Magic Island Dive Resort
Magic Island Dive Resort is located in the quiet southern part of the Moalboal peninsula with stunning views of the mountains of Cebu island. Ideally located between the town center and Panagsama (the main touristic area), this is a nice quiet location to relax. Situated right on the rocky coast line giving perfect access to the amazing house reef with a drop off down to 50m, sporting an array of marine creatures from; Giant Green Sea Turtles, Frogfish, Pygmy Sea Horse and unspoiled Coral Reefs. Nestled in between tropical gardens there are 10 comfortable cottages with private balconies waiting for you. All of the cottages have either a sea or swimming pool view and are equipped with air-conditioning & ceiling fan, hot water Showers, mini Bar, WiFi and unlimited free mineral water. The cottages can be set up with either a queen sized double or twin beds, and in five of our cottages we can add a 3rd bed if required.
The dining area is family style, where all the tables are linked together, allowing everyone to sit and talk about all the amazing underwater creatures they saw that day. With an open view kitchen that allows you to see the chefs busy at work preparing all of the delicious meals in a modern, clean and hygienic work place. The bar is right next to the dining area and offers lots of tropical cocktails made with the freshest fruits and branded spirits. A great place to sit and tell tales of your past adventures.
The pool is located in front of three of the cottages, with spacious lounging areas equipped with sun beds and umbrellas. If you want to soak up some rays or cool off at the end of the day, this is the place to do it. It is not far from the bar, so ordering a nice cocktail to quench your thirst is easy and very much recommended – after diving of course. We also use the pool for teaching scuba lessons; as it has an extra deep area specifically for diving tuition. There are two terraces and two beach houses all furnished with sun loungers or seating areas and tables. Some are in the more hidden parts of the resort, so there is a place to get even further away from it all and relax. The main terrace is often used in the evening for dinner; it is situated over the dive center and there is a nice cooling sea breeze. The two beach houses offer a great place to have a quite meal with that special someone, maybe an anniversary, birthday, honeymoon or just a romantic meal.
All of the cottages have either a sea or swimming pool view and are equipped with;
• Aircon & Ceiling Fan
• Hot Water Shower
• Soaps & Shampoo
• Hair Dryer
• Safety Deposit Box
• Pool & Bathroom Towels
• Mini Bar
• Unlimited Free Mineral Water
• Private Balcony with Comfy Seating
The cottages can be set up with either a queen sized double bed or twin beds, and in five of our cottages we can add a 3rd bed if required.
Diving
Magic Island is primarily a Scuba Diving Resort, of course all are welcome, but we mainly cater to divers or people who are interested in becoming divers. The dive center is located right on the sea front facing out towards our fantastic house reef, where you can dive any time, day or night. Inside the dive center everyone has their own individual post and crate, giving lots of space to hang or place all of your dive gear. Outside there is lots of room to prepare your equipment, plan your dives or just sit in the sun and soak up some rays. Most of the time the tide is high enough that the boats can pull all the way up to the dive center, so it just one step and you’re aboard. oalboal has a vast array of marine life, from the very tiny Denise Pygmy Seahorse, to the sexy and elegant Thresher Shark that is often spotted hunting the huge school of Sardines that reside at Panagsama Wall. The Sardine bait ball is a spectacle all by itself, with well over a million sardines making up the school. Watching them shift and change shapes as predators swoop in to catch a tasty mouth full, is just mesmerizing.
Pescador Island is just a 10 minute boat ride away, this little uninhabited islet rise’s up out of the Tañon Straight creating a perfect place for marine life to flourish. Its huge walls drop down to 60 plus meters, with colorful soft corals and Gorgonian Sea Fans clinging to the rocky face and all the tropical fish you can think of. On the west side of the islet you have ‘The Cathedral’ a huge cavern that has numerous large entry and exit points, looking back out of the cavern it has the eerie appearance of a skull.
Other activities:
Ask at the Activity Desk for all the daytrip possibilities the resort has to offer. There’s trips to the local waterfalls or a day out to snorkel with whalesharks. Besides that, you can also hire a motorcycle at the resort to roam around and visit the local market or long white beaches in the neighborhood.
Canyoning
Feel the adrenaline going through your body in the hidden canyons of Cebu. Climbing down a 30 mtr. deep waterfall is a challenge for anyone! But even beginners can join this adventure with the help of the experienced and professional guides.
Tison Waterfalls
Walking through the jungle and up the mountain and that’s where the fun starts. Shortly afterwards you will be abseiling the waterfalls! If you have the guts then this will be the biggest adventure of your holiday.
Trekking at Osmena Peak
Experience the real Cebu! You will need to be in good physical condition, as this trip takes about 7 hours. It is a beautiful journey through jungle and valleys to the highest peak of Cebu. During your journey you will meet the hospitable locals and pass by a local mountain market.
Mountain biking
Hire a mountain bike and go it alone or choose one of the three half-day trips; river, coast or cave. If you want a challenge you can “Do it the hard way”, cover 55 kilometres and reach a height of 800 meters. If this is not enough you can try “Last heart attack”. 90 kilometres and climbing to a height of 1500 meters.
Real dirt bike fun
Do you have experience with motor bikes off-road and would like to taste some dirt after all the diving? Cebu is full of roads which lead you to beautiful views or wind along the coastline. With or without a guide.
At the end of the day, be sure enjoy the spa!
Night Dive
There are several great spots for a unforgettable night dive; the house reef, Pescador Island or Discovery Point. At 6:30pm you can meet decorator crabs, shrimps, nudibranchs, moray eels, snake eels, cuttlefish, octopus, frogfish and much more. If you don’t do a night dive in the Philippines, you’re really missing something!
Twilight Dive
During twilight the marine life is very different. At Talisay the mandarin fish appear to perform their fascinating courtship display.
Magic Point, the House Reef!
Depth: runs from 5 till 55 metres/15 till 180 feet, visibility 15 till 25 metres/50 till 80 feet. Our fantastic house reef (a drop off) is just in front of our dive center and there’s lots to see. Schools of jacks and tuna hunting on a prestige reef covered with hard, soft and fan corals. We also have our frogfish, a black, yellow and grey one. There are always turtles around and even while snorkeling you’re bound to see them. We’ve even seen a whale shark and several white tip reef sharks on our house reef. During a night dive you can see decorator crabs, cuttlefish, nudibranchs, snake eels, sea snakes and many more.
Discovery Point
Depth: 5 till 30 metres/15 till 100 feet, visibility 10 till 25 metres/30 till 80 feet. This is a spot for macro lovers!
Goby Point
Depth: 5 to 10 metres/15 till 30 feet. Visibility 10 to 15 meters/30 to 50 feet. Big rocks on a sandy bottom with masses of small life like boxer shrimps, signal gobbies, nudibranchs, pegasus and much more. The perfect afternoon dive!
Tongo Point
Depth: 5 till 55 metres/15 till 180 feet, visibility 15 till 25 metres/50 till 80 feet. This is everything a diver wants! A drop off covered with hard and soft corals, fan corals, small caves, occasional turtles and masses of small creatures like nudibranchs, leaf fish, harlequin ghost pipe fish etc. But don’t be surprised if you see barracudas, jacks or a whale shark.
Talisay Wall
Depth: 5 till 55 metres/15 till 180 feet, visibility 15 till 30 metres/50 till 100 feet. A variable dive with a slope and wall. There a several caves to be found and explored. Lots of black coral, bat fish, barracuda, mandarin fish and sometimes a turtle. Because of the combination of slope and wall, this is also a great place for a night dive.
Talisay Point
Depth: 5 till 55 metres/15 till 180 feet, visibility 15 till 30 metres 50 till 100 feet. A beautiful slope, full of hard corals mixed with soft and leather corals. You can find bat fish, crocodile needle fish, turtles, sea snakes, frogfish, anemones with shrimps and clownfish to name but a few. In the evenings mandarin fish will come out in search for food.
Panagsama Beach
Depth: 3 till 40 metres/10 till 130 feet, visibility 15 till 25 metres/50 till 80 feet. An excellent dive for beginners and for the divers who love small things. You start the dive at 15 metres and slowly ascent to 10 metres. The chances of seeing a school of sardines being chased by tuna fish is high. There is always a chance that a whale shark will pass by.
Kasai Point
Depth: 5 till 35 metres/15 till 115 feet, visibility 15 till 35 metres/50 till 115 feet. During this dive you will find several canyons and caves, large schools of razor fish, a turtle, leaf fish, black coral and this is also on the path of the whale sharks. If you’re really lucky, you’ll see eagle rays.
Kasai Wall
Depth: 5 till 40 metres/15 till 130 feet, visibility 15 till 40 metres/50 till 130 feet. A varied dive along a wall where you will find several caves and canyons. In the deep you can see snappers and sweetlips, in the caves or on the wall frogfish, moray eels, sea snakes and in the blue schools of big mouth mackerels and sardines. And of course the small life is also there.
Tuble Reef
Depth: 2 till 35 metres/5 till 115 feet, visibility 15 till 35 metres/50 till 115 feet. Lots of caves and a forest of sea fan corals make this dive a special experience. You may also sea schools of razor fish, big parrot fish, turtles and large schools of tuna and jacks.
Dolphin House
Depth: 5 till 45 metres/15 till 140 feet, visibility 15 till 30 metres/50 till 100 feet. A gentle slope to 20 metres/65 feet covered with corals then a drop off to 45 metres/140 feet. Around 20 metres/65 feet there are a lot of caves and in one of them there is usually a sleeping turtle. At 25 metres/80 feet there are some big fan corals. They’re difficult to find, but here you can find pigmy sea hors.
White Beach South
Depth: 4 till 35 metres/15 till 115 feet, visibility 15 till 30 metres/50 till 100 feet. Because of the slope this is also a great place for snorkelling. The wall is covered with hundreds off soft coral and there are also caves. This is a very good place to look for nudibranchs.
White Beach North
Depth: 4 till 35 metres/15 till 115 feet, visibility 15 till 30 metres/50 till 100 feet. This slope is extremely colourful because of the great diversity of soft and hard corals and also all sorts of anemones, each with their own specific inhabitant. You can also meet potato groupers, snappers and turtles.
Fish Feeding
Depth: 5 till 35 metres/15 till 115 feet, visibility 15 till 30 metres/50 till 100 feet. A simply fantastic slope full with corals. Between all these corals the turtles are sleeping, big fish are looking for a meal, shrimps and crabs are hiding in anemones and soft corals, and so on. Ghost pipe fish are seen here a lot. By the way: we do not feed the fish!
Copton Point Deep
Depth: 18 till 55 metres/65 till 180 feet, visibility 15 till 25 metres/50 till 80 feet. This dive starts with an airplane wreck that has sunk in 1993 as a dive attraction. The slope changes at 23 metres/75 feet into a beautifull wall covered with sea fans, sponges, soft coral and we find a lot of nudibranchs and shrimps.
Copton Point Shallow
Depth: 4 till 18 metres/15 till 65 feet, visibility 15 till 25 metres/50 till 80 feet. There are many table corals here, soft corals en a huge variety of fish such as scorpion fish, sweetlips, puffer fish, titan trigger fish, turtles, nudibranchs, shrimps and again a lot more.
Sanctuary
Depth: 8 till 45 metres/20 till 150 feet, visibility 10 till 25 metres/30 till 80 feet. Deep or shallow, this is a great place to dive. Between 26 and 40 metres/80 and 130 feet there is a fan coral forest, not just a few, no, really as far as you can see and enormous! The area is also leaf fish, harlequin ghost pipe fish, napoleon fish, bump-head parrotfish, white tip shark to name but a few. In the coral garden all the small life is hiding between the hard and soft corals. Do not forget your camera, but you’ll have a tough decision, your standard of the macro lens. Better plan: make more dives here!
Pescador
There are divers that call this one of the best dive spots of the Philippines so come and decide for yourself! You can make several dives before you’ve have gone all the way around the island, but then you have not seen all.
Pescador Island Cathedral
Depth: 5 till 65 metres/15 till 200 feet, visibility 20 till 40 metres/65 till 130 feet. There is an unbelievable variety of corals, frog fish, schools of lion fish, barracudas, tuna and snappers, etc. There is a magnificent cave that has a heavenly view of the surface so it’s easy to see why it’s called the Cathedral. Occasionally you will meet sharks and at the north east side there is a plateau where you can find nudibranchs, shrimp and lots of other small marine life. The wall is covered with soft coral which offers a home to octopus, moray eels, snake-eels, nudibranchs and many more.
Pescador Island East
Depth: 5 till 65 metres/15 till 200 feet, visibility 20 till 40 metres/65 till 130 feet. The dive starts at a plateau that turns into a sloop which is covered with all kinds of hard and soft coral. If you take a good look, you’ll find a lot of scorpion fish, razor fish, sweetlips, potato groupers, snappers, schools of tuna and barracuda. The dive ends on a plateau. Look carefully and you’ll find a lot of small marine life here.
Pescador Island Night Dive
Depth: 5 to 65 meters/15 till 200 feet. Visibility: 5 to 15 meters/15 till 50 feet. THis will be the most beautiful night dive you’ve ever made. Big crabs run around, cuttlefish, snake-eels and there are nudibranchs in all sizes. The corals are open and so very colorful but aware that the sharks might be watching you!
