Route Description - Visayas: Southern Leyte & Malapascua
The Visayas, Southern Leyte & Malapascua region is especially rich in vital nutrients and plankton that support a variety of critical ecosystems. There are several protected mangrove areas, and marine sanctuaries protect much of the region. Underwater, the topography of dive sites varies wildly, from shallow sandy reefs to vertical rock walls dotted with seafans and sponges.
The 10 night Visayas, Southern Leyte & Malapascua liveaboard itinerary explores some of the very best scuba diving in the Eastern region of the Philippines.
Over the course of 11 days aboard Philippine Siren, you will visit and dive around Limawasa Island and Sogod Bay as well as Cabilao, Balicasag, Bohol, and Malapascua. This itinerary not only offers fantastic macro diving, and the chance to see masses of schooling fish, but also the possibility of some larger pelagic encounters. Whale sharks frequent the area around Southern Leyte and thresher sharks come in to feed on schools of sardines at various locations covered by this itinerary; most notably around Malapascua.
The dive sites vary from gentle sloping reefs and muck diving hotspots to steep coral and sponge covered walls with a wide variety of marine life. Common sightings include green and hawksbill turtles and schools of barracuda and jacks, whilst redtooth trigger fish, pyramid butterfly fish and blue lined fusiliers are seen in huge numbers on almost every dive.
Smaller creatures such as frogfish, ghost pipefish, octopus and pygmy seahorses are found at several of the dive sites and of course a wide range of nudibranchs, shrimps and crabs can be found on each reef.
On a typical day up to 4 dives; 3 day dives and a fourth sunset or night dive are offered. The diving day is usually scheduled as follows:
Light Breakfast followed by a briefing and Dive 1
Full Breakfast, relaxation period, briefing and Dive 2
Lunch, relaxation period, briefing and Dive 3
Snack relaxation period, briefing and Dive 4, where possible
Dinner