Hello everyone!
This is an unplanned post. I want to post something like my Palawan series or a video of my latest freediving shenanigans, but for some reason, I came up with this. I seriously find it weird, but I'm not complaining because I can add another entry to my Definitely Cebu series. This beach is not new though. I have visited this part of south Cebu many times as I made Moalboal more like my second home and my freediving playground. But for some reason, I didn't have a decent photo of this beach until last Tuesday when I went back after a very long time.
Before talking about the beach, let me share a story of how we ended up in Moalboal. You don't have a choice anyway, so here we go:
I have been stuck at home the past two weeks since it was always raining. I wanted to go out, but I hate getting wet or getting stuck in traffic. I was actually thinking of going somewhere sunny. Good thing my friend who's about to have his birthday invited me to go with them in Moalboal. We hitched a ride on the early morning of Monday without any clear plan on where to exactly stay in Moalboal. The plan was to be spontaneous.
Since it was their first time in Moalboal, the plan of spontaneity was scrapped because they now relied on me to become their sort of guide. I frequent in the area like once a month, so I can't say no to their request. I ended up contacting @sabanalchristian for a snorkeling guide in Panagsama. Since we planned to stay overnight, I requested Christian to look for a cheap room that's good for four people. I had my lunch at Smooth Cafe while my friends opted to just have refreshments because they planned to eat somewhere else. The reason I had my early lunch is that I would be freediving while they're snorkeling. Freediving on a full stomach is just unpleasant.
We met with Christian and went to his recommended guest house so that we can settle down and prepare for the dive. I chose to have a little bit of sleep while my friends had their lunch and we agreed to have the snorkeling activity at 3 PM. I was a little bit worried about snorkeling and freediving in the afternoon for it might rain. Fortunately, the weather was fine and I had an awesome dive. I'll share some footage of the dive soon. We then had an awesome dinner at Hungry Monkeys. It's a recommended resto bar in Panagsama.
The next day (Tuesday), our initial plan was to go to Secret Paradise before checking out and going home, but we woke up at around 9 AM, so it was already late for swimming. I suggested that we would just have our lunch somewhere after we checked out. Since it was their first time in Moalboal, I thought of having our lunch in Basdaku. They agreed, so that's how we ended up in Basdaku White Beach. We went back to the main road in Moalboal to get a pass from the tourism office. You can't enter the area without a pass.
I'm sure I mentioned in one of my blogs that I have been to this beach many times, but I don't have any good photos to share. Some spontaneity led to this post which turned out to be good. I initially wanted to just showcase the beach photos taken from my new phone, but I realized it should be a full travel blog.
Basdaku is a combination of two Cebuano words "bas" which means sand and "daku" which means big or large. It's a literal description of the kilometer-long coastline of the white beach. There's another term Basdiot which means small sand and Basdiot is where Panagsama is located.
The weather was perfect for the beach that time so as expected, there were a lot of tourists. However, the number was nowhere near the pre-pandemic levels. Basdaku can get really crowded especially during the weekends. If you're looking for a place to stay overnight, you don't have to worry because there are a lot of resorts near the beach especially in the northern part. You just have to choose according to your budget because that part of Cebu can get a little bit pricey. If you're just in there for a day, there are a lot of cottages available for rent. The south part of the beach is public while the north part is where most of the private resorts and hotels are located.
Because of the weather in the previous days, the beach is littered with debris, but those didn't stop a lot of people from swimming. The water was crystal blue as expected of Moalboal. The beach is facing Tanon Strait and across is the island of Negros. If you're into sunsets, the beach is a good spot.
We didn't stay longer in the beach because it was so hot and we have no plans of renting a cottage. There are very few shady areas in the beach so make sure you bring a big umbrella and you're well hydrated when you visit. We tried to look for a good place to eat, but we didn't find any that suited our taste. We just decided to have a late lunch near the terminal before going home. Instead, we took some photos just to update the followers that we were in Basdaku. 😅
While taking some pictures, I noticed that the sand was not as white as I perceived them to be. I think there are a lot of factors for this. Maybe because of the debris that are washed ashore. Or maybe because I have seen a lot of white beaches after Basdaku that my standard of a white beach is now elevated. Nevertheless, that doesn't stop me from enjoying the beach while observing the tourists having a great time.
The Philippines is really known for its paradise white sand beaches and you can add Basdaku White Beach to the list. If you're into sun, sand, and sea, you should consider visiting this beach if you happen to be in Cebu. Bonus: Moalboal is just a town away from the famous Kawasan Falls of Badian, so it's always a great side trip.
I guess that's all for this post. See you on the next one! As always, have a great week wherever you are.
Kim Ybañez
Welcome to Kim's small corner in Hive. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits secluded destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines). He's also a trying hard photographer so stay tuned as he shares his photos and his thought process while creating them. If you like his content, don't forget to upvote and leave a comment to show some love. You can also reblog if you want to. Also, don't forget to follow him to be updated with his latest posts.
Interesting you mentioned about hitchhiking there. Was it safe? Just curious as recently I read a warning from police in Nz to not pick up hitchhiker or something like that because it is not safe.
As always, really enjoy your travel post. I love the white sand beach as well. They bring me the feeling of paradise
We hitched a ride from a friend so it's safe. It's also relatively safe here, but the bus ride is also cheap. One way trip is only for $4.
Hitching a ride from a complete stranger in a remote highway is not advisable. But here, there's no remote highway so it's okay.
Thank you! I realized I should focus on sharing the places that makes the Philippines stand out. It's always the islands and beaches.
Oh I see, going with a friend is totally okay.
The islands and the beaches are my favourite. Hope to see more beautiful places in the Philippines
I always claim that I'm a mountain person, but I'm spending more time in the beach now. I guess I'm getting old. 😅
You should visit! I would recommend Palawan as the top destination.
How far is Cebu from Manila? I saw an Indonesian traveler movie and they were visiting Cebu, they just don't explain enough how to get there😂 and it got me curious. That beach is amazing and it looks pretty hot too. Hope to visit PH soon 😁
About 1 hour away by plane. There's a direct flight from Indonesia to Cebu I guess. I hear some people here went to Bali from Mactan International Airport. Tell me if you will visit. I can show you around.
hmm I haven't found a direct one but from Bali, they have with a short transit in Manila. There's also Cebu Pacific operating around, just trying to a find the best route to go without a long layovers.
So you really have to transit via Manila. Might as well explore the capital, but it's really chaotic there. I will go this 27 so I'll share the experience. But from previous experience, I really hate it there. 😆
I will surely add this beautiful spot in my bucket list to visit when the time comes. Staying under the shades while having a buko as your drink would be nice to relax yourself from the burning temperature there.
Thank for the additional info about the place.
We didn't find a buko stand while we were there. Maybe there was, but we planned to have lunch so we didn't buy. But I agree that it's a good way to relax.
Hoping you can visit one day!
One day I'll visit there and hopefully I can share it here soon.😊
So much solitude and beauty in a single place! Love this kind of locations! ❤️
True! I'm usually a mountain person, but I'm loving the beach from time to time. I'm not really keen of swimming unless I'm freediving, but just staying in the beach until sunset is just so relaxing.
I'm from Cebu and have been to Basdaku many times but didn't know the meaning behind Basdiot. So the last time I went to Moalboal before the pandemic, I was with a Myanmar friend who lives in Japan. We went to Panagsama thinking that we would see the same long white sand beach there. I was so disappointed to see that it was not as grand as Basdaku. 😕
We should have been enjoying this super nice white sand beach in Moalboal at that time.
The beaches in Cebu are still way better than mainland Japan beaches.
And oh the pass is new, right? To limit the number of people who come to the beach?
If you're into diving, snorkeling, freediving, and other water adventures, Panagsama is the place to be. Basdaku should be the destination if you're into beach, sand, and sun. There's always a next time though. 😆
This I won't dispute because being consistently hailed as one of the best islands in the world must mean something.
Probably. This was after the pandemic. Like they opened again and implemented a pass. It's a hassle to visit the tourism office before going to Basdaku because it's really far.
I hope I can bring my Myanmar friend next time though. 😅
They should have put a little branch of the tourism office near Basdaku so people won't go back far if they don't know the rules.
Curious why Panagsama doesn't have this pass. Hmm
It would be awesome to bring your friend from Myanmar.
I think you don't have to go back though. You'll just pay at the check point. Panagsama is a little bit lenient.
Hopefully I can tour her around next time! Hope she didn't get traumatized with our experience. 😂
You should tour her around to replace her trauma with a good experience. 😅
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Waaaww great beach.🤗thanks for sharing 🙏
Indeed! Thanks for stopping by!
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Thanks, Pauline!
Stunning photos of the beach. It seems like you guys are enjoying your stay there with a beautiful of of the beach . I haven't been to Palawan. We would love to visit there soon. Thank you for this post @ybanezkim26 .
Thank you! You should visit Palawan soon! Coron is a good start.
A post… and a great one @ybanezkim26 😊
Glad you went back… and it all came together even not planned way ahead.
Great captures. Beautiful beach. Happy to hear the weather stayed good too.
Your friends must have enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for sharing 😎
Have a wonderful day today 👋🏻☀️
Thank you, @littlebee4! Sometimes those unplanned trips lead to great adventures. I'm always spontaneous so I don't mind changing plans along the trip.
Have a great day!
I so understand @ybanezkim26 i’m the same… 😊 love adventures like that!
Have a great weekend further.
Thank you so much!
I had a wonderful weekend! We had an unplanned hike. I was just invited at the last minute.
That’s super cool @ybanezkim26 😎😊 great to hear 🤓
Enjoy your week!
That's a beautiful beach! Great pictures.
tks for sharing!
Yay! Thank you! Thanks for stopping by!
Ka nice pud diay SA Basdaku. 😀 I never been there when I visited Moalboal. Maybe next time I will visit Basdaku.