There’s only one thing I could think of right away when someone asks me about Guimaras. Its world-famous mangoes. But Guimaras has other things to offer its visitors aside from its sweet mangoes. 📍Lamurawan Island
🇵🇭GUIMARAS ADVENTURE PRIMER🇵🇭
✈️🛳🚌 How to get to Guimaras:
⏺ Take a plane from Metro Manila to Iloilo City (e.g. Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia).
⏺ Hail a taxi to Ortiz Wharf.
⏺ Ride the public boat bound for Jordan Wharf, Guimaras (travel time: roughly 15 minutes).
🏄🏝🚴 Sites to Explore/Activities:
⏺ Inland Tour (hire a tricycle for your tour)
National Mango Research and Development Center, Jordan
Guisi Beach and Lighthouse, Nueva Valencia
Alubihod Beach, Nueva Valencia
San Lorenzo Wind Farm
Smallest Plaza, Jordan
Navalas Church, Buenavista
⏺ Island Hopping (hire a boat at Alubihod Beach)
Natago Beach
Lamurawan Island
Baras Cave
Turtle Island
Ave Maria Island
Isla Naburot
Fairy Castle Island
After a day tour in Southern Cebu, my friend and I went back to Dumaguete City to have dinner at its popular Sans Rival Café. We then rode the bus bound for Bacolod that night then waited for the first trip of 2Go en route to Iloilo by dawn. We hurriedly made our way to Ortiz Wharf. It’s a good thing that the boat ride to Guimaras only took about 15 minutes considering the good weather during our visit. 📍National Mango Research and Development Center, JordanWe didn’t have time to have breakfast so we just bought some bread at a bakery upon reaching the municipality of Jordan. 📍Fairy Castle IslandOur tricycle driver/guide fetched us and we traveled to the town of Nueva Valencia. Our first stop was Alubihod Beach Resort where we hired a boat for island hopping. My bad I didn’t get a photo of Alubihod’s shoreline because the place was jam-packed with tourists.Since I am not a fan of town and city tours, I asked my friend if we could just explore the beaches of Guimaras instead. 📍Fairy Castle Island
⏰⏳ SAMPLE DAY TOUR ITINERARY:
5:00 AM Wake-up call / ETD for Ortiz Wharf
6:00 AM ETD for Jordan Wharf
6:30 AM ETA Jordan Wharf / breakfast
7:30 AM ETD for Nueva Valencia
8:30 AM Island Hopping
11:30 AM Head back to Alubihod Beach
12:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM Inland Tour
6:00 PM ETD for Ortiz Wharf
💰💶 ESTIMATED BUDGET (for a solo traveler): Php 4,000 – Php 4,500 (exclusive of airfare)
***Expenses may vary depending on personal consumption of food and other necessities. If traveling alone, you will solely shoulder the boat rental fees and tricycle transfer and tour rates.
Because the province was celebrating its Manggahan Festival during our visit, I was expecting crowded islands. Fortunately, there was virtually lesser number of people when we arrived here at our first island. 📍Natago BeachNatago’s shoreline is quite small though so I still found it a tad difficult to get frames at this beach without people in it.We climbed up and captured some shots here overlooking the sea.We started to feel the scorching weather on our skin as we proceeded to our next destination but at least it was sunny which was pretty much perfect for beach bumming. After climbing some stairsteps, we reached this part which reminded me of Pangasinan’s Hundred Islands National Park. 📍Lamurawan IslandThe next one on our list was Baras Cave. The cavern is not that huge and we just stayed by its mouth to get our photos.We stayed a bit longer inside though because I needed ample time for my long-exposure shots. Sadly, I left my tripod at the resort which in turn proved our pictorial to be really challenging.I had to put my camera on the wet floor of the cave as I recomposed and framed our photos.We headed next to this beach known as Fairy Castle Island once we were satisfied with our photos inside Baras Cave.It was a good thing that no other tourists were present when we reached this island.The island was named Fairy Castle because of its rock formation resembling a fairy castle.The shore was full of jellyfish during the time of our visit but our boatmen assured us that they’re harmless.
📜✏️ Tips/Reminders:
📌Doing the inland tour and island hopping in Guimaras in one whole day is possible. Just start your itinerary early.
📌Don’t forget to try out this island’s famous mango pizza.
📌You may include the region of Panay or the island of Negros in your itinerary when you travel to Guimaras.
📌Expect rain and rough sea condition during monsoon season (June-February).
📌Always observe the LNT principles.
☎️ Contact:
📌Tricycle Driver/Tour Guide: Kuya John Tumlos (09166917360/09302503228)
We went back to Alubihod Beach. Our island hopping trip only lasted for roughly two hours. The islands are close to each other anyway so it’s really possible to finish the tour early. 📍National Mango Research and Development Center, JordanI really would have wanted to take some pictures of Alubihod Beach but the shoreline was crowded with more tourists upon our arrival.Before going back to the capital town of Jordan, we had a side trip here at the Mango Research Center.There were no other visitors when we reached this place. We took our time as we captured our photos while enjoying the soothing breeze under the shade of these trees. They really made the perfect backdrop for our pictures.There’s no other way to cap off our Guimaras itinerary but to try out the famous mango pizza at Pitstop. The restaurant was full of tourists but boy was I so glad we were accommodated. By 3:00 PM, we were already in Iloilo City resting for our hike the next day.
