About Moalboal, Philippines

The Philippines is situated in south-east Asia in the South China Sea, between Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia. There are over 7000 islands in the Philippine archipelago and so inevitably with all that coastline, there's some great diving!

Right in the heart of the Philippines, lies the Visaya region, sheltered from most of the summer typhoons that hurl themselves at the east coast and easily accessible from many Asian destinations with its own international airport just outside Cebu City.

To make all of this geography a little clearer, have a look at this series of maps.

Moalboal is a small town situated 89 km (2½ hour car drive or 2-3 hours by bus) south-west of Cebu City. Panagsama Beach is about 3km from Moalboal town and is usually reached via tricycle. Panagsama Beach is a old fishing village that has slowly evolved as a tourist destination because of Pescador Island which is a 15 minute boat ride from the beach. For years people have come to Panagsama Beach in order to dive the spectacular Pescador Island. Be warned though, one thing that Panagsama doesn't have is much of a beach - there are some small stretches of sand but certainly not kilometres of it as at other destinations.

Here is a map of Panagsama Beach. The main businesses are marked and there is enough to give you a feeling for the orientation of the place and to work out where you are in relation to the rest of the Beach. Remember that its possible to walk from the north end of the Beach to the south and vice versa; you have to pass through Pacita's garden but it is no problem; walk behind Pacita's restaurant and you will come out on the track towards Roxy or in the other direction, heading towards Last Filling Station.

This is a visual tour of Moalboal to give you an idea of what to expect.

Panagsama Beach offers a very laid back lifestyle and it is the perfect place for relaxing and scuba diving. There are many different restaurants that offer local and European food "a la carte". Or you can get fresh fish, prawns and crabs from the local fishermen and prepare a meal for yourself on the beach while you are watching the sunset over Negros Island.

The night life often goes on into the small hours of the morning and offers something for everyone, young or old. There are discos, bars, outdoor bars and very often impromptu parties are held in/outside the diveshops at night time (Neptune Diving and Ocean Safari are particularly known for this). You can also listen to live music at a couple of venues along the beach. Look out for the local rock band G and the Dudes. Favourite bars (you'll find them very easily) are the Chili Bar and Last Filling Station. Chief Mau's is always open until the early hours of the morning for those for whom the day starts at sundown! Tabu opposite Cabana Beach Resort show a film on their big screen system every evening at around 19.30h.
There are "many" bars and drinking holes along the way in Panagsama, each different and many with their own specialties. I am assured that the gin & lime tastes far better when mixed like this!

There are sometimes volleyball tournaments held on the beach outside Last Filling Station; and when there are enough people interested in completing a team, soccer matches are arranged in Moalboal town, outside the Municipal Hall. Practice sessions are held on Tuesday and Friday afternoons; for more information, ask in Last Filling Station, Planet Action, Chili Bar or Neptune.

Pool and billiard tournaments are also held regularly in Chief Mau's Station and several other bars.

If you need to place an international phone call, a fax, send e-mail, most of the dive shops have telephones, some also have paper fax machines. There are also a couple of public card-phone boxes in Panagsama. Most of the dive shops also have Internet access though this is primarily for their own use. Eve's Kiosk and Visaya Divers have e-mail systems that you can usually use while they are open. The newest GSM and dual-band GSM cell phones now work in Moalboal. There is an Internet café in Moalboal which charges a reasonable P30 per hour and has quite fast access. Please note that we've found that access to the Hotmail servers can be quite slow in the Philippines, probably because of the numbers of people there who have e-mail accounts.

In Cebu City you have all the things you may need during your stay such as banks, travel agents, shopping malls, hotels and a mail post office. There are increasing numbers of Internet cafés in all the malls and scattered over the City, so you will be able to find somewhere to send e-mail. Prices range from P25 to P60 per hour. Cebu City airport (Mactan Airport) serves both international and domestic; you do not need to fly via Manila in order to reach Cebu. International and domestic tickets can be purchased in Cebu. Airlines that fly to Cebu direct include Philippine Airlines, Qantas, Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Silk Air. Domestic airlines include Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines, Cebu Pacific and Grand Air. Note that most of the domestic airlines offer substantial discounts on some flights if you buy your ticket more than 4 days or so in advance. This can save you up to 40% of the purchase price.

There are also regular ferries to and from Manila with sailings every day. The best ferries are probably the WG & A SuperFerries. Check our links page for their web site.

Cebu City has plenty of discos, bars and restaurants that you can choose from should you stay in the city. The night life is very much like the night life in Manila and offers some choice. If you don't now what to do in the city please don't hesitate to ask people. In addition, if there is anything which you need from Cebu City or if you need to go there yourself, ask first at where you're staying or diving and they will give you help or advice as appropriate.

If you need to spend a night in Cebu, I can recommend a few hotels:

There are many other hotels in Cebu; the above I can recommend from personal experience. If you want a 4 or 5 star hotel there are many to choose from including the Shangri-La on Mactan Island, the Marriott, the Cebu Midtown, the Cebu Plaza and others with appropriate prices.

From the airport, take a taxi to the south bus terminal; ordinary buses to Moalboal run regularly from here taking around 2½ hours and the fare is between P40 and P45. There are also two air-conditioned buses run by Kings Star which leave from the bus station every day at 13.00h and 15.00h; these buses cost P58. Librando non-airconditioned buses leave every 30 minutes during the day from the Librando bus stop opposite the bus station; Librando are probably the most sane of the many bus companies plying the routes to the south. Avoid the front seats of the local buses - the sights you see may spoil your trip as you come within millimetres of smashing into something smaller coming the other way - and the back seats since they are always the most uncomfortable. Truly riding the buses in the Philippines can be an experience!

You can also pick up one of the many "V-Hire" mini-vans that wait for passengers in the area of the Southern Bus Terminal. These cost around P50 per head and leave when full (8-9 passengers). There's never much room for baggage so if you're carrying dive gear, perhaps it's better to get a normal bus, either air-con or regular.

When you get to Moalboal, get off the bus at the crossroad by the market and take a tricycle to Panagsama Beach. Alternatively, you may take a taxi all the way to Moalboal from the airport . . . approximately a 3¼ hour drive, though traffic crossing the bridge joining Mactan to the main island can be heavy and the trip can take longer. You may negotiate yourself with taxi drivers and pay P1000-P1500, or you may call from the airport to arrange pickup. I have used Q Limousines several times and find them reliable and efficient. The price for one of their cars, one-way to Moalboal, is P1,450 (as at May 2000 but unlikely to have changed much). If you book in advance (see their page for contact details), they will be pleased to meet your flight at the airport.

Have a look at Günther and Klaus' pages for more information about having houses built in the Moalboal area.

To wet your whistle, have a look at some thumbnail pictures of Moalboal or visit the Moalboal photo tour.