Moalbol, Philippines🤿

From Cebu City, I caught the bus down to Moalboal, which took around five hours, including stops for food and rest breaks. Moalboal is a lovely little coastal town, best known for its incredible scuba diving and rich marine biodiversity. I spent five days here, and it ended up being one of my favourite places in the Philippines! The town itself is full of cafés, restaurants, souvenir shops, hostels and bars, so there's always somewhere to explore or grab a bite to eat. It is such a welcoming and charming little place that you could easily find yourself extending your stay!

🏨Chief Mau Moalboal
I stayed at Chief Mau Hostel, which was right in the heart of town, just a couple of minutes' walk from Panagsama Beach. The hostel was incredible, with huge dorm rooms, really comfortable beds and spacious communal bathrooms. They also organised all kinds of activities, making it a really sociable place to stay and a great spot to meet other travellers!

Sardine Run

Moalboal is famous for its Sardine Run, where millions of sardines swim together in huge schools all year round, just a few metres off the shore of Panagsama Beach. I literally walked straight from my hostel, jumped into the water and was immediately surrounded by thousands of these little fish! You can snorkel for free straight from the beach or book a dive if you'd like to explore a little deeper. It is an incredible experience, not only being surrounded by so many fish but also getting to see all kinds of colourful coral along the way. If you are lucky, you might even spot some sea turtles swimming past. On a really special occasion, you could be lucky enough to see a whale shark too!

Canyoneering & Kawasan Falls

One of the most popular activities to do in Moalboal is canyoneering at Kawasan Falls. I booked this through my hostel, but there are plenty of tour companies offering the same experience. It is quite an expensive activity, but considering the tour lasts around three to five hours and you get to see and do so much, I honestly think it is worth the money! You willl spend your time climbing, swimming and jumping off cliff ledges and floating along the stunning turquoise waters of the Kanlaob River.

Before getting started, you will be given all your safety equipment, including a life jacket, shoes and helmet, followed by a safety briefing. You can bring your own camera or devices if you would like to capture your own content, but the tour also provides GoPro photos and videos for you to keep as memories of the experience. From there, it is around a 30–40-minute drive to Badian, where the canyoneering begins. You then have the option of hiking to the starting point or taking a zipline across the forest below for an additional cost. It wasn't particularly expensive, so we all decided to give it a go, and honestly, it was incredible! The panoramic views as we flew over the forest were insane. You can see from the photos below just how many lush green trees stretch out beneath you. We were also able to go in pairs, making it even more fun. The zipline was definitely one of the highlights of the day!

Once we had all completed the zipline, we made our way on foot through the incredible canyons, surrounded by some of the bluest water I have ever seen. Along the route, there are around five or more different cliff-jumping spots, where you will swim through narrow gorge passages, slide down natural chutes and jump from heights ranging from three to eleven metres. Don't worry if jumping isn't your thing, as all the jumps are optional and you can skip any that you would rather not do!

As the day went on, the weather took a turn for the better, with bright blue skies and plenty of sunshine. We were incredibly lucky, as the further we made our way down the river, the more vibrant the turquoise water became. The colours were honestly incredible, as you can see below, making the whole experience even more beautiful!

The route winds downstream through the canyon before finishing at the iconic multi-tiered pools of Kawasan Falls. Here, we had time to jump in, go for a swim and take plenty of photos. You can see just how incredibly blue the water was in the photos below! From Kawasan Falls, we then had to walk back to the starting point, which took around another 30 minutes. By this point, we were all pretty tired, but the beautiful scenery along the way made the walk worthwhile. Below is another section where you can also take a dip and jump into the river.

Chili Bar

Chili Bar is a popular beachfront restaurant, pub and nightlife spot right on Panagsama Beach. During the day, it is a great place to relax, grab a bite to eat and enjoy the ocean views. However, once the sun goes down, it transforms into a lively little nightclub, with DJ sets, a dance floor and beer pong. It is also one of the best spots in Moalboal to watch the sunset!

White Beach and Panagsama Beach

There are a couple of beaches in Moalboal that you should definitely visit. The first is Panagsama Beach, which, as mentioned earlier, is better known as a diving hub than a place to lounge on the sand, as much of the shoreline is covered in rocks and coral.

If you are looking for somewhere to relax and soak up the sun, I would recommend heading to White Beach. This beautiful one-kilometre stretch of white sand is a much more traditional beach, with a laid-back, family-friendly atmosphere. It is popular for sunbathing, paddle-boarding and beach volleyball, and is also another great spot to watch the sunset. Just bear in mind that it is a little further out of town!

Osmeña Peak

Osmeña Peak is the highest point on Cebu, sitting at 1,013 metres above sea level. To reach the peak, you can either join an organised tour or drive yourself, which takes around two hours from Moalboal. My friends and I decided to hire mopeds and tackle the journey ourselves. The route itself is beautiful, taking you along winding mountain roads with some rocky sections and offering incredible views across the surrounding hillsides.

Once you reach the base, it is a relatively short 20-minute hike to the summit. You will need to pay an entrance fee and hire a local guide. I'm not sure how necessary the guide was, but it didn't cost much when split between the three of us. Unfortunately, just as we reached the summit, the weather decided to turn on us and the clouds rolled in, completely obscuring the views. On a clear day, you can see incredible 360-degree panoramic views across the surrounding hills, mountains and neighbouring islands. We were here for about twenty minutes hoping the views would clear but sadly, we weren't quite so lucky!

Whale Sharks

Another activity you can do from Moalboal or Oslob is take a tour to see whale sharks. You can book a tour through your hostel in Moalboal, although it is much easier to do this directly from Oslob. Travelling from Moalboal involves an additional two-hour drive, meaning you'll need to set off very early in the morning.

At the time, I knew I really wanted to see whale sharks, but what I didn't realise was that the tour wasn't as ethical as I had assumed. There are a couple of places to spot whale sharks from Moalboal: Oslob, as mentioned above, or the waters around Pescador Island, which is just a short boat ride away.

Around Pescador Island, divers and snorkellers occasionally have the opportunity to spot wild whale sharks passing through the deeper waters. Oslob, on the other hand, is known for its daily whale shark encounters, where the animals are fed at the surface to keep them close to shore for tourists. I wasn't aware of this when I visited, and having learnt more about the practice, I personally wouldn't recommend the Oslob tour. In my opinion, repeatedly feeding whale sharks to keep them close for tourist encounters is not ethical, and I was also uncomfortable with how some of the guides treated them.

If seeing whale sharks in their natural environment is important to you, I would recommend looking into Donsol in Sorsogon or Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte instead. Both are known for opportunities to encounter whale sharks in the wild, without the same feeding practices used in Oslob.

Food:

• Smooth Cafe.
• Moalboal Shaka.
• My Greek Tavern.
• The Hangout Bar and Restaurant.
• Chili Bar.

This summaries my Moalboal recommendations! I would recommend spending just a couple of days in Cebu City before making your way down to Moalboal. There is so much to see and do here, with plenty of activities to keep you busy, and the town has a much more vibrant atmosphere, with lots of other travellers to meet along the way. You definitely don't want to rush your time here, so I would recommend spending at least five days in Moalboal to really experience everything this place has to offer!