We recently embarked on a one-month trip to the Philippines, and it was more than we could have asked for! This country looks like it came straight out of a travel magazine. Crystal clear water, beautiful islands, white sand beaches, incredible marine life, and some of the world’s best snorkeling and diving!
With that being said, the Philippines is made up of more than 7,100 islands, and it can be quite overwhelming to choose where you will go and how you will get there on your Philippines vacation.
- Where is Moalboal
- How to Get to Moalboal
- Where to Stay in Moalboal
- How to Get Around Moalboal
- Things to do in Moalboal
- Best Food in Moalboal
- Swimming with Whale Sharks in Oslob, Cebu
We chose to begin our trip in Cebu for a couple of reasons. There are many amazing things to do on the island of Cebu, and it is within close proximity to some other islands that we wanted to go to, including Bohol, Siquijor, and Siargao.
We spent 1 week in Moalboal because it is the area of Cebu with the most activities for tourists and is home to world-famous snorkeling with a school of sardines. We have put together this Moalboal travel guide to help you plan your trip!
Where is Moalboal
Moalboal is a small municipality on the island of Cebu within the Philippines. That was quite the mouthful… for clarity, refer to the map above. This municipality lies on the south-western side of Cebu and is home to 36,000 people.
How to Get to Moalboal
First, to get to Cebu Island, you will most likely have to fly into Manila, the capital city. Then you will get another flight to Cebu, likely with Cebu Pacific or Philippine Airlines.
Once you land in Cebu City, Moalboal is another 2.5-hour drive from the airport. You will need to get a taxi from the airport to your accommodation. We ended up splitting a taxi to Moalboal with another couple that landed with us, so this way it would be a little cheaper.
Though a cheaper option would be to taxi to the South Bus Terminal in Cebu City and to take a bus to Moalboal. While this is more cost effective, it will take much longer to arrive.
Where to Stay in Moalboal
We used Booking.com to find an accommodation, and I think we found the perfect spot! We stayed at Sambag Hide-Away, which was owned by a very nice couple. While the rooms are very simple (like many places in the Philippines), the property is beautiful, the hosts are great, and you have access to some unbelievable snorkeling right from the beach in front of the hotel!
Just look at this ocean view from the yard of Sambag Hide-Away!
How to Get Around Moalboal
If you would like freedom to drive around Moalboal, I recommend renting a motorbike. Our hosts at Sambag Hide-Away set us up with a contact to rent a motorbike. It was great being able to drive around when we wanted to go somewhere.
If you do not want to rent a motorbike, you can hire one of the many tuk tuks to drive you around, but it is less cost-effective than the daily rate for a motorbike.
Also Read: This is One of the Most Beautiful Islands in the Philippines: Coron, Palawan Itinerary
Things to do in Moalboal
Snorkel or Scuba Dive with the Sardines
The absolute best thing to do in Moalboal is to either snorkel or scuba dive with the school or sardines! It was absolutely magical to swim along with thousands of sardines as they move together in unison.
We ended up getting so lucky while we were in Moalboal because the school of sardines was hanging out right outside of our accommodation. The owners at Sambag Hide-Away rent out snorkeling gear, so, we grabbed a couple pairs and were able to swim right out to where the sardines were. It was such a neat experience!
The sardines moved together like they were one unit and made some incredible formations. I mean, look at these photos!
We loved snorkeling with the sardines so much that we decided to give scuba diving a try so we could go even deeper and be closer to the sardines!
It was my first time ever scuba diving and it was a wonderful experience. We went out with Amo Diving. They did a great job making sure we felt comfortable in the water, and they even took photos and videos of us on our GoPro.
The Moalboal sardine run isn’t the only fascinating marine life in Moalboal though! We saw tons of beautiful, giant starfish and less fortunately, we saw a couple sea snakes (which are venomous). If you are lucky, you can also see sea turtles here!
Kawasan Falls Canyoneering Tour
Another must do while in Moalboal is to go canyoneering at Kawasan Falls. During the tour, you walk through a beautiful canyon, jump off multiple waterfalls, and even get to walk behind waterfalls! The blue water makes it even more amazing! Honestly, I am kind of a wimp when it comes to heights, and I impressed myself with the amount of waterfalls I jumped from!
They give you the option to either jump, or you can walk around the waterfall if you do not feel comfortable. We had a lot of fun on the tour!
Spend the Day at White Beach
While Moalboal is not a grand beach destination, they do have White Beach, and it is worth spending the day at. To go to White Beach, you must stop at the Moalboal Tourist Information Center and get a tourist pass. Basically, they will ask you how many days you are staying in Moalboal, you will pay a small fee, and they will give you a pass to go to White Beach for the days you are staying. You will be asked for your tourist pass on the road to White Beach.
If you opt to rent a motorbike, you are able to drive yourself to the beach. If not, it is easy to higher a tuk tuk driver to take you there!
Hike Osmeña Peak
We had planned to hike Osmeña Peak, but it ended up raining. Even though we did not get to do it, I recommend looking into it because it looks beautiful!
Also Read: The Best of Bohol and Panglao, Philippines
Best Food in Moalboal
Smooth Cafe
The Smooth Cafe is a great option for coffee and breakfast. We really liked their coffee, especially over the instant coffee you receive at most hotel accommodations! They also have lunch and dinner options on their menu.
Trattoria Altrove Moalboal
Trattoria Altrove Moalboal is an Italian restaurant that has a few locations throughout the Philippines. We ordered a pizza and a pasta to split and they were both good.
The Nomad Music and Art Bar
The Nomad Music and Art Bar is just a very small restaurant that is tucked away off the main road. The menu is small, but the food we ordered was very good! I ordered a burrito and Jacob ordered the chicken marsala.
Also Read: A Guide to El Nido Island Hopping & Beaches: A Philippines Gem
Swimming with Whale Sharks in Oslob, Cebu
This is something I debated whether I should share in a travel guide or not, but I ultimately decided to share our experience. First, we took a 2-hour bus ride to Oslob from Moalboal.
It was only after we went diving with the Whale Sharks in Oslob that we realized it may not be the best place to do so. It is said that they feed the whale sharks here to get them to stay year-round, which has hindered their natural migration patterns.
While the company, Deep Zone Dive Center, we went diving with seemed very thorough on their rules i.e. do not touch the whale sharks, keep a 6 foot distance at all times, etc… We noticed that the boats that take people out snorkeling did not abide by any of these rules.
The whale sharks were practically *attacking the boats (which is not normal for a whale shark), and this is when we realized that these boats probably feed the whale sharks to keep them in the area.
There were hundreds of snorkelers waiting to go out in boats to swim with the whale sharks, and it seemed as if there were no rules. We were told you could go to jail for touching the whale sharks, while the people snorkeling were petting them.
We enjoyed our scuba diving with the whale sharks because we were 2 of 8 people in our group, however, I strongly recommend doing more research on this before going out because we were not aware that they were feeding the whale sharks in Oslob. Though it was a beautiful experience to see these creatures, we wish it were on different terms.
With that being said, Moalboal, Philippines is a great location for starting your Philippines island hopping trip! There is so much to see and do on this island! We could have spent even longer seeing more waterfalls, doing more snorkeling or diving, and hiking!
-Morgan & Jacob
Be sure to watch our second chapter to traveling the Philippines!
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The Traveling Wellburys 
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