Mactan International Airport is about 15 km from Cebu City, approximately 20 minutes by taxi.  It has direct regular International Flights from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Bangkok, Malaysia and Singapore.  From Europe you can fly with Cathay Pacific (via Hong Kong), Singapore Airline (via Singapore), Qatar Airlines (via Doha) and Malaysian Airlines (via Kuala Lumpur) direct to Cebu.  Other International Flights can be accessed via Manila, where you can take a Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines or Philippine Airlines domestic flight into Cebu. 

Note: Please be careful when choosing your arrival and departure dates.  During Christmas Day, Good Friday and other religious holidays there are no domestic flights or ferries.  During Easter time it is quite normal for public transport to stop running, so please take care and check it out before finalizing those tickets!

:: Public BUS Transfer

From Mactan Airport a taxi to the North Bus Terminal takes approximately 25minutes, traffic depending. If you would rather take a metered taxi, which are more economical than the private ones waiting at the arrival gate, simply walk up the ramp to the departures area and hail a white street taxi, make sure they put the meter on. On reaching the bus terminal we recommend the bright yellow Ceres Bus Liner. This company has fairly direct buses that leave for Maya, the jump off point for Malapascua Island, approximately every 30minutes. Ceres Bus Liner does not have air conditioned buses.   The journey itself takes between 3 – 4 hours and costs Php 170 per person. The best time to travel is early in the morning as it tends to be cooler and there is less traffic on the roads. Be sure you always take the bus with the signboard “Maya Bagay”. The bus stops once, after about 1hour, outside of the city for a brief toilet and snack break and sometimes a second brief stop at Bogo City the largest town between Cebu and Maya. At the bus terminal be aware of people trying to convince you to travel to other places, their only interest is earning commission from certain resorts. Also watch the ‘porters’ who will be very quick at helping you with your bags and directing you to the first bus leaving for Maya - all for a small charge, average Php 20 per bag.

:: Private Transfer

Of course we can make life a lot easier for those of you who do not wish to bother with public transport by arranging a private transfer from either your hotel or the airport direct to Exotic Resort.  Our drivers have both air conditioned cars good for 2 persons or air conditioned mini vans for 3-6 persons, a private transfer cuts back on travel time by around 1 hour, by eliminating the need to wait for anyone, once our drivers safely deliver you to Maya a private boat will be waiting to bring you directly to our resort taking about 30 minutes. If you would like to try the charms of a local bus but will arrive after the last public boat has left there are a few options.  You can either barter with the remaining Banka captains in Maya to arrange a ‘special boat trip’ for a cost of anything from Php 1000 to 1500, or ask us to arrange a private boat to meet you at your expected time of arrival.    Please inform us in advance if you wish to use our private transfer services. If you wish to be collected from the airport we need to have your flight number and time of arrival.  Our driver will be waiting at the arrival gates with a placard holding the name of the person who booked the transfer.  If you arrive late in the afternoon we recommend that you spend a night in the city before making the journey to Malapascua.

  There are three distinct seasons here in Malapascua. Spring from February to May; Summer from June – September and Winter “Rainy” Season starts from October – January. The ‘rainy season’ officially starts in June and ends January and the ‘typhoon’ season officially starts in July and ends in October but to be honest it is not too intense here.

  During spring the sea is at its calmest. The air temperature can reach 30 degrees +, and the sea temperature averages 29 degrees, although there can be a thermocline at the deeper sites. You can expect to see thresher sharks, manta rays and devil rays during this time. Also blue ringed octopus, flamboyant cuttle fish, nudibranches, sea snakes, mating squid, cuttle fish and an array of other tropical fishes and creatures are common through these months. This is one of the busiest times of year for Malapascua so be sure to book well in advance.

  The summer season brings the hot weather and is also the official start of rainy season, when we tend to get rain in the late afternoons and through the night. The waters are warm and the sea life is bountiful. It is sometimes possible to see manta rays at this time of year and it is always possible to see the thresher shark. The visibility during this time tends to be the best of the year. The island is relatively quiet as this is the official low season. The typhoon season also begins during this time of year, although we are lucky where we are situated as the larger islands of Cebu and Leyte protect us, so most typhoons pass us by.

  Wintertime brings a slight drop of air temperature, although it can still reach into the late 20’s.We can get some heavy rain and occasionally rough seas called locally as ‘ocho ocho’. The diving however is very good, as the sea temperatures have dropped a little. The cooler waters attract the bigger sharks such as hammerheads and white tips, requiem sharks and of course the giant mantas and thresher sharks.

  The Christmas season and Easter season are busy times on Malapascua, so once again be sure to reserve your holiday well in advance. The only holiday seasons that really affect traveling are Christmas day and the Easter weekend as most public transport stops, including airplanes.

  When visiting Malapascua Island please remember that there is no bank or cash point here, so be sure to bring enough cash to cover all your holiday needs.  Exotic resort accepts Philippine Pesos, US dollars, Euros, VISA and MasterCard however the smaller local sari-sari stores will only accept Philippine Pesos and only small bills.

  If you are prone to mosquito bites then be sure to bring repellent with you although you can buy it here on the island.  The mosquitoes are most active at sunset; this is a dengue and malaria free region. Although there are a lot of tropical bugs on the island, there are no dangerous or venomous ones. Geckos are a regular feature in our resort and are a natural predator of the mosquito.

  If you have any questions or would like to book a diving holiday with the pioneer dive resort on Malapascua then please contact us.