If you’ve heard of Malapascua, you’ve heard of the thresher sharks. That’s the headline, and it’s earned. This tiny island in the Visayan Sea is the only known place on the planet where pelagic thresher sharks visit a cleaning station at diveable depths, almost every single day.
Not seasonally. Not if conditions align. Daily.
THE KIMUD SHOAL ERA
For years, the thresher shark dive happened at Monad Shoal, a submerged island about 20 minutes from the island. Then in 2022, the sharks moved to Kimud Shoal. And here’s the thing nobody expected: it got better.
At Kimud, the sharks come shallower. They come closer. They linger longer. Where Monad required predawn wake-up calls and a narrow window of opportunity at depth, Kimud has the sharks appearing throughout the morning and into the day. The sightings at Kimud are the best we’ve had in over 20 years of operation. Thresher sharks here are as good as guaranteed.
We’ve been diving with these sharks since we opened in 2004. We’ve seen every configuration of conditions, seasons, and sites. Kimud is genuinely the best it’s ever been.
WHAT MAKES THRESHER SHARKS SPECIAL
What makes thresher sharks so striking is the tail. It’s absurdly long, sometimes as long as the shark’s entire body. They use it to hunt, whipping it like a bullwhip to stun schooling fish. Watching one glide past you, that scythe-shaped tail trailing behind, is one of those moments that rewires your brain a little. You don’t forget it.
We were actually the first dive centre in the world to create a PADI Thresher Shark Diver Distinctive Specialty course. If that tells you anything about how seriously we take these animals.
HOW THE DIVE WORKS
The dive itself is straightforward. You descend to the cleaning station area, find a comfortable spot, and wait. The key is stillness. No chasing, no sudden movements, no finning towards the shark for a better photo. The sharks are wild animals visiting a cleaning station; if divers are calm and respectful, they carry on with their business. If divers rush them, they leave.
This is one of the reasons we keep group sizes small and brief every diver before the dive. The threshers have been coming to Malapascua’s shoals for decades. We intend to keep it that way.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
You need to be a certified diver. An Advanced Open Water certification gives you the most flexibility, but Open Water divers can join with instructor guidance (we offer specific shark dive packages for OW divers).
Sightings are never 100% guaranteed, because nature doesn’t take bookings. But the success rate at Kimud is remarkably high. On a good week, you’ll see threshers on most dives. Some mornings you’ll see three or four sharks at once. Other mornings, one shy individual who makes a single pass and vanishes. Each encounter is different, which is part of what makes it addictive.
Water temperature hovers around 26 to 29 degrees Celsius year-round. Visibility varies from 10 to 30 metres depending on the season and current. The best visibility tends to be from March to June, but the sharks are there all year.
If you’re coming to the Philippines to dive and you don’t stop at Malapascua, you’re leaving the best bit on the table. Browse our shark dive packages and book at thresher-shark-divers.com.