Malapascua Dive Sites

You can’t leave without experiencing these three.

You are very fortunate to be coming now. We have had incredible thresher shark dives since 2022, when the sharks moved from Monad Shoal to Kimud Shoal. Now they are seen shallower, later in the morning and much closer in general — which means far better sightings and fantastic photo ops. We are also getting regular tiger shark sightings at Monad Shoal, as well as other large sharks and rays.

We are so sure you will see thresher sharks that we offer a unique “Thresher Shark Guarantee”: if you do not see thresher sharks on one double-dive Kimud trip, we will offer you a third dive for free.

Threshers always used to be most common at dawn, but we are now getting sightings throughout the morning. So we usually offer double shark dives, and our new three-shark-dive trips are proving very popular. We also offer 3-dive day trips for shark followed by a double dive at Gato, our best-known dive site other than the sharks.

Gato Island is one of our most famous dive sites. TSD’s famous saying is that “You come to Malapascua for the thresher sharks, but leave with Gato in your heart”.

Gato is a marine reserve and sea snake sanctuary. It has at least five dive sites with a huge diversity of marine life. We are constantly seeing new creatures.

At all sites you can see banded sea snakes, cuttlefish (often while mating), seahorses, nudibranchs, frogfish, scorpion fish, porcupine fish, and smashing mantis shrimp. There are many white-tip sharks in residence at Gato, as well as bamboo and cat sharks.

The coral is in good condition and the rocky island has many interesting underwater rock formations, overhangs, and swim-throughs.

The mandarinfish is possibly the most beautiful fish in the world, certainly the most psychedelic. There are few places where they can be seen, but Malapascua is one of them. And — even better — on Thresher Diver’s famous “Randy Mandy” dive you will see mating mandarinfish in their full glory!

Mandarin fish are quite rare and very skittish, but in Malapascua you have a reasonable chance of a sighting at this time of day. They have a unique mating dance; the male dances with the females one by one, then when he chooses his mate, they spiral up towards the surface, shimmying together above the corals, and explode in a puff of gametes.

A one-of-a-kind experience, not to be missed.

You are 95% guaranteed to find whitetip sharks sleeping under rocks, and if you are lucky you will see them circling. They grow to huge sizes — sometimes over 2 meters.

Other life here includes banded boxer shrimp, nudis, seahorses, scorpion fish, spider crabs, frogfish, lionfish and whip coral shrimp.

Drop down to 24m to find the extremely rare pygmy seahorse, both pink and yellow as well as spider crabs and cowries.

Then work your way back along a wall where you can find lion fish and many nudibranchs, including the beautiful Spanish dancers, up to 30cm long. Painted frogfish are often in residence.

As the name implies, we find nudibranchs galore at this site. Also around are lots of hermit crabs and scorpion fish.

Or more accurately, “The Tunnel”. Journey underneath Gato Island and come out the other side. This 30m tunnel houses all the usual cave dwellers: many types of crab big and small, lobsters and cardinal fish. You should also encounter some large puffer fish and perhaps bamboo and cat sharks.

Most exciting of all, the cave is home to white-tip sharks. Not for the faint of heart. For experienced divers only.

Explore some of the more amazing rock formations around Gato, including the stunning Cathedral rock.

This is a great place to see sharks — we have seen as many as 15 white-tips circling. It is also possible to see blue-spotted rays.

Our house reef and nearby gems — perfect for second dives, check-outs, and every PADI course.

Lapus Lapus Island has some of the most spectacular coral growth we have ever seen. There is a huge variety of soft and hard coral, much of it in pristine condition.

Other marine life includes giant frogfish, painted frogfish, smashing mantis shrimp, various sweetlips, cuttlefish and lion fish. A great macro site with a beautiful soft coral garden at 8m.

Beautiful soft coral and varied marine life including frogfish of different colors, fire urchin hikers, zebra crabs, candy crabs, and nudibranchs. Great macro.

An amazing rocky hang-over could easily keep you busy for the whole dive.

A short wall at 24m, about 10m long by 6m high. Its nooks and crannies hide a wide variety of life including giant frogfish and nudibranchs.

After investigating the wall, swim out into a sandy area with a field of sea pens, then drift with the current.

A beautiful shallow dive site and a macro photographer’s delight. The healthy soft coral is home to sea snakes, snake eels, moray eels, cuttlefish (including flamboyants), seamoths, large crabs and juvenile batfish.

Macro includes nudibranchs, flatworms, shrimp, shells and cowries.

An underwater pinnacle, very near Malapascua. A large school of batfish in residence as well as squid, mackerel, nudis, scorpionfish, lion fish, zebra crabs and whip coral shrimp.

A beautiful site with better than average visibility and fish life, soft corals, spearing mantis shrimp, pygmy sea horses and a lot of macro.

5 minutes from Malapascua. It starts at 5 meters and slopes down to 22m. Frogfish, nudis, pygmy seahorse, robust ghost pipefish, juvenile batfish, harlequin sweetlips, and spotted leather coral cowries.

A great muck dive — some divers say Bantigi is even better than Lembeh. Shallow reef turning to sandy bottom at 12m with unusual creatures.

Fire urchins, zebra crabs, dwarf lionfish, cuttlefish, seamoths, snake eels, frogfish, nudis and snowflake moray eels. Ask our DM Tata to help find mimic octopus and stargazers.

Adjacent to Bantigi, Ka Osting offers similar diving with the added attraction of hairy frogfish.

Very close to the dive shop. Beautiful soft coral, nudibranchs, banded pipefish, seahorses and cuttlefish.

We have been building an artificial House Reef since 2008. It has several old boats, a basketball hoop, Stonehenge, a toilet and several other structures constructed especially for the reef.

Sometimes sheltered when the rest is not. The hard coral is in great condition and there is good variety: dwarf lionfish, nudibranchs, squid.

Search through sea grass and sandy patches on the east side to find an amazing variety of life — moray eels, lion fish, crabs and many other bottom dwellers.

Off the north of Malapascua. An easy, shallow dive site covered in soft leather corals. Interesting rock formations and good macro life.

Longer boat rides, bigger rewards — wall dives, pelagics, picture-postcard islands.

An underwater island on the edge of a 200m drop off. The thresher sharks used to live here, but a few years ago, several tiger sharks moved in and took over.

Attracts other pelagics — large rays and other shark species. Perfect for Nitrox. A more advanced dive site.

Our signature thresher shark dive — see above for full details. Usually run as a pre-dawn double dive, or combined as a 3-dive day trip with Gato Island.

A picturesque and pristine Coral Island named for a notable American Navy Captain Cillo, who during the second world war beached his vessel on the Islet.

A stunning wall dive of soft corals, sea fans and a plethora of colourful macro-life.

A stunning wall dive. As you approach the wall, look into the sandy areas for groups of garden eels.

Drop over the wall for pelagics — eagle rays, sharks — while along the wall: moray eels, lionfish, scorpion fish, rare nudibranchs among giant sea fans. Sits on the edge of a drop off to almost 1km.

The picture postcard desert island, chosen from over 7,000 islands to grace the cover of Jens Peters — the definitive Philippines Travel Guide.

Steep walls covered in hard corals and gorgonian fans. Pelagics — sharks, rays, tuna, barracuda. Along the top of the wall: garden eels, hammerhead nudis, ornate ghost pipefish.

A very special trip to an isolated area that is rarely dived. Blacktip reef sharks, beaked coralfish, Bartlett’s dragonets, Denise pygmy seahorse, barracuda, tiger mantis shrimp, nudis galore.

Usually a 3 dive day trip, including breakfast and lunch.

Great diving because of the strong currents here. Clear waters, good corals and an excellent variety of life. For advanced divers only.

A site off North Leyte rarely visited by divers. The pristine corals slope down to a sandy bottom where you are sure to spot some blue spotted rays if you move slowly.

Another rarely visited dive site: excellent corals and plentiful fish life including sharks and rays. We dive here on a minimum 2 day dive safari.

From beginner to technical diver, Malapascua has a wreck for you.

A Japanese World War II landing craft, bombed just before landing with a large shipment of cement. In very shallow water — 3m average — broken into two pieces.

Yellow-tailed barracuda, hermit crabs, octopus, pipefish, juvenile harlequin sweetlips, and banded sea snakes. Great for wreck diving newbies.

A Cebu-Manila passenger ferry that sank in a typhoon over 20 years ago. 100m long, lying on its starboard side, still all in one piece. Lost fishing nets encrusted in coral drape over it.

Marble rays, blue-spotted rays and whitetip sharks live under the bow; eagle rays and devil rays pass through. A giant moray eel lives in the wreck.

An unidentified World War II Japanese cargo carrier, named for the nearby town. Hit by torpedoes, now in several sections but still recognizable as a vessel. Covered in black coral.

Many species of flat worms and nudibranchs, moray eels, cuttlefish, squid, and scorpion fish. Huge marble rays. Occasionally ornate ghost pipefish and flamboyant cuttlefish.

Still unidentified but thought to be either the Japanese WWII Oakita Maru or Mogami Maru.

60m long, upright and still mostly in one piece. More fish than anywhere else on Malapascua due to its depth — sharks, rays, barracuda and groupers. Only diveable when the tides are right.