Dive Review of Magic Island Dive Resort in
Philippines/Moalboal, Cebu Island

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Magic Island Dive Resort, Mar, 2010, by Michael, WA, USA ( Sr. Contributor 21 reports with 14 Helpful votes). Report 5428.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Well worth the 24+ hour travel from U.S. and Europe. Best routing through Hong Kong, KL or Singapore, non-stops then to Cebu City. Worst part of trip is 2.5-3.0 hour white knuckle drive (excellent driver and nice A/C SUV)from Cebu City to resort on twisty, crowded road with literally thousands of people, kids, dogs, motorcycle sidecars on and along the road. Literally hundreds of turns, worse than road to Hana on Maui. But enjoyed the scenery and the way of life scenes along the way--boy you are not in Kansas anymore. Magic Island run by Dutch expats Arie and Desiree, an excellent, intimate, spotless and accommodating resort. Willem now runs the dive shop for the next year, and is eager to please. Beautiful grounds, cabins with A/C, superior and varied made-to-order food, do everything they can to make your stay just right. Most speak English, are very helpful and friendly. Most guests are Europeans--Dutch and Germans especially. Boats are locally made, comfortable but a little narrow, but quick to the dive sites, the furthest of which is only 20 minutes away. Diving is classic SE Asia--excellent diversity of fish and coral, even overwhelming at times (in a good way). Small stuff abundant--ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, crabs, shrimp. Macro photography is best, wide angle difficult to get without backscatter--lots of plankton in the water. Turtles regularly seen, all the normal fish species and lots of unusual puffers, mandarin gobies, boxfish, many species of other gobies, tuna, pencilfish, big snakes, common pipefish, lionfish, scorpionfish, devilfish, eels, anenome fish, cuttlefish. No whale sharks, but a couple of white tips spotted. No dolphins, but have been seen, we were told. Pescador Island sardine swarm not to be missed! Night dive at Pescador also fabulous, but anywhere on local reef good too. Dive guides are locals with limited English, but very good at finding small stuff. They were loose with you once they knew you were capable. Very patient with photographers, went very slowly. Most dives 60-65 minutes, 1 hour surface interval on White Beach, locals abound and girls/women selling necklaces. Don't miss the excursion to Kawasan Falls--a 4 hour hike through a a deep canyon stream with beautiful waterfalls, stalagtites, vines, jumps/dives into blue pools. Just like being in a movie, but wear cold water booties and be in pretty good shape. Liked unlimited dive package--I averaged 3 per day for 12 days, and got full board, not disappointing. Definitely a step above most places in Indonesia, at a very reasonable price ($150/night as a single, less for doubles, all-inclusive; well below Caribbean, Palau, Fiji, etc.) Great dive deal. Go other places for wrecks and big stuff, but this is great diving for rich underwater coral and fish. Will try to go back.
Websites	Magic Island Dive Resort Magic Island Dive Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	All over Caribbean, Mexico, Maui, Indonesia (Bunaken & Lembeh Strait), Florida Keys
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy, surge, currents, no currents
Water Temp	83-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Just follow the group (mainly leisurely very slow drift diving, less current than Cozumel) and dive your computer. 130 ft. limit.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Could improve size of tubs for big cameras.

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Dive Review of Magic Island Dive Resort in Philippines/Moalboal, Cebu Island

Magic Island Dive Resort, Mar, 2010,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Magic Island Dive Resort in
Philippines/Moalboal, Cebu Island