wharfs and the motorised water sports activities at some of the resorts mean that divers do need to be careful when planning dive trips, so it’s best to go with the professionals.
While the reefs directly around Mactan Island are no longer pristine, there’s still a fair amount of marine life. “A 10-meter whale shark was sighted during a try dive at the Shangri-La Marine Sanctuary last February,” says Bernil Gastardo of Scotty’s Dive Centre, “A very lucky first dive for the guest!”
More advanced divers will find better sites just a short banca (boat) trip away; the wall at Marine Station has schools of sardines, seahorses, striped anglerfish and nudibranches; Tambuli has a wreck; and there’s good night diving along the wall of corals at Kontiki and neighbouring Ludo Point. Off the northern tip of nearby Olango island, Tingo Point offers divers a good chance of spotting the famed thresher shark. “My favourite site is Talima, about 15 minutes away by boat,” says Miok Loyola, a dive enthusiast working at the Hilton Cebu, “I never get tired of it, as it has good visibility, schools of huge fish and colourful corals.” Mactan’s very best sites are the Hilutungan and Nalusuan island marine sanctuaries, south of Olango and a 20-30 minute banca trip away. Offering two very different marine environments, both sites have walls that are great for both open water and advanced divers; there’s good snorkelling at Hilutungan too.
PRACTICALITIES:
Most resorts are just a 10-15 minute drive from the airport. Two large and popular upmarket options are the Shangri-La Resort and Spa (tel 32 231 0288, www.shangri-la.com) housing Scotty’s Dive Centre (www.divescotty.com), and the Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa (tel 32 492 7777, www.hilton.com). Cheaper accommodation can be found at the Kon Tiki Beach Resort (tel 32 495 2471, www.kontikidivers.com.ph)
LILOAN
Liloan is perched on the southern tip of Cebu Island, about 135km from Cebu City. Liloan’s diving sites may be limited in number, but it is well placed for diving in the Visayas, as visitors can easily reach dive sites on Bohol, Siquijor and Apo Island. “It’s a small, peaceful place with a village atmosphere,” says Ariel Ronato of the Marine Village Dive House, “It’s nice to just wander around and chat to the friendly and helpful locals.”
Liloan is well known as a macro diving paradise, but also offers the chance of seeing some big fish. In March and April you have a good chance of swimming with whale sharks, manta rays and dolphins. Beginners need not worry about oversized pelagics – they can take it easy in the shallows at the Marine Village house reef or at Antenna Point, where there are soft and hard corals and plenty of rather more normal-sized tropical fish including scorpion fish and banded snake eels. Further away, Maria Elena and Santa Maria are two slope dives with bucket sponges, corals and sightings of pufferfish as well as nudibranches.
Perhaps the best sites for open water and advanced divers can be found around tiny Sumilon Island, half an hour east of Liloan. An impressive wall goes down to 40m, with plenty of caves.
Local marine life includes anglerfish, blueside wrasse, mackerel and turtles. “A favourite diving site of mine is Catadman Point,” says Ronato, “There’s a small cave, a good cliff and if you’re lucky a whale shark will swim by.”
PRACTICALITIES:
Get to Liloan by flying in to Dumaguete airport on Negros island; take a taxi to nearby Sibulan for the short ferry crossing to Liloan. From Cebu City there are regular buses taking up to five hours, although a taxi is quicker and more comfortable. The number of resorts in Liloan is quite limited, and several are quite basic. Both the Eden Resort (tel 32 480 9321, www.eden.ph) and the Ocean Terrace Resort (tel 32 480 9027, www.cebuterrace.com) have simple but spacious bungalows overlooking the straits. The Marine Village Resort (tel 32 480 9040, www.marinevillage.net) is another good option with an in-house dive centre.
MALAPASCUA ISLAND
Just off the northern end of Cebu, Malapascua is a picture-perfect tropical island only a few square kilometres in size, but packing a Cebu-sized punch for its diving and beaches. Its location off the beaten track means that you’ll often find yourself diving in small groups, and there are few karaoke bars to keep you awake. The island has several small but lively settlements connected by sandy paths, and there’s a hill with a lighthouse that you can climb for views across Cebu and Leyte. You’ll arrive on Bounty Beach, a white flash of sand along the southern part of the island where most resorts and dive centres are based.
Zoe and Tim Latimer, instructors at Exotic Dive, are enthusiastic about the diving possibilities. “There are plenty of great sites to choose from,” says Tim, “if you want the big stuff, go to Monad Shoal to look for the thresher sharks, reef sharks and manta rays.
For macro diving, visit Lighthouse reef on a dusk dive to spot the mating mandarin fish, sea horses and spiny stumped cuttlefish. I really like Gato Island too, a fantastic two-dive day trip that has everything from sleeping white tip sharks to sea snakes, cuttlefish and seahorses, and a tunnel cutting right through the middle of the island.” Beginners can get their suits wet at the nearby East Garden, a sloping reef with soft corals. Advanced divers will enjoy the Tapilon wreck, a torpedoed Japanese cargo ship, and the deep Pioneer wreck. “My favourite site by far is the Exotic house reef, for the sheer diversity of life that is found there,” Zoe remarks, “You can spot ghost pipe fish, frog fish, lion fish, snake eels, squid and other animals seeking shelter among the sunken jeepney and other artificial structures.”
PRACTICALITIES:
Regular Ceres Lines buses depart from Cebu City’s northern bus station to Maya at the island’s northern tip, taking 3-5 hours. A taxi takes 2.5-3 hours. From Maya it’s a 30 minute public or private pumpboat ride to Malapascua. Although most resorts now have both fan and air-conditioned rooms, only a few offer hot water. Along Bounty Beach you’ll find the lively Sunsplash resort (tel +49 172 616 3928, www.starcape. de/sunsplash) and the quiet and more secluded Malapascua Exotic Island resort (tel 32 437 0983, www..malapascua.net) which has its own dive centre; others include Sea Explorers (www.sea-explorers.com) and Thresher Shark Divers (www..malapascua-diving.com).
MOALBOAL
On Cebu’s west coast, peaceful Moalboal is a very popular diving destination located near a small peninsula lined with a dozen dive sites. Although there’s no good beach along this stretch of coast, Moalboal has a fair amount of hotels, resorts and dive centres, and a good selection of restaurants and lively bars too. Most resorts are located on Panagsama beach, just to the north of the town centre.
Beginners usually start off on the reef just off Panagsama beach, where you simply wade in to reach a dive site with slopes and walls. All the good stuff is just a short boat trip away, however. Copton Point and White Beach are two good dive sites with soft and hard corals, including the delicate sea whip, barrel sponges, plenty of damselfish and some pufferfish, triggerfish and turtles.For advanced divers, a trip to Pescador Island, just 10 minutes by boat from Moalboal, is a must. The tiny island is surrounded by walls dropping sharply down from the reef, and you can return to do several dives here. There are coral gardens, caves and plenty of reef and pelagic fish.
Another advanced site is Sunken Island, which starts at 22 metres and is primarily known for the variety of fish. Rolf Muehlemann of Sea Explorers enthuses about the marine life near Moalboal: “There have been regular whale shark sightings this year, and white tip sharks are often seen around Pescador Island. Moalboal is also famous for turtles, you see one on nearly every dive. And of course there are rare smaller animals like frog fish, pipe and ghost pipe fish and even pegasus fish.”
PRACTICALITIES:
Moalboal is 90km south west of Cebu City and can be reached by regular bus from the south bus terminal, taking about 2.5 hours, or by taxi. Panagsama beach is 3km from the centre, where you’ll find Love’s Lodge (tel 32 234 0248, www.sea-explorers.com) and the Savedra Beach Resort (tel 32 474 0014, www.savedra.com), both with in-house dive centers.
HOW TO GET THERE
Cebu Pacific files to Cebu from 17 domestic and five international destinations. See www.cebupacificair.com for more details.
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