Malapascua is known for some of the best shark diving in the Philippines, famous for the thresher sharks, which can be seen at any time of year at Monad Shoal. This is reputedly the only place in the world where these sharks can be seen within recreational diver limits on a regular basis. The owners Dik and Cora de Boer and staff of Exotic carried out the first encounters with the thresher sharks in 1997. Later, film crews and dive magazines from all over the world came to visit our resort just to see this phenomenon.
At other times of the year it is also possible to encounter schooling hammerheads and giant manta rays that also frequent the cleaning stations at Monad Shoal. If you would like to learn more about cleaning stations and thresher sharks check out our distinctive thresher shark specialty course. Gato Island is another famous shark site where it is practically guaranteed that you will see white tip sharks sleeping within the caves and crevasses and if you have a good eye, bamboo sharks nestling in the cracks.
Not only can you encounter sharks and giant mantas, Malapascua also has a reputation for first class macro diving. A recent guest wrote, ”I have been diving all over the world, but this has to be the nudibranch, pipefish and frog fish capital of the world!” It is almost guaranteed that you will witness, amongst other things, a plethora of nudibranch, frog fish, mandarin fish, cuttle fish, sea horses, sea moths, octopus, gunards and pipefish.
Another attraction of the island reefs is the stunning soft coral gardens. Some of the best soft coral in the Philippines can be located around the northern dive sites of Malapascua. Giant sea fans and coral plumes in an array of colors will keep any diver enthralled.
As the largest and most established dive shop on Malapascua we are also happy to offer day dive safaris to remote locations such as Camotes Island and Maripipipi Island, where over the years our dive shop staff have explored and logged the best of these previously un-dived, pristine reefs. These safaris can be pre-arranged or organized a day or two in advance at the dive shop. The day includes dives at different locations a BBQ lunch prepared by one of our in house highly qualified chefs and of course a stunning sun set cruise back to our resort.
