The diving in Malapascua
- Malapascua is an excellent destination for all levels of divers
- Thresher shark in nearby locations
- Good destination for macro photography
Malapascua is best known for its shark diving and if you want to see the famous the fox shark then this is where you should go. In the deep waters around Monad and Kemod Shoal, thresher sharks live and hunt. If you enjoy macro photography, you are basically guaranteed to see nudibranchs, frogfish, seahorses and octopuses.
Diving with sharks at Malapascua
The thresher shark is a deep-dwelling shark and is rarely seen by divers. However, Malapascua is one of the few places in the world where you can see these beautiful sharks pretty much every day. They are very specific with their long tail fin which makes up roughly half the body length.
Malapascua is one of the best dive sites in the Philippines to meet and see big fish. You regularly see large manta rays that can reach a wingspan of up to six meters. Sometimes you can be lucky and see them on the same dive as the thresher sharks. You can also see mobulas, eagle rays and marble rays, whitetip reef sharks up close. Reef sharks are almost guaranteed at Gato Island. Hammerhead sharks often begin to show in December until April but seeing them is unfortunately quite rare. Other ephemeral visitors include turtles, whale sharks and on occasion tiger sharks have even been spotted!
Street Island
Gato Island is one of many very famous dive sites at Malapascua. The island has a great variety of animal species and offers nice reefs and caves. Here you can see sea snakes, octopus, seahorses, pygmy seahorses, frogfish and many species of nudibranchs and lots of soft corals.
Here at Malapascua there is also wreck diving with several wrecks at varying depths including wrecks from the Second World War. The wrecks are for all levels of divers, from beginners to technical divers.
The water temperature is normally around 27 - 30°C degrees but in January - February it can go down to around 25°C degrees. We recommend diving in a 3 mm full suit with boots. Many divers choose to dive with a hood after several days of repeated diving. Remember to bring a thin windbreaker and enough sun protection. Full suit not only protects against cold, but also against hydroids that can be free in the water and can burn.
Term: Normal visibility on Malapascua is around 15-25 meters.
Weather: Typhoon season in the Philippines is from July – November, but Malapascua is rarely affected although it can be windy. The typhoons usually pass further north and since there are no mountains nearby, much of the rain that tends to fall in Leyte and Cebu is avoided. If you're looking for a nice, quiet holiday, go during typhoon season as the diving is often better and there are fewer tourists here. It's also that time of year that part liveaboard passing by here.
