Dive Review of Exotic Island Dive Resort Malapascua in
Philippines

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Exotic Island Dive Resort Malapascua: "Malapascua: Better than Ever?", Jun, 2023, by John Crossley, FL, US ( Top Contributor 31 reports with 14 Helpful votes). Report 12510.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	[Malapascua: Better than Ever? This was my forth trip to Malapascua in the past 25 years, with about ten years since my last visit. I’d heard that things had changed, and not for the better. However, I think Malapascua is better than ever. Here’s why. The big change is the move of the Thresher Sharks to Kemod Shoal. There were triple the number of Threshers on the two days I went, compared to my previous trips when the sharks went to Monad Shoal. Sometimes we saw three Threshers at one time, and they came closer than before. The water was a bit clearer, and the depth was about 20 feet shallower than at Monad. The only down-side was the behavior of divers from other boats, which often had an idiot diver who swim right at the sharks to get photos. Of course, the Threshers took off right away, but they usually came back within five minutes. I think the best strategy is to swim to a spot where there are no other divers near, then just get low and quiet and wait….the sharks will come back AND come closer. While the Threshers are the big attraction at Malapascua the soft corals and macro critters are well worth many dives. I had 24 dives in my ten days and enjoyed every dive. There were beautiful soft corals at Gato Island, and other dive sites always had interesting critters. These included turtles, cuttlefish, octopus, sea snakes, numerous types of sea horses (including pygmies), mantis shrimp, frogfish, porcelain crabs, red-tail banded pipe fish, coral crabs, scorpionfish, sea robins, many types of nudibranchs, and several types of sharks including a rare bamboo shark. As in previous years, I stayed at the Malapascua Exotic Dive Resort. It has dive “bancas” with plenty of room, great dive guides, good facilities for rinsing and storing dive gear, and good rental equipment. After 30 years of carrying BC and regulator around the world, I’ve switched to renting those. Rooms at the resort are clean and comfortable, with AC and a desk. Food choices at the “Exotic” have expanded to include more Asian style food. Food quality and prices are good, but I did not opt for the plan that included lunch and dinner. To avoid weight gain, I ate smaller meals and also walked to the center of the island several nights for dinner. Local folks there operate numerous small open-air restaurants with limited but tasty choices. Their prices are quite a savings too. Booking and transfers to the Exotic were smooth, but be ready for a four hour drive then a short boat ride to Malapascua Island. I went in early June and had little rain. COVID was not much of a concern this June 2023. None]
Websites	Exotic Island Dive Resort Malapascua
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Fiji, Truck, Yap, Palau, Bali, Lembeh, Hawaii, Florida, Red Sea, Soloman Islands, PNG, Caymans, Bonaire, BVI, Philippines and others
Closest Airport	Cebu/Mactan	Getting There	Fly direct to Cebu or transfer via Manila. Resort will arrange transfer from Cebu airport.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, no currents
Water Temp	83-85°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	50-80 Ft/ 15-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Reasonable depth and time limits
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	[Good overall but I had to remind the dive guides a few times to make sure that there was a fresh water rinse bucket on the boat.

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Dive Review of Exotic Island Dive Resort Malapascua in Philippines

Exotic Island Dive Resort Malapascua: "Malapascua: Better than Ever?", Jun, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Exotic Island Dive Resort Malapascua in
Philippines