Calaguas Island (Perks and Disadvantages)

We came to conquer the island of Calaguas last May 29-June 1. It was one of the best and worst islands I have ever been to. Travel tips to be provided once your read the whole experience.

Day 0
	Itinerary	Group Cost	Individual Cost
20:30:00	Meet-up DLTB Cubao (Ride Deluxe bus via Daet)		650
	3 Stopovers in between (bought siopao)		25
21:00:00	Departure to Talobatib

We left for Daet Thursday evening to avoid the Friday traffic and bulk of people expected to visit Calaguas on a summer weekend.

It was a blessing in disguise that only Deluxe tickets were available. Travelling for 8 hours at night time would require sufficient leg space and leaning chairs for a more comfortable sleep.

Day 1
5:00:00	Arrival at Talobatib
	Breakfast		50
5:30:00	Ride tricycle to Paracale	360	90
	Stopover to market		400
	(Buy food, drinking water, ice)
7:00:00	Ride a boat to Calaguas	3500	875
	Tourist assistance	100	25
9:00:00	Hello Calaguas
	Beach bumming, Put up tent, Eat, Sleep/ Dinner Socials
	Entrance		100
	Cottage	350	25
	Bought fresh fish for dinner at the island	250	37.5
	Ice (10/pack)	120	30
	Charcoal (10/pack)	40	10
	Liquor/additional food	400	100

Once we reached Talobatib, a lot of tricycle started to approach us to offer their services. It's a good thing that I read that standard rate is at 200. Drivers were offering to bring us to Paracale for 300 and advised us that we need 2 tricycles since there were 4 of us. We immediately declined then a nice driver approached us and offered to bring us to Paracale for P300 for 4 of us.

Travel from Talobatib to Paracale will take 30-45minutes. Advise the driver to drop you off the market before going to the port. Make sure to buy all necessities as prices triple once you reach the island. We gave a tip of P60 since the tricycle driver was so patient waiting for us finish marketing.

We headed to the boatman's (Mang Boy) home after buying stuff, much to my dismay he handed us over to another person. The boatman said that there is a line and he could not accommodate us. All requests I asked from him (cooking stuff, utensils, plates, sleeping bags, etc) which he agreed on bringing were no longer provided. He could have advised us earlier. Mang Boy could be confident to lose customers now that his name is always brought on different blogs when asked for Calaguas boatmen. I think it is just respectful to advise customers ahead of time if he cannot commit to the trip.

The water was very calm as we traveled to Calaguas. I was highly anticipating waves as this was the feedback I have read. Luckily, we didn't even pass through one single wave. The weather was perfect.

Upon reaching the island, the boatman brought us to the rightmost portion of the beach. The boatman referred us to Mang Errol who will take care of us during our stay at the island. The boatman left us and headed back to Paracale. 

Mang Errol led us to a cottage but advised us that someone will be using it the next day. We still agreed to occupy the cottage since a lot of cottages are in the area. That decision would affect our stay, this will be pointed out later.

The sand is comparable to Boracay's Station 1 fine sand. Since it was a Friday, only a few people were camping and we had the area to ourselves. 

We started to set up our tent and cook lunch. The sun was scorching hot so we decided to stay in the cottage to rest after eating. We started swimming at 4pm when a fisherman approached us and was selling the fishes he caught. The rate he provided us was P150 per kilo. The rates for residents is at P70 per kilo so you should haggle before buying.

Electricity is available in the Island from 7pm to 12pm. I asked one woman in a store to charge my phone and she gladly agreed. This was free of charge. At last something free in Calaguas! A water pump is available for bathing and restroom use. The water is free during weekdays but costs P10 per pail during weekends.

Day 2
	Itinerary	Group Cost	Individual Cost
6:00:00	Trekking to see view of Calaguas Island		25
	Bought fresh fish for lunch at the island	150	37.5
11:00:00	Cook lunch
14:00:00	Transfer to Balagbag Island	400	100
16:00:00	Trekking to see view of Pacific Ocean
19:00:00	Dinner/ Socials

After the usual drinking socials we all look forward to on every beach travel, we slept on the sand due to the humid weather that night. The next morning, we missed the sunrise but view of the crystal clear waters that morning was spectacular. 

We were all set to trek that day to see the top view of the island.

Cost to see the view of the whole island is P25/head. Entrance can be found on the leftmost portion of the beach. There is no receipt provided meaning we do not know where all money being collected will go. 

After climbing the top and having some pictures taken, we went down to see the back portion of the island. The view was again picture perfect. 

Once reaching our cottage, a lot of tourists where already coming in and we were advised to vacate our cottage since another set of people reserved the cottage before hand. We then got to know that Calaguas prioritizes those who take the tourist package instead of DIY travel.

We decided to leave the island when Mang Errol offered us  to stay at another remote island which is a 5 minute boatride away. Boat ride will cost P400 for one way trip to the island. Costly but since we had no shade + scorching sun + hundreds of new tourists in the island, we agreed to move to Balagbag. 

Balagbag Island is known as a snorkeling site. There are also cottages available. Downside of this island is there is no fresh water to use and shore is mostly stones and pebbles.

We still enjoyed the island and decided to climb uphill to see the Pacific Ocean. We stayed here overnight and was assisted by the caretaker. We also asked Mang Errol to ask our boatman to fetch us here the next day.

Day 3
	Itinerary	Group Cost	Individual Cost
6:00:00	Fix things
	Cottage	200	50
	Entrance		100
7:00:00	Boat pick-up back to Paracale
9:00:00	Wash up at Aling Nimfa's house
11:00:00	Lunch at Carinderia		60
12:00:00	Trike pick-up
	Sidetrip at Paracale church
14:00:00	Ride DLTB bus bound for Manila		450
23:30:00	Arrival at EDSA-Boni		3240

We left Balagbag Island around 7am and washed at Aling Nimfa's house. We had lunch at a nearby Carinderia before leaving for Manila. We also passed by Paracale Church for some pictorial before leaving for Manila.

Travel time back to Manila reached 12 hours as we had to pass by every town in Quezon province lol! 



Travel Tips:
1. Go to Calaguas during summer, on a weekday.
2. Buy everything you need before reaching Calaguas Island. 
3. Try to contact a boatman who would vouch to bring you to Calaguas and help provide all camping things needed.
4. Bring sunblock, hat, battery packs and even extra slippers in case it gets misplaced or stolen.
5. You can ask your tricycle driver to get bus tickets for you.


My Thoughts: The island is starting to get popular that residents use this as their main source of income. They prioritize campers who get the tourist package (inclusive of boat fare, catered food, tent, etc). If you are a DIY traveller like me, it would be better to go on a weekday  to make sure that you won't lose your boat, cottage or anything  else to another group.

Total Cost of the Trip for a group of 4pax: P3240/head for Calaguas 3days/2nights