You’re dreaming of a getaway…powdery white sand on your feet, swimming on clear water, owning the island to yourself, trekking the green hills around, beach life less the parties and all. If you wanna experience Boracay island before it was commercialized or should we say “virgin”, this place is another hit. The good news is, you don’t need promo air fare to reach this place, well if you can afford airline tickets then it’s an advantage. But let’s not forget that we are budget travelers aiming to experience this country’s beautiful provinces and share it to fellow discoverers like you! Are you up for an extreme summer trip? Well then, “Kaja Let’s Go to Calaguas!”.
We can say that it was our most adventurous beach trip to date. We are fully aware of the difficulties in travelling to this island, hehe since I’ve been eyeing Calaguas for many years. Despite the research and preparations done, we’re still surprised how hard it was to reach this place. It’s a spontaneous summer getaway, 1 week of planning whether we should push through with the trip or not, but our itchy feet could not resist. So it’s a labor day and we deserve a break, it’s not LaBoracay….it’s LaCalaguas! *lame*
Proposed Itinerary (2d 1n)
May 1 Friday
- 10:00 PM Meet ups Superlines Bus Terminal EDSA Cubao
- 10:30 PM ETD to Daet, Camarines Norte
May 2 Saturday
- 06:00 AM Breakfast – Daet, Camarines Norte
- 07:00 AM ETA Vinzons Town
- 07:30 AM ETD to Calaguas Island
- 09:30 AM ETA Calaguas Island – Free Time
- 12:00 PM Lunch / Chillax time / Beach Bumming / Free Time
- 07:00 PM Dinner /Free Time / Socials
May 3 Sunday
- 05:30 AM Trekking to Hilltop
- 07:00 AM Breakfast
- 10:30 AM Freetime
- 12:00 NN ETD to Vinzons town
- 01:00 PM Lunch (Daet, Camarines Norte)
- 07:00 PM ETD to Manila (Dinner along the way)
- 09:30 PM ETA Manila
Getting There (commuting)
Superlines EDSA Cubao bus terminal has direct route to Paracale and Vinzons, the major jump off points to Calaguas. An 8 hours of land travel if your bus leaves late at night. We only had 1 stop over, which was at Atimonan, Quezon. From the 2 towns, you can rent a tricycle going to the fish port, then you can rent a boat going to Calaguas, which is a 2 hour butt numbing ala Rio Grande ride 🙂 It was said that Paracale route is faster, less waves, and offers cheaper boat rates.
Calaguas (Tinaga Island – Mahabang Buhangin)
Located in Camarines Norte, Calaguas includes the major islands of Tinaga Island and Guintinua Island, the minor Maculabo Island, as well as several other minor islands. Most of the islands are under the administrative jurisdiction of Vinzons, Camarines Norte, while the minor island of Maculabo is under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Paracale, Camarines Norte. The famous Mahabang Buhangin is found on Tinaga Island, but the nature’s beauty itself magnets backpackers to visit the place, despite the scarcity of decent accommodations and commercial establishments.
What To Do / Activities
I was surprised that kayaking is available at the island, there’s one pasalubong store as well, and there’s one place at the island with group of nipa huts fenced like a resort. Commercialization starts to spread in this place, a few years from now, we would not be surprised if it becomes like Boracay.
Beach bumming…..beach bumming….beach bumming. Appreciate the view that surrounds you, sleep under the trees, feel the hot summer wind. Feel the powdery white sand which is somewhat similar to Boracay sand.
Unlimited swimming and snorkeling! It has crystal clear water and you can even see some fishes swimming. Be careful though, the water looks shallow but just a few steps from the shore, the water tends to go deeper.
Stroll around the island, explore. Walk at the long white sand shores of Mahabang Buhangin.
Trek the hills. It never hurts to do walking and a little exercise, the spectacular view at the top feeds your tiredness after all. Hill top trekking is a 1 hour activity, no need for gears or trekking experience, the whole trek is just easy.
We even did it without eating breakfast, we just woke up, went outside the tent and tadah…we’re at the hilltop! Aside from the view, another treat is the mobile signal haha, so you can contact your families and friends to tell them you’re still around.
Do island hopping, Php 100.00 each, visit the neighboring islands of Tinaga.
Now that you’re informed about the beauty of Calaguas, you’re so tempted to go there but then you realized the haggardness since you’re a solo traveler, couple traveler with no one to share the expensive boat fare, first time traveler unfamiliar with the routes. Whatever your excuses are, fear no more, there’s Roadtrip Travels to help you get places, less the hassle. We’re always a couple traveler doing DIY trips, but we realized that Calaguas DIY trip will hurt our pockets and so after a few research, I found Roadtrip Travels. They can help you with your Calaguas trip by joining you with other travelers for an affordable rate. If given the budget, we are looking forward to book our future travels with them, and we’re also hoping that they come up with other exciting destinations in the country. Overall, our Calaguas trip experience with Roadtrip is above average, though there’s still room for improvements, pre and post sales stages. For more info, you may visit their Facebook page.
Helpful Tips
Do bring with you…..
- Sunblock and toiletries, towels, light clothes, power banks
- drinking water, at least 6 liters is good enough for an overnight stay
- blanket, to warm you at the bus ride and cozy you up at the tent
- plastic, to protect your bags and belongings from the water splashes during the boat ride
- comfy sandals, flip flops instead of rubber shoes or flats
You should know that…..
- expect to get wet upon docking from fish port to the boat, secure / waterproof your bags and belongings
- there’s no mobile signal at Calaguas (only at the hill top but only to a minimal)
- the weather during the boat ride and at the island is unpredictable
- there are sari-sari stores where you can buy food, drinks, toiletries but with a higher price
- shower room has a fee around Php 20-50, while some locals do offer water for bathing at Php 10.00 each (igib poso)
- the place gets crowded during weekends, summer season, holidays
Estimated Budget
- Roadtrip Travels Tour – P 5,800.00 for 2 pax
- Food, Pasalubong, etc. – P 2,000.00
Calaguas belongs to the top best beaches we’ve been to so far. The place is like a haven for beach addicts and happy campers. Though commercialization starts to grow, we can still say that the place is still like a virgin island. We have 50 / 50 opinions whether Calaguas should be prepared to be commercialized or not, it’s also for the benefit of the locals and travelers. For now, we think it’s best to practice eco-tourism to maintain the cleanliness and serenity of Calaguas. The 2 hours boat ride, again, is not so comfy but it’s all part of the extreme summer trip to the place, an added experience for travel junkies. Calaguas is really good and stunning, but for now, it’s enough that we visited this place and we visited it before it was commercialized.
So that’s about it, please rate this post. Thank you!
Kaja let's go! 