No dive trip to the Philippines is complete without a visit to Malapascua. The small island is located ten kilometres north of Cebu Island. Surrounded by bright white sand beaches, broken up by small rocky outcrops and clear blue waters, Malapascua is known as one of the best shark diving locations in the Philippines. It's also great for underwater photographers.
Monad Shoal is known as the only place in the world where thresher sharks can be observed on a daily basis. In addition expect to see white-tip, black-tip, bamboo, nurse, cat and the occasional tiger shark at nearby sites. Other pelagic sightings include manta and devil rays.
There's an impressive array of critters found here. Look out for nudibranch, ghost pipe(ish, frog(ish, crabs and more. Observe the colourful mandarin (ish at Lighthouse during a dusk dive and head out to the marine reserve and sea snake sanctuary of Gato Island to get the best diving experience in this location. Plus ensure you make time to discover the Dona Marilyn wreck.
Journey to the island is a three to four hour drive from Cebu City. As there are no cash machines on the island, our top tip would be to make sure you have enough local pesos on you when you visit.