My plan to visit Ticao Island might have been years in the making but the long wait was definitely worth it. 📍Halea Nature Park, San Miguel Island
🇵🇭TICAO ISLAND ADVENTURE PRIMER🇵🇭
✈️🛳🚌 How to get to Ticao Island, Masbate:
⏺ Ride a bus from Metro Manila to Pilar, Sorsogon (travel time: 12 – 14 hours depending on traffic condition and number/duration of stop-overs).
⏺ Ride the public boat en route to the town of Monreal in Ticao Island which serves as the jump-off point for island hopping tours (travel time: approximately 1.5 hours).
⏺ You may also take a bus from Metro Manila en route to Bulan, Sorsogon. Make your way to the port then ride the ferry to San Jacinto in Ticao Island. Upon arrival in San Jacinto, charter a motorcycle to reach the town of Monreal.
⏺ Alternatively, you may fly via Cebu Pacific to get to mainland Masbate then hire a boat for island hopping in Ticao. You may also take a plane from Metro Manila to Legazpi Airport (e.g. Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines) then ride a bus or van to Pilar Port.
🏄🏝🚴 Sites to Explore/Activities:
Halea Nature Park, San Miguel Island
Mababoy Island
Paborito Rock Garden
Lapus-Lapus Green Lagoon
Burubancaso Rock Formation
Catandayagan Falls
I’ve been postponing my trip to Ticao since I couldn’t find travel buddies who are willing to visit this part of Masbate and share the cost of boat rental with me to cut down on expenses. Besides, Ticao Island is not a mainstream tourist attraction and a lot of my friends don’t include this island in their bucket list. That’s why travel groups seldom organize travel events in this part of Bicol.Every now and then, my social media feeds would be flooded by photos of fellow backpackers in Ticao Island. It’s like the multiverse was telling me that the time was finally ripe for this adventure.Fast forward to the summer vacation of 2019, I convinced two of my friends from the travel community to explore the island of Ticao. I was really excited because I just recently took a freediving lesson for beginners.My friends and I met up in Cubao as our starting point. We made our way to the bus terminal and waited for our ride to Pilar Port in Sorsogon.Who will forget our ordeal as we traveled to Bicol? The bus made unlimited stop-overs which prolonged our entire journey. The driver would stop the vehicle to pick up passengers along the way or pull over by eateries to eat and whatnots. Boy was it so annoying. Other passengers inside the bus were also agitated. So my advice to fellow backpackers: Take the plane. We had no choice but to choose the longer route since this trip was not planned in advance and plane tickets were already expensive considering it’s peak season and we also included Albay in our itinerary.I think our bus ride took about 14 – 15 hours because of our unending stop-overs. But our mishaps continued when we reached Pilar Port. The passenger boat going to Ticao malfunctioned and the boat crew were unsure whether the noon trip would still push through. So we contacted the tourism office and asked them if they could have us directly picked up at Pilar. It would be much more expensive but we really didn’t have any choice at the moment.We had our breakfast at a local eatery beside the port and bought snacks from a nearby 7-Eleven while waiting for our boat. Our itinerary was already ruined because of all the waiting and time adjustments. We decided to change into our swimming clothes inside the terminal since we would go straight for island hopping once our boat arrived in Pilar.
⏰⏳ SAMPLE ITINERARY:
DAY 0
3:00 PM Assembly
4:00 PM ETD for Pilar Port
DAY 1
5:00 AM ETA Pilar Port / breakfast
7:00 AM ETD for Monreal
8:30 AM ETA Monreal / check-in
9:00 AM Island Hopping
5:00 PM ETA accommodation
DAY 2
5:30 AM Wake-up call
7:00 AM ETD for Pilar Port
8:30 AM ETA Pilar Port
9:00 AM ETD for Legazpi City for Mt. Mayon side trip (e.g. Cagsawa Ruins)
4:00 PM ETD for Manila
💰💶 ESTIMATED BUDGET (for a solo traveler): Php 7,000 – Php 8,000
***Expenses may vary depending on personal consumption of food and other necessities. If traveling alone, you will solely shoulder the boat rental fees for island hopping.
Our boat was relatively small. Because there were only three of us, plus our guide and boatmen, there’s no need to hire a big pump boat which would be pricier. Thank the gods the sea was calm on this side of Ticao.It took us approximately two hours to reach our first destination, Halea Nature Park. As we were nearing the cove inside Halea, we were welcomed by quite a number of tourists.We really couldn’t dock at the shoreline of the small beach because it was already crowded with bigger boats. We didn’t mind at all. We didn’t go here to beach bum anyway but to see its world underneath.By the way, all of my underwater shots in this blog post were taken at Halea Nature Park. It was the only coral garden we saw in Ticao but this marine biodiversity was already enough to satisfy our wanderlust.I noticed some small huts at the white sand beach where tourists were hanging out and eating. I checked the time and it was almost lunch. Boy was I disappointed with our misfortunes which altered our itinerary.There was no time to sulk. I immediately grabbed my swimming gears and prepped for our activity inside this marine park.There were a lot of people snorkeling near the boats but the majority of tourists were eating by the beach. It was the perfect opportunity to swim whilst most of the visitors were still busy filling their tummies.I wouldn’t wonder why the place was jam-packed. It’s considered “summer” in the Philippines during our visit and kids were on vacation. It’s the perfect weather and schedule for family getaways.According to our guide, some of the boats parked by the shoreline came from Masbate City and the town of San Jacinto which is usually the entry point of people coming from Bulan, Sorsogon while some visitors traveled all the way from as far as Burias. The islands of Burias may be much more popular than Ticao but travelers have begun to see the beauty of Ticao through the advent of social media.The tide was still low so the best action plan was to swim farther from the boats where we could also take photos without any disturbance.The clear inviting water of Halea Nature Park is undoubtedly hard to resist so make sure you have your swimming gears with you. Your trip wouldn’t be complete if you skipped exploring the aquamarine paradise beneath Halea’s crystalline waters.This marine park is surrounded by limestone rock formations and because the northeast monsoon finally ended, it felt like we were inside a hidden beach or lagoon so we didn’t face any strong waves or current as we played underwater.Seeing the corals teeming with color and life was the highlight of our visit to Halea Nature Park.Compared to the rich coral reefs of Palawan, the presence of coral rocks thriving here may not be as crowded like an overpopulated suburb since there are portions where you can still see the sand of the seabead but our experience was still amazing nevertheless.There were some instances that I had to be extra careful. I freaked out when I almost hit the long spikes of some sea urchins. I was once stung by one during my Catanduanes trip and it was really an awful experience.More than an hour or so passed until we decided to swim back to our boat. Most of the tourists were still glued to their cottages, munching on their feast.We had some sandwich for lunch and I reckoned it would suffice as our boatmen revved up our vessel’s engine towards our next stop. Since we were pressed for time, we couldn’t afford to allot time to chill out and eat.
📜✏ Tips/Reminders:
📌There are buses in Araneta Center Bus Port in Cubao that ply the Metro Manila-Pilar route.
📌If you opt to take the flight from Manila Airport to Masbate and mainland Masbate is your jump-off point for island hopping, please be reminded that the boat rental fees would be much more expensive.
📌Ticao Island is composed of four municipalities, namely Monreal, Batuan, San Fernando and San Jacinto.
📌The public boat from Pilar Port leaves for Monreal at 7:00 AM and 12:00 PM but you should get to the port much earlier as the boat gets full quickly.
📌The town of Monreal is a quaint municipality so don’t expect fancy restaurants, resorts and hotels.
📌You may make a side trip to Albay before going back to Manila on your second day.
📌If you will be exploring Ticao Island DIY-style, you can hire your own boat for island hopping but it is expensive if you are traveling alone. The cheaper alternative would be to join organized travel events online to save on time and cut on costs.
📌Expect rain and rough sea condition during monsoon season (June-February).
📌Always observe the LNT principles.
☎️ Contact:
📌Tour Guide/Boat for Island Hopping: Kuya Hesus Alindogan (09503148497) – he is a registered tour guide of Ticao’s tourism office.
As we made our way towards Masbate Pass, we noticed the sea getting rougher by the minute. Our boat rocked from side to side as we continued sailing out in the open sea facing mainland Masbate. A bigger boat moved past us en route to the same destination as ours. 📍Lapus-Lapus Green LagoonI immediately asked our guide how long it would take us before reaching Burubancaso Rock Formation and Catandayagan Falls. “One hour and a half,” he replied. But there’s a catch. That’s the normal travel time had it been calmer. But this time, it wasn’t. The effects of southwest monsoon could already be felt in this side of Ticao Island facing mainland Masbate. That must be why Ticao Pass facing Sorsogon is calm during this time of the year as it’s the one that gets rough during northeast monsoon season. I immediately calculated in my mind the hours to be consumed amidst these huge waves before reaching Burubancaso and Catandayagan and the hours to be spent going back. We would be braving rough seas in the dark, I thought, if we made it out alive. Besides, Catandayagan Falls was not as majestic as it’s supposed to be because of the dry season according to our guide. 📍Lapus-Lapus Green LagoonTime is of the essence as the waves were getting bigger and bigger. Amidst the rollercoaster ride, I asked our boat crew to abort and go back. Sailing in these waves would be time-consuming and we would get nothing out of it. I’d rather sacrifice Burubancaso than take the risk. I’ve been used to always being the leader ever since I was a kid so I usually get the authority in terms of deciding for the group especially amidst unforeseen circumstances like this. And so we went back to where we came from and made our way to this green lagoon, Lapus-Lapus.My super-duper long monopod with my GoPro was perfect to capture wide-angle shots of this awesome pool.It would have been much better if we could get off the boat to swim. The lagoon may have already been shielded by an island from the monsoon waves but these waves getting into the entry points of the lagoon still caused a strong current.We set off towards our next destination which turned out to be the last. I wanted to be mad for what happened to our itinerary but it would just ruin my overall tropical and beachy mood. I resigned myself to accepting the fact that there are just unforeseeable events beyond our control. 📍Paborito Rock Garden and Mababoy IslandThe pristine emerald beauty of the water in between Paborito Rock Garden and Mababoy Island welcomed us that afternoon. It was 2:00 PM so we agreed to just spend the rest of our time here.There was no one around when we docked. We excitedly plunged into the water to capture our pictures. The rock walls of Mababoy Island covered in thick vegetation was the perfect backdrop for our shots.Of course I didn’t miss out on taking a dip and enjoying this pool since we weren’t able to swim at Lapus-Lapus.This natural wonder here in Ticao is seldom mentioned in blogs online. That’s why I was quite surprised upon seeing this.I was really thankful that even if we weren’t able to see the rock formations of Burubancaso and Catandayagan Falls, at least we were lucky to have this place all to ourselves during our visit.We climbed up to get to this bamboo pathway with concrete railings to get a better angle. Just be careful with your footsteps as the pieces of its bamboo flooring are already brittle.You will then see this cliff at the end of the path on the other side of Paborito Rock Garden.We left by 4:00 PM and traveled for about an hour to the town proper of Monreal where we would be spending the night. We sailed smoothly through calm waters along the side of Ticao Island facing Sorsogon. I wonder where we would be by now had we pushed through with our trip to Burubancaso and Catandayagan. You should be quick in dealing with possible contingencies especially if it might endanger the party’s safety.The next day, we walked to the port to catch the first trip of passenger boat going to Pilar. The spectacular sunrise greeted us that morning with the view of Mt. Bulusan from afar. The mighty Mayon Volcano was also visible on the other side but it was too far for my camera’s kit lens.While waiting for the boat crew to finish disembarking off the boat all the goods that came from Pilar, my friends and I watched the display of light and colors painted by the rising sun.We were cramped inside the boat together with the locals as we smoothly cruised across Ticao Pass. We reached Pilar Port in less than two hours. We successfully conquered another major island in Luzon and off we went to Albay to fulfill the second phase of our adventure leg.
***For other destinations in Masbate and Bicol, you may visit this link.
