Malapascua Island
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General information
Malapascua (Malapascua Island) is a tiny exotic island 7 km off the northern tip of the greater Philippine Cebu Islands (Malapascua on the map). Its size is only 2.5 by 1 km, and the permanent population is about 4500 people.
Its name translates from Spanish as "bad Easter". Long ago, the Spaniards ran into reefs near the island, and they had to repair their ship for a long time. And it happened on the eve of the Easter holiday.
Holidays in Malapascua
Malapascua could remain unremarkable among the many other mini-islands of the Philippines, of which there are more than seven thousand, if there were not amazing opportunities for diving and snorkeling. They were discovered by Europeans relatively recently, in the 1990s, and caused a real pilgrimage of lovers of scuba diving.
It is an ideal place for diving. You can dive 5 days in a row several times, and each time get new impressions. Now on the island there are more than twenty dive centers and the same number of hotels for tourists.
Divers can see in the local waters rare sharks-foxes (Thresher sharks), all kinds of Rays, exotic colored fish, whale sharks and hammerhead sharks, interesting samples of ocean flora, underwater caves and a through natural tunnel. There are also two wrecks: a Japanese ship from World War II and the local ferry Dona Marilyn, which was wrecked in 1988 during a typhoon.
In addition to diving and snorkeling, the island can Interest Only Lovers of a calm and serene beach holiday, but much less than lovers of diving. Malapascua is one large village of Filipinos with a typical rural lifestyle. People get up early to the massive crowing of roosters, and go to bed early. Lovers of evening boardwalks,and especially night parties, have nothing to do here: the whole island falls asleep at 10, or even at 9 pm.
In a word, it will appeal either to divers or to those who want to relax from the dynamic rhythm of large resorts and relax on the beach to the "vegetable state".
Beaches Of Malapascua
The sand on the beaches of this island is excellent: fine, almost white, and the water is a beautiful turquoise shade and very transparent. However, you should not expect from Malapascua such beauties as, for example, in the Maldives or Boracay. In the sea there is a lot of seaweed and all sorts of natural debris, and at low tide all this comes out, and the coast is in mud and grass. All aesthetics disappear from this.
There is a misconception that the tides change cyclically at the same time during the day. In fact, everything is much more complicated, and the water level depends on the position of the sun, the moon, the terrain and many other factors. Therefore, it is never possible to say unequivocally, for example, that on Malapascua there are tides in the morning and ebbs in the evenings. To determine the level of tides on the island of Malapascua, you need to use special calculated charts-forecasts:
In addition, most of the coastal palm trees in the second half of the 2010s were swept away by typhoons, after which the island has not yet recovered. However, in general – the beaches are very cozy, spacious and picturesque.
Only two beaches have all the typical resort infrastructure: Login (Login Beach) and Bounty. These large beaches are divided along the coast by two bays, and it is easy to get from one to the other on foot.:
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Login Beach
Located at the pier where boats and boats coming to Cebu dock ((login on the map). Now, however, most of them go immediately to the Bounty Beach, where all the resort life is concentrated. There are few hotels on the local shore, but a large number of boats that are taken to diving are on duty on the beach. The sandy strip at the beach is wide enough, the sand is fine, clean and light. The entrance to the water is very gentle, and it takes a long time to go through shallow water to a depth.
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Bounty Beach
The main tourist center of Malapascua, in the vicinity of which almost all local hotels, dive centers, cafes and restaurants, shops and shops are concentrated. This beach is located in a smooth semicircle, occupies the entire southern part of the islet and partially captures the southeast (Bounty Beach on the map). The width of the sandy strip of the beach is about 10 M, but at low tide it increases much. Entering the water is also very smooth.
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Langob Beach
Also, in the north of Malapascua is Langob Beach (Langob Beach on the map). There is no tourist infrastructure on it. In general, if there is a desire to relax in a secluded place, then you need to go to the northern part of the island, but only for a day, there is nowhere to settle there. There you can find at least ten small cozy bays and lagoons, still untouched by civilization.
Malapascua hotels where to stay
Accommodation in Malapascua, even by Philippine Standards, is very inexpensive, there are many budget accommodation options and hostels for single travelers. For example, a bed in a hostel will cost from 350 pesos (6.03 USD, see currency and money of the Philippines), a room for two can be rented from 800 pesos (13.79 USD), and a room with breakfast from 1000 pesos (17.23 all presented housing belongs to the middle or economy class. The hotels have very modest territories, without swimming pools. Air conditioning and other amenities in the rooms are, but not everywhere, please check when booking. The internet is almost everywhere with rare exceptions, but very slow, for remote work is not suitable.
You can book accommodation in a hotel or hostel on the island of Malapascua through one of the sites or the search form:
Map of Malapascua Island with hotels, beaches, transport
Infrastructure on the island
Since the island is small, all the infrastructure on it is quite compactly located mainly in the southern part of the island near the beaches of login (Login Beach) and Bounty (Bounty Beach). Hotels with dive centers at them, cafes and restaurants, stalls and shops – all this is concentrated mainly along the beach Bounty (Bounty Beach).
There are no supermarkets on Malapascua, and it is impossible to see buildings above two floors here. Almost all hotels are of the bungalow type, with separate houses or duplexes for two owners. The internet is weak, slows down and works intermittently.
Food in local establishments is delicious and varied, a lot of seafood. Meat dishes are more expensive than on the larger islands of the Philippines. Fruit in Malapascua is also a strain: there are too few of their own, and imported ones are not always on sale and are not cheap. In the low season (in winter) there are no exotic fruits at all, and if you find them, they can cost as much as in supermarkets of the Russian Federation.
There is no official currency exchange in Malapascua, it is better to come here with local currency. Of course, you can always agree on payment in dollars or euros, but the payment rate will not be in your favor. If you are here without cash, you can find unofficial exchange offices in hotels or diving centers, but the rate will be very unprofitable. Ask for an exchange at Kokay's Maldito Dive Resort. Mabuhay Restaurant also offers to cash out money from your card for 10% commission. And also you can find a couple of ATMs on the island.
But the best option is to change or withdraw cash on Cebu island or at Manila airport. Since you will most likely be arriving at Malapascua via Mactan-Cebu airport, you will be tempted to change money there. But the course at the airport, although better than in Malapaska, is much worse than in . Cebu and Mactan. For information about where it is more profitable to change money in Cebu, see.
Биржевой курс обмена (филиппинский песо) на сегодня ()
- 100 песо (PHP) = 167,03 рублей (RUB)
- 1 доллар США (USD) = 58,03 PHP
- 100 рублей (RUB) = 59,87 PHP
- 1 евро (EUR) = 59,93 PHP
Реальный курс обмена валюты *
- 1 доллар США (USD) ≈ 56,87 - 57,91 PHP
- 1 евро (EUR) ≈ 58,73 - 59,81 PHP
* - Расчет реального курса обмена произведен с учетом комиссий, которые удерживаются обменными пунктами и банками за обмен. Он может быть и выше расчетного, но если вам предлагают курс обмена ниже этого, это повод задуматься о поиске другого места для обмена.
* - При включенном виджете, курс обмена выбранной валюты будет отображаться в правом сайдбаре на каждой странице сайта, пока вы его не отключите сами.
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Attractions, what to see
There are no attractions on the island itself. From the word "quite". No Waterfalls, No caves, no ancient ruins, no noteworthy temples. All the fun is in the ocean waters around Malapascua.
In addition to diving, you can rent a boat and sail around the island, making stops for swimming and snorkeling in your favorite places.
You can, on the contrary, bypass the entire island along the perimeter of the coast. It only takes a few hours, even with the bathing stops. Sometimes the path along the coast will become difficult,and you will need to turn a little inland.
The locals also love cockfighting, and once a week the whole village gathers to watch this spectacle. Curious tourists come too.
Natural pearls are inexpensive on the island. The necklace costs 700 pesos, and in a set with a bracelet and earrings – 1200. Therefore, the question of souvenirs for the fair sex is resolved.
Malapascua weather, tourist seasons
Malapascua is a year-round resort, but the rainy season (low tourist) and dry season (high tourist) stand out here. Note that the rainy season here is tougher than in Thailand or Vietnam. About everything in order:
- The high season (dry season) runs from January to May. This is the best time to visit Malapascua. There is little rain at this time, the sun almost always shines. The ideal time for rest and peak season within the high season is March-May. But sometimes the rainy season is delayed and goes to January, so we also include this month as not recommended for visiting.
- The low season (rainy season) lasts from June to December. This is not the recommended time to rest in Malapascua, as there are often rains, clouds, thunderstorms. But worst of all, the rainy season also accounts for the so-called typhoon season. The fact is that Malapascua is located in the north of Cebu, and this region is very close to the zone of passage of hurricanes, and sometimes suffers greatly from them. At this time, even evacuation can be announced, sea and air communications are suspended. Usually, such restrictions end within 1-3 days, but still consider this danger. To avoid being cut off on the island before flying home from international airports. Learn more about the weather and seasons in the Philippines Here...
Seasons on Malapascua by month, when is the best time to go
Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov. | Dec |
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* best time to visit;
acceptable time to visit;
not recommended time to visit
Current Malapascua weather and forecast
How to get to Malapascua, transportation
Malapascua is located in the north of the Big Island of Cebu, 7 kilometers from its coast (Malapascua on the map). You can only get here by boat, and only from Cebu, there are no other routes. Most often you get here through the nearest International Airport Mactan-Cebu, which is a little more than 100 kilometers away, and about half a day of travel, because you have to go with transfers by taxi or bus and ferry. See more:
Minimum prices for flights from Moscow to Cebu:
Minimum prices for flights from Russia to Cebu:
After arriving at the airport, you will need to get to the port of Maya (Maya) in the north of Cebu, from where there are ferries to Malapascua. The easiest way to get there is by taxi, but it will cost from 2500 pesos (43.08 USD).
It is much cheaper to get there by bus, in this case the trip will cost from 230 pesos (3.96 USD). To do this, you need to get to the Cebu North Bus Station (Cebu North Bus Terminal) by taxi, or take a city bus to the SM City Cebu Shopping Center for 50 pesos, and from there walk 10 minutes or by jeep for 8 pesos to the bus terminal. Read more, how to get from Cebu Airport to the North Terminal here...
From Cebu North Bus Station, buses continue throughout the day to Maya port. Large air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned buses, minibuses depart around the clock, but more often during the day. You can simply come to the bus station and buy tickets for the next flight, but it is advisable to do this in the morning to catch the ferries to Malapascua, otherwise you will have to spend the night in Maya. Buses travel 4-5 hours, and it is better to choose the fastest. Interestingly, air-conditioned buses make more stops and go slower than non-air-conditioned ones. The cost depends on the type of bus, and starts from 170 pesos.
Note that in Maya, buses arrive at old Maya Pier (Old Maya Ferry Terminal, Pier on the map) or on new Maya Pier (New Maya Ferry Terminal, Pier on the map), some stop at the old one and continue to the new one. You only need the old pier (Old Maya Ferry Terminal), as the ferry service from the new pier is still very poorly developed, and you will have to hire a boat completely for 2000 pesos.
From the old Maya pier to Malapascua there are light passenger ferries for 100 pesos/person, about 40 minutes on the way. They run from 06:30 to 16:30 every 15-30 minutes according to occupancy, without any schedule. Please note that during bad weather, ferry service is interrupted, so before traveling from Cebu to Maya, it is better to check with local residents for information about the suspension and weather forecast.
In Malapascua, ferries arrive and depart from a small jetty in the center of logon Beach (Malapascua Marina on the map). From here, most hotels can be reached on foot,or by local transport, see more about it.
Transportation to Malapascua, what to move
Malapascua is a tiny island, from its southernmost point to the northernmost a little more than two and a half kilometers, so transport here, by and large, is not needed, everything can be bypassed on foot.
In general, there is no public transport here, there are not even cars, only motorcycles. Therefore, if you need to get from one point of the island to another quickly and with luggage, you can use the services of motorcycle taxi drivers. They ask for a trip from 50 pesos, but you can bargain. Some hotels offer a free or paid transfer from the Marina, please check when booking.
You can also rent a motorcycle on Malapascua, but the price by the standards of the Philippines is high, they ask for 600 pesos (10.34 while on the more popular islands you can rent from 250 pesos (seefor more information about renting motorcycles in the Philippines). Another option is to hire a boat with a boatman to sail to neighboring islands, to diving and snorkeling sites, or to secluded beaches. For a boat they ask from 1000 pesos for half a day, but you need to bargain.
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