Moalboal ｜ Adventures In Central Visayas
Moalboal, a small seaside resort town, is located on the other side of Cebu Island. It’s just 85km southwest from the capital city, but it feels worlds away.
Small and intimate, it feels almost hidden from the world. I say almost because it’s becoming more discovered by the day. That does kind ruin the appeal of the place, but it’s still very manageable as of 2023. No doubt it will be ruined by over-tourism in the future, but it’s still possible to really enjoy this small slice of paradise.
Getting To & Out of Moalboal
You can’t fly directly into Moalboal. The only real option is first getting to Cebu City and traveling on land. We flew into Mactan-Cebu International Airport and used the Grab app to take a taxi directly to the South Bus Terminal.
You’ll have to go to a ticket window to buy your ticket. You’ll have two options to choose from; non-air conditioned and air conditioned buses (₱127 ~ ₱157). If it’s summer, make sure you take an air conditioned bus.
Make sure you take a bus that says “Bato via Barili” or “Moalboal.” Don’t take abus that says “Bato via Oslob” because it will take you to the other side of Southern Cebu.
From the Highway to the Beach
The bus will drop you off on the main road in town (probably here), where the journey to Panagsama Beach is still another 4km away. Tricycle drivers will swarm around you and try to extort as much money as possible from you. Sadly, there are few options to tackling the final part of the journey. You can walk, but it’s a going to at least an hour over a small road with little to stop at.
Rather than jumping on the first tricycle that’s going to rip you off, take a beat and stop at one of the many shops in this area. The beach town doesn’t have any regular shops, just restaurants and bars that have a heavy mark-up in prices. This is a good place to buy water and some snack food.
Rather than jumping on the first tricycle that’s going to rip you off, take a beat and stop at one of the many shops in this area. The beach town doesn’t have any regular shops, just restaurants and bars that have a heavy mark-up in prices. This is a good place to buy water and some snack food.
Once you’re ready to head towards Panagsama Beach you can try haggling with drivers for a better price. Alternatively, you can be like us and try your luck at hitchhiking. We got picked up fairly quick by a flatbed truck.
If you’re heading up to White Beach, expect a much more expensive ride. In this case, it’s better if you arrange transportation with your accommodation before you arrive.
Getting Out of Moalboal
Leaving is pretty straight forward. Head back to the main town area. If you’re heading back to Cebu City, catch the bus in front of the 7-11 (here). It was pretty easy and when in doubt, just ask. If you’re planning to go further south to explore more you’ll need to be on the opposite side of the road. Wherever you’re staying should be able to point you in the right direction and tell you a fairly accurate timetable. Just remember, this is the Philippines. Schedules are more of a nice idea rather than a reality.
Getting Around Moalboal
You’ll mostly be left to your own devices here. If you’re content with just staying in the beach area for diving and relaxing, everything is within walking distance. If you desire seeing more, your best option is renting a motorbike to give the freedom to travel the peninsula and beyond. The beach town section of Moalboal has rental shops everywhere and many guesthouses rent them as well. You should have no trouble finding a rental. When we asked our hotel they pointed us to the house across the street, which looked to have half a dozen bikes waiting to be rented. Expect to pay ₱400 a day. If you’re getting quote some crazy price, just walk away and find a new place to rent from.
If you’re apprehensive about driving a motorbike, there are a number of tour operators around the beach area that arrange van tours to popular points of interest. You will pay a lot more for these tours than doing them on your own, of course. They will all arrange private tours as well, at a much greater price.
There are also tricycles that run the road between the beach area part of town and main town itself on the highway. The road runs a little over 3km (2 miles) and the tricycle drivers will fleece you silly, so try to only use them when you have no choice, i.e. arriving and departing.
Activities & Sightseeing In Moalboal
Moalboal is a chill place to relax. Most people come to do snorkeling and/or scuba diving. There are over a dozen shops along the beach that rent equipment for both. If you’ve never tried scuba diving before, this is a great place to try it. It’s actually where we broke our cherry.
What makes this an ideal location for scuba diving is threefold. One, the waters are very clear. Two, the waters are calm. Three, you don’t need to go far out or down to see interesting marine life. One of the more unique things you can see here are sardine runs. Hugh schools of sardines frequent the area, so your chance of having thousands of them swimming around is pretty much a guarantee. Honestly, it was a highlight of doing a dive here. Most places are willing to take out inexperienced divers for an hour at a price of ₱2000, which includes all the equipment.
This is also a great place to get certified to dive. I believe it can be accomplished in just 2 days and should cost between $600-700 US.
Every dive shop in town will try to solicit you as you walk by their shop, so you can get a good idea of prices and course as your stroll around town.
We did our dive with Shan Scion Dive Shop. They were very professional, gave us a good price from the jump, and their dive instructors were very friendly. Had we stayed longer, we would have done our diving certificate with them.
➣Kawasan Falls (₱45)
Located about 40 minutes south of Moalboal. The cascading 40 m (130 ft) waterfall is a 30 minute walk from the parking area (here). Besides simply trekking, there are additional activities like climbing, cliff diving, and swimming that can be done here.
If you plan on doing some of these options we recommend doing a tour. Most of the guesthouses and dive shops run half-day tours to the Kawasan and cost around $30 US per person.
If you want to do the falls independently, you can arrange a tricycle there and back or take the bus. Ask around at your hotel which bus to catch. We rented motorbikes and did the trip on our own. Plan on getting there in the morning as they stop allowing people to enter in the afternoon, which no one told us.
➣Lambug Beach (₱45)
Located halfway between Moalboal and Kawasan Falls (here) this beach makes nice place to drop by after visiting the falls. As you enter, you’ll need to pay an environmental fee for the area, which is good for 10 days.
Unlike the Panagsama Beach and White Beach areas, Lambug has a more local flavor to it. Although I didn’t look into it, fairly sure you’ll find cheaper accommodation costs and better deals on food/drink here.
The area is well kept and the sand is just as nice as White Beach, though it seemed like we were here off-season. I read that in the winter the beach has lots of starfish.
➣White Beach (₱20)
Located on a large stretch of the northwest side of the Copton Peninsula (here) the area feels more upscale than Panagsama Beach. The beaches are well maintained and since it is quite long (over a kilometer) it’s fairly easy to find your own private spot to swim.
Like other places around Cebu, you’ll need to pay an environmental fee when entering the area. You’ll get a receipt that’s good for 10 days, so don’t throw it away.
Taking a motorbike up the Copton Peninsula is super easy and pleasant. If you don’t want to do that, you can easily arrange a trip to White Beach on tricycle.
Eating, Drinking, & Sleeping
Food & Drink
Moalboal’s food scene is surprisingly more western geared and higher-end than we anticipated. While there are a host of seafood restaurants that line the area directly in front of Panagsama Beach, a little further inland has a number of cafes, restaurants, and bars.
Most offer a fair number of Western favorites, like pizza and burgers, fruit smoothies, coffee drinks, cocktails, vegetarian/vegan dishes, and a smattering of Filipino dishes. There are a lot of places to choose from, and we didn’t get to every place we wanted to try, which is a really good thing. There’s enough places to choose from here to keep most visitors happy over a week.
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Sleep
There are plenty of guesthouses and hotels to choose from in the town. Before picking a place to stay, really think about what you want. Do you want to be close to the beach for early morning dives? Are you more interested in being close to the night action? Want some place away from the noise?
Keep in mind that Moalboal is becoming a bit of a backpacker destination, so there are a lot of early 20-somethings around town partying at night. If you choose a hotel right in the center, it will be noise at night.
Marcosas Cottages Resort in the beach town of Moalboal rents out small bungalows a stone’s throw from the ocean. Is this hotel worth a …
How Long To Stay in Moalboal
This really going to depend on what you’re doing, but somewhere between four to seven days is a great length of time to be here. If you only want to check out some of the trekking spots and/or just hang out on some nice beaches, probably four days in the area will be enough before it starts feeling repetitive. If you planning on doing a lot of diving, more towards seven days would be better. Truly, the beach area of town has a very relaxed feeling, thought can be a bit rough around the edges. White Beach, however, is stunningly beautiful. There is a good variety of places to eat and drink with a clear focus on the quality.
Scams, Dangers, & Annoyances
Moalboal is really laid back so you won’t encounter any scams that you see in places like Cebu City or Manila. That said, there are a lot of tour operators in the town and not all of them are honest. Before you give your money to a dive shop or pay for a tour, make sure you’re getting a fair price by shopping around. Also ask around to make sure the shop you’re buying from is reputable.
This is easier said than done, as if you ask someone who has a competing tour businesses they will clearly try to get your business. Unless you have a real Filipino contact in the area, it’s best to check reviews online and to ask other tourist in the area. Just be friendly and strike up a conversation. This is usually easy to do when people are enjoying happy hour.
Danger of Dogs
There are a lot of stray dogs around, in town, around the highway, sleeping on the beach, etc. While we didn’t encounter any issues with aggressive dogs, we did see them getting hostile towards each other. The general rule is to give these animal a wide birth. While many do seem friendly and adjusted to humans, it’s advisable to not try and pet them. If you are bitten, even it’s a minor injury, seek medical attention immediately and start receiving the rabbi vaccination shots.
Changing Money
Changing money can be an issue if you’re looking to looking to change actual cash. There seems to be no options in Panagsama Beach, but there is an ATM. The close place to change money is at the Gaisano Grand Mall Moalboal. There is a currency exchange place on the first floor. Unfortunately, their conversions rates are incredibly unavailable. They are taking a very sizable cut of 20%. If you can help it, you should avoid.
If you have your own transportation, you can head about 10km south to Badian, which is a small town on the way to Lambug Beach. There is a place called Palawan Pawn Shop (roughly here) with very fair exchange rates. Yes, it’s very inconvenient to have to travel this far not to get ripped off, but the lesson here is don’t travel out this way without enough cash. Badian is a cool place to stop for some snacks and local color, so it can be a win if you play it right.
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Need more information about the Philippines?
See our full write up on Cebu City HERE.
Check out our full write up on Manila HERE.
Read our full write up on Angeles City HERE.
View our full write up on Laoag HERE.
Look at our full write up on Vigan HERE.
