A Quick Samal Island Tour and In Transit to Davao

On our last day, we were blessed with a fair weather, not even a drop of rain.  We had greater appreciation of the cozy setting of Kostal Beach Resort.  TravelbookPH now offers online hotel reservation for small, independent and budget hotels.  For discounted rates and availability of accommodations in Samal Island, check out this link.

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El Nido Travel Tips, Itinerary and Expenses

El Nido travel tips:

1.    Food is a bit pricey at El Nido except for meals that comes along with the island tour.  As much as possible choose an accommodation with breakfast package. Also,  since electricity is between 230pm to 6am only, consider those with generator or back-up power. 

2.    The tricycle minimum price is P50 per trip.  It is ideal to get accommodation within the town proper or nearing Bacuit Bay so the beach, food area, shopping area, and other destination(s) can be by foot.

3.    Bring plenty of sunblock and apply often especially during the tour.

4.    There are areas in the tour that you need to swim through.  It is highly advised to bring a waterproof or underwater camera to ensure that you capture every moment and tour destination.

5.    It can be wavy at times so make sure that your belongings are kept dry in a safe package.

6.    There are destinations in the tour that you might find dull.  In my case for tours A & C, the Helicopter Island, Star Beach and Seven Commando Beach are of less interest.  Though the tourism office discouraged combination tour, you can still inquire with your booking office for a tour that would highlight the best of El Nido Islands especially if time/budget is not a luxury for you.  I personally enjoyed and I highly recommend for Tours A & C the Hidden Beach, Secret Beach, Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon and Matinloc Shrine.  We had both tours through Islanen Outdoors and the service was great from the reception to the actual tour :)

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Mt. Butalao Dayhike Plus an Overnight Camping at Burot Beach

I’ve always preferred to climb Batulao early morning especially for dayhikes but as always, I constantly end up savoring the heat of Batulao… I don’t know what’s with me coz no matter how I’ve known how fiery it could be, my shield frequently comes shorthanded.

Anyways, for this dayhike, the thought of a rewarding beach after this blistering trek kept me going… Beach, beach, beach….

Actual itinerary as follows:

7am to 9am – travelled from Manila to Evercrest

930am – start of trek via the new trail

11am – finally reached the registration area after countless stops to take cover

1130am – resumed trek to summit

1215pm – reached the summit with trail bottles drained

1220pm – started descent via the old trail

115pm – reached the old trail registration area

3pm – back at jump-off, regrouped with the team and prepared for Burot Beach

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DAPITAN CITY’S DAKAK BEACH RESORT AND GLORIA DE DAPITAN

After the Rizal National Park tour, our last habalhabal tour destination was Dakak Beach Resort.  Time check then was 345pm and we reached Dakak 15minutes thereafter. 

Before we proceeded to the resort, our driver/guide toured us first to Dakak pier.  Though the roofing of the pier walkway had long flown out, the remnant of a burnt boat lay still.  At the pier, we were lucky to see the grand locally made yacht-type boat that is said to bring Dakak’s guests to Aliguay Island.

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MT. GULUGOD BABOY REVISITED PLUS A CABAN COVE SIDETRIP

It has been a habit of me to take macro-shots of the fauna and flora laying around.  This time though, Mt. Gulugod Baboy hid away those beautiful colors... I only had six subjects.. well....

For this climb, we had more stops than walk.... The supposedly one-hour climb became a three hour hike.  An hour at the "ice candy" hut, 30 minutes at the Bignay tree and another 30 minutes for jump shots and funny poses.. LOL..

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SNAPSHOTS | HUNDRED ISLANDS OF ALAMINOS, PANGASINAN

Some of the best shots during our Year 2013 Hundred Islands visit.

The Hundred Islands taken at Governor's Island

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2013 HOLYWEEK AT ANAWANGIN COVE, CAPONES & CAMARA ISLANDS

I thought the Anawangin Cove, given no commercial or resort developments, will escape the volume of long week-end holiday-tourists but even so, every corner was filled with camps... Yep, people young and aged, mountaineers or elite alike, flocked together to escape the Metro for awhile and have a quality time with family and friends.

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ISLA VERDE -- BATANGAS

Isla Verde, named after Capt. Juan Verde – the Spanish explorer, is located between Batangas and Mindoro and serves as the passage connecting Batangas Bay and Tayabas Bay.  It is accessible from Tabangao Docking Area or Leah’s beach of Tabangao, Batangas where you have a view of giant refineries from afar.

We joined Bulusok Mountaineer’s Mt. Dagit-Dagit climb for Year 2011 Climb Against Cancer with Verde Island Side Trip but with the kiddos on the trip, we were left enjoying the shoreline of the island. 

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Anawangin Cove and Capones Lighthouse – Pundaquit, San Antonio, Zambales

After about 3-hours of travel from Manila, we reached the Pundaquit town of Zambales.  The sound of smashing waves along the shoreline is Pundaquit's way of welcoming its guests.

Anawangin Cove can be reached via a 30-minute boat ride from the Pundaquit proper or a traverse hike through its mountains and cliffs. 

The crescent shaped Anawangin Cove covered with pine trees has off-white lahar sand brought by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the 90’s.  Behind the trees is a stream flowing to the sea giving visitors another place to enjoy.

The absence of resorts or other developments has preserved the natural beauty of Anawangin that became a favorite relaxing destination for anyone who wants to escape the hustles of the city.  One can go for a day tour or camp for the night.  Anyone may bring along a camping equipment or have it arranged with the guide.  Take caution in observing safety, in preserving nature and in respecting the camper next to you.

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THE SAND BAR – BORACAY

The Sand Bar Boracay located in Station 1 offers various cuisines from Filipino to Japanese to Italian and more.  Among the favorites are the rib eye, king prawns, sisig with a different fusion, and calamares.  It houses the best fire dancers of the island that amuses your night as you chill by the beach.

During our Boracay visit, we spent our nights chillin' at The Sand Bar and I had several “unforgettables” at the bar – watching fire dancers gone wild, experienced the shisha smoke, and a picture under the fire... LOL...

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BORACAY ISLAND TOUR - Aklan

BORACAY, the Philippines pride as one of the best beaches and vacation destination in the world, is known for its powdery sand, beautiful beach and sunset, wide array of hotels and world class cuisine, great hospitality, and more...

True enough, you’ll never get out of doings at Boracay as it boost a complete line of rest and recreation activities - from simply beach bumming, swimming, sunbathing to kayaking, parasailing, diving, snorkelling, yacht cruising, jet skiing, island hopping to even shopping, food tripping, carting, off road driving, spelunking, hiking and lots more... Boracay truly deserves as one of the best vacation haven for both opulent and budget-people alike.

We arrived at Boracay on a Friday night and stayed at Bans Beach Resort of Station 1, just beside Bamboo Lounge Restaurant and Astoria Hotel.  With not enough time left for the day, we just settled in and devoured our evening at The Sand Bar Boracay – known as the fire dance capital of the island.

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PATAR BEACH – BOLINAO, PANGASINAN

It was in year 2000 when I first visited Patar.  Back then, it took an hour of rough road drive from the Bolinao proper before the long stretch of white sand welcomed us.  There were only 3 of us then and since not even a single cottage stands nor a sight/feeling of other person around, I felt like lost in paradise. The sun as it bids goodbye for the day appeared nearer and bigger than usual.   That is my picturesque of Patar -- sunset at its closest.... So every time I’m at this place, I ensure to take home the sunset as captured from my lenses.. 

For this Tawintawin, Alaminos –Bolinao Trip, our second day was at Patar and the first of my kiddos at this place.   As beach bums, they had the best of Patar’s water.  They played even the toads of Patar’s firth, the ugly duckling lost on shore, the gentle waves smashing the coastline and of course the fine sand and the beach itself.  It was another memorable experience that is hard to describe.

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CAGBALETE ISLAND - Mauban, Quezon

Cagbalete Island is accessible from Mauban port via a 45-minute boat ride either by a public or a private boat.  There are two daily trips for the public transport, one at 10am and the other 4pm.  The private transport however is available anytime of the day.  The advantage of the latter is that you can disembark at your preferred resort while for the former you have to trek from the sabang to your preferred resort.  

Cagbalete is known for its crystal clear water and its “kilometer” wide shore line during low tide.  This event commonly happens twice a day.  So for swimming-bums, it is highly advised to coordinate with the locals or the resort owner the high and low tide cycles to properly plan the timing of your visit.  

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MATUKAD ISLAND -- Caramoan, Camarines Sur

During our Caramoan Trip, we spent our last adventure at Matukad Island famous for its fine powdery sand that looks like a powder soaked in water.

Matukad Island

Matukad is also known for the mystic bangus (milk fish) that resides inside the secluded lagoon which is accessible by a steep ascend on its jagged rock formations.  The eerie story of the milkfish is an added persuasion to climb the top even to faint-hearted persons.  

According to folks, long time ago there used to be two fishes in the lagoon until a fisherman caught one of those to fed his family which unfortunately has caused the death of everyone.  Since then, no one dared to catch the remaining fish.

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MINDORO | White Beach – Puerto Galera

We spent the Year 2012 Holy Week at Puerto Galera.  It was an outreach activity for the Mangyan Village in Talipanan and a supposedly Talipanan climb but with the kiddos in the trip, we decided to cancel the climb and just enjoyed White Beach.

Before we left Manila, we packed already the goodies for the Mangyan kids.  We were able to gather a total of 75 sets of school bags and supplies.  Thanks to the sponsors and to my school-based mountaineering group for making this project a reality.

Day 1

We left the Metro at around 3am to catch the first trip to Puerto Galeraand by 6:15am we started sailing.  By 10am, we docked at White Beach and met the other members who were at Galera days ahead.  As it was a long-weekend, prices were high and resorts are fully booked.  It was through the advance team that we got our place at a good price.

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POTIPOT ISLAND - Candelaria, Zambales

Potipot Island is a small private island situated in Brgy. Uacon, Candelaria, Zambales and is accessible best via NLEX-SCTEX Subic Exit with a 5-hour drive.

Potipot Island

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CHILDREN'S ISLAND -- HUNDRED ISLANDS

During our Hundred Islands Trip, the kids chose to spend the rest of the afternoon at the Children’s Island over the other two islands developed for tourists.  We rented a cottage and we used as floaters the lifesaver devices from the boat that toured us around the island.

 

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BANOL BEACH - Coron, Palawan

During our Coron Trip, one of the attractions we visited was the Banol Beach.  Though narrow in length, it was blessed with beautiful limestone backdrop with a greeny effect.  You will also appreciate the texture of the sand -- just right to pamper your feet.

Banol Beach 

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SNAKE ISLAND -- Honda Bay, Palawan

During our Puerto Princesa trip, we spent our third day at Honday Bay and we splurged most of our time enjoying the Snake Island.

At Lourdes Pier, a boat can be hired to take you around the bay.  You can hop in to "open-to-tourists" islands of your choice.

Honda Bay

Snake Island's name was derived after its snake-shaped form of elongated sand bar.  Snorkeling is a must do activity in the island, so make sure that you have the gears already before leaving the wharf.  Another cool thing is feeding the fishes, extra bread or rice will already do.

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The Beaches of Panglao Island in Bohol

During our Bohol – Cebu Trip, we stayed in Panglao Island - at Dumaluan Beach Resort.  We chose this over the Alona resorts because we preferred a more private relaxed vacation.  The price was just right for the amenities it offered and we got the atmosphere that we longed for.  This side of Panglao houses some of Bohol's 1st class resorts including Bohol Beach Club and the Eskaya Beach Resort & Spa [just next to Dumaluan Beach]

The whole stretch is made of corally-white sand and starfishes are seen along the beach.  At low tide, a wider stretch of sand is exposed ideal for beach sports and other activities.  Dipping at the warm water is another must.   The beach is open for free to anyone and is open from dawn till night.

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