Caramoan, Camarines Sur Travel Guide

Matukad Island, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

Beaches. Lagoon. Lake. Sandbar. Limestone cliffs. Rolling hills. Cave. River. Name it. You’ll get all of these in just one municipality.
📍Matukad Island

Manlawi Sandbar, Lahuy Island, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

I’ve been to Caramoan thrice. And it’s always a different yet awesome experience every time I would set foot in its beaches. No wonder why the reality TV series Survivor has chosen Caramoan peninsula a couple of times as its filming location.
📍Manlawi Sandbar

My first Caramoan trip transpired in 2013. I would never forget our ideal against the southwest monsoon waves of Lagonoy Gulf en route to Guijalo Port. My friends and I took the early morning trip of the passenger boat from Sabang Port in San Jose to Caramoan Peninsula. This is one of the few photos I had during our Caramoan adventure.

This is a photo of Matukad Island which was included in our island hopping. If Guijalo Bay facing Lagonoy Gulf is rough every southwest monsoon season, Paniman Bay (jump-off point for island tours) on the other hand, is way calmer which is evident in this picture of mine taken in 2013.

Lahos Island, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

Fast forward to the last weekend of November 2016, I decided to revisit the islands of Caramoan together with one of my friends from the travel community. But this time, we took the other route: a butt-numbing bus ride from Metro Manila all the way to Caramoan town proper.
📍Lahos Island

It never crossed my mind that there’s a bus company that plies the Manila-Caramoan route. Wait, let me rephrase what I just said. I actually never thought that land travel is another option to reach this town and that a road connecting Caramoan to civilization actually exists! If there’s a commercial flight that will fly me directly to Caramoan, I will take it. Our bus ride for roughly 16 hours (due to the intense traffic condition in Metro Manila) to get to the town proper of Caramoan was really unforgettable. The unlimited sharp turns of the road constructed in the mountains of Caramoan Peninsula were one hell of an adventure. It kept me awake, to be honest. Boy was it so hard to force myself to sleep. I just stared outside with nothing but darkness around us. The risk (the concrete road seemingly can only fit one bus in its two small lanes) that the vehicle might fall off the cliff added up to my anxiety. Had our bus driver dozed off, we’d be history.
📍Manlawi Sandbar

Guinahoan Island, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We reached Poblacion in the morning and my contact picked us up and took us to our accommodation in Barangay Paniman. It was a long weekend so almost all of the resorts and hotels were full hence we were asked to spend two nights at a homestay. It was nothing fancy but we didn’t go here to sleep all day anyway. Since we were joiners of public tours, we had to wait for other joiners too. Unfortunately, the group who was supposed to go with us took forever so our contact had to transfer us to another boat. It was only after lunch time that my friend and I were assigned a new group which we could join. We could have gone to the islands much earlier if it were only a private tour. But beggars can’t be choosers after all.
📍Guinahoan Island

One of our destinations is this island called Lahos Island. Its name comes from the word “laho” which means “vanish” as its beach disappears during high tide.

Because it’s a long weekend due to the holiday, Lahos Island was jam-packed. Just like Matukad Island which we also visited that day (I never got the chance to take pictures of Matukad considering the huge number of photobombers), it really was a challenging feat to get solo shots.

It looks peaceful, isn’t it? But this was literally the only spot here at Lahos Island without people roaming around. Behind me was a pandemonium of tourists laughing, shouting, swimming and taking photos. We had to practice perfect timing just so we could capture the pictures that we wanted.

The group of friends who were originally supposed to tour with us just arrived at Paniman in the evening because their rented van got lost as their driver was not familiar with the right directions going to Caramoan. Thankfully, we left for island hopping early the next morning together with this group.
📍Guinahoan Island

Our itinerary that day was to explore the farthest islands of Caramoan. And because it was November and northeast monsoon was just around the corner, we were greeted by ginormous swell since Caramoan is facing the Pacific. I had to admit. It was scary yet super fun.
📍Guinahoan Island

The lighthouse atop this island was first on our list. One would need to hike to get here at the view deck of Guinahoan. The trek to the hills was relatively short and easy. Easy peasy. Just watch out for bombs, or carabao and cow poop rather.

Even if its monsoon season, we were given sunshine that day. The place was full of tourists but at least there was enough space for pictorial as we savored the beauty of the seemingly infinite expanse of the mighty Pacific.

We chilled out for quite some time while we continuously took shots of beautiful cloud formations and basked in the windy yet warm weather embracing the grassland.

Across Guinahoan Island is the island of Cotivas famous for its sandbar where we planned to have our lunch. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to see it because its relatively small shore was too crowded. A coastline populated with lots of boats is not really a spectacular view. We sailed instead towards this sandbar which is geographically part of Lahuy Island.
📍Manlawi Sandbar

This is how Caramoan surprises its visitors when they ask for a sandbar. Truly a paradise! Manlawi is so wide that I didn’t attempt to reach the other end of it. I was pretty sure it’s gonna be a tiring walkathon on its fine sand.

Even if it seemed like a blockbuster movie due to the number of people taking pictures here at the sandbar, it wasn’t really a struggle to take solo shots considering Manlawi’s wide size. Besides, the floating cottages and boats were all anchored at the outer edge of the sandbar so they’re not visible in our photos.

Our stay here was so memorable because this was where we feasted on delectable dishes prepared by our boat crew while enjoying this view. We just had to eat our lunch inside our boat because the floating cottages were all taken by tourists who arrived ahead of us.

We continued frolicking right after lunch until Manlawi’s water totally dried up which was our cue for another opportunity to capture more pictures.

We sailed again in rough seas en route to our next stop. We noticed that the swell appeared to be bigger. Some of our companions would freak out in fright due to the splashing of waves every now and then. We were supposed to conclude our tour at Sabitang Laya (I didn’t take photos of it though as its coastline didn’t look promising due to seaweeds) but because we still got time left and our companions who were supposed to come with us yesterday didn’t get the chance to visit the nearby islands, our boatmen all agreed to take us to Matukad and Lahos Islands.
📍Lahos Island

If there’s one thing that I wasn’t able to do during this trip, that would be getting awesome pictures of Matukad Island. Sadly, just like the day before, the place was so filled with tourists that I couldn’t find a spot with no people for my photos. At least when we docked here at Lahos Island, I was able to get a few decent dreamy shots just like this one. Our long weekend trip here in Caramoan may be loaded with crowded beaches but it’s undeniably a one-of-a-kind fun-filled adventure.

Minalahos Island, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

After one week, I went back to Caramoan with another set of friends. We stayed for five days and we got the chance to explore almost every tourist spot this town has to offer. Our itinerary for Day One was visiting the nearby islands such as Matukad and Minalahos Islands. Unfortunately, most of my photos that day were missing. I thought I already transferred them to my phone from my camera. I only got this one photo of Minalahos Island upon checking my files.

Surprisingly, I also got a couple pictures here at Matukad Island that day and these are some of those lucky images that were saved. As you can see, this looks quite different from my photo of Matukad Island during my first Caramoan trip in 2013. The previous picture had calm water as still as a lake during southwest monsoon season but its shore was full of seagrasses back then. But since this one was taken in December amidst the northeast monsoon season, you can now see waves yet a clean coastline.

There were no other tourists here at the beach because it was a weekday. We got the whole place all to ourselves.

I took advantage of this opportunity to capture pictures of Matukad with no people in it which I wasn’t able to do the last time I was here. Sadly, the overcast weather didn’t cooperate so my images weren’t stunning. The northeast monsoon was at its peak that month.

Matukad Island has always been one of my favorite islands in Caramoan. Aside from its hidden lake which could be viewed by rock climbing (I don’t have photos of it though), this beach is where you will find Caramoan’s finest sand. The quality and consistency of its powdery sand could actually rival the sand of other popular beaches among Philippine islands.

Lantangan Beach, Pitogo Island, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

The still-gloomy weather greeted us on our second day but at least the waves were still relatively manageable just like the day before. We traveled for more than an hour to reach this beach of stones in Pitogo Island, Lantangan Beach.

To be honest, I was awestruck as soon our boat docked at this island’s shoreline. Who would have thought that Caramoan is not only about white sand beaches? The stones may not be as big as the ones found in Batanes’ boulder beaches but Lantangan Beach is still equally amazing. What I love the most is when the stones hit each other and create a therapeutic sound once the waves crash right into the shore.

Pitogo Island Lagoon, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We cruised to the other side of Pitogo Island and I noticed the huge landmass facing us so I confirmed with our guide if it’s Catanduanes. He replied yes. A few more minutes passed and this lagoon inside a peaceful cove welcomed us. This big natural swimming pool is hidden from the treacherous waves of the Pacific so it’s the perfect spot if you want to swim without having to worry about being dragged by waves and strong current. We were the only tourists at that time and I was impressed that Caramoan still has a lot of secret spots to be explored. At the back of my mind, I was like, “Bring it on, Caramoan. Surprise me more.”

The serene ambience of the place felt like a melody lulling me to sleep amidst this cuddling weather. But I didn’t want to miss the opportunity of snorkeling to see what’s underneath.

Who wouldn’t love to dip in this lagoon’s emerald water? Well, I only swam for a couple of minutes because I went back to our boat right away when I saw some sea snakes sleeping beneath us. I guess that’s how undisturbed their sanctuary is, considering this side of Caramoan is seldom visited by outsiders.

Tayak Lake, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We headed back in the direction of Paniman Bay then stopped by a beach that doesn’t really look promising especially under this cloudy atmosphere. I wonder why this place has been chosen to be part of this island hopping tour. I know it’s not a beach smackdown but it’s not really beautiful with all the seagrasses washed up on the shore. I kept my lips sealed and our guide motioned to us to follow him. We trekked an established trail then reached one of the most enchanting lakes I have seen in my entire life so far.
📍Tayak Lake

This is also known by many as Tayak Lagoon. I didn’t ask our boatmen if I could take a dip in the water. Even if they would allow me, I wouldn’t dare to. From the looks of it (and feels of it with my sixth sense), the aura of Tayak Lake felt terrifying yet magical. The overcast weather surely amplified that mystical energy that this hidden lake emanates.

I wonder what it looks like below this smooth surface of green water. The place reminded me of Kayangan Lake (minus the endless number of tourists in Coron of course). Since Tayak Lake is surrounded by limestone walls, I was curious whether I could find giant karst formations beneath its calm waters. But because I have submechanophobia (fear of submerged man-made objects and anything large underwater such as boulders), I was scared to even take a peek with my goggles. I now realized that the reason I was able to snorkel in Kayangan Lake back in 2015 was because I got friends and fellow tourists swimming with me during that time. I probably wouldn’t be able to do so if I were the sole person to take a dip in creepy lakes such as this one.

Tinago Cove, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

Palawan is not the only island in the Philippines where you can see huge limestone cliffs. Islas de Gigantes and Caramoan Peninsula also have these rock formations. This beach called Tinago Cove was our next destination afterwards. Its shoreline may be short but the view of the karst walls was a delightful sight.

We headed to Cabotonan Beach to have lunch. The beach was not as impressive as the other islands due to the pieces of clutter you’ll find in its shore. I also noticed a residential area at the other end of its coastline. I had some photos of Cabotonan Beach but they were all deleted together with the rest of my images on our first day. Since it was still early, I asked our guide if we could go back to Matukad Island to spend the rest of our day before going back to Paniman. This is one of my photos of Matukad for Day Two left in my camera folder. A thin layer of clouds was still covering the sun but our shots now looked livelier than the dull pictures we got the day before.

Sohoton River, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We reached Paniman by 4:00 PM then prepped for the second leg of our itinerary that day. Our accommodation sits by the riverbank of Sohoton River and luckily, they offer free use of kayaks for their clients.

My first kayaking experience was during my Sorsogon trip in 2014 when I visited Bulusan Lake. I found out that I will never be a fan of this activity, unless seeing a hidden gem will require me to paddle my way to it, just like El Nido’s small lagoon. But if there’s another option or route besides kayaking, I’d be more than happy to take it.

I thought at first that we would just be kayaking Sohoton River and then go back to our hotel after quite some time but there’s another natural wonder which was the fruit of our kayaking adventure. It’s undoubtedly the fourth surprise of the day, following Lantangan Beach, Pitogo Lagoon and Tayak Lake.

Umang Cave, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We left our kayaks by the riverside and started climbing our way up. The slippery and muddy ordeal to reach this cave was worth it.
📍Umang Cave

This will be the reward after your non-stop paddling through Sohoton River. You actually don’t need a lamp to see what’s in store inside this cave. The faint light from outside is enough for you to witness its walls in jade color which were a spectacular sight. I’ve never known that Caramoan hides a cave in its custody. Most of the blogs on the internet only showcase the popular and usually-visited islands of this municipality.

We didn’t stay that long inside Umang Cave as it’s almost sundown and we didn’t bring any flashlights with us. We paddled back and reached our accommodation before dusk.

Ba'haw Falls, Presentacion, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We explored the other side of Caramoan Peninsula on Day Three. Our guide told me that Guijalo Port would be our jump-off point. I once again learned that there are spots to see in this part of Caramoan. The first destination on our list was this waterfall, Ba’haw Falls.

This waterfall is actually under the jurisdiction of the town of Presentacion but can be accessed from Guijalo Port by boat. Upon reaching the shore of a coastal community, we walked for a couple of minutes to reach Ba’haw Falls.

It may not be as majestic as some of the waterfalls I’ve seen in the country but it has different levels perfect for a refreshing dip. Ba’haw Falls is also known as Baliguian Falls as it is situated in Barangay Baliguian.

Tinago Beach, Guijalo Bay, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We then sailed to a hidden cove which is part of Caramoan landmass. Intermittent clouds would give us sunshine every now and then.
📍Tinago Beach

This beach is also known as Tinago but this is different from the Tinago Cove facing the Pacific which we visited the day before. This Tinago Beach, however, is along Guijalo Bay. By the way, these strips of beaches have relatively short coastlines so don’t expect a kilometer-long one compared to the beaches found in other parts of the country.

Inaswang Beach, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We cruised farther to another cove, still part of mainland Caramoan. Thank the gods they granted us the sunrays we needed for this beautiful shot of Inaswang Beach. It seemed like the sun shone upon us in its full glory. If you have more than three days to spare for exploring Caramoan, you may opt to visit these beaches. They are on par in terms of beauty and the good thing about these places is that most of them are deserted. Just like Tayak Lake and Pitogo Island, tourists usually don’t include these beaches in their itinerary because the majority of visitors only allot three days and two nights to tour around Caramoan.

We had lunch and stayed here for more than an hour to relax. My bad, I forgot to ask our guide why this place is known as Inaswang since “aswang” is a shapeshifting monster in Filipino mythology. It’s more like the Filipino version of vampire or ghouls.

Kalagikhik Beach, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We capped off our day here at Kalagikhik Beach where a thunderstorm ruined our pictorial. So we opted to wait out the rain inside a small hut.

Once the rain stopped, we took a walk towards the other side of Kalagikhik Beach. Living in the tropics means being so used to seeing coconut trees across our landscapes and seascapes. I wonder what this beach would look like if it’s sunny. It’s already pretty enough even without sunrays touching its sand. We then proceeded to Hurandayan Beach, another cove situated in Caramoan Peninsula along Guijalo Bay. I just realized that we didn’t see any islands separate from the landmass but beautiful coves instead which are accessible by boat. As we got nearer Hurandayan, we told our guide that there’s no need to dock. We just moved closer to its shore so we could see it up close. The nimbus clouds still lurking after the rain could not reveal the true beauty of the beach so I didn’t take a picture of it though. We then agreed to end our tour early and go back to Guijalo Port.

We still had two days left and our guide scheduled our fourth day to explore the farthest islands facing the Pacific. I was hesitant whether we should push through with the plan. I was here a week ago and I knew how treacherous the waves would be. Besides, we were a large group back then so we were on board a huge boat unlike our smaller boat this time good for only less than ten people. The rough sea condition was already evident at the shore of Barangay Paniman. We could have used Bikal Port as our jump-off point rather than Paniman but our boat crew assured us that it’s going to be safe. I couldn’t see any tourists that day. We were the only people after all. I’ve never seen the bays and shores of Caramoan so empty, unlike my experience here a week ago when there were boats and tourists everywhere you go. Our boat ride through the Pacific swell back then seemed tolerable and even fun because I was traveling with hundreds of vacationers. But this time, it felt like we were on our own. And that somehow made me nervous. We started the first phase of our boat ride through choppy waters but thankfully, we hid behind the smaller islands and since our boat was small, we even sailed through the shallow waters inside the mangrove forest of Basul Island. The boat we used a week ago was way too large and it would touch the seabed of the mangrove area so we had to head straight into the Pacific. But this time, the mangroves sheltered us from danger. I guess each boat has its own advantages and disadvantages. We then traveled out into the open sea again and proceeded here at Guinahoan Island. I only took a few photos at the top where the lighthouse is. As you can see in this picture, the weather was so bad as though an angry mother scolding her stubborn children and warning them to go back home. This had been so far the worst weather condition I experienced in Caramoan. We got winds, rain and waves. What more could I ask for? I wanted to go back to our hotel and just curl up in bed. Luckily for me, this was already my second time to tour these islands but it was my friends’ first so I had to be considerate.

Liwan Beach, Guinahoan Island, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

If our trek to the lighthouse was challenging because of the muddy trail, our descent towards this beach known as Liwan Beach was way worse. Boy was it so slippery. This place facing the Pacific by the way is the long stretch of sand one can see from the hill where the lighthouse is. I tried my best to enjoy the chill vibes. Literally. We were beach bumming but the weather was so damn cold.

Cotivas Island, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We headed here at Cotivas Island next. The place was deserted when we docked by its shore.

The water was so calm it’s like deceiving everybody that it’s peaceful out in the open sea.

Beaches under overcast weather never really appeal to me but I had to admit, Cotivas Island looked beautiful even without sunshine. Moreover, a huge portion of its sandbar was visible too.

Unfortunately, another set of dark clouds rained on us so we sat inside our boat still parked here by the shoreline of Cotivas. This weather was really harshing my mellow and getting on my nerves. The boat’s makeshift covers made from tarpaulin protected us from the winds and cold rain while we waited out the downpour. Once the rainshower turned into a drizzle, we headed to what I thought to be the highlight of our island hopping tour. Sadly, it was the exact opposite. Talk about reality versus expectations.

We rented a floating cottage here at Manlawi Sandbar. There were no other people so we could choose whatever cottage we want unlike my visit a week ago amidst the chaos of unlimited number of tourists. We ate our lunch while waiting for the water level to subside as the tide was still high when we reached this beach. Apparently, we wasted so much time waiting for like forever because to my dismay, the water didn’t dry up. After more than an hour of staying inside the bamboo cottage (gods was I already feeling dizzy as the wooden cottage rocked here and there due to ripples), I noticed that nothing was happening. So we decided to get off the cottage and take pictures under the ugly weather with all the drizzling and cold winds. I was so disappointed and I felt like I failed my friends considering I proudly showed them beforehand the beautiful shots I took here a week ago. But they assured me that it was fine. They still enjoyed what Mum Nature gifted us (well, if you could call that a present). I asked our guide about this (he was the same guy who was my contact during my trip here the week before) and he told me that this phenomenon is quite normal every northeast monsoon season especially every December. According to him, the phase of the moon that day didn’t grant us the lowest low tide and that the water was not going to dry up even if we waited for aeons. I looked it up on the internet and also found out that wind and weather patterns as well as the shifting position of the moon, earth and the sun throughout the year all affect the tide level. But even if the tide didn’t go down, it would have been nicer if the sun was out but in our case, the northeast monsoon ruined it all, which is pretty obvious in this photo. So my piece of advice to fellow travelers is to never expect a tourist spot to look the same as the photos you see on the internet. There are definitely a lot of factors at play such as time or season when these pictures were taken.

Hacienda Lahuy Island Resort, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We sailed next to the other side of Lahuy Island and stopped by this resort, Hacienda Lahuy Island Resort. The place had no visitors just like the previous islands we all saw since Day One.

Sabitang Laya Island, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

We concluded our tour here at Sabitang Laya or Bagieng Island. A week ago, we were parked at the other end of the beach so I wasn’t able to see these rock formations.

The shoreline now looked much cleaner without seaweeds. This would have been a great shot had it been sunny.

Because it was nearing sundown, we decided to finally bid goodbye not just to Sabitang Laya but to all the islands of Caramoan since this was the last day of our island hopping tours. Our ride back through choppy waters seemed manageable at first but the swell got bigger by the minute as we sailed closer to Paniman. Our boat crew signaled to us to wear our life jackets and I could feel how hard it was for our boat to maneuver against these waves of the Pacific. I wonder what the value is of this current wind speed in Beaufort Scale. I was already playing in my mind the possible scenarios such as abrupt failure of the boat’s engine. Our boat’s outriggers might also be torn apart by the waves. And like I said before, it was scary since we were the only people in the middle of the angry ocean with no other boats with us as it started to get dark. To be honest, I was scared more for my friends’ life than mine. I’m a cat with nine lives. In case all hell broke loose, I’d probably be just carried away to Hawaii. Kidding aside, if there’s one thing I learned after we safely docked at Paniman, it’s that never go on an island hopping trip if the weather condition calls for you to abort your plans, especially if you will be sailing out in the Pacific or West Philippine Sea. Safety always comes first.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Mother of Peace Grotto, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Philippines

It was raining cats and dogs the next day. The rainshowers were much worse than the day before, with just short intervals of drizzling in between. Most of the time, it’s a heavy downpour. We wrapped up our Caramoan tour by visiting St. Michael The Archangel Church then climbing 500+ steps to see Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Mother of Peace Grotto. This spot is perfect for viewing the islands of Caramoan Peninsula. We were already back at our accommodation before lunch time and we just spent the rest of the day resting and sleeping under the bed weather. We deserve it, after all the activities we did during our stay here. The only thing we weren’t able to do was snorkel because of rough seas brought about by the northeast monsoon, unlike before when I was able to see the marine biodiversity of Caramoan back in 2013 since the side of Caramoan facing the Pacific at that time was calm. But we didn’t mind at all, considering this trip of ours was ultimately a mission accomplished.

CAMARINES SUR [Caramoan]

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