Philippines Safari │Nov 2019

This fantastic itinerary combines two of our favourite Filipino destinations, Moalboal and Cabilao, to bring you this 13 night fully guided safari.

Together these locations give us two weeks of varied diving over stunning healthy colourful reefs, deep drop-offs and muck diving sites, with opportunities to see everything from pygmy seahorses to frogfish, Wonderpus to Mandarin Fish, reef sharks and schools of fish thousands strong.

We have chosen comfortable waterside resorts offering excellent service, delicious food and ideal proximity to dive sites.

Moalboal diving is known for schooling fish (trevally, jack, barracuda etc). At Pescador Island a sea mount complete with caverns and swim-throughs can be found, with reef sharks and a diverse abundance of tropical fish. There is also a small aeroplane wreck which is home to many corals and fish and critter species. At Panagsama Reef there is a resident shoal of thousands of sardines. The options in Moalboal are plentiful and there is a lot here to keep us busy for the week with anything from walls, slopes and tunnels.

The diving in around Cabilao is well-known and for good reason- the reefs are extraordinarily colourful and lively with huge Gregorian fans and lush soft corals, interspersed with bright hard coral. Here we can see white tip reef sharks, schooling barracudas and jackfish, ornate ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses and several species of nudibranch. Other dive sites in the area offer stunning drop-offs with interesting overhangs and mucky bottoms with weird and wonderful creatures to be discovered.

The house reef in front of our resort is a macro lovers dream and offers excellent photo opportunities and interesting night dives.  

Our first resort is in Moalboal, Magic Island Resort. Nestled in between tropical gardens and the shore there are 10 bungalows with private balconies waiting for us. Each room has either a pool or sea view, air-conditioning, en-suite and complete with all the usual creature comforts including a minibar.

The pool is ideal for cooling off in between dives and there are plenty of loungers for lazy afternoons. In the evening starlit drinks are served on the terrace before dinner, which is served on a communal long table in a beautiful open space with a view into the kitchen. The resort also has a spa for those who want a little rest and relaxation.

Magic Island Resort boasts a fantastic house reef, which is accessible by foot from the shore. Here we can expect to find all manner of creature living in amongst the healthy corals from nudibranch, mandarin fish, pygmy seahorses to turtles and rays.

Pura Vida, located on Cabilao Island is nestled between Cebu and Bohol. Here the spacious rooms have beautiful sea views and easy access to the dive boats, bar and restaurant.

Pura Vida has a house reef ideal for macro lovers right in front of the dive centre. Here one can find many different species of nudibranchs as well as the famous longnose hawkfish. There is always a good variety of anemonefish as well as scorpion and stonefish. We often see sea turtles during our dives here.

03 November 2019

Arrive into Cebu International Airport with an included transfer to Magic Island Resort, approx. two and half hour drive. Check-in and relax, meet with the group and enjoy a welcome dinner together.

Overnight at Magic Island Resort inclusive of Full Board

04 – 09 November 2019

Dive the sites around Moalboal. Inclusive 3 boat dives per day, and opportunities to dive the house reef and add night dives to your package. All dives are done from traditional Filipino Bangka style boats.

We will enjoy an afternoon outing to Kawasan Falls during our stay here. This outing involves only a short drive, and then a lovely hike through the jungle passing through villages along the Kawasan River. We approach the five tiered waterfalls which are simply beautiful and crystal clear, with opportunities to have a swim and snack before returning to the resort.

Overnight at Magic Island Resort inclusive of Full Board

10 November 2019

We transfer by road and boat to the island of Cabilao, a journey of approx. five hours. Check-in and familiarise ourselves with our new home. The rest of the day is at our leisure.

Overnight at Pura Vida inclusive of Full Board

10 – 16 November 2019

Whilst at Pura Vida we will spend our days diving - 4 dives per day, except for the last day when we off gas.

On our final afternoon we take the opportunity to travel to Bohol for a cruise on the Loboc River, where we relax on a floating restaurant where an all you can eat feast awaits. Traditional Filipino food is on the menu, together with soft drinks or water. The boat will stop at several points along the way for some traditional entertainment. We disembark the boat after two hours and head back to the resort to pack up and enjoy a farewell group dinner.

Overnight at Pura Vida inclusive of Full Board

17 November 2019

Today we travel together to back to Cebu to depart on our connecting flights home or to begin post tour extensions.

Land Price - £2,650 per person

Single Supplement - Available on request

Including:

Excludes:

This tour starts in and finishes in Cebu.

There are many flight options leaving from the UK to Philippines Manila international airport (MNL), Philippines Airlines fly direct with an average travel time of 13 hours. All other flights route indirectly via Singapore (SIN) or Hong Kong (HKG) with an average travel time of 15-18 hours.

It is also possible to arrive into Mactan-Cebu international airport (CEB) from the UK with indirect flights via Singapore (SIN), Dubai (DXB) or Hong Kong (HKG) with an average travel time of 15-18 hours. This is the most convenient option for joining the start of the tour.