FAQs – Malapascua Diving, Thresher Sharks & PADI Courses | Thresher Shark Divers

FAQs – Malapascua Diving & PADI Courses with Thresher Shark Divers

Planning a dive trip to Malapascua? Below you’ll find answers to the most common questions about thresher sharks, scuba diving courses, dive and resort packages, and travel logistics with Thresher Shark Divers.

Still have a question? Contact us — we’re happy to help!

🦈 Can I really see thresher sharks in Malapascua?

Yes — Malapascua is the only place in the world with daily sightings of thresher sharks, thanks to the cleaning station at Kimud Shoal. Sightings happen year-round, every morning. We are so sure you will see them that we have a thresher shark guarantee!

We offer early morning double-dives every day of the year.

You need to be a certified diver to see them:

  • If you are Advanced Open Water and above, you go in a group with one of our experienced PADI certified Divemasters. Find out more. 
  • If you are Open Water certified, you need to go with an instructor. Find out more. 

🤿 What certification do I need to dive with thresher sharks?

You need to be a certified diver:

  • AOW (Advanced) and above:  thresher shark fun dives with a certified PADI Divemaster. 
  • OW (Open Water) only: "Instructor Led Dives" with a PADI Instructor for your comfort and safety. 
  • Not certified: the site is too challenging for non-divers. Also snorkelling and free-diving are not allowed due to possible strong surface currents and heavy boat traffic. 
  • If you have not dived in a while: depending on your experience, you may need to do a refresher or a check dive the day before. 

🗓️ What’s the best time of year to dive in Malapascua?

Diving is excellent year-round at all of our dive sites and thresher sharks are present year-round, there is no "best season". 

Best visibility is usually March to May, while December to February offers cooler water. The busiest times are from December to May, and during major holidays the island gets fully booked sometimes months in advance. We dive every day, weather permitting.

We do not have a monsoon as such, but there is a higher possibility of bad weather passing through from July to December. It usually lasts only 1-3 days. 

🔧 Our top tip on dates: if you are flexible on dates, our favourite time is from mid-May to end of June - to avoid the crowds and the bad weather. But we have great diving around 350 days of the year, 7 days of the week!

👩🎓 I’ve never dived before — can I learn with you?

Yes! We teach complete beginners every week through our PADI Open Water Course, which takes just 3–4 days and includes everything you need to become a certified diver.

👉 Click here for full course details and pricing

We also offer a 1-day try dive if you just want to try it first.

If you do the Open Water course, you can do the thresher shark dive the morning after if your schedule allows. 

💪 I’m already certified — do you offer the PADI Advanced course?

Yes! Our PADI Advanced Open Water Course is the perfect next step. It helps you dive deeper, explore new environments (like wrecks, night dives, or shark dives), and build confidence under expert guidance.

The course takes just 2–3 days and includes five dives — including a deep dive and navigation and usually 2 dives with our thresher sharks.

👉 Click here for full details, options, and pricing

📍 Where is Thresher Shark Divers located?

We’re on Malapascua Island, off the northern tip of Cebu in the Philippines.
Find us on Google Maps.

You can reach us by:

  1. Flying into Cebu City (CEB)

  2. Taking a taxi or van to Maya Port (~3.5 hrs)

  3. Short boat ride to Malapascua

We can help arrange door-to-door transfers, including private vans and boats.

🧳 Do you offer dive + resort packages?

Yes — we work with a range of trusted budget, beachfront and boutique resorts. We can create a custom package including:

  • Accommodation (budget to luxury)

  • Dive packages and/or PADI courses - including shark dives of course! 🦈

  • Transfers from Cebu airport

Just tell us your travel dates and resort type preference (beach, budget, high-end etc.) and we’ll suggest options.

🤿 What dive packages do you offer?

We offer:

  • Multi-day fun dive packages (book as many dives as you would like)
  • PADI Open Water / Advanced courses and other courses
  • Add-on trips: Gato Island, night dives, Kalanggaman Island
  • Here for a day only? Then you want our thresher shark trip. We take you out in the morning and you're back for lunch. You can leave in the afternoon.
  • Pricing is based on the number of dives, rental gear, and extras.

👉 See all diving packages here

📅 Can I pre-book specific dive dates?

We recommend booking your arrival and departure dates, and choosing dive dates day-by-day once here. This allows us to plan the best conditions for each site.

We assume availability unless it’s a blackout date (e.g. typhoon or "super-peak" times like Christmas) — we’ll let you know if any dates are restricted.

🧘 Do you offer private instruction or small group diving?

Yes! We pride ourselves on small group fun diving (max 4-6 divers per guide).

Courses are usually taught with just you, but group size may be up to 4 at busy times. 

Private courses, private guides, and private boats are also available upon request.

🛟 Is diving safe? What about the equipment?

Your safety is our top priority.

  • We follow and exceed all PADI safety standards, regularly service our equipment, and use high-quality dive gear.
  • Our instructors and guides are extremely experienced, some with over 10,000 dives in Malapascua.
  • We are one of the few dive centers in Asia that carry liability insurance,  though we have never needed it; in over 20 years and many 10,000's of dives we have never had a serious accident. 
  • Our rental gear is very new, and is name-brand high quality equipment (Apeks, Aqualung and more). We have a dedicated service technician who checks the equipment every time it is returned, and everything is kept well serviced. 

💬 More diving info

  • Are there other shark species on Malapascua?
    • Yes, we sometimes see tiger sharks and whitetips at Monad. We also usually see whitetip sharks at Gato as well as cat sharks and bamboo sharks and occasional other species
  • What else can I see underwater?
    • We have some of the most diverse diving in the world and lots more to see aside from sharks. We have reefs and wreck, macro and massive, walls and muck dives. "Malapascua has it all from big to small." You can see our dive sites here.
  • What is the shark dive schedule?
    • We leave between 5am and 8am depending on the day's schedule and the trip is a 2-dive (5 hours) or 3-dive (7 hours) trip. 
    • If you only have one day and have a preference, we should be able to arrange it with advance notice i.e. if you want a 5am dive so you can leave earlier, or if you want an 8am dive so you can arrive the same day. 
    • An 8am departure means if you are arriving late in Cebu, you can stay overnight in Maya port and come over in time to do the dive.
    • Find out more about the dive schedule. 
  • Is flash photography allowed on the thresher shark dive?
    • No, as it scares them away. Thank you for your understanding on this. 
  • Can you tell me dive prices, inclusions and exclusions?
  • Do you offer other PADI diving courses?
    • Yes we are a PADI CDC, the highest level of PADI Dive center and we offer a full range of dive courses from beginner to Instructor and Tec. Nitrox and our junique PADI Thresher Shark Diver Course are two of our more popular specialty courses. 
  • Do you rent cameras?
    • Yes, we have a GoPro hero 12 for rental and also offer a PADI GoPro course. If you prefer to have us take the photos, we can arrange a photographer. 

💬 How do I book or ask more questions?

Contact us

📍 Or drop by our shop at the beachfront in Malapascua

We’re happy to answer anything — diving, travel tips, accommodation, or what to pack!

📌 Ready to plan your dive trip to Malapascua?