Malapascua Exotic Island Dive Resort

TRAVEL ASSISTANCE ON HOW TO GET TO OUR RESORT FROM CEBU CITY

Public BUS Transfer
From Mactan Airport a taxi to the North Bus Terminal takes approximately 25minutes, depending on the traffic. 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/yellow 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 approximately Php 163 per person (prices may change without prior notice). 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 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.

Public BOAT Transfer
Once you arrive at Maya the bus will stop at the ‘pier’, where once again there will be some very friendly ‘porters’ awaiting to assist you with your bags. There is a small white booth, where you can buy a ticket for the next Banka (outrigger boat) to Malapascua; the tickets cost Php 80 per person. If it is a low tide the larger Banka’s cannot reach the pier so you will have to ride a “tunda” (small paddle boat) to the larger boat, this costs approximately Php 20 per person/bag. Expect for at least your feet to get wet – possibly more.

The boats leave about every 30 minutes although you can sometimes have a long wait while they wait to fill up with passengers. The first boat is at 8:30AM and the last is at 2:00PM, although the schedule is set till 4:00PM. The boat trip takes around 45 minutes and drops you off at Logon, the barrio proper or ‘town’. To get to Exotic Resort from here simply turn right and follow the path towards the beach. From there you can either walk about 15 minutes straight up the beach or follow the back path that will lead you to Exotic.

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 with our Port Representative to bring you directly to our resort taking about 30-45 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.