Summer Cruising at Talima, Sulpa, Gilutongan Islands with Badfish Freediving Tours

Hi Hiveans and welcome back to me HAHAHA!

Sorry for being inconsistent, I just started a new job as a Product Manager and it has been a week of training and information overload. Finally, it's the weekend, and here I am!

For the past few months, I have been indulging in a new adventure hobby which is freediving. My dive buddies and I have been to multiple spots on the island of Cebu, but would you believe that we have not visited yet some of the dive spots near the city? And that's what we strike out from our list when we joined a Summer Cruise Tour by Badfish Freediving Tours.

Summer Cruise by Badfish Freediving Tours

The Summer Cruise is coursing through the islands of Mactan. This includes Talima on Olango Island, Sulpa Island, and Gilutongan Island. I have never been there so I was pretty excited! By the way, we have paid P1,500 (27 USD) each for the tour which includes the boat, food, drinks, marine fees, photographer, and safety guide.

We had the rendezvous at Kontiki which is in Mactan. By quarter to 9 in the morning, we boarded the boat that we will be having for the Summer Cruise. It was a premium VIP boat, I mean look at that design, it's really spacious, has good speakers, and has a restroom. The tour had 30 guests, and then I think there is around 5-10 staff from Badfish and from the boat itself, so you do the math and imagine the number of people that would fit the boat. To be honest, I'm not sure if this boat is only exclusive to Badfish Summer Cruise or if anyone can book it. Past 9 in the morning, we finally departed from Konitki.

First Spot: Talima

Our first spot is just near Kontiki. Talima is a barangay in Olango Island. It features a shallow area (approximately 5 meters) for fun diving. At first, we weren't feeling energetic for a few reasons. It was still early, the waves are not enticing, and we are shy aw HAHAHA!

Since we are 30 tourists, we were divided into 2 groups and have been assigned a photographer and safety diver. We went ahead and did fun dive which kinda serve as a warm-up for the day. Here are some photos of us in Talima.

Underwater Group Photos by rardough

After a few minutes and everyone had their photos taken, we went back to the boat and departed to our next destination.

Second Spot: Sulpa Island

It was almost lunchtime when we arrived at Sulpa Island. It is an island next to Olango Island and is commonly visited by Island Hopping Tours. According to Paulo, our guide and organizer of the Summer Cruise, this spot doesn't have much to offer as it was devasted by Typhoon Odette. Hence, we had our lunch here instead along with other island-hopping boats lining up.

After the light lunch (yes, light lunch only because you cannot have a heavy lunch when you are freediving. Because if you do, you might do fish feeding HAHA), we went ahead to our next spot which is Gilutongan Island.

Third Spot: Gilutongan Island

Gilutongan Island is also an island around Mactan and is next to Sulpa Island. This island is also well known on Island Hopping Tours. In fact, there are a lot of boats lining up on the island.

This island features a marine sanctuary, hence it is perfect for freediving, scuba, and snorkeling. We jumped off the boat and we indulged in the wonderful marine life of the island.

Wow! It was sooooo beautiful down there! The vibrant corals, the rich marine life, HUGE fishes, and a breathtaking underwater cliff, ahh! Such a wonderful experience! We had so much fun taking turns diving. I wish I had a graded lens so I can clearly see the view.

Bonus Spot: Likiron Reef

Paulo has introduced us to our next spot. To be honest, I was surprised since they have marketed the Summer Cruise with only 3 spots. We went ahead to Likiron Reef which is a spot that has dolphin sightings and a view of the beautiful sunset. Unfortunately, it went gloomy when we arrived there so the waves are unresting, not to mention the strong current LOL.

Even though it was an unpleasant wave, we jumped into the sea and dived not to just do awra pose, but to film a Tiktok HAHAHA! And here's the result in this link, and I think it was worth it. HAHAHA!

We went back earlier than the itinerary because of the bad weather. The waves have become violent so it was the right call. We arrived back at Kontiki by 5 in the afternoon feeling dizzy because of the waves 😵

Overall, it was a day of fun dives! We sure did have a lot of fun with my diving buddies, and have met new freediving friends!

See you in my next post! 😁