Calaguas Island Package Tour

Calaguas Island is located at Camarines Norte, Philippines. The island is around 10hours away from Manila and many travelers attest to it's beauty. Some even say it's more beautiful than Boracay.

If I had the luxury of time, I would have gone DIY. I find it's best to travel long hours via comfortable lazy boy bus seats. But since I don't, we opted to avail a package from Travel Ventours. PHP3400 for 11 persons including Manila-Daet-Manila van transfers, boat transfers, tent accommodation and 3 meals.

We left Quezon City at around 10:30PM and arrived at Daet at exactly 7:00AM. We had breakfast at Daet and bought some supplies. Drinking water, chips and booze to name some.

Then we rode a small boat from Daet (9:00AM) to Calaguas (11:00AM) for 2 hours.

small boats

As we near Calaguas, the first thing I noticed is the long stretch of pristine white sand. It may not have the purest white sand but it has the clearest waters I've ever seen.

After we set foot on the island, to be honest I was quite disappointed of the number of cottages already built along the beach.

 <photo credits to Kirk>

I was expecting a secluded island with only tents.

There were tents setup under the small trees' shade

But there are already a lot of cottages making it look crowded.

Each tour agencies offering Calaguas packages have already claimed a piece of the island which is sad really.

It was too hot to setup a tent so we rested a bit on the cottages provided then we went for a swim.

I know I've already said this, but I'd like to emphasize that this beach has the clearest water I've ever seen.

The water is already chest deep and you can still see through my feet.

The sand was also fine and there are no rocks or pesky seaweeds.

We really enjoyed swimming and the sun took its sweet time turning us to toasts.

Then we availed an island hoping tour for PHP100 each excluding the PHP20 each entrance to the island.

 First stop was a rocky island which was nice for taking pictures, not so much for swimming.

And second stop was on another part of the same island which is a nice snorkeling spot. There are a lot of corals but the water level was too low and you need to bring or rent snorkeling gears.

 

You can also climb a small hill which gives you a nice view of the island. There's signal on the top.

 

After island hoping, we enjoyed the picturesque view of the sunset and went to swim some more.

 

In the evening we ate dinner and bonded with a few booze. There's no signal on the island so cellphones are pretty much useless. It's a good thing though since you'll really have time to talk and enjoy the things around you.

 There are generators, so there are lights and even music. There are a lot of small stores offering necessities and food.

To give you an idea how much things cost in the island: Halo-Halo PHP30, Pancit Canton PHP25, Red Horse Stallion PHP60, Red Horse Mucho PHP120

There are a lot comfort rooms around. You'll have to pay PHP10 for a pale of water though.

The night was hot and breezeless. The next day I woke up at 5:00AM and wondered if I overslept. It was just 5 in the freakin' morning but it was already bright outside. There are already activities going on outside. Music playing and people chatting and walking here and there I even wondered if the time on my phone was wrong or something. But oh well I woke up everyone else (>,>) to ask if they're interested to see the sunrise.

We climbed up at one end of the hill to watch the sunrise. It was covered with clouds but still a beautiful sight.

There are at least 2 entrance fees (PHP20) when you climb on the east side. Then we walked to the west side to get a view of the island's shore line.

We ate breakfast and then left the island at around 8:00AM. We then went to Bagasbas for lunch and surfing lessons.

Surfing board rental costs PHP200 and another PHP200 for the service of a surf instructor for an hour.

The beach has what they call a break sand. There are no rocks and the sand was also soft just not white but gray. It would have been fun to swim with the waves and all but there are a lot of seaweeds and probably jellyfish as the instructor warned.

 Surfing Orientation

Surfing

 <photo credits to Kirk>

After that, we took a shower and ate our lunch at Catherine's. I love their halo-halo! The ice used was a frozen creamy and sweet delight.

  <photo credits to Kirk> 

I really enjoyed every part of the trip and I hope to be back here and stay longer at Calaguas probably at those posh huts even.

<video credits to Glai>

And that was how we spent our weekends at Calaguas Island. :)

Cagbalete DIY Tour

My sister was looking for a budget weekend getaway so we tagged along with my Ingress peeps Cagbalete adventure with a budget of around PHP2000.

How to go to Cagbalete Island?
1. Ride a bus to Lucena. 3-4 hours
2. Ride a bus from Lucena to Mauban. 1-2 hours
3. Ride a boat from Mauban to Cagbalete Island. 1-2 hours

We met at JAC Liner Kamias Terminal at around 1am and boarded a bus going to Lucena at 2am. Bus fare to Lucena was PHP218.  JAC Liner Kamias Terminal has 24hour trips to Lucena with a 30 minute interval. They also have direct trips to Mauban twice a day at 5am and 12pm for PHP270.

We arrived at Lucena Grand Terminal at 5am. There's a BPI ATM and food joints in case you're wondering. Then we boarded the NCR-Rienton Lines bus bound to Mauban for PHP55.

The local bus is old and cramped so don't expect too much.

 

  We arrived at Mauban around 6am and we were met with a beautiful sunrise.

The back view of the statue looks handsome

 Is it just me or he looks like Usopp from One Piece?? XD

 Anyway we asked directions to the market and the officer told us to turn right while pointing on the left so what's a tourist got to do? XD

 The market is just a short walking distance from the bus stop. You can also walk from the market to Pantalan/Daungan but if you want to take a tricycle it will only cost you PHP10 per person or PHP40 per tricycle if you don't want to wait for other passengers.

We didn't avail any food packages so we have to buy food and stuff from the market. Some resorts offer food package for PHP1000 which includes breakfast  lunch, dinner and a snack.

We finished our grocery around 7am and went to buy boat tickets. We wanted to take the commuter boat but it was already fully booked. Imagine? The commuter boat is scheduled to leave at 10am but it's already fully booked at 7am XD So we took the private boat instead. It costs PHP2500 2-way for 6 persons. So PHP417 for a 2 way trip per person. Not bad considering we don't need to wait for the next commuter boat which still doesn't have a definite schedule plus we can opt to leave Cagbalete any time we want. Our boat ride back to Mauban is just a text away. And we don't have to walk because the private boat will drop us off directly at our resort.

 Pantalan

 Relaxing boat trip to Cagbalete

 We rented 2 medium tents good for 3 persons each for PHP600 each at Villa Noe resort. The nipa huts were already fully booked and we can't contact any resort. We were just lucky a friend was in Cagbalete the week before so he made our tent reservations on our behalf. You can also bring your own tent but you still have to pay a fee PHP250.

Boat Packages they offer

 Settling our bags after arrival

Lunch: Pork Chop by Pepper and Salt with Tuna by Hana XD

 After that we just pretty much slept on the grass the entire afternoon XD

 "would you lie with me and just forget the world?" - ultraman

"pigilan mo ko!" - storm trooper

 We were woken up by the scorching heat of the sun 

 

after that we ate burgers and halo halo sold from a store nearby and took pictures

 beach bum

 beach bum

 beach bum

 picture

 picture

 picture

salagubang?

 "migratory birds" XD

 micro mini star trail shows a lot about my patience XD

Bonfire! PHP100 per set

Marshmallows!!

The next day we waited for the sunrise which unfortunately was covered by the clouds

but the view was still breathtaking nonetheless

Then we rented a boat to take us to another part of the island so we can swim. Boat rental costs PHP1000 for 6 persons. When the tide is low, all you can see is a long stretch of sand bar. Luckily it was high tide so we were able to swim. The sand was white and pure, no rocks and icky plants to grace your feet so we enjoyed swimming.

 comfort rooms and showers were decent and clean if you're curious

 Then just like that it was already time to go home :(

So let's see

Kamias - Lucena : PHP218 x 2 = PHP436

Lucena - Mauban : PHP55 x 2 = PHP110

Mauban - Cagbalete : PHP417

Enviromental Fee: PHP50

Tricycle: PHP10 x 2 = PHP20

Island Hopping: PHP167

Tent: PHP200

Total: PHP1400

 So you still have PHP600 for the food :)

UPDATE: 11/14/2016

We went here again last weekend and this time with a more chillax trip in mind.

Transportation:
We booked a bus via Biyaheroes website for the Kamias to Mauban Route via JAC Liner. It was nice because I didn't know you could book a bus trip online. We also got a free tshirt from Biyaheroes. With a bus booking, you have to arrive 1 hour earlier to secure your reservation. I still prefer the Kamias-Lucena-Mauban Route because the Kamias-Mauban route only has 2 trips which is at 4:00AM and 11:00AM and you don't have to reserve if you're just Lucena bound because there are plenty of trips available every hour or so. We left Kamias at 4:00am, had a stop over at McDocnalds/7/11 around 6:30am and arrived Mauban at around 9:00am.

We then paid the environmental fee at the tourism office and booked a private boat for 8persons to take us to Nilandingan Cove which costs PHP3000 for a two way trip for 8persons. We left the port around 9:30am and arrived 11:00am. I don't recommend going to Cagbalete off-peak season because the waves were too strong. It was like an hour and a half roller coaster ride. I can't count how many times my soul left my body but that's how I felt as the boat rises and fall through the waves.

Accommodation:
This time we rented a cottage at Nilandingan Cove for PHP2800 which is good for 8persons but I personally think it was only good for 6persons to fit comfortably. Although it has it's own detached comfort room and since we had the resort to ourselves we can pretty much use any other comfort rooms. They were also very accommodating.

They also offer Island Hoping but with those waves, we weren't too eager on riding a boat anytime soon.

Food:
We were all ladies who can't be bothered with cooking so we just opted to buy our food from the resort. The food package costs PHP850 with lunch, merienda, dinner, breakfast the next day and merienda. I didn't expect much from it but boy was I surprised that it was actually delicious. It was sooo sulit and hassle free. They also offer single servings of food depending on the menu for that day. Water and juice was provided when food was served but we also bought a 6L water bottle from them for PHP60. They also sell coffee and milo for PHP20 each and block of ice for PHP20 - PHP60 pesos.

Welcome Drinks

Lunch

Merienda

Dinner (forgot to take a pic before hehe)

Beach:
For the second time I wasn't able to swim. (^_^)V I was too sleepy to do anything when we arrived (which happened to be the perfect time to swim). The waves were too strong come afternoon and there were to many seaweeds. Then the tide was too low in the morning that you have to walk far away. (Excuses)

(Bus) Kamias - Mauban = PHP304.7

(Tricycle) JAC Liner Terminal - Tourism Office = PHP10

(Tricycle) Tourism Office - Port = PHP10

Enviromental Fee: PHP50

(Boat) Mauban - Cagbalete: PHP3000/8= PHP375

Accommodation: PHP2800/8 = PHP350

Food (lunch,merienda,dinner,breakfast,merienda) = PHP850

(Tricycle) Port - JAC Liner Terminal = PHP15

(Bus) Mauban - Lucena = PHP59

(Bus) Lucena - Kamias = PHP218

Total: 2241.7

Yup so it's still within budget and renting an accommodation and food package was a good choice. I think the shore looks better at Villa Noe though. Nilandingan Cove was the farthest resort on the Island I think based on the tourism board.