Turtle Bay Dive Resort in Moalboal, Cebu

I guess there was no better way to start off the year for me but to travel. It was January 1st when my friend and I went to Moalboal in Cebu. We thought it would be nice to spend the first day of the year somewhere peaceful yet offering exciting adventure so we’ve thought of Moalboal – a popular destination for snorkeling and diving.

Turtle Bay Dive Resort was our home in Moalboal. I called it home because the place was really homey. The resort let us have an enjoyable vacation to kick off our year. We felt relaxed while we were in the resort and had a bit of adventure on the side because the resort’s location is directly in front of a beautiful house reef. A popular beach is also just a few minutes ride away.

Turtle Bay Dive Resort is located south of Panagsama Beach. It is settled in a beautiful garden offering a quiet place to have a relaxing vacation with great diving directly in front of the resort.

Getting to the resort was easy. If you’re commuting, the resort can be easily reached by a motorbike or tricycle. From the town center of Moalboal, a tricycle ride would cost around PHP 150.

It was already around noontime when my friend and I arrived. We were told that our room wasn’t ready yet so we were advised to stay at the lounge area for the meantime, which is located inside the restaurant. While we waited for our room, I roamed around to have a look of the area. The place was actually charming. Its surrounding has a tropical vibe, which was very nice. It has a pool and a garden. The sea in front is also home to a great house reef. I instantly felt that this place was absolutely perfect to spend our first vacation of the year.

After half an hour, our room was finally ready. We went inside, took some pictures and had a restful nap before we finally explored and enjoyed the rest of what the resort has to offer.

Room

The resort currently has 28 rooms that are furnished either in traditional English hand carved furniture or in Filipino furniture. The rooms are available in the following categories; Deluxe Sea View, Garden View and Pool View, Kings Room Sea View, Deluxe Family Room Pool View and Garden View and Presidential Suite. Room rate starts from PHP 2,350 based on twin sharing. Use this link to get room discounts for this resort.

Each room has a ceiling fan and air-conditioning. It has a private bathroom with hot water shower. Rooms also have private balcony.

Our room was a Deluxe Garden View. It has twin single beds. It was spacious. It was simple and basic. It was also clean and comfy, which why I also fell asleep easily on our first day. Well, I was asleep the entire day. That’s why also we were not able to do anything on our first day other than sleeping and having our dinner. I couldn’t blame our room; it was too comfy that I just really wanted to be on my bed all day.

Facilities

The best part of the resort for me was the facilities. Turtle Bay Dive Resort offers superior services and a broad range of amenities. The resort has a restaurant and bar, swimming pool, game rooms, lounge and massage area and a diving center. The resort also has a Wi-Fi that can be easily accessed in most common areas of the resort.

It was during dinner and breakfast when we were able to try the restaurant. The restaurant offers Filipino and Asian fusion dishes and some European dishes. But when we had our dinner, we opted to have a Filipino dish. During breakfast, the restaurant serves it in buffet style. The buffet was simple consisting of Filipino breakfast favorites, omelet, pancakes, cereals, breads and fruits. I liked the breakfast selection because it wasn’t overwhelming. It was right enough to fill in our hungry stomach.

The pool was also one of the things about the resort that I enjoyed. We just came from a side trip to Panagsama Beach when we passed by the pool and noticed that no one was around; so we’ve thought it would be a good time to experience the pool already – so we did. The pool was actually large, which why I was also able to practice my basic swimming skills. Well, I would be snorkeling the next day to see the house reef so it would be great if I could at least practice my swimming skills.

Although Turtle Bay Dive Resort doesn’t have a beach area, the resort has a great house reef to boast. I was stunned with its beautiful underwater. Before leaving the resort on our third day, my friend and I went to the bay and spent some time snorkeling. I was amazed to see some fish and corals. I would have wanted to explore farther but I was afraid to get too far. Well, I was being adventurous that time and went to the sea without a life vest on. Feeling swimmer, eh. We spent one hour swimming and snorkeling and we enjoyed it. We were glad that we pushed through with our plan and didn’t just spend the rest of our time in the resort inside our room. But I hope the next time that we’ll be here in Moalboal we could already experience diving.

Side Trip to Panagsama Beach

Initially, my friend and I thought of exploring Moalboal. But things had changed when we arrived at the resort. We felt lazy and all so we were only able to get to Panagsama Beach. It is one of the popular beaches in Moalboal that can easily get to from Turtle Bay Dive Resort. From the resort, a ride by tricycle cost about PHP 100.

Panagsama Beach is where most of the resorts, restaurants and dive shops are located in Moalboal. Beautiful house reefs can also be found in the area. One can also enjoy snorkeling without getting too far from the shore. Aside from underwater activities, one can also enjoy watching the sunset from here. The place is perfect to catch the sundown.

Overall, we had a great time in Moalboal. But the laid back atmosphere and the lovely house reef of Turtle Bay Dive Resort were the things I liked the most about my visit in this town in Southern Cebu. We stayed for three days and really enjoyed our time here. Turtle Bay Dive Resort was the perfect holiday spot and had everything that we needed to have a memorable vacation to begin another year of vacations and travels.