Thresher Shark Divers
Thresher Shark Divers
Thresher Shark Divers
4.5
8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Full view
About
PADI 5 Star CDC Dive Center, located on Malapascua Island in the Philippines. Offering daily thresher shark dives, mantas, hammerheads, reefs and wrecks, macro and muck diving, mating mandarin fish, seahorses, frogfish and much more. Small groups with experienced Divemasters and Instructors. TSD offers all the local dives sites, a full range of PADI courses from beginner to Instructor, dive internships and technical diving. British owned and run, professional and safe, with 15 years experience on Malapascua.
Malapascua Island, Philippines
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Awards
Travellers' Choice
2024
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4.5
746 reviews
Excellent
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Very good
88
Average
36
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22
Terrible
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Rob
Phuket, Thailand33 contributions
Oct 2022 • Solo
I completed my DMT (divemaster training) with TSD. From the start, the experience was very professional. You have to keep in mind that dive shops operate on shoestring budgets and deal with mostly last-minute bookings. I definitely didn’t know how good TSD or Malapascua was until I traveled around a bit.
Andrea, the owner, chatted directly with me and answered my questions before booking. She was much more responsive and helpful than most other shops. And their website is loaded with helpful info. It was an easy decision to book with TSD after finding it difficult to communicate with, get prices, timeframes, and help with accommodations from other DMT programs.
Once I arrived, not only did they introduce me to the manager of Blanco resort who gave me a good price, but they also introduced me to the owner of Angelina’s restaurant who rented me a flat for one month at a great price. They even arranged for me to share transport from Cebu airport to Maya port/Malapascua with another person, which saved me about $30.
The training at TSD is top notch, and you will particularly enjoy the Rescue course if you have the chance to take it with them! Be prepared for last minute changes and “fun dives” to occasionally take precedence over “training dives”. But, as I’ve learned, this is not unique to TSD and very commonplace in the industry.
Looking for fun dives? What you will love most about diving with TSD is the Filipino employees. From the banka captain (who did an impressive free dive to rescue my camera lens haha) to the equipment specialist and the dive guides, you will always be surrounded by a positive energy and feel like they are your friends and family!
Malapascua is an AMAZING place to dive, and you will not be disappointed by the Thresher Shark dives! If you have a bad experience at TSD it will likely only be because they are understaffed (like most dive shops at high season), are doing boat maintenance, or you just aren’t speaking up to be clear about what you want. They can get quite busy, so be sure to be loud and be clear about what you want from them. They’ll bend over backwards to accommodate your wants if you speak up!
Andrea, the owner, chatted directly with me and answered my questions before booking. She was much more responsive and helpful than most other shops. And their website is loaded with helpful info. It was an easy decision to book with TSD after finding it difficult to communicate with, get prices, timeframes, and help with accommodations from other DMT programs.
Once I arrived, not only did they introduce me to the manager of Blanco resort who gave me a good price, but they also introduced me to the owner of Angelina’s restaurant who rented me a flat for one month at a great price. They even arranged for me to share transport from Cebu airport to Maya port/Malapascua with another person, which saved me about $30.
The training at TSD is top notch, and you will particularly enjoy the Rescue course if you have the chance to take it with them! Be prepared for last minute changes and “fun dives” to occasionally take precedence over “training dives”. But, as I’ve learned, this is not unique to TSD and very commonplace in the industry.
Looking for fun dives? What you will love most about diving with TSD is the Filipino employees. From the banka captain (who did an impressive free dive to rescue my camera lens haha) to the equipment specialist and the dive guides, you will always be surrounded by a positive energy and feel like they are your friends and family!
Malapascua is an AMAZING place to dive, and you will not be disappointed by the Thresher Shark dives! If you have a bad experience at TSD it will likely only be because they are understaffed (like most dive shops at high season), are doing boat maintenance, or you just aren’t speaking up to be clear about what you want. They can get quite busy, so be sure to be loud and be clear about what you want from them. They’ll bend over backwards to accommodate your wants if you speak up!
Written 7 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Graham R
Tamworth, UK116 contributions
Jan 2020
A group of 8 of us have just returned from a weeks diving here (15 dive package), and had a fabulous time. The whole staff from the minute we arrived to the minute were leaving couldn't be more helpful or friendly, and it is highly recommended.
Diving wise, the visiblity isn't the best this time of year and some of the local dive sites had viz more like a UK summer (7-10m), but the small life here is superb. Personaly favborites in the week ar ethe early (5am) startt o Monad Shoal for the Thresher sharks, and captancillo island, although a two hour boat ride away was stunning, had by far the best viz (20M+), and wall diving as good as the big walls in the Red Sea.
There are perhaps not so many big fish in this part of the Phillipines (we heard the occasional boom from dynamite fishing, albeit a long way away as sound carries miles underwater) and I guess this might be the reason, but the smaller stuff is a riot of colour. It i highly recommende dyou go with the local divemasters as they really do know where the small stuff is, and found us no end of frogfish and seahorse (inc the rare pygmy seahorse) which we certainly would not have found on our own (Special thanks to divemasters Wilbert and Junjie).
The boats are fine, using their own local style of 'outrigger' boats, but are comfortable, stable and spacious, and the facilities at the centre also just what's needed. Oh, and the happy hour and milkshakes for between dives are fab in the upstairs Oscars bar - we ate there too and loved it (the best onion rings on the planet!)
Overall excellent, for a part of the world that has recently experienced a cat 3 typhoon only a few weeks ago it couldn't have been better, and teh small amount of local nooise from repairs ongoing after the storm have to be expected and most certainyl did not cause a problem - in fact it was a joy to see how the folk on the island are crackin on rebuilding their lives with a smile.
Thanks to Andrea who onws Thresher, and all her staff
Diving wise, the visiblity isn't the best this time of year and some of the local dive sites had viz more like a UK summer (7-10m), but the small life here is superb. Personaly favborites in the week ar ethe early (5am) startt o Monad Shoal for the Thresher sharks, and captancillo island, although a two hour boat ride away was stunning, had by far the best viz (20M+), and wall diving as good as the big walls in the Red Sea.
There are perhaps not so many big fish in this part of the Phillipines (we heard the occasional boom from dynamite fishing, albeit a long way away as sound carries miles underwater) and I guess this might be the reason, but the smaller stuff is a riot of colour. It i highly recommende dyou go with the local divemasters as they really do know where the small stuff is, and found us no end of frogfish and seahorse (inc the rare pygmy seahorse) which we certainly would not have found on our own (Special thanks to divemasters Wilbert and Junjie).
The boats are fine, using their own local style of 'outrigger' boats, but are comfortable, stable and spacious, and the facilities at the centre also just what's needed. Oh, and the happy hour and milkshakes for between dives are fab in the upstairs Oscars bar - we ate there too and loved it (the best onion rings on the planet!)
Overall excellent, for a part of the world that has recently experienced a cat 3 typhoon only a few weeks ago it couldn't have been better, and teh small amount of local nooise from repairs ongoing after the storm have to be expected and most certainyl did not cause a problem - in fact it was a joy to see how the folk on the island are crackin on rebuilding their lives with a smile.
Thanks to Andrea who onws Thresher, and all her staff
Written 3 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
divingwithme
Brisbane, Australia10 contributions
May 2022
When travel restrictions opened up we couldn't wait to go back to our favorite destination Malapascua traveling from Australia.
The travel requirements were not difficult and now no testing is required both ways so its pretty easy. We actually forgot about covid on the island as there seemed to be no evidence of it there and we were always outside (most restaurants and bars have outside areas) so we never felt worried.
This was our 5th trip to Malapascua and diving with Thresher Shark Divers, who as usual were the ultimate professionals, going out of their way to accomodate us and give us the very best diving experience.
We did 24 dives with Thresher Shark Divers, had the best closest encounters of the Thresher Sharks that we have ever had! Saw the most amazing Frogfish, Pipefish, beautiful soft Corals, Razor fish, Catfish, Marlin jump out of the water, breaching Thresher Sharks at the dive site, Sea Snakes to name a few...join my facebook page AnitaOngMedia to see some of the footage and photos in the next coming weeks.
The weather was spectacular and we enjoyed stunning sunrises and sunsets every day whilst degassing with some delicious cocktails. Water temperature 26-30 degrees it was a nice change from the terrible weather we have been having in Brisbane, Australia all year.
Now is the time to travel here as its still quiet due to covid and you feel like you are a VIP with so much space on boats and sometimes the entire dive site to yourself - a rare treat. I recommend traveling now before it gets really busy again! We will be back soon.
I'm already missing the 500 php massages we got frequently as I'm back to work this week.
The travel requirements were not difficult and now no testing is required both ways so its pretty easy. We actually forgot about covid on the island as there seemed to be no evidence of it there and we were always outside (most restaurants and bars have outside areas) so we never felt worried.
This was our 5th trip to Malapascua and diving with Thresher Shark Divers, who as usual were the ultimate professionals, going out of their way to accomodate us and give us the very best diving experience.
We did 24 dives with Thresher Shark Divers, had the best closest encounters of the Thresher Sharks that we have ever had! Saw the most amazing Frogfish, Pipefish, beautiful soft Corals, Razor fish, Catfish, Marlin jump out of the water, breaching Thresher Sharks at the dive site, Sea Snakes to name a few...join my facebook page AnitaOngMedia to see some of the footage and photos in the next coming weeks.
The weather was spectacular and we enjoyed stunning sunrises and sunsets every day whilst degassing with some delicious cocktails. Water temperature 26-30 degrees it was a nice change from the terrible weather we have been having in Brisbane, Australia all year.
Now is the time to travel here as its still quiet due to covid and you feel like you are a VIP with so much space on boats and sometimes the entire dive site to yourself - a rare treat. I recommend traveling now before it gets really busy again! We will be back soon.
I'm already missing the 500 php massages we got frequently as I'm back to work this week.
Written 9 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
phillip l
Hull Yorkshire England17 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
We recently came to Malapascua to dive with threshers and we went to see these about an adventure dive (deep sea dive on open water certification). We was approached by an arrogant expat who looked down on us for being open water certified only. She quoted us a price then added about 10 different things on top. I have dived over 20 times all over the world and to depths of 30m, just never done my advanced. Before what I surely thought what would come included in the price she added thousands of extras and was ridiculous, she was really rude so we left the shop straight away. Once talking to other dive shops we soon realised that there running a scam and trying to get as much money as possible out of tourists with no regard for them. I wouldn't feel comfortable diving here and I'd avoid this place like the plague.
Written 15 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Firstly, as the owner, I really feel that calling us scam artists is highly unfair and is possibly libellous — he came in, asked our prices and offerings and chose to go elsewhere. We didn't scam him at all. Scamming would be telling him one thing then charging him for something additional afterwards. We were quite clear about all pricing and options available. He just didn’t like them.
I’m really sorry to hear this diver had a bad experience in our office. Though it’s a shame he felt he needed to give us one star without actually diving with us.
I think it would help if I explain our policy and that of all the dive shops on the island - or at least the reputable ones.
The shark dive is an advanced dive in several ways. It is a straight drop down a line to 16 meters and then we swim around the reef between 16 and 30 meters, sometime with current and the surface can be choppy.
So for anyone that is Open Water certified, given that they are only certified to dive to 18 meters, unless the have significant experience they will be required to do the dive with an Instructor.
They will also need to do an easy (or "check") dive the day before the shark dive. If they have not dived in a while, they may instead be required to take a Refresher before the Deep Dive. Please understand that these rules are for their safety and that of other divers in the water. Not to mention that they will almost certainly enjoy the dive much more as they will be more comfortable with their gear and dive skills, as well as using air more slowly - an important factor on making a deeper dive last longer.
We do not consider 20 dives to be experienced and he certainly cannot have done “many" deeper dives, so a Deep Adventure training dive would be required. The only add-on to this would be the P150 marine park fee and the check dive/refresher if required.
I’m sorry he though the woman he talked to was rude, she was quite upset to read this, and did not think she had been. She did tell him at one point that other shops would maybe take him, but as a PADI 5 Star CDC Dive Center (the premier level of PADI shops) we stick to all rules rigidly. Maybe this, plus the insistence he needed to do this with an instructor made her come across as rude, but she certainly did not feel she was being so, and I’ve never observed her doing so to anyone.
Safety is our most important priority. Half of the cost of a Deep Adventure dive is for the Advanced Manual that you get with that - in fact if the student bought it directly from PADI, it would actually cost more than what we charge for the Deep dive in total. Buying the Advanced manual is a requirement by PADI for doing the dive, these are not our rules. We do stick to all the rules PADI set out for us, though some shops do not. This means we actually in fact lose business to other less scrupulous shops who decide they can flout the rules. He can of course go to one of these shops, but if it was me, if I was a customer, I would be thinking, “If they break one rule, how many other rules are they breaking?" It’s a slippery slope.
I hope that has helped explain our side of this interaction.
Best regards,
Andrea
(Owner)
Written 23 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
macey k
7 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
Myself and my partner completed our AOW with Steven at TSD. The entire operation is incredibly professional, all of the gear was well maintained, lunch was delicious and the boat crew were very helpful.
Steven was by far the best instructor we have ever had. He gave informative and in-depth dive briefings so we felt 100% comfortable. He was always very friendly and calm, we would highly recommend TSD, especially Steven to anybody considering 😊
Steven was by far the best instructor we have ever had. He gave informative and in-depth dive briefings so we felt 100% comfortable. He was always very friendly and calm, we would highly recommend TSD, especially Steven to anybody considering 😊
Written 31 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
barcelonaeats
Barcelona, España12 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
We enjoyed our dives with Toni, a very friendly and experienced Dive Master who also help us recommending a lot of things to do in Malapascua. The quality of the material and the professionality of the employees deserve to pay a bit more. You can pay with revolut and it helps a lot since it was really difficult for us to withdraw money from an ATM.
Written 18 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pinja s
8 contributions
Nov 2023 • Solo
I spent one day diving with the thresher sharks. The diving was good and dive master was great help as I had some trouble with my weights during the first dive. The minus of this place was that it’s a bit pricy if you compare to other dive shops on the island. And the customer service wasn’t worth of paying little more than in other places. For example no one told me what to do where to go as we got to the boat early in the morning, luckily my dive buddy dived with then the day before, so I followed her as she told me where’s the toilet where to get water etc.
As we came back to the diveshop, again nobody said what happens next.
So on my opinion I would happily pay little more if the service was more welcoming, friendly and helpful. But I felt like they didn’t want to give a nice experience, just wanted the money.
As we came back to the diveshop, again nobody said what happens next.
So on my opinion I would happily pay little more if the service was more welcoming, friendly and helpful. But I felt like they didn’t want to give a nice experience, just wanted the money.
Written 8 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ricky B
2 contributions
Nov 2021 • Solo
To be guided by a joyful, competent course director, Toni Plaza and being supported by a well experienced idc staff instructor Leon in my Instructor Development Course at TSD. After the IDC to hear from Toni that I am more than ready to take the IE (Instructor Exam) gives me the needed courage to be more relaxed and joyful in taking the IE. Most of all that my CD Toni joined me to Dumaguete where I took the IE is excellent, just to ensure that if I still have some questions about anything he is still available to be of help to me. Toni is not just a mentor to me but also a friend. I am so thankful to TSD for now I am already an instructor who can teach and certify people as PADI divers.
Written 6 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maria S
Copenhagen, Denmark15 contributions
Jan 2024 • Friends
We went into the shop to hear about diving and their prices. However, we were met by an incredibly rude lady who talked down to us as soon as we told her that we "only" had open water. We even tried to ask some questions, but she seemed so annoyed and even rolled her eyes at us when we should have elaborated on a question. When we left the store we said a nice thank you and goodbye but she didn't even respond to that. We ourselves are two women who value politeness and we would not have been rude to her in any way. We left there with a really bad feeling and because of her we have chosen to dive somewhere else. There are generally slightly higher prices for diving here at malapascua compared to other places in the Philippines and therefore we expect to feel welcome and get a good service. We didn't do that here
Written 26 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joe B
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua14 contributions
July 2024 • Couples
Only one word to describe this trip. AMAZING. My partner and I are both ex diving instructor and have working in the industry for well over 10 years.
These guys are a very well run and a professional outfit.
We booked the package at Blanco resort with diving and it was well worth the money and in a beautiful spot.
Both dive centre and hotel moved our booking free of charge due to the Microsoft outage we arrived 24hours late.
Tony the manager was very transparent with the plans due to the weather and made sure he not only accommodated for us but for everyone.
We did 10 dives with Wilbert,Mark Hilbert and Meg (dmt) all great guides.
We will definitely be back and will recommend our friends.
Thanks
Joe and Jess
These guys are a very well run and a professional outfit.
We booked the package at Blanco resort with diving and it was well worth the money and in a beautiful spot.
Both dive centre and hotel moved our booking free of charge due to the Microsoft outage we arrived 24hours late.
Tony the manager was very transparent with the plans due to the weather and made sure he not only accommodated for us but for everyone.
We did 10 dives with Wilbert,Mark Hilbert and Meg (dmt) all great guides.
We will definitely be back and will recommend our friends.
Thanks
Joe and Jess
Written 29 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi there!which are the nearest resorts to your dive centre? Any recommendations?
Written 9 March 2022
Hi, we have booked a hotel/dive package and not sure which dive center we will be diving with.
Do the dive centers offering a dive insurance per each dive or do I need to make a special dive insurance for the 10 days we are there, before I arrive?
If yes how much is the insurance per dive?
Written 22 February 2019
Hi, insurance is usually up to you to provide. You can buy annual DAN insurance. Or you can buy a few days through
a link on our site, I can't post links here, bu you can email us for more info.
Written 22 February 2019
Can I just walk in for dive trip without booking? Is the price the same? My plan would be on coming Oct.
Written 3 September 2018
Hi John, It's a good idea to pre-book if you can, but we will do our best to get you wet if you are unable to do so :)
Written 4 September 2018
Hi, I have some questions for ow and aow course details. Could you please offer an email address?
Thanks and best regards,
Anniee Wong
Written 22 August 2018
Hi there, Tripadvisor won't allow us to post actual email addresses, but it's dive at thresherdivers if you can work that out, look forward to hearing from you!
Written 24 August 2018
Hi all! It seems like many reviewed that TSD can be a lil pricey albeit worth it and I’d like to know
1. How much would doing AOW cost
2. Which resort should I stay
3. Will I have a chance to see the Thresher Sharks while doing AOW
4. Should going on a public holiday be really avoided as I’m planning to visit on the Good Friday weekend
Sorry for the many questions and really appreciate any help I can get!
Written 14 January 2018
Hi there! ~Thanks for your enquiry. There is quite a lot of info to send you so if it's possible to email that would be great (sorry, TA won't allow email addresses in this answer). But basically, AOW is P16,000 and there are many resort options. And yes, you see the sharks on the AOW :) However you are correct, holiday weekend are very busy, and so if you can come another time that would be better :)
Written 14 January 2018
hi guys..im confused between doing the owd at alona beach with balicasag or malapscua..the diving at balicasag seems amazing but at alona seems so so..how was your experience at tsd..im thinking of 5 days for the owd with the thresher shark deep dive,a night dive and kalmmangan..then off to bohol and balicasag
Written 13 October 2016
HI there, thanks for your question. I think you have my email by now? Best regards Andrea
Written 14 October 2016
Hi - do the rooms have hairdryers in them?
Written 3 September 2015
Hi Katy, we don't have our own rooms, but as far as I'm aware none of the resorts have hairdryers. I have long hair myself and it dries really quickly as it's so warm all the time.
Written 3 September 2015
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