Philippines May 2025

Leaving leafy Hertfordshire and setting off to the airport, we were thinking: ‘Great another dive trip to the Sunshine’. But this one was different, …..

14-hour flight on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong. Beers in the Sky Bar and then connecting flight to Cebu Airport.

Stepping off the plane, the first thing that hits you is the wall of Humidity. A quick sim card swap from the tourist SIM card sellers and we were whisked off in 2 minibuses for a 4-hour drive to our destination for week 1.

Tucked away on the southwestern coast of Cebu Island lies a quiet town with an extraordinary underwater secret: Moalboal.

It’s like stepping back in time. Think Thailand circa 1990, (for those of you old enough to remember that). Motorbikes buzz through dusty uneven tracks, that just add to the charm and make you realise “We’re not in Kansas anymore”. 

This small coastal destination has earned its place on the global diving map, thanks to its vibrant coral reefs, warm turquoise waters, and the spectacular sardine run just meters from shore.

Whether you're a seasoned diver chasing pelagics or a beginner eager to explore your first coral garden, Moalboal delivers an unforgettable underwater adventure.

The main event in Moalboal is the sardine run – a year-round phenomenon where millions of sardines form massive shimmering bait balls. It is now actually illegal to fish for Sardines due to the tourist attraction of diving with them.

We had 5 days diving on various islands and reefs. Most notable was Pescador Island, a marine sanctuary revered for its rich biodiversity and dramatic underwater topography. It’s got cathedral-like caverns, drop-offs, and overhangs that are home to everything from colourful reef fish to elusive frogfish (Anthony literally bought the T-Shirt), Huge Turtles, pink and yellow nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, lionfish, spider crabs, cardinalfish, and scorpion fish.

The dive centre was effective and very close to the beach where the dive boats are located. 

The evenings consisted of basic restaurants with well-prepared incredibly good value local food.  A now legendary bar called ‘The Chilli Bar’, that sells 7% lager called Horse and serves ‘free pour’ cocktails, always seem to delay the journey back to the accommodation from the dive centre somehow.

White sands, lush vegetation, clear blue waters. Moalboal is truly a fantastic destination for diving.

After a great week. We packed up and heading on the then next adventure….

A full 8-hour day was spent in the minibuses, where we travelled from Moalboal in the South to Malapascua Island in the North.

After a short boat journey from the Port to the Island we were greeted with a much more exclusive, quieter atmosphere. This truly is a Paradise Island. White sand beaches, crystal clear water and blue skies.

The resort was everything you could ask for. Right on the beach, good food, good beer and above all great dive guides and easy access to the dive boats.

Malapascua on the surface is calm, slow paced and relaxed. But under the water is anything but unexciting.

So, onto the main event: The Thresher Sharks!

Leaving at Sunrise we travelled out to sea for 45 minutes to our destination.  The Sharks hunt at night so come to a particular reef to be cleaned by the fish early in the morning. If you are early, and I mean really early, you get there before other boats appear (and inconsiderate divers scare the marine life away). Thankfully we were there on time and were not disappointed. We all had close encounters with beautiful, graceful, sometimes inquisitive Thresher Sharks. It is certainly something none of us will forget.

Gato Island and Kalanggaman Island  also provided spectacular dives with us experiencing frogfish (bottom right pic below), nudibranchs, whitetip reef sharks, black tips sharks and sea snakes, sometimes all in 1 dive.

One standout dive was a night dive that exposed us to a Blue Ring Octopus (middle pic below) and upon surfacing a stunning lightning storm across the sky.

15 dives later and with memories that will last a lifetime, it was time make the long journey home via Cebu, Hong Kong and finally to Heathrow.

All in all, this is a bucket list trip and something we can all feel incredibly lucky to be a part of. Enormous thanks go to Russell for putting together a very organised itinerary and a very special mention to Nathan who was invaluable in providing us with his knowledge of the areas we visited.