Malapascua Island - a truly breathtaking escape for relaxation and silence. This island is located a few kilometers from the tip of North Cebu, Maya. Overall, I found Malapascua a great place to be in especially for a getaway with your partner, friends, and family! Although it isn't surrounded with the best aquabiotic life, Malapascua offers exceptionally beautiful white sand beaches that stretches all throughout the island. It's silence and peaceful environment also adds to the comfort that the island gives. I was blessed enough to share this experience with my boyfriend, Joshua.
January 2, 2016
We woke up at 3 A.M in order to catch the early bus going to Malapascua. At around 4 A.M, we ate breakfast at Mcdonals across Metro Colon and left for North Bus Terminal at around 4:30 A.M. We took the 01K jeepney going there that costs just Php 8/person The bus we took was Ceres Liners (the open-air) and left at about 5 A.M. The bus ride costs Php 163/person but since we were students, we received a 20% discount so we ended up paying Php 130/person. Although the leg room was quite small, the ride going to Maya was fairly good, considering I had a fun seatmate to be with. We took videos of the beaches and mountains we passed by during the trip. After a long 4-hour bus ride, we finally arrived in Maya New Port, where the route stopped.
From Maya New Port, there is a small boat bound for Malapascua Island. Normally, the passenger capacity is 26 persons but since we were only 4 people (Joshua and I, and two other Korean people we didn't know), then we offered to pay more since we wanted to go already. Each of the four of us ended up paying Php 200 which I thought was okay since we had the small boat all to ourselves, making it a comfortable 30-minute trip. As soon as we reached the jetty port of Malapascua, a flatboat received us from the small boat. Since it was low-tide and the small boats couldn't dock nearer to the shore, then it was necessary for flatboats to come and pick us up. The flatboat costs Php 20/person. Tuh-duh, we have arrived in Malapascua!
The resort we have chosen was SLAM's Garden Resort. It takes just around 2 minutes to get there from the Jetty Port. It wasn't a beach-side resort but it offered great amenities and a large pool so we were more than happy with it. The room was Php 2,550 /night for an air-conditioned room. It was a 24-square-meter room (if I'm not mistaken), you can either choose 2 single beds or 1 double bed, a private bathroom equipped with hot & cold shower, a private balcony (pool & garden view), Free breakfast, and a wardrobe.
After we got settled in our room and rested for a while, we decided to see what the island had to offer so we rented a motorcycle (w/ a driver) that cost us around Php 100 for drop - off and pick-up around the island as we great shots of the beach. It was around 3 P.M when we got back to the resort. Knowing that we still had time to kill, we rented a pumpboat and went snorkelling. The guys-in-charge took us to 3 snorkelling spots. The first 2 spots were mainly focused on marine life. We were able to see lots of fishes but sadly, it wasn't the best snorkelling spot to be in. Only a few corals were there. The third spot happened to be the shipwreck. According to them, the Japanese ship sank in World War 2. As soon as I took sight of the remains of the skeleton of the ship, I immediately got scared and went back to the pumpboat but they said it was normal for first-timers to feel that way. On the other hand, Joshua quite took it well and enjoyed the view. I got used to it after a while and actually enjoyed looking at it. We paid Php 400/person for everything and it was indeed worth it. After everything, we got back to the resort at 5 P.M. We rested for a few minutes and decided to eat dinner at a local barbecue nearby. The barbecue cost us around Php 50/person considering we ate a lot. After dinner, we decided to call it a day.
January 3, 2016
We woke up at around 7 A.M in the morning. We took our free breakfast at the resort and it was exceptionally delicious. Joshua ordered Filipino breakfast while I order American Breakfast. After eating, we decided to swim at the resort's swimming pool and took pictures and several videos there. We were finished at around 9 A.M so we decided to stroll along the beach of Malapascua. Strolling got us to the other side of the island. We took great shots of the beach, the resorts, and the trees. After we got to see more of the beach, we decided to go back and check-out. We checked-out at around 10:30 and took the 11 A.M small boat going back to Maya. The ticketing is located right at the jetty port of Malapascua. Again, we took a flatboat (Php 20) that took us to the smallboat (bangka), paid Php80/person for the smallboat going to Maya, took another flatboat from the smallboat to the Old Port (another Php20/person) and finally in Maya. Since the old port was quite far from the bus terminal, we rode a motorcycle going to the Ceres terminal (Php 15/person). We were able to take the 12 noon bus that left for Cebu City(North Bus Terminal). Again, we paid Php 130 for the bus ride. Since it was time for people to go back to the city because of the end of Christmas and New Year Holidays, the bus was packed and the traffic was bad. We arrived in Cebu at around 5:15 P.M ehich marked the end of our trip. I had lots of fun and everything was worth It!
FOOTNOTES/FAQs
1) How to go to Malapascua:
Mactan International Airport - North Bus Terminal / Hire a van (may or may not be provided by the resort with extra charge) / GrabTaxi / Taxi - May stop at either the New Port or at the Old Port (both are located in Maya) - Ride a bangka (as Filipinos would call it) to Malapascua
2) How much should the budget be?
Here is a rundown of the initial expenses:
BUS - Php 163 (non-aircon) x2(for return trip)
Php 190 (aircon) x2(for return trip)
Bangka - Php 80 x2(for return trip)
Flatboat- Php 20 x2 =Php 40 x2(for return trip)
Lodging/Inn/Hotel = P700-P8000/night(depending on your hotel preference)
+
Miscellaneous e.g. Snorkeling, Diving, Island Hopping, Marine Fees, Food
=Php 1600 - Php 9000
3) Where can I book hotels?
You can book the best hotels at BOOKING.COM
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