Wanderworld

There’s no better way to welcome the New Year than a visit to some of the beautiful beaches in the Philippines. Though my family still celebrated New Year’s Eve at home, we flew to Cebu on the first weekend of 2016, Jan. 2, to extend our holiday season. Yes, it was all my idea. 😀

It’s been a while since my family had an out-of-town trip, so I proposed a family getaway plan to my sisters late last year. Since we were traveling with our folks and two toddlers, we had to pick a place that’s convenient and safe enough for the entire family.

Our pick: Cebu

Ideal Family Vacation Destination

I mainly chose Cebu since the Mactan beaches are just 30 minutes away from the airport, which means less commuting hassle for the oldies and the kiddos.

However, my sister and I were not that impressed with the beaches in Mactan. So we settled on Malapascua instead, which is still 3 to 4 hours away from the airport. To make the trip more convenient, we arranged with our hotel for roundtrip transfers from the airport.

How to Get to Malapascua Island

Malapascua Island is at the “northernmost tip of Cebu.” It takes 3 to 4 hours of land travel from the Mactan airport. Add to that a 30-minute boat ride from Maya port to get to Bounty Beach, where most of the Malapascua resorts are.

Airport Transfers via Your Resort

As I mentioned, we arranged for airport transfers to make the trip more convenient for the kids and the seniors we were traveling with.

Our resort, Malapascua Legend Water Sports & Dive Resort, offers van airport transfers for Php3500 per way for big groups (our group comprised 7 adults and 2 toddlers).

Additionally, there’s a boat transfer which costs Php1500 per way. Admittedly, the prices are a bit steep, but it’s good enough if you’re traveling with unpredictable kids and parents who easily get tired of commuting. Hehe.

Public Transport/Commute

If you wish to save on transportation expenses though, you can ride a Ceres bus to Maya port, which is the jump-off point to Malapascua Island. Buses and vans to the port are available from the North Bus Terminal in Cebu City.

Van fare is Php150, same with non-aircon buses. Fare for aircon buses, meanwhile, cost Php190. The travel time is 3 to 4 hours as well, though it could take longer for the bus since it may pick up and drop off passengers along the way.

Alternatively, you can take a taxi from the airport to Maya port. Obviously though, it would cost more.

Maya Port to Malapascua

At Maya port, you can take the public boat which will take you to the different beaches in Malapascua. It costs Php80. The trips are available from 6:30 am to 3 pm. There’s no specific schedule as the boats leave when they’re full.

If you’re a big group, you can hire a boat for Php800 to Php2000.

Note: The boat ride from Maya port to Malapascua was rough, at least during our visit. You can actually see the island from afar, but the huge waves made the boat ride longer than it’s supposed to be.

The boat ride is similar to the Anchor’s Away ride at Enchanted Kingdom. Haha. The boat was big though, so the ride wasn’t that scary.

Malapascua Island Hopping

Malapascua is mainly a diving destination most popular for its thresher sharks and shipwrecks. However, it’s ideal for snorkeling too, and the beach is beautiful as well. It’s also an ideal jump-off point to the breathtaking Kalanggaman Island in Leyte, which is a two-hour boat ride away.

Various boatmen on the island offer island hopping tours. Our whole day tour cost Php1500. That’s one boat for 7 adults and 2 kids. The places we visited are as follows.

Dakit-Dakit Island

Various rock formations can be found here, and it’s also an ideal snorkeling site according to our boatmen.

However, we didn’t see a lot of fishes. We also wanted to go to the rock formations, but the rocks were very sharp.

Guimbitayan Beach

This is the beach fronting the Malapascua light house. We didn’t go to the actual light house, but we could see it from the beach.

This is also where a small shipwreck can be found underwater. The ship was reportedly destroyed during World War II. However, all you can see here now is the skeleton of its starboard. It looks like a skeleton of the usual, small outrigger boat.

The boat just stops in the middle of the sea, so you’d have to jump into the water if you wish to swim or see the shipwreck. At first, I was curious to see the boat, and I saw parts of it when I swam underwater.

After a while though, my sister’s paranoia rubbed on me, and I became eventually scared of it just as she was. She hates shipwrecks, and she kept saying that there was something eerie about the boat remains underwater.

So when I dove to look at it again, I got the creeps too. Silly, I know, haha. The area around the wreck is too dark and gloomy, but you can still make out the shape of the boat and its wooden slates which look like empty seats.

Los Bambos Beach

According to our boatmen, Los Bambos beach is the most ideal for swimming. From the shore where our boat docked, we had to walk toward the back part of the beach. It looks a like public beach though, with no facilities nearby. The white sand is coarse, peppered with small rocks and dead corals.

When we got there, it was low tide, so we didn’t bother swimming. Though the water is clear, the beach is littered with rocks and unfortunately dead corals, so you’d have to wear slippers if you want to explore it.

Since it’s not really ideal for swimming, we just stayed to take some pictures and then headed to our next and last destination.

Coral Garden

This is by far the best among the sites we went to during our Malapascua island hopping tour. From what I understood, it’s a marine sanctuary, which is why it’s home to numerous fishes and even more corals.

An ideal snorkeling site, Coral Garden is a haven of small yet colorful fishes. It’s actually addictive to chase them around, haha. On the other side are loads of huge corals. If you look closely enough, you’ll see a lot of small fishes lurking in them. 🙂

Side Trip to Kalanggaman Island

The fact that Kalanggaman Island is a popular side trip from Malapascua was also part of the reason why I chose to stay there. Haha. I’ve been curious about Kalanggaman since I saw pictures of it back in 2014, and our family trip was the perfect opportunity to visit it.

Kalanggaman Island was unknown to many just several years ago, but now it has easily become one of the most sought-after virgin beaches in the Philippines. Hopefully, it stays unspoiled despite its increasing popularity.

How to Get to Kalanggaman Island

Various tour groups on Malapascua offer day trips to Kalanggaman Island. When you walk on the beach, you’d hear men shouting, “Kalanggaman! Kalanggaman!” 😀 A Kalanggaman day trip usually costs Php800 per person. That includes lunch. Toddlers are free. You’d also have to pay an entrance fee to the island worth Php150.

The boats that go to Kalanggaman from Malapascua are big ones. When you start sailing, you’d understand why: the waves are massive. You also join other tourists in the huge boat. The tour companies maximize each boat ride; don’t worry though, it’s not overcrowded. You’d find that the boat is still big enough for all the tourists.

The travel time to Kalanggaman usually takes 1 ½ hour to 2 hours from Malapascua. It mostly depends on the waves. During our tour, the waves were so strong that we got soaking wet from the travel alone. It didn’t seem scary though because the boat seemed big and strong enough to cruise through the angry waves.

Keep your gadgets and other essentials in a dry bag or zip locks though. Alternatively, you can leave your things in what seems like the storage area of the boat to keep them dry.

Breathtaking Beauty

It seemed like forever before we reached Kalanggaman, but when we finally saw parts of the island from afar, everyone was pretty excited. When our boat inched closer and closer, I couldn’t help but gush over the island’s beauty: a seemingly endless stretch of glorious creamy white sandbar perfectly matched with breathtaking turquoise waters.

As we got nearer and nearer, I kept saying expletives, which I usually do when I see a beautiful place, specifically beaches. 😀 The word beautiful is actually an understatement for Kalanggaman.

The island is quite huge, and as I mentioned, the sandbar seemed to stretch on and on. We actually didn’t manage to get to the end because it was too long and it was too hot to walk.

There are parts of the island where the sand is powder fine and soft. But there are also sections where the sand is not that smooth. It’s still way better than in most of the Philippine beaches though.

The water fronting the island is the most shallow and ideal for kids. However, it’s also where the boats dock, so you’ll be sandwiched by boats while swimming.

Meanwhile, the water on the sides of the sandbar is quite deep. Its depth is actually deceiving because it looks shallow, but when you step into the water, it’s about chest deep. Nevertheless, the water is crystal clear, and though there are no fishes to see, its aquamarine shade is a feast for the eyes.

I was actually smitten by Kalanggaman, and I think it’s my number one beach now, followed by the Coron beaches, Calaguas and still Boracay. 😀

On the back part of the island, the sand is coarser, and there are various rock formations too.

Island Rates/Expenses

There are cottages for rent on the island, but they’re ideal for day trips only. They range from Php250 to Php700. Staying overnight is possible too but only via tents since there’s no resort on the island.

Check out the other rates and contact numbers here: http://www.kalanggaman-island.com/p/rates-and-entrance-fees.html

Other facilities on the island are a comfort room and cooking (grilling) stations.

Note: If you’re going on a DIY tour, you have to contact the Palompon, Leyte tourism office first if you wish to visit the island, especially if you plan to stay overnight.

Travel Date: January 2016

**Next post: My Post-Birthday Getaway to Breathtaking Batanes