Ticket for Two: calaguas island

DATE OF TRAVEL: March 28-29, 2013

PLANNING YOUR TRIP

(A) Naga City; (B) Paracale; (C) Calaguas Island
Photo generated using https://maps.google.com/

GETTING THERE (Getting to Calaguas from Naga City)

(Rates are as of April 2013)

Lakwatsero has a well-written guide on how to get to Calaguas. There are actually 2 jump-off points in going to Calaguas. When I first went there, our entry point was Vinzons. If coming from Naga City, this would be a more convenient route. But because of a bad experience in dealing with the boatmen there, add to that a longer travel time in rough seas (~3 hours), we opted on our succeeding visits to go via the Paracale route despite the longer land travel.

Via Paracale

1. Van from Naga City (Camarines Sur) to Daet (Camarines Norte)

Terminal: Naga City Van Terminal, in front of SM Naga

Travel time: 2 hours

Fare: 200php

2. Van from Daet to Paracale

· Be aware of the last trip from Paracale going back to Daet, when we inquired we were told it was at 3pm

Terminal: Daet Van Terminal

Travel time: 45minutes

Fare: 65php

3. Boat from Paracale to Calaguas

· Our boatman (Mang Boy) has available tents for rent. He was also nice to let us use their bathroom to wash and freshen up before heading back to Naga City

Travel time: 2 ½ hours

Fare: 3000 - 3500php for 6pax

Contact Person: Mang Boy 0908-546-0683

ACCOMMODATION

As of writing, there are no commercial establishments in the island and you will need to bring your own camping gear. They have rustic bathroom and toilets but you will need to pump your own water and costs 10php/pail.

HOW MUCH WE SPENT

	Group (6pax)	Per Pax (From Naga City)
Transport a. Naga to Daet,vv b. Daet to Paracale, vv c. Boat Paracale to Calaguas d. Transfers, etc	-	400
	-	130
	3000	500
	-	50
Camp Fee (Entrance Fee 75php + Barangay Fee 20php)	-	95
Tent Rental (3pax)	150	50
Food	1500	250
TOTAL	-	~1,500/PAX

HELPFUL LINKS

Lakwatsero

Biyaherong barat

NOTES

“Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time”.
This was the site that greeted me while taking a stroll along the beach.

Angkulet has written a compelling post on what unregulated tourism can do to Calaguas. I don’t mind the fact that a lot of people finally discovered this hidden paradise, or that instead of waves crashing, you hear party music blasting from other campers all night, or that we couldn’t find a place to pitch our tent because of the crowd. But irresponsibly leaving your trash after a drinking session is just too much. 2 years ago, Calaguas was a haven (see Calaguas: For Noob Campers). We were sharing the shores with only 3 other campers. This time around, I was picking up trash and cigarette butts left and right. Calaguas is still beautiful, but what’s alarming is the direction to where Calaguas is headed, and at a fast rate at that. I hope as travelers we can be more responsible with our trash and I hope their LGU can soon set up policies that could regulate the influx of tourists.

RELATED POSTS

Calaguas Island: Trip Review

Calaguas: For Noob Campers

I’m a proud Oragon. I love that amazing places such as Calaguas, Caramoan, Burias Island, Albay, and Donsol are only a few hours of travel from my hometown. Siguro kaya magaganda at gwapo ang mga Bikolano ay dahil pinapalibutan kami ng magagandang lugar?? Haha.. kaya nga oragon.. may tinatagong kahambugan lang. My travel mantra is to refrain from returning to a destination until I have crossed it all off my bucket list. Except of course when we talk about the beaches in my province.

When Froi and I were planning our departure date for Australia, we made sure that it will be after the summer season so we can enjoy a few more months of beach bumming here in the Philippines. Calaguas was an easy choice while choosing our travel destinations. I’ll return to this place in a heartbeat because this is my happy place. It may no longer be as pristine as before, but this place will always hold the number 1 spot in my list of the best beaches in the Philippines.

We saw stingrays while snorkeling! The visibility was so good, although there were only a few fish and the corals were not as extensive. We only snorkeled in the reef a few meters from the shore, but I heard there are other snorkeling sites worth exploring. Maybe next time we can ask our boatman to bring us to those sites.