Just off the northern end of Cebu, Malapascua is a picture-perfect tropical island only a few square kilometers in size, but packing a Cebu-sized punch for its diving and beaches. Its location off the beaten track means that you'll often find yourself diving in small groups, and there are few karaoke bars to keep you awake. The island has several small but lively settlements connected by sandy paths, and there's a hill wit a lighthouse that you can climb for views across Cebu and Leyte. You'll arrive on Bounty Beach, a white flash of sand along the southern part of the island where most resorts and dive centres are based.
Zoe and Tim Latimer, instructors at Exotic Dvie, are enthusiastic about the diving possibilities. "There are plenty of great sites to choose from," says Tim, "if you want the big stuff, go to Monad Shoal to look for the thresher sharks, reef sharks and manta rays. For macro diving, visit Lighthouse reef on a duskdive to spot the mating mandarin fish, sea horses and spiny stumped cuttlefish. I really like Gato Island too, a fantastic two-dive day trip that has everything from sleeping white tip sharks to sea snakes, cuttlefish and seahorses, and a tunnel cutting right through the middle of the island. "Beginners can get their suits wet at the nearby East Garden, a sloping reef with soft corals. Advanced divers will enjoy the Tapilon wreck, a torpedoed Japanese cargo ship, and the deep Pioneer wreck. "My favourite site by far is the Exotic house reef, for the sheer diversity of life that is found there," Zoe remarks, "You can spot ghost pipe fis, frog fish, lion fish, snake eels, squid and and other animals seeking shelter among the sunken jeepney and other artificial structures."
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