The Island Explorer

Whenever there's the chance, I go out of town for the weekend. So it's imperative that I get information on the nearest beach getaways from Manila. The list is long, from Nasubgu, Lian, Calatagan, San Juan all in Batangas, to the beaches of Subic and Bataan. Though not as great as the beaches further away from Manila, some places just give me the right dose of sun and sand for a relaxing weekend. This time, I head out to Morong in Bataan, just outside of the SBMA (Subic). With only less than 3 hours of total travel time, Morong beckons on the call of the explorer. I asked for a place from my friend, and so, we made it through the SBMA, and outside the Morong Gate on the road to Ocean Adventure. The resort was Subic Sweetwater, that was actually more of a beach house than a resort. When I arrived, I was surprised to see that the beach was huge, and long and wide, unlike the beaches in SBMA (All Hands, Dungaree and Camayan). I was expecting a scenery similar to the beaches of SBM...

I've been posting a lot of travel experiences over my Multiply site for some time now, and my friends have always told me to blog about them to be able to reach a wider audience. So, here I am, finally, making this happen. I don't know if I can keep up with updating all the time, but I'll give it a try. Help me share these experiences. I want to promote the Philippines as a world class destination and catch up from our ASEAN neighbors.

Let me take you to a wonderful place called Surigao del Sur. I really didn't expect much of the place when I chose it for a shoot for our Microentreprenenur of the Year Awards. I said, hey, I've never been to Tandag, and hearing those rough roads for 4 hours didn't seem to bother me much. I've experienced worse. We landed in Butuan Airport in Agusan del Norte, and eventually travelled for 4 hours as warned. But the road wasn't all rough and rocky, there were nice asphalted ones nearer to the airport. As we hit the mountains, crossing to Surigao from Agusan, it was all dirt road. When we reached Surigao del Sur, I asked the driver if we took a shortcut. He said no, and that we were on a main highway. A rough road for a main thoroughfare. I thought all of Mindanao had great roads except for some in Lanao, Maguindanao and Zambo. Anyway, reaching Tandag City was a relief and as soon as I saw the coastline, I knew I was already in for a treat. True enough, Surigao del Su...

I went to Bantayan about 2 or 3 years ago, without knowing anything much on it. I went there alone after a meeting in Cebu. I stayed overnight at a simple resort that had nice cottages. It wasn't the peak season, so it seemed that I was the only visitor in the island, sans some foreigners. There were no restaurants where I went, and had to eat in roadside stalls that sold nice chicken inasal at P20 each. I think I ate 3 pieces and 2 cups of rice. Anyway, I couldn't remember much of the trip, so I'm just posting some of the pictures that I took using a point and shoot camera. Bantayan Island is 3 hours North of Cebu City. Bantayan is a popular island getaway especially for Cebuanos. They call it their Boracay (like everyone does with their nice beaches). But it does remind you of Boracay, with powder white sand and a beach that continues on (not straight though like Boracay). The beach goes around the medium sized island. There are a lot of resorts to choose from as well. Yo...

After an event in Cagayan de Oro last year, our group headed straight to Camiguin. This was my second time to visit the mystical island. From Cagayan de Oro, we took a minivan from Agora Market to the port of Balingonan that is around 2 hours away. From there, ferries are available on a regular schedule to the port of Benoni which is around 20 minutes from Mambajao, the capital. Camiguin is an island province, and you can see that they rely heavily on tourism. It is packed with visitors during the Summer season, and very lean during the monsoons. However, having good weather all year round, it is also best to go there during these times to avoid the crowds. You can also take a three-hour ferry ride from the Cagayan de Oro Ferry Terminal to Guinsiliban, also in Camiguin. We hired a multicab, those small trucks that can be found in the Visayas. It cost us P1,200 per day after negotiations. It is imperative that you seek transportation in Camiguin as it is a big island and there are no ta...

Cagayan de Oro is one of the most pleasant cities in the Philippines. It has great restaurants, a laid back city culture and a passion for the arts. However, CDO is more known for something totally different, its adventure spots. I always wanted to go white water rafting, and so we headed off to CDO in the month of August, supposedly a good time for white water rafting as it was the rainy season. We took an early morning flight via Cebu Pacific, and was met up by our tour operator, Red Rafters. We arrived around 7AM in CDO, and grabbed a quick breakfast before heading off to the jump off point on the river. We were given some quick lessons. I was so excited that I really didn't pay attention to the lesson. We were joined by our tour operators, since you need at least four people to make the ride stable. I gave my camera to our driver and instructed him to take some pictures as we took off. It was great that we left early, as the tour operators said that most of the tourists arrive ...

After Bantayan and Malapascua of Northern Cebu, I had to go South. We were supposed to go to Moalboal, but I missed my turn and headed straight to the Southern most end of Cebu, the town of Oslob where you get off to get to Sumilon Island, privately owned by the Maribago Blue Water Group. Sumilon Island is another small island that is nearer to Dumagete in Negros Oriental than Cebu City. In fact, it will only take you an hour and a half by ferry to go to Oslob from Dumagete. So this is one option to take if you do wnat to go to this island. I must admit, I was hesitant in going here because it was privately owned and a bit on the luxury side. I was scared that it won't be as peaceful as I want my beach experiences to be. Though a bit pricey when you see it in brochures (P7k a night), all of this will go away once you're there. Sumilon Blue Water Resort has a port in the mainland where two rooms can also be found. The rooms here are priced lower, at 4,000 pesos a night. ...