Blue Heaven Malapascua

Malapascua, Philippines

The team at Blue Heaven Malapascua are just good people. We’ve always appreciated their straightforward approach to diving, especially when you’re chasing thresher sharks at Monad Shoal. They’re particularly well-suited if you’re looking for Japanese-speaking instructors, making that PADI cert a bit easier, or if you simply prefer a more intimate, less bustling dive shop experience. We’d pick them when our priority is a smooth operation, focused on the diving without any fuss. They’re solid for thresher shark dives, obviously. We’ve found their early morning trips to Monad Shoal to be well-organised, getting you there before the biggest crowds. You’re often sitting on the cleaning station by first light, watching the thrashers glide through the blue, their long tails cutting elegant arcs. It’s cold on the boat ride out, so definitely bring a windbreaker. They also run trips to Kimud Shoal for hammerheads when the season is right, a proper deep dive with a chance to see those distinctive silhouettes emerge from the current. Beyond the big stuff, their local knowledge for calmer reef dives is excellent, too, pointing out pygmy seahorses and frogfish when you need a macro fix after the pelagic adrenaline rush.