THE BEST GUIDE TO MOALBOAL, PHILIPPINES.

This guide to Moalboal will cover where to stay in Moalboal, what to do in Moalboal, where to eat and drink, things to do around Moalboal with kids and why you should spend at least a few days in in this fab part of Cebu. We loved our time in Moalboal – we planned to stay for a couple of days and ended up there for almost two weeks. As well as having a lot to do in Moalboal like diving, island-hopping, snorkelling and seeing the sardine run, there are many short trips you can take to explore the surrounding area and visit waterfalls, climb mountains and explore islands.

Where is Moalboal?

Moalboal is on the west coast of Cebu in the Visayas, about half way down the island. It’s a small town, and you don’t want to stay there in the actual town. Moalboal Village which is basically Panagsama Road, and White Beach and the stretch of coast in between the two are the main places to stay.

The village used to be very basic, but now there is a supermarket in town, restaurants and cafes  and there is good food all along Panagsama Road and up the hill.

There is so much to see and do around Moalboal that it’s the perfect base for swimming, snorkelling and diving and exploring.

If you’re staying in Cebu before you visit Moalboal, the new Day Pass to the Shangri-La Mactan Resort should be on your list – it’s a day in the luxury of the Shangri-La Mactan Resort (and it’s amazing we’ve stayed there a few times (you can read our review here) – PLUS dining credits. Buy yours here and have the BEST TIME! As I always say, it’s okay to rent the lifestyle!

How to get there

It’s a four hour bus or private car trip from Cebu city to Moalboal depending on the traffic. Jump on the bus at South Bus Terminal to Badian via Moalboal – be careful because there’s another bus that goes via Oslob and you don’t want that one. It cost us around $5 AUD each for the trip and it took around four hours.

We love Ceres buses as we’ve found them safe, comfortable and they have aircon.  You can also come in through Dumaguete if you’re working your way up the coast from the south.

Cebu has an excellent bus network and private cars are readily available too.

Before you go

The two main things you need before you got to the Philippines are travel insurance – we use Covermore – and a VPN so you can safely access the internet and also watch all your shows from home. We use Express VPN – this offer has three months free – and here’s why you need a VPN.

Read this Philippines packing list for what to take with you to the Philippines.

Where to stay

There are two main beach areas – Panagsama Beach and White Beach, or Saavarda.  When you’re looking for your accommodation stay at either of these locations – or the stretch of beach in between.

Panagsama Beach has lots of accommodation from budget hostels to fancier guesthouses. There are lots of restaurants, massage places, coffee and smoothies and its here that you can snorkel with the sardines.

White Beach is a beautiful beach with swimming, snorkelling and a range of accommodation including a few fancy resorts. It doesn’t have as many restaurants but most accommodation have their own restaurants and bars. It’s only a short – 10 minutes tops – tuk tuk or scooter ride between the two.

We stayed at Dacozy Resort about a 10 minute walk from Pangasama Road. It had a great pool, and excellent restaurant and fabulous snorkelling just out the front. Rooms were big and had TV, fridge and tea and coffee making. It was about $65v AUD a night in peak season.  There are some sea urchins here though so make sure to wear water shoes.

We’ve also heard great recommendations for Dolphin House Resort too which is around at White Beach. You can find more accommodation here on booking.com

For budget travellers Chief Mau looked amazing and social (but not crazily so).

Getting around

Is super easy to hey around Moalboal. If you ride scooters you can hire them by the day or the week.

There are plenty of tricycles/tuk tuks that can take you from the village to your guesthouse or over to White Beach. They can also take you on day trips – like to Kawasan Falls. The going rate seems to be 800 pesos for the day.

You can also hire cars for day trips which is more expensive but handy for long trips like up to Osmena Peak, especially if you have kids.

And of course you can walk. It’s easy to get around and you’ll pass lots of little restaurants and local stores on your travels. There are many stray dogs around but they’ve been quite calm in our experience – remember rabies is prevalent here so don’t interact with dogs and cats on the islands.

Things to do:

White Beach

Beautiful White Beach is exactly that, a lovely sandy beach fringed with palms and great for swimming. At one end is sandy beach while at the other is snorkelling and really nice corals. If you walk right towards the sandy end of the beach you’ll get beer and coconut service from locals. You can also buy rum at the supermarket and pour it into the coconut (or buck as it’s known in the Philippines) and enjoy a coconut rum on the beach.

Sardine Run

You don’t need to join a tour for this, you can do it all by yourself. Just wander down to the beach on Panagsama Road and when the tour boats move away, swim over near the yellow jetty. Just at the drop you’ll find the sardines. You can hang there for as long as you like – it’s super amazing. The water here is a bit dirty, with floating rubbish on top and below, but it’s good to know that the other beaches are really clean.

Snorkel the drop

The drop runs all along the coast here, it’s quite incredible. The most amazing huge corals are out there – we had incredible snorkelling at Dacozy. Just make sure to wear your water shoes to avoid the sea urchins. No one wants urchin spines in them.

Pescador Island

Pescador Island is one of the best spots in the area for diving. There are many tours and dive shops that can organise dives, and if you’re keen to snorkel you can jump on a day trip out to the island.

Diving

Many people come to Moalboal to dive and there are lots of dive shops – and dive resorts – along the coast. Favourite places to dive are the sardine run, Pescador Island, the plane wreck and Sunken Island.

Kawasan Falls

The most famous falls in the area, make an early start to beat the crowds. A tuk tuk will take you there and wait for you for 800 pesos, but you can scooter and drive. It’s up to you. It’s about a 20 minute walk to the first beautiful level – and the walk in is just stunning.

Its okay for parents and small children and easy enough if you’re wearing them too. There are seats and tables and stalls here and it’s lovely for a swim. There are two more levels with jumps and swings – it’s a bit of a hike up so I wouldn’t take small kids. At the top you’ll meet the canyoneering groups coming down and there are natural slides you can go down plus awesome rope swings that the guides will kindly help you on (you have to pay 50 pesos to a man to use the swing, he will come and find you).

I suggest making a day of it and taking a picnic up there. It’s that beautiful and FUN – were had the best morning here. Entrance fee is 50 pesos.

Canyoneering

We haven’t done this yet but it looks amazing. Jumping and climbing and making your way down the falls sounds like a strenuous but fun adventure. The groups coming down had people of all ages – including kids that looked to be around five or six. We will report in soon when we do it!

Osmena Peak

This is is stunning lookout over limestone peaks that Dottie landscape over to Moalboal and the ocean. We loved it more than Bohol’s chocolate hills as it was so quiet and beautiful. It takes about an hour from Kawasan to get there and you’ll need to take a scooter or a car as tricycles can’t take the climb up the mountains. It’s a gorgeous drive. Once you get there it’s around 25 minutes to the top for stunning views. Entrance fee is 30 pesos. Enjoy!

Aquinid Falls

We LOVED these falls! It’s the most amazing climb up eight levels of falls with deep swimming holes, jumps and literal climbing up limestone walls of water. I suggest hiring a guide at the bottom who will help you up. We did this four years ago and will be going again in a few weeks. It’s around an hour away from Moalboal and entrance is 50 pesos.

Oslob and whale sharks

Oslob is about an hour away from Moalboal on the other side of the island. it’s a rocky coastline with many guesthouses and close to some amazing waterfalls. Many people come to Oslob to swim with the whale sharks. Were dd it four years ago and I can’t say that it’s an experience I would repeat or encourage, personally. However it is well managed and Ive spoken to experts who say it isn’t a huge issue for the whale sharks and the wider population. If this is something you wish to do you can make your way to Oslob yourself, or book a tour from Moalboal or Cebu.

Other waterfalls

There are so many waterfalls around between Moalboal and Samboan and across to Oslob. Enjoy exploring them. We hope to see a few more when we return in a couple of weeks so we will add them here.

Have a massage

There are so many massage places in Moalboal. We tried a few places and the results varied. Our fave was at Thai Bahn, the one closest to the beach (they have two very close to each other). Massages are from around 450 to 600 pesos ($15-$20) for an hour full body.

Where to eat

There are lots of eateries in Moalboal village. We loved eating in a Dacozy but it’s only open to guests! You can get whatever you ike in Moalboal village really from traditional food to western favourites plus cheap beer and gelato.

Makan

Makan is in Panagsama Road and is super popular. It just has chair and tables on the street and an extensive list of local and Asian dishes like stirfries, curries and fried rice. Cheap and good.

Smooth Café

Just up the hill, this café has cold pressed juice, wraps and really good coffee – they made me an awesome mocha each morning and I was so happy. They have an outdoor bar and seating area out the back.

Shaka

This Filipino chain makes yummy acai bowls, smoothies and juices. It’s right at the start of Panagsama Road in the village and has a cute little swing out the front.

Cebuano

We loved eating here at little tables overlooking the water – and at high tide sitting over the water. My favourite was the prawns cooked in oil with garlic and chilli, while Emmie had a burger and a chicken schnitzel. They have a fully stocked bar and gelato! It’s down the end of the road near Chili Bar.

Chili Bar

Apparently the place to be in the evenings for drinks and partying.

The French

I’ve heard varying reports of how good the coffee is here but the coffee at Smooth was so good I had no reason to try theirs! It’s about half way down Panagsama on the left.

Nadine

A street food seller, Nadine came around selling sweet potato and banana wrapped in pastry. They were 20 pesos each. I wish I’d bought more.

Where to go from Moalboal

It’s so easy to travel from Moalboal – you can explore Dumaguete and head north further into the Visayas, or take a ferry over to beautiful Siquijor and over to Bohol. You can fly to many other domestic destinations in the Philippines like the beautiful Coron for island hopping and snorkelling. But just take your time and enjoy the slow pace of life and the beautiful islands.

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