Scuba diving with thresher sharks. You might think I’m crazy, or you might be a fellow “lunatic” going thresher shark diving in Malapascua. Either way, this was a RARE shark encounter that I’m dying to share! From crying into my mask out of pure joy when a thresher shark swam comfortably within 2 meters of me (sorry, mom) to getting stung by fire coral and exploring a murky flat for tiger sharks, it was an absolutely wild week.
I’ve always had respect, fascination, and a tiny bit of a healthy fear of sharks- but mostly love! In fact, when I turned 18 my parent’s gift was to finally let me go diving with sharks. I know it’s probably not what most parents hope to give their little girl for their birthday, but I begged. 😅
After that one experience, I went from shark-curious to shark-obsessed. I was already in college for animal sciences studying biodiversity and conservation, but for the first time, I waffled between my lifelong dream of studying whales and dolphins vs. going for my masters in shark ecology.
Spoiler alert: I stuck with marine mammals (but haven’t entirely given up on that idea for my MSc someday). Now, I’m still a passionate and delusively enthusiastic shark hobbyist! I also spend more time than any sane person should seeking out the best shark diving experiences!
In this know-before-you-go guide, I’ll spill all the details on my time in Malapascua and answer your questions, including:
- Malapascua diving prices
- What makes thresher sharks so special
- The best dive shops in Malapascua
- When to visit Malapascua for thresher shark diving
- A detailed review of Thresher Shark Divers
- Malapascua dive sites
- Where to stay in Malapascua
- Important information about visiting Malapascua, like when to go and information about the island quirks
My experience diving with thresher sharks in Malapascua Island, Philippines
The only place you can dive with thresher sharks is the small, rather remote island of Malapascua, Philippines.
In Malapascua, 2 things are true: everything is beachfront, and it’s all about the sharks. The island is tricky to get to; you’ll need to fly from Manila to Cebu. Then, take a 6-hour hot, bumpy bus ride to a port, where you’ll finally catch a 45 minute “ferry.” The ferry is actually a traditional Filipino wooden called a bangka, which literally quaked and crackled in the waves, carrying coffee and other provisions to the island along with a few intrepid divers. That said, Malapascua is the BEST dive destination in the Philippines and is 110% worth the journey.
Malapascua is a diver’s dream underwater and the shark diving truly is spectacular. But if you’re visiting, you should know that there’s absolutely nothing to do on land. For for me, that’s paradise! A hard-to-reach place full of people from all over the world who are passionate about the same thing that I am! When you get this community together, it’s like adult summer camp: boat picnics and late nights at some crappy beach bar, people of all ages and cultures swapping stories about their dives and lives, united by this one common love of the oceans and this sport.
Anyway- Malapascua is a special little island with about 20 dive shops and dive resorts. The only other infrastructure is a tiny village with sandy pathways, a makeshift pharmacy in an outdoor stall, and a tiny beachfront catholic church (be sure to read my final tips for visiting Malapascua at the end of this blog in this regard- there’s important info about cash, wifi, pharmacy quirks, etc!).
SOUNDS COOL- BUT WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THESE SHARKS?
Pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias pelagicus, one of 3 thresher shark species) are a unique, shy, and hilariously big-eyed shark. They’re nearly impossible to dive with because they inhabit deep water, far beyond the depth limits for recreational scuba divers.
Fortunately, threshers in Malapascua visit relatively shallow water cleaning stations at Kimud and Monad Shoal in the mornings. They come to be picked clean by wrasse fish, who remove parasites from their bodies before the threshers zoom back over the reef and disappear down the drop off to the deep.
You might be wondering why someone would travel so far to see one specific shark species, but trust me– these sharks are cool:
- Thresher shark’s tails make up half of their body length. They use it to hunt, whipping multiple fish at once to stun them before chowing down.
- They’re one of the fastest predators in the ocean, reaching speeds of up to 22 miles per hour.
- They’re regionally endothermic (warm blooded like a mammal, vs. cold blooded like most sharks!). This means that they can make their body temperature warmer than the surrounding cold, deep water they’re usually found in!
WHO TO DIVE WITH FOR THE BEST THRESHER SHARK EXPERIENCE IN MALAPASCUA
It was tough to narrow down the best place to scuba dive with thresher sharks is in Malapascua because there are a lot of dive shops to choose from, and I am an overthinker.
But after a torturous amount of research, emailing with dive centers, and reading hundreds of reviews, I decided on Thresher Shark Divers! I actually booked it via a relatively affordable PADI package that included our stay at a nice dive resort + 12 dives with TSD (more on where to stay and dive pricing later!).
For context, I’m an Advanced Open Water diver with almost 100 dives, and my boyfriend is a newer diver with 25 dives. With Thresher Shark Divers, the thresher shark dives are for Advanced Open Water divers only. If you are Open Water, it’s still possible to do the shark dive safely with an instructor for an extra charge, but you won’t be able to go as deep and see the sharks beyond the dropoff. This is what my boyfriend did at first, but to get the full experience and expand on his dive education, he actually got his AOW with TSD while we were there.
Thresher Shark Divers Review:
The Thresher Shark Divers team was professional and thorough with their dive briefings. They also patiently answered my millions of questions every day in the dive shop. The pricing is competitive with the rest of the shops on the island, and the equipment is also well-maintained! After our PADI package ended, we actually extended our stay in Malapascua, got a room at another resort on the island, and booked more dives with Thresher Shark Divers!
I also appreciated that the dive days were well organized and ran on time for the most part. We had a great DM with a big personality, which made for an extra fun experience. I felt like they took safety seriously, which is obviously important with diving of any kind. I also watched him respond quickly and effectively when my partner lost his weight belt on impact after his giant stride. Finally, he took great care to make sure we got to spend a lot of time a lot of time with the sharks, and we never felt rushed.
Last- lunch was fantastic on the boat! Hands down the best lunch I’ve ever been served on a day trip dive boat. Marinated grilled pork, zesty noodles, sticky rice, and fresh mangoes made impossibly it hard not to gorge ourselves too much before our next dive.
MALAPASCUA DIVE SITES
The sites I dove are North Point, Kimud Shoal, Monad Shoal, Gato Island, and Malapascua Quiliano.
North Point was a total surprise- we wanted to do a fluffer dive before going shark diving, and the DM in the shop made North Point sound kind of lame. But when we got in the water it was like an acid trip. I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH HEALTHY AND BRIGHT SOFT CORAL GARDENS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! I felt like I was stepping back in time, getting a look at pre-industrial era or even prehistoric oceans. The reef was sparkling and buzzing with life like butterfly fish, angel fish, unique batfish, trevally, lionfish, and so much more!
Kimud Shoal is the premier dive site in Malapascua, famous for early-morning encounters with thresher sharks. Depth is 20 to 30 meters, and this submerged plateau has the aforementioned cleaning stations where you can clearly see thresher sharks in the sunlit water popping up at random. The drop offs and reef walls here are stunning as well, and when you descend from the cleaning station down to darker water, you can see the threshers coming up from the deep and heading to and from the cleaning station! We also spotted a sea turtle, and the reef wall had so much color and life- I love the bubble corals in particular. This is also where I accidentally brushed the tendrils of some fire coral with my hand, being fully distracted by the sharks and trying to keep low to the reef.
Monad Shoal is known for pelagic encounters at depths of 20-30 meters. This used to be the thresher shark cleaning station, but in recent years, tiger and bull sharks have moved in. Now, the threshers hang mostly at Kimud. With its expansive sandy plateau, Monad a great murky habitat for tiger sharks, but unfortunately all we saw was a couple of white tip reef sharks.
Gato Island is a marine sanctuary renowned for caves and tunnels, ideal for spotting white tip reef sharks at rest. At depths of 12 to 25 meters, the site features a thriving reef with sea snakes, pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, and a variety of crustaceans. I went in the cave with the DM but didn’t spot much life- it was extremely dark and about a 15 minute swim through, and I would only go in if you’re comfortable with small dark spaces underwater and using a torch.
Malapascua Quiliano is a dynamic underwater landscape with more beautiful coral gardens and sandy slopes. With depths of 10 to 25 meters, it’s a macro paradise with pipefish, frogfish, nudibranchs, and smaller reef fish.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO SCUBA DIVE IN MALAPASCUA (DIVING PRICES BREAKDOWN!)
At the top end, expect to spend around $60/dive in Malapascua. This is assuming you need to rent equipment, order lunch, and pay marine park fees and fuel charges.
See the DETAILED pricing breakdown (base price per dive, different equipment, fuel surcharges, marine park fees, etc) in my guide, Malapascua diving prices: How much is it to dive with thresher sharks? (2025 QUICK GUIDE)!
WHERE TO STAY IN MALAPASCUA
Malapascua has a lot of cute little dive resorts, and I stayed at 2 of the best! Both had strong air conditioning and welcoming staff, and packed a bagged lunch for us to take out on the boats for early morning dives.
One other thing to note is that the wifi was basically non-existent at both hotels, and definitely doesn’t work in the rooms- only in common areas. I was actually building a website for a client while we were there (I’m a website designer for entrepreneurs and small businesses- check me out here if you or someone you know needs a website!), and I had to sweat it out in the outdoor restaurant in the corner by the router to get even a slow connection.
In Malapascua, I stayed at 2 resorts.
Blanco Beach Resort (pics below!), which was offered as the hotel with the PADI package I booked, has modern, clean rooms. Ours had a great ocean view and a balcony. It’s a 10 minute walk to Thresher Shark Divers, and sits right on the ocean with a little waterfront restaurant.
Ocean Vida (pics below!) is a slightly better location with a slightly more spacious room. There’s a dive shop inside it, but you don’t have to be diving with them to stay there! It’s also beachfront with its own restaurant right there on the water, and the vibe is more laid back than Blanco. The resort is literally sitting in the sand and has comfy bean bags and tables right on the ocean. The restaurant at Ocean Vida is the best on the island, and we were eating there even when we were staying at Blanco. Ocean Vida also had the better breakfast, so I recommend it as my #1 pick for where to stay in Malapascua!
WHEN CAN YOU SEE THRESHER SHARKS? (WHEN IS THRESHER SHARK SEASON IN MALAPASCUA?)
Thresher sharks are in Malapascua year round, so there’s no true Malapascua diving season.
That said, I recommend going during the dry season (Dec-July) for better weather and less humidity. This is also when the water is at its clearest. I also recommend avoiding the height of the tourist season, April-May. I went in July and it was perfect!
FINAL TIPS FOR DIVING WITH THRESHER SHARKS
- Expect super early mornings- some of the dives to Kimud Shoals were before 5AM!
- There are no cars on the island. Locals and tourists walk or drive scooters on the sandy pathways.
- There’s little to no wifi- be prepared to be mostly unplugged.
- Carry some cash with you, or go to one of the ATMs early when you arrive. Most places don’t accept credit card.
- Bring your own sunscreen and bug spray. The tiny island pharmacy was out of sunscreen, and there was almost no where else to buy it! A dive shop was carrying a natural brand sunscreen, but unfortunately, we got burned to a crisp using it.
- Bring all the medications you need, like seasickness meds, painkillers, etc. The tiny island pharmacy keeps strange hours, is cash only, and was out of a few basic things.
Looking for other bucket list destinations or nature or scuba diving content? I figured! I have travel guides, reviews, and some crazy adventure travel stories to share!
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