Nestled in the beautiful island of Cebu in the Philippines, Moalboal is famous for its pristine beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and abundant marine life. One of our favourite experiences here was swimming with the turtles at Panagsama Beach. In this blog post, we’ll delve more into the experience and provide you with our top tips!
How to get to Moalboal?
Moalboal is located on the southwestern coast of Cebu Island in the Philippines, around 100 kilometres from Mactan-Cebu International airport. We opted to book a private transfer with Klook, costing us roughly 1600 peso (£25) each way. The cheaper option would be to make use of the public transport by catching a train and a bus for around 600 peso before negotiating a trike fare once you reach Moalboal in order to get to your accommodation. However, bear in mind that the latter does take around 4+hrs rather than 2.5hours for the private direct transfer.
How to avoid the crowds?
We chose to swim with turtles alone without a guided tour as this enabled us to avoid the crowds of all the tour groups. If you do this, do make sure you are a confident swimmer as dealing with the waves and currents can be unpredictable and physically demanding. We woke up and headed out for sunrise, and some days were lucky enough to have the beach to ourselves for a little while! The turtles also tend to be more active early in the morning while they are searching for food and moving between feeding grounds. We also suggest trying this on weekdays when there are generally fewer people around.
Hiring Equipment
We bet you can’t visit this beach without the locals asking if you need a snorkel or fins! There’s so many places available where you can hire the gear you’ll need. The cost to hire can vary depending on the rental shop and the duration of the rental, but on average you can expect to pay around 100 to 300 peso per day. We brought our own gear with us, James used this full face snorkel mask and Kaylee used her HUUB swimming goggles.
Safety of turtles
These curious turtles, unafraid of human presence, often swim in close proximity. It’s super important to be respectful when swimming with turtles, by maintaining a safe distance and avoiding touching or chasing them. Witnessing a large tour group of 10+ people crowding around a single turtle was rather disheartening. Be sure to respect the animals’ space and behaviour to create a more peaceful environment for them and other visitors.
So, what are you waiting for.. grab your snorkel gear, dive into the turquoise waters of Moalboal, and tick off that bucket list activity. If you have any questions or require any more tips, feel free to comment below!