Where to Stay in Malapascua (Cebu): Thresher Cove Dive Resort

I noticed that local tourists who visit Malapascua in Cebu province usually stay for only a day to explore its different beaches. However, I decided I would at least try introductory diving since Malapascua is a dive destination and it seems like a major travel faux pas to skip it.

I looked into the best resorts in Malapascua and finally decided into Thresher Cove Dive Resort.

P.S. Planning a trip to Malapascua? Don’t forget to read our Travel Guide to Malapascua.

Our stay at Thresher Cove Dive Resort

Here’s a little overview of the resort. Thresher Cove Dive Resort is a luxury dive resort in the eastern side of Malapascua. It’s bound by hills on the sides, which gives it an air of seclusion. It has an in-house restaurant, dive shop, pool and a 100-meter-long private beach.

For the accommodations, there are different options depending on your budget: dorms, deluxe cottages and captain villas.

After our arrival in the island, Joemar (Lakwatserong Irigenyo) and I flagged down motorcycles to take us to Thresher Cove Dive Resort. Unlike most resorts in the island, it’s located about 5-10 min away from the port area in Bounty Beach.

The location has its pros and cons. The fact that it’s far from the port area means it’s quiet and relaxing, but it also means we needed to get a motorcycle ride everytime we wanted to explore the main restaurants and shops in the island.

The room reserved for us is located at the hillside. It features a queen-sized bed, television, and complimentary water bottles. The bathroom uses brackish water, as there is limited water resources in the island. It’s not an issue for me as I understand that there are minor nuisances with island life, although for some people it may take some time to get used to. (Joemar commented that his soap and shampoo wouldn’t bubble.)

With its elevated location, we have a great view of the beach from the windows. This is the best feature of our room. It also has a balcony which is a great place to hang out especially at the end of the day. This is where I would reflect at night with a cup of coffee in hand.

After putting down our bags, we took a short walk around the resort. I love that the resort has a wide grassy space and its own private beach. The main beach in Malapascua, Bounty Beach, is wider but it’s also busier as it’s used as docking area for the tour boats. In contrast, the beach here is quiet. It isn’t purely sand but filled with little seaweeds. In mornings, locals walk along the shore to gather shells and other seafood.

The beach is good for snorkeling. It’s only 200 meters away from the Coral Garden on the left, which is an underwater paradise filled with various types of corals and fishes. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see it due to the rough sea conditions at that time, although we did an island hopping tour and introductory dive which somehow made up for my sea lust.

Restaurant

Whenever I’m traveling, I usually prefer eating out but because the resort is far from most restaurants in the island, we opted to eat here for most of our stay. Like other restaurants in Malapascua, the food here is on the expensive side at about P300+ per dish. The good thing is that they have a backpacker’s menu where you can order food for only P150-200 per dish.

Both Joemar and I liked the food in the restaurant. The serving was generous and can even be shared among 2 people and most of the items we ordered were tasty, such as the sweet and sour chicken. Both of us agree that it’s great value for money.

Breakfast is complimentary. Similar to lunch/dinner items, we also liked the breakfast plate.

If there’s anything I think can be improved on, it’s to move the breakfast time from 7am to 6am to accommodate those who have to leave early for tours or other activities.

Diving

Thresher Cove Dive Resort is one of the best resorts in Malapascua, so of course we wouldn’t miss the chance to try out an introductory dive course.

The introductory course costs P3000 per person and is 4-5 hours long. We started at 8AM and ended at about 12noon.

Joemar and I didn’t have any prior experience to diving. I can swim in open water given that I have fins, while Joemar prefers sporting a lifevest, so we have different comfort levels in the water.

The first thing we did was watch a video about basic diving. Initially, it was easy to follow but after 30 minutes we started to get overwhelmed with information. Just then, our dive instructor arrived and gave us a practical lecture.

We were supposed to practice in the pool, but given the weather, our instructor decided to take us to the open water while we we still could. The resort’s boat dropped us off at Los Bamboos Beach.

From there, we practiced diving. Joemar and I were challenging students and at different points one of us would panic. On my part, I’m not used to being able to breathe underwater and seeing the bubbles from my breather as it differs on what was taught to me in my past freediving course (holding your breath and not letting out bubbles until after you’re back in the surface). I also find it odd that the air from the tank was cold.

Our instructor did our best to handle us and encouraged us to continue when we were holding up our hands in surrender. I appreciated that part, since it wouldn’t be uncommon for students to be afraid.

Anyway, after 30 minutes or so, we only had 50T left in our tank so we weren’t able to do a fun dive in the deeper part of the beach, but we did swim around and saw a few corals and fishes.

I’m thankful that our instructor was persistent in continuing the course and didn’t give up on us. I’m more confident that diving is something that I can do and maybe in the future I’ll get another course and perhaps a PADI certification.

Overall review

Overall, we were satisfied with our stay at Thresher Cove Dive Resort.

I love its idyllic ambiance and I particularly like the view from our room. I also liked the food served in the restaurant, were we dined in a few times over our stay. Joemar and I were also satisfied with our introductory dive course and our experience with our dive instructor.

One thing that caught me off guard was the location as I didn’t realize it would be far from the main establishments. If you’re in a budget and would like to explore budget eateries, you might want to stay somewhere close to Bounty Beach instead.

However, if you have sufficient budget and you’re looking for a dive resort that’s beautiful & relaxing and offers great diving experiences, then Thresher Cove Dive Resort is the ideal choice for you.

About Thresher Cove Dive Resort

Thresher Cove Dive Resort is one of the best dive resorts in Malapascua Island.

Here you can visit Monad Shoal, which is the only place you can see thresher sharks up close. There are also over 20 dive sites in or near the island.

Amenities

Here are the resort’s amenities:

• Private Beach
• Swimming pool
• Games: volleyball, badminton, billiards/pool
• Restaurant with regular menu and backpackers’ menu, including vegetarian options
• Spa treatment

Things to know before you go

• From the port area, you need to ride a motorcycle to get to the resort (P40 per ride).
• The resort is located in a more secluded part of Malapascua Island. It’s a bit far from the main restaurants and shops. However, the resort has its own restaurant with backpackers menu for budget travelers.
• Bathrooms use brackish water due to limited water sources in the island.
• The resort is ideal for those who love diving and snorkeling. It’s near the Coral Garden, one of the best snorkeling spots in the island. It’s also ideal for those who are looking for a relaxing stay in Malapascua Island.

Book your stay here

You can book discounted rooms here.

For inquiries, you can contact the resort in their Facebook page.

Disclaimer: A big thanks to Thresher Cove Dive Resort for our complimentary stay and diving course. As always, thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you stayed at Thresher Cove Dive Resort? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments below!

What to read next:

Visiting Cebu? Here are other posts you might be interested at:

• Day Tour in Oslob
• Day Trip in Moalboal and Kawasan Falls
• Travel Guide to Moalboal
• Travel Guide to Bantayan Island and Top Things to Do in Bantayan Island
• Travel Guide to Malapascua Island

Looking for accommodations?

• [Top Picks] Villas and Private Resorts in Cebu