Inside
To swim into a sardine shoal straight off the beach, no boat needed.
Add Moalboal to my journeyMoalboal is really Panagsama, a strip of dive shops, small guesthouses and bars along a rocky shore a few kilometres from the town itself. It's not a beach destination in the usual sense; the point is what's just offshore. A reef wall drops away almost from the water's edge, and since around 2010 a huge shoal of sardines has lived there, often visible with a mask and snorkel. Turtles are common, Pescador Island is a short boat ride away, and Kawasan Falls and the canyoneering route through Badian are close by.
The sardine run is the main event: a shoal of millions, a short swim from Panagsama. Behaviour varies daily, but it's usually there. Pescador Island, around 20–30 minutes by boat, has a wall and a cathedral-like swim-through. Turtles are common along the house reef. Freediving schools are increasingly popular here, thanks to deep water close to shore.
Canyoneering from Alegria or Badian down to Kawasan Falls is the standout: several hours of jumping, swimming and sliding through a turquoise river canyon, with guides and helmets. White Beach (Basdaku), around 10 minutes north of Panagsama, is the nearest proper sandy beach.
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12 days · Essential / Boutique / Premium
Cebu • Malapascua • Moalboal • Bohol
All by road and sea, with no domestic flights: Cebu city's history and food, Malapascua's sharks, Moalboal's sardine run and canyons, then Bohol.
From €1,700per person ·
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12 days · Essential / Boutique
Cebu • Moalboal • Siquijor • Bohol
Three islands for a sensible price: Moalboal's turtles and sardines, Siquijor's waterfalls and Bohol's hills. Simple, well-chosen hotels and transfers by road and sea.
From €1,300per person ·
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20 days · Essential / Boutique / Premium
Manila • Coron • Malapascua • Moalboal • Dumaguete
Four of the best dive areas in the country: the wrecks of Coron, thresher sharks at Malapascua, the sardine run at Moalboal, and Apo Island and macro diving at Dauin.
From €2,600per person ·
View journey →Use this journey as inspiration. Change the islands, hotels, pace, activities or number of nights.
Add Moalboal to my journeyYes, snorkelling is usually enough. The shoal is often a few metres down, a short swim from shore.
Panagsama is rocky. For sand, go to White Beach (Basdaku), a short drive north.
Inside
The country's oldest city and the busiest hub in the Visayas, with the best lechon in the Philippines and waterfalls, whale sharks and reefs a few hours south.
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A relaxed university town on Negros with a seafront promenade, very good diving at Apo Island and Dauin, and ferries to Siquijor.
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A small, car-free island off Cebu's northern tip, known worldwide for early-morning dives with thresher sharks, and for its easy, barefoot pace.
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