Moalboal, Philippines
About a giant sardine school and turtles
In Dec, I went to Moalboal in Cebu Philippines to scuba diving. Moalboal is a famous place where you can see colorful corals, a giant sardine school, and a turtle’s paradise. Moalboal is a small country region. If you visit in Moalboal for scuba diving or free diving, you can look around all the major sites in half a day.
Panagsama Beach
The main dive sites are located around Panagsama Beach, and it takes 10–15 minutes from the dive shop to most dive sites by boat. You will see a huge school of sardines if you just take a few steps from Panagsama Beach where the dive shops are located.
Pescador Island
Pescador Island is known as one of the best dive sites in the Moalboal, it takes 15–20 minutes by boat from Panagsama Beach to Pescador Island. There is a skull-shaped cave near the west side of the island and coral colonies in the south of there.
When I visited Pescador Island, this island had not fully recovered from the typhoon’s damage that occurred in 2021. Many corals were destroyed and visibility was not good. I hope that I will visit here again and see the beautiful Pescador Island, someday.
What I met
- Sardines, turtles, whale shark, a group of cuttlefish, nudibranchs, shrimp, and more
Dive Log
- weight: 2kg
- suit: 3mm wet suit
- temperature: 28°~29°
Best season
When I visited Moalboal, the overall visibility was poor. I noticed later that the sea environment with a lot of corals usually has a lot of flotation. So visibility is low but there are a lot of fish, turtles, whale sharks, and other creatures. If you have a plan to visit Moalboal to scuba dive, the best season is from February to May. This period is winter season, so visibility will be good.
The underwater environment including corals, fishes, and other creatures as well as local people have not fully recovered from the typhoon’s damage that occurred in 2021, nevertheless, it was full of vitality.
