Under the Sea: Snorkeling at Moalboal, Cebu

On our second day in Moalboal, we spent half of our day in the sea, basking on Cebu’s blessed underwater treasures. After our adventure at Kawasan Falls, Kuya Arnel ushered us to our next stop: Basdaku Beach and the beautiful corals of Moalboal.

Basdaku beach is around 15 minutes from our hostel in Panagsama. It has a wonderful white sand and clear blue waters. This is actually where you can pitch your tent and do your usual beach bumming — which unfortunately, Cza and I were not aware of. We thought Panagsama Beach is the way to go because of its cheap hostels, but little did we know that it was actually the haven of the divers and we could not stay on the sand until the wee hours of the night.

MOALBOAL, CEBU
The white sand of Basdaku Beach

When we got to the beach, the first thing that we did was eat lunch. Since Cza and I are cheapskates, we asked Kuya Arnel to bring us to a karenderya around. We ate some karenderya staples like sinigang and menudo before we proceed to our snorkeling adventure.

Where to rent a bangka

MOALBOAL, CEBU
Basdaku beach offers various packages for snorkeling. Some resorts have their own bangkas, but if you happen to be from another hostel, you can always walk and ask around. We found our bangka through Kuya Arnel. If you happen to need help, you can contact him through (0943) 589 8886. Each boat can accommodate up to 6-8 pax, for Php 2,500.00. Free life vests and snorkel gears. 🙂

Where you’ll go

 

MOALBOAL, CEBU

A sneak peak of the island!

 

Destination #1: PESCADOR ISLAND

A couple of minutes from the shore, Pescador Island houses beautiful coral reefs and an abundant fish sanctuary. You can bring bread to attract fishes to your direction, perfect for underwater photos. The view is just breath taking. Best experienced with an underwater camera and 20/20 vision (both of which I don’t have). Here are some photos that we captured through Cza’s cam:

MOALBOAL, CEBU

MOALBOAL, CEBU

These fishes though.

DESTINATION #2: Turtle Sanctuary

There are also a lot of turtles living in the island BUT they only go out in the morning. It is advisable to go there at 7AM-11AM, when they are still very active. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was already 2PM, and we weren’t able to spot anything. They usually sleep during that time, and the waters are pretty dark (it’s really deep) so the chances of seeing them on the sea floor is very little, too.

DESTINATION #3: Sardine Run

 
MOALBOAL, CEBU
This was my personal favorite of it all. There are literally thousands and thousands of sardines running around, and they usually go under the shade of boats. In a couple of minutes, we saw them migrate from one boat to ours, and it was majestic. It felt like there was a wall of fish under the water! It felt terrifying at first, imagining that they would bolt in and become a giant and eat you alive (hahaha), but when you get a hang of it, it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
MOALBOAL CEBU

DESTINATION #4: Coral Sanctuary

 

MOALBOAL, CEBU
Compared to Pescador, this one was a bit shallower, and it doesn’t have much fishes. This was our last destination and most of our time in this area was spent taking photos such as this one:
MOALBOAL, CEBU

Love the under water? Here are other things that you can do while in Moalboal

Oslob Whale Shark Watching

This has been a huge attraction in Oslob, which is just a couple of hours from Moalboal. This is usually done in the morning, around 5am. Seeing them is just wonderful, I know, but I still kind of feel bad about trapping them, as feeding these gentle giants make them incapable of surviving the wild.

 

Dolphin Watching

This usually comes with the island hopping package that we had, but only in the wee hours of the morning. Call time would be around 5AM at Basdaku beach, and it costs Php 500.00 more than our package.

 

Dive!

And then, of course, there’s diving. If we enjoyed snorkeling a lot, then imagine if you can dive and see the corals and fishes more up close! I still dream of diving, but the deep waters terrify me in a weird way. Oh well, maybe someday.

 

Budget

MOALBOAL, CEBU


Here’s a breakdown of our budget. There were four of us in the boat, so we eventually saved a couple of bucks from that. 🙂




Php 2,500.00 – Boat (625/head)


Php 15.00 – Bread


Php 50.00 – Lunch


Total: Php 690.00


 




How about you? Have you ever been to Moalboal? And do you enjoy snorkeling? Share your experience below and I might list down your favorite snorkel destination on my next trip! 🙂


 


 


OTHER POSTS ABOUT TRAVELING CEBU


Cebu City Historical Spots


Kawasan Falls


3D2N Complete Itinerary + Budget




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			81 thoughts on “Under the Sea: Snorkeling at Moalboal, Cebu”		


		
		
    
					
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    Love the photos! This makes me want to go back to Cebu!
    

    Last year my friends and I went whaleshark watching in Oslob. I can't swim so I was expecting the lifevests were okay but unfortunately, it wasn't as snug as I hoped it would. Other than the allergy I got from the jellyfish stings afterwards, it was a nice experience. I just wish I looked more graceful underwater when our photos were taken. XD
    
				
    

				
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    Love the photos! This makes me want to go back to Cebu!
    

    Last year my friends and I went whaleshark watching in Oslob. I can't swim so I was expecting the lifevests were okay but unfortunately, it wasn't as snug as I hoped it would. Other than the allergy I got from the jellyfish stings afterwards, it was a nice experience. I just wish I looked more graceful underwater when our photos were taken. XD
    
				
    

				
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    I love the sardine run picture! I could only imagine how it must have felt having so many fishes surround you. Galing! Great experience 🙂
    

    Thanks for sharing again and I super loooooove your pictures 🙂
    
				
    

				
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    I love the sardine run picture! I could only imagine how it must have felt having so many fishes surround you. Galing! Great experience 🙂
    

    Thanks for sharing again and I super loooooove your pictures 🙂
    
				
    

				
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    I wanted to go to Oslob for whaleshark watching but after what my supervisor (who's a traveller) said, the said activity is not good for whalesharks because of the danger it ca bring to both sharks and humans. I was kinda sad, but it's for the love of nature so I'm scratching Oslob of our itinerary. I'd still go to Oslob, but on its different side! 🙂
    

    I wanted to explore Moalboal too, so maybe from Oslob, we can go to Moalboal? How many hours would that take? We're just planning a day trip in Oslob, and I wonder if we can fit the time to travel to Moalboal and stay there overnight before we go back to the city. Do you have any recommendations for accommodations in Moalboal? Help?! Haha
    

    I really wanted to try snorkeling and island hopping! I've been to a lot of beaches recently but because of time constraints, we weren't able to do a lot of activities.Huhu hoping I'll be able to squeeze time when we go to Cebu! 🙂
    
				
    

				
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    I wanted to go to Oslob for whaleshark watching but after what my supervisor (who's a traveller) said, the said activity is not good for whalesharks because of the danger it ca bring to both sharks and humans. I was kinda sad, but it's for the love of nature so I'm scratching Oslob of our itinerary. I'd still go to Oslob, but on its different side! 🙂
    

    I wanted to explore Moalboal too, so maybe from Oslob, we can go to Moalboal? How many hours would that take? We're just planning a day trip in Oslob, and I wonder if we can fit the time to travel to Moalboal and stay there overnight before we go back to the city. Do you have any recommendations for accommodations in Moalboal? Help?! Haha
    

    I really wanted to try snorkeling and island hopping! I've been to a lot of beaches recently but because of time constraints, we weren't able to do a lot of activities.Huhu hoping I'll be able to squeeze time when we go to Cebu! 🙂
    
				
    

				
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    Envy alert! lol, I haven't been to these places here in Ph nor tried snorkeling even once.But I hope one day soon, I will 🙂
    

    Anyway, you look like you really had an amazing trip and the views were so lovely!
    

    Hope you're having a great day!
    

    xoxo
    Jhem | JhemSays.com
    
				
    

				
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    Envy alert! lol, I haven't been to these places here in Ph nor tried snorkeling even once.But I hope one day soon, I will 🙂
    

    Anyway, you look like you really had an amazing trip and the views were so lovely!
    

    Hope you're having a great day!
    

    xoxo
    Jhem | JhemSays.com
    
				
    

				
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    I love snorkeling! It's one of my favorite things to do when I'm in Hawaii. The beach there looks beautiful, and wow, you saw so many fish! I really love that photo of all the sardines. That's amazing 🙂
    

    That's too bad you didn't see any turtles though. I've been fortunate to see several sea turtles while snorkeling in Hawaii! I've also seen them just basking on the beach. There's a few beaches in Hawaii where they'll come up and just sleep there in the day 🙂
    
				
    

				
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    I love snorkeling! It's one of my favorite things to do when I'm in Hawaii. The beach there looks beautiful, and wow, you saw so many fish! I really love that photo of all the sardines. That's amazing 🙂
    

    That's too bad you didn't see any turtles though. I've been fortunate to see several sea turtles while snorkeling in Hawaii! I've also seen them just basking on the beach. There's a few beaches in Hawaii where they'll come up and just sleep there in the day 🙂
    
				
    

				
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    OH MY GOD. I'm getting more excited for my Cebu trip next week!!!! 🙂
    

    Your photos look amazing. I'm inspired to take a lot of photos for my blog too! 🙂
    
				
    

				
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    OH MY GOD. I'm getting more excited for my Cebu trip next week!!!! 🙂
    

    Your photos look amazing. I'm inspired to take a lot of photos for my blog too! 🙂
    
				
    

				
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    I especially love the one with corals and sardines! I envy you and your travels <3
    And that budget was a lot smaller than when we traveled to Puerto Galera haha
    
				
    

				
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    I especially love the one with corals and sardines! I envy you and your travels <3
    And that budget was a lot smaller than when we traveled to Puerto Galera haha
    
				
    

				
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    I had the chance to dive in Moalboal … some 15 years ago, I think. I remember the dive was to spot a thresher shark, which we didn’t find. Your post is so nice and reading it brought back memories. 🙂
    
				
    

				
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    I love the water(beach) but not the underwater, yet. Hehehe.. just the thought of sharks, and sea snakes, and wild, mystical creatures under the sea creeps the sanity out in me. (Exaggerated! Hehehe..) thanks for sharing your moalboal snorkeling story.i wanna try snorkeling too, and i wanna see that thousands of sardines. Just crossing my fingers for my imagination not to run wild. Hehehe…
    
				
    

				
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      Don’t worry about the creatures underwater! Most of them are really, really fascinating! Besides, you won’t be brought on the areas where there are sharks (unless you ask for it hehe!) or some place that’s really dangerous. 🙂 You should try at least once, it’s really amazing
      
				
      

				
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    I haven’t read anything but when I saw the photos I was like “Oh my God, where is this?” Will surely bookmark this post for future reference. Thanks doll
    

    airinaapril.blogspot.com
    
				
    

				
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    Hi Wildflower,
    

    We stayed at Club Serena Resort, White Beach, Basdaku back on May 27, 2018.  The corals fronting the resort, just before the drop,  were alive and very colorful.  The fishes were actually congregating at the drop.  We also saw some turtles at this point but they were very elusive.  They would hide at a coral by the drop and swim away once they spot the snorkelers. You were right about the abundance of fishes at Pescador.  Were we swam, we saw mostly fan corals which were not as colorful as those in front of Serena Resort.  I was told that Pescador Island has a side that has dense and colorful corals as well.  We swam with about 7 sea turtles at a shallow beach;  I am not sure if this was Tongo Point.    We were there at 11:30 am just in time for the turtles wandering and feeding on the grass.  I also thought that witnessing the sardines congregate and dance in groups was just surreal.  You were right that they would hide under the banca’s where no one would disturb them.  We were there at 10:30 am.  
    

    I think Moalboal had a good density of marine life.  I snorkeled in Malwawey Reef in Coron on April 29.  There were colorful corals also but the density of fishes was not as good compared to that in Moalboal.  I would like to go back to Moalboal another time to spend more time in Pescador and Panagsama.  I would like to see the sardines one more time.  I read that the best time to see the sardines is at 6 – 8 am when bigger fishes would hunt for them.  At this time, they would stay close to the surface of the water.   I had a good time reading your write up on these dive sites. Best regards.
    
				
    

				
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      Thanks for reading my entry, Luanne! I really appreciate it. 🙂 Hope you had an amazing time in Cebu!
      
				
      

				
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