A Rainy Summer Night in Calaguas

A second attempt this year to see the paradise beach in Daet, Camarines Norte.

Unlike my last year's visit in Calaguas, this year's trip was traveled by bus. But it's the same DIY trip.

I hate traveling for long hours, specially when there's another option. But this Comfortec by Benz Elite made me so willing.

Penafrancia's Comfortec by Benz Elite

One thing I need to mention is that - you need to purchase your tickets in advance. And that means going to the ever busy bus station in Cubao.

A seat in this Comfortec costs P980 each, per way. Expensive I know! The airfare is actually cheaper. But my friend Chris, who lives in NYC and flew for 22 hours to reach Manila, has a flying disorder. So weird, right? ^_^

I didn't regret taking the bus anyway. Among the bus and plane travels I made in the past, this is the most convenient and comfortable so far.

26-seater bus, with restroom

seats are so spacious and comfortable

few shots wont hurt ^_^

It's the first time I slept for about 8 hours straight, while traveling. Ansarap ng tulog ko grabe! I so love this Comfortec Bus.


At 5:00am, we took another bus to Daet. Fare is P120. Travel time is 2 hours.
In Daet, we took a van to Paracale. Fare is P50. Travel time is 1 hour.
And finally in Paracale, I met Mang Nelson again. He's our boatman last year. He charged us P2,300 then. I asked him if he could give me a discount. He said of course. He charged me P1,000 only! Wow! Travel time from Paracale to Calaguas is 2 hours.

for the record, the boat has life jackets. and it can fit 10 persons at max.

P1,000 for a private boat from Paracale to Calaguas - awesome discounted price!

looking for a boatman in Calaguas?
try Mang Nelson. he owns many sailing and fishing boats.
contact number: 0920.3179315

It was a sunny afternoon when we arrived. And since it's a Monday, only 5 people, aside from us were there.

hello again, gorgeous beach.

Entrance fee is P75 each. There's also a P50 fee to be collected by the barangay (daw). I asked Mang Nelson if we really needed to pay that, he said NO. So we didnt pay for it. Haha

The cottage rental is P150. Again, we didn't bring a tent because we dont have one. We planned to sleep in the sand again. In case you still dont know, there are no resorts / guesthouses, homestays in Calaguas.

I dont remember seeing these last year..

Mang Nelson also shared that the caretaker Mang Bert is nowhere to be found now after selling parts of this island which is not his.

We settled in the cottage nearest to the water pump and the sari-sari store.

i wish we had jellyace too ^_^

Oh by the way, this made us very curious..

sino may alam ng sagot: bakit ang haba ng tubo na ginamit sa poso nila?

Moving on..
I dont know but I think I the beach is more gorgeous the first time I saw it. Hindi ako masyado na-wow this time. (yesss, taas ng expectations. hehe)

but it's still lovely of course.

uso daw ang "tan" sa NYC

low tide in the afternoon

We spent the whole afternoon in the shore. Feeling mapuputi lang. ^_^

look there's a rainbow!

Before the night came, we ate our dinner and prepared our sarongs. We're ready to sleep in the sand. Too bad, just after 2 hours, the rain poured hard.

rainy summer night in the island, and we dont have a tent!

We rushed to the open cottage. But it didnt help much. The rain didnt stop too. It actually poured harder. We found ourselves sleeping on each side of the small bench. I was so cold and scared. I felt every drop of the rain on me. Ang ginaw!

Lesson learned: You cant get lucky everyday. I have enjoyed sleeping in the bare sand of this island last year, but it's not the case this time. It's always better to bring a tent (pag wala, dapat mag-effort manghiram at magbitbit. Else humanda kang matulog ng basa ang katawan.)



After many hours, the rain stopped at last. Thanks be to God! I was calling His name that time, kasi ilang oras na akong ginaw na ginaw at basang-basa na ko. And I thought I wouldnt be able to survive it.

this is the actual bench where I slept.

The next morning, we were informed by the boatman that there might be a typhoon. We immediately left the island. Good thing, the waves were still very calm that time.

It was still an unforgettable beach bumming experience after all.


Thanks Chris for this bday treat. Next uwi mo ng Pinas, eto gusto kong regalo...

kahit 2nd hand, ok lang naman sakin. hindi ako choosy! ^_^

next: SG-Bali series

Calaguas At Last

Im back! And survived Calaguas - the Do-It-Yourself style.

Before I start, I would like to mention these people who gave me details about Calaguas, Maculabo, and Apuao Grande: Angel Juarez of Lakwatsero.com, Tutubi of Backpackingphilippines, Gael Hilotin of Thepinaysolobackpacker.com, and Andiboi of Filipinomad.blogspot.com - Thank you all for patiently answering all my queries, and I hope next time I could join you in 1 of your future travels (specially you Angel Juarez!) Ü

Now meet my travel buddies- Camarines Norte edition:
○ Leidy de Ocampo (road3pnidhy.multiply.com) - I met this girl in Sagada. For 2010 alone, she has traveled Sagada, Anawangin, Nagsasa, Capones, Puerto Princesa and El Nido. And next week she'll be in Coron. Btw, her sister Ate Beth tagged along in this trip.
○ Nina Fuentes (justwandering.org) - Oh yes! To travel with a travel blogger like her is a pleasure. Na-starstruck ako. For 2010 alone, she has traveled to Pangasinan, Zambales, Benguet, Baguio, Cagayan, Tuguegarao, La union, El Nido, and Kota Kinabalu. Next week she'll be in Nagsasa. (whew!)
○ Chyng Reyes (yours truly) has only traveled to Boracay, Roxas City, and Sagada for 2010. Compared to them, Im a home buddy! Ü

○ Calaguas Expenses ○ Do-It-Yourself Style ○

Excluding the airfare, expenses per head is just P1115 (if you're a group of 4)

Calaguas Island is located in Daet, Camarines Norte. We took the plane in Manila and after an hour were in Naga. In Naga we traveled to Daet by van. In this same terminal, you will also find the van going to Sabang (the jump off point to Caramoan).

While traveling, it started to rain. We're all worried because that's our main concern. How can we survive in a remote island without any tent, and it is raining?! We don't bother to bring a tent because we availed CebuPac's Go Lite fare, all the excess baggage will have an additional payment. Aside from that, we dont have any tents at all! Ü

God is good and the rain stopped. After 2 hours, we arrived in Daet. We took another van going to Paracale and that took 1 hour of travel. The driver pointed where Paracale port was and there we finally saw a body of water and lots of boats. At last!

We asked a boatman and he offered his boat for P3,000 roundtrip fare to Calaguas - Mahabang Buhangin beach. I almost agreed but Leidy was very good at haggling. She got it for as low as P2,300! Good job! Our boatman is Mang Nelson 0920.3179315 and his companion's name is Mang Lito.

Paracale Port

Before going to Calaguas - Mahabang Buhangin, we ate our lunch first in a nearby carinderia. We also bought extra food for dinner and some supplies like drinking water, cup noodles, chicha, etc.

And so our boat ride begins... Lucky us the weather and the waves were cooperative. It is best to travel in January-May because the sea is calm. From June-Dec, the waves are notorious.


After traveling by air, land, and sea, I kept saying: "this island should really be worth it." Ang haggard din magpatransfer-transfer ng rides with my big backpack, DSLR bag, and a tripod.

Two hours after, we finally saw Munting Buhangin, Calaguas.

first glimpse

Honestly, it's not that impressive at first. Yeah it's good but I kept thinking, "was this worth the travel?" It's almost sunset by the time we arrived and we didn't get to see clearly the color of the sand and water. It was good but Im not that impressed. Not yet.


There is a family who lives there and serves as caretakers of the island. Other than them, we were the only visitors in this virgin beach. We paid P100 each for maintenance fee, and P200/group for the nipa hut rental. There is also a source of fresh water and CR here, for convenience.

finally at Calaguas
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the nipa hut
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sleeping area

We cared to swim after the sun has set. The water was warm and very clear. The sand was white and it wont hurt your feet. There are no stones in the sea bed, purely fine sand. We enjoyed this beach! Very serene and relaxing.

After dinner, we chose to place our sarongs in the sand, lay down, and do star gazing. Very lovely scene. There were also fireflies around. Ang ganda! And right there we decided to sleep under the big sky with lots of stars!

small flashlights are our only sources of light

Thank God it didn't rain. The coldness of the night was just right. There were no insects to bother you. All of us had a good sleep (even w/out a tent!).

In the morning, the family provided us hot water for our cup noodles. Here's my breakfast:

my definition of masustansyang pagkain

And at this time, the beach looked very tempting and irresistable. The place became very very beautiful.

very tempting beach
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our boat

Each island has its own beauty but there are really some which are so much more outstanding than the others!

I gave in to temptation. It's the first time I didn't care about having a sunburn.

...and first time kong mag two-piece sa beach! Ü

This is Boracay less the crowd and the seaweeds. Looks like Caramoan but with finer seabed. Comparable to El Nido & Coron, Leidy and Nina both said yes!

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It's really not necessary to compare the best beaches in the Philippines, but so far my vote goes to Calaguas.

S is for Sunburn!

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Reminder: we were the only guests. We have the whole beach all by ourselves! And that's the best part. Ü

best beach Ive been to

We enjoyed our stay so much in this beach. We actually had a hard time leaving this place. It's not exaggerated or anything, it's just that beautiful.

I love this beach! ♥

My shots still can not show you how beautiful this beach is. Mind you, I didn't modify the contrast, brightness, saturation, even the auto levels in these shots. The place is amazingly beautiful already. I strongly suggest you visit this place.

Worth the air, land, and sea travel? Definitely yes!

Calaguas - Mahabang Buhangin beach exceeded my expectations. Outstanding!

Up next: Maculabo and Apuao Grande

* swimwear by http://waterwear.multiply.com/