Dumaran anyone? You probably haven’t heard of this place. But you know what? In all my years of traveling, Dumaran’s coral gardens are among the most beautiful I have seen in the Philippines. No contest.
🇵🇭DUMARAN ADVENTURE PRIMER🇵🇭
✈️🛳🚌 How to get to Dumaran, Palawan:
⏺ Take a plane from Metro Manila to Puerto Princesa City (e.g. Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines and AirAsia).
⏺ Hire a tricycle to reach San Jose Terminal.
⏺ Ride a van bound for Santa Teresita, Dumaran (travel time: 5 – 6 hours).
🏄🏝🚴 Sites to Explore/Activities:
Matintinen/Puntod Sandbar
Calampuan Island
Maruyog-ruyog Island
Renambacan Island
Encantasia/Baguenben/Bagonbon Island
Baguenben Sandbar
Dumaran’s Coral Gardens
This unforgettable adventure of mine in Dumaran transpired in May 2019 together with my sister. Since I was a newbie freediver, I was excited to practice what I learned from the basic lessons I just recently took.Before anything else, I would like to warn you that this is a photo-heavy blog post since I wanna share with the world how beautiful this off-the-grid municipality is. I want to put Dumaran in the mainstream tourism map to help its locals. Just like El Nido, Coron and Port Barton, I believe that a booming tourism could be a source of livelihood for the residents of this town.Our flight from Manila International Airport was delayed (it’s not news anyway) so we landed at Puerto Princesa City a bit late. Most of the restaurants were already closed. Right after checking in at our accommodation, we hurriedly went outside to look for a place to eat. Fortunately, a Chowking branch across our hotel still accepted us even if it’s almost 9:00 PM.We quickly freshened up once we’re back at the hotel. Time is of the essence here as the van company that plies the Puerto Princesa-Dumaran route would pick us up at 3:30 AM and we badly wanted to get a decent amount of sleep.Our alarm woke us up after a few hours. Well, I didn’t really want to use “woke up” since I didn’t sleep at all. I mean, it felt as if I were daydreaming and floating in a limbo. I was too scared that both of us would sleep through the alarm. I’m pretty sure you all can relate. We all had those horrendous moments when our alarms weren’t able to wake us from our deep sleep that we ran late for school, work or any other appointment.We were already waiting for the van outside the hotel by 3:30 in the morning. The streets were still empty. There was one tricycle parked in front of our accommodation and the driver thought that we needed a ride.The first trip of vans usually leaves by 5:00 AM for Dumaran and since picking up of passengers consumes time, van drivers have to fetch passengers much earlier. I read in a blog (there’s not much on the internet about Dumaran anyway) that if we take the 5:00 AM trip, we will arrive in Sta. Teresita, Dumaran by 10:00 in the morning which means having half a day for island hopping. Great, or so I thought.We were on the road for about an hour when the van’s engine broke down. Judging from the unusual sounds you would hear and the overall looks of the vehicle with all the cargoes on top of it, I wouldn’t wonder why the van gave up. The lock of its rear door also malfunctioned so there was an instance when it flipped open and some of the plastic bags containing goods flew into the air. We had to make a stop to retrieve them. While parked by a store along the highway, the passengers patiently waited. As if we got a choice. The van from the other company bound for Dumaran too already passed by. Seated on a bench at the store, I sadly watched the other van move away from us as our driver and two van conductors fixed what was needed to be fixed.We continued our journey after more than half an hour of waiting. Unfortunately, it happened again. Damn, this vehicle should just retire in a junk shop. I lost hope of being able to follow our itinerary. And to top it all, the toddler sitting beside us vomited on my bag. What else, multiverse?! Bring it on!I could still remember my first time here in mainland Palawan (during my El Nido trip in 2015) when I was stunned at how huge this province is (Palawan is Philippine’s largest province after all). The van I was on board already covered almost 100 kilometers and we were still in Puerto Princesa City. In other provinces, the distance between some municipalities is just less than 10 kilometers. In spite of this, I have always loved the experience of traversing the roads of Palawan. You will seldom come across vehicles along the highway and traffic is only present once you’re passing by a town center, but aside from that, the road trip is always smooth as you cover distances in the middle of forests (you will rarely see houses along the road too) and by the side of cliffs overlooking Sulu Sea.The bumpy ride started when we entered the junction going to Dumaran from the provincial highway. The majority of the road is already concrete but there’s still a huge portion that is a combination of dirt road and gravel road. My contact person in Dumaran from the tourism office told me that the situation gets worse during rainy season. I noticed that there were some parts of the road where construction was underway. Because of this rough road ordeal of ours, it felt like we were en route to a very remote place as we were being tossed from side to side inside the vehicle. Now I know how the durability of vans here are being tested by this road condition. These vehicles are being battered daily. No wonder why they look worn out. To make things worse, I couldn’t even send a message to my contact in Santa Teresita. Globe Telecom’s signal was not just poor. It was non-existent! My sister’s network is Globe too. I didn’t buy load credits for my phone with a Smart sim because I never thought that Globe wouldn’t work at all in this side of the planet.By the time we were in the middle of a residential area (I also saw some of Dumaran’s islands from our vantage point), I was able to call my contact to inform him that we were near (that’s what I thought since the rest of the passengers already alighted and my sister and I were the only ones left inside the van). But to our surprise, Santa Teresita was still far which is roughly a half an hour away from where we were which is Barangay Danleg.I thought our mishaps already ended but on our way to our accommodation, the van’s rear door opened again and my luggage was thrown out. Oh no, my mum’s gonna kill me because it was a gift from her. Thank the gods she insisted to buy a branded one. At least my suitcase was still intact except from the ginormous scratches it got. Of all the things I would forget to bring, why did it have to be my luggage cover which most certainly would protect my suitcase? So here’s a piece of advice for everyone: Save up and invest in a branded luggage. Don’t buy cheap and generic ones. You wouldn’t want to be a laughingstock in case your bag’s spinner wheels break off or its zipper malfunctions. Like they always say, you get what you pay for.After checking in our stuff, my contact from the tourism office took us to a local eatery facing Santa Teresita Port to have brunch. We hurriedly ate since it was nearing 1:00 PM. Thanks to all our misfortunes, our itinerary was almost ruined. 📍Matintinen/Puntod SandbarWe walked towards our boat where we were greeted by two locals, our boat captain and our guide. Our first destination in Dumaran is this long beach known as Puntod Sandbar.Thankfully, the weather was perfect for beach bumming. According to meteorology groups in Facebook that I am a member of, a weak southwesterly windflow had been affecting some portions of Luzon so I was already expecting rain and rough seas. Our guide told us that the sea was choppy a few days ago but we were lucky that it was peaceful that day.Also known as Matintinen Sandbar, we sailed in calm waters for about 30 minutes before reaching this beach along Lingit Bay facing Sulu Sea.The sand granules at this sandbar may be coarse and not the usual powdery sand of other beaches in Palawan but the place is still beautiful nevertheless.Dumaran welcomed us with this long stretch of sand surrounded by glistening tranquil waters under this sunny weather. It’s as if Mum Nature was trying to make amends for all the misfortunes we encountered that morning.The awesome cloud formation was a great addition to the gallery of photos we shot here.The landmass which serves as my backdrop in this picture is mainland Palawan where Santa Teresita is. That’s how close Matintinen Sandbar is to civilization.This beach somehow reminded me of naked islets in other parts of the country with no vegetation. Aside from a handful of baby mangroves I saw on the other side of the Puntod Sandbar, there’s nothing else here that will protect you from the sun. Good thing I always have my umbrella with me.I also noticed seagrasses washed ashore as you can see in this picture but at least the other side of the beach was clear for swimming.Since there was no one else around aside from us, we were able to finish our pictorial in about half an hour. We went back to our boat and cruised towards our next stop.We sailed for only a couple of minutes before arriving at one of Dumaran’s best-kept secrets. I was so thrilled to finally get into the water.The moment I dove into the water, it felt like I was transported to another dimension because compared to other coral reefs I have visited in other parts of the country, the beauty of this coral garden was on a whole different level.I’ve already been to Apo Reef in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro which is known to be the second largest contiguous coral reef system in the world. I didn’t want to include Apo Reef among the coral gardens I wanna compare with those in Dumaran because my Apo Reef trip happened in 2015 when I still didn’t know how to swim, let alone freedive. I wasn’t able to fully enjoy and see Apo Reef’s world underneath.The current was a bit strong considering we were out in the open facing Sulu Sea but it didn’t bother me.While our boat captain and my sister were inside the boat since my sister is not really into swimming, our guide continued following me to take footages.I lent our guide my extra fins which we brought because my sister wanted to try snorkeling. We all know how useful fins are especially in swimming against strong currents. But since she bailed out, I told our guide that he could use it so he wouldn’t get tired of following me.For some people, swimming in coral reefs might be monotonous. I mean, some coral gardens actually have the same species of corals which look identical to each other and people might get bored of seeing the same thing over and over. But Dumaran is different. The diversity of its coral species of all shapes, sizes and colors left me speechless. It’s like watching a show with a plot that is so hard to predict.I lost track of time although at some point, I would swim back to the wooden ladder of our boat to take a breather and fix my mask or whenever I felt leg cramps coming in.My eyes also got to feast on different types of fish under the protection of Dumaran’s coral sanctuaries. It felt so freeing as I tirelessly swam in this infinite aquarium.After about an hour of snorkeling and diving, I signaled to my guide to go back to our boat. The current was also getting stronger and I was already satisfied with everything I saw underwater.Because it was already past 3:00 PM, I asked our boat captain to go back to Santa Teresita and explore the remaining islands the next day. The sunrays were already directional so the islands which we were about to visit wouldn’t look as magnificent as it should.We walked from the port to our accommodation since it’s just within walking distance. The locals were looking at us as if we’re aliens from Jupiter. That’s quite understandable. After all, they seldom see outsiders visiting their town.We passed by a small store selling snacks such as hotdog sandwich and fries. I was already hungry from all the swimming I did so we ate first before heading back to the lodging house.By the way, we stayed in Santa Teresita, a barangay of Dumaran. This village is part of mainland Palawan which serves as the jump-off point to island hopping. The town proper or Poblacion is actually situated in Dumaran Island which is less than an hour away by boat from Santa Teresita. This island is divided into two municipalities, Dumaran and Araceli. You will find public boats here in Santa Teresita Port that will take you to the town center of Dumaran.Being an extreme observer, I started constructing a mental map of the place based on my first impressions as we munched on our snacks. Barangay Santa Teresita is a very simple and laid-back village. There are only a few sari-sari stores (Filipino version of a retail store) selling basic commodities. You won’t find fancy restaurants and hotels. It only gets busy because of the movement of people arriving from Palawan’s capital, Puerto Princesa City and vice versa via passenger vans.We walked back to the lodge to wash up then returned late in the afternoon to the eatery where we had our lunch a few hours ago. It was time for dinner. The place was now empty compared to what greeted us during lunch time when it was jam-packed with people. Sadly, they no longer have cooked dishes at this time of the day. Right, why was I surprised all of a sudden? This town seldom sees tourists anyway and the last trips of bus, vans and boats already left so there are usually no more customers in the evening. We checked the other eatery beside it and asked the staff if they have cooked food. Thankfully, they still got some left. It was already past twilight when we headed back to our accommodation. The area was now surrounded by stray dogs. Some of them were sleeping on the streets.Our first night here in Dumaran was quite a struggle to be honest. The village does not have any inns offering air-conditioned rooms so we had to get used to the electric fan given by the caretaker of the lodge. Our room was too small with poor ventilation and there’s virtually no space for our belongings. Considering we were near the beach and it was dry season, imagine the humid atmosphere at night. But since I felt like battered vegetables after the exhausting van ride that morning, I easily fell asleep. I would just wake up from time to time drowning in my sweat. At least the electricity runs 24/7 unlike before when the supply was still rotational according to our guide.
⏰⏳ SAMPLE ITINERARY:
DAY 1
5:00 PM ETA Puerto Princesa Airport
6:00 PM Head to hotel in Puerto Princesa City / check-in
7:00 Dinner
DAY 2
3:00 AM Wake-up call
4:00 AM ETD for Dumaran
10:00 PM ETA Santa Teresita / check-in
11:00 PM Early lunch
12:00 PM ETD for Matintinen Sandbar
2:00 PM Snorkeling
4:00 PM Head back to accommodation
6:00 PM Dinner
DAY 3
7:00 AM Wake-up call / breakfast
8:00 AM Start of Island Hopping
9:00 AM Calampuan Island
10:00 AM Snorkeling
12:00 AM Renambacan Island / lunch
1:30 PM Encantasia Island
2:00 PM Snorkeling
3:00 PM Baguenben Sandbar
4:00 PM Head back to accommodation
6:00 PM Dinner
DAY 4
4:00 AM Wake-up call / check-out
5:00 AM ETD for Puerto Princesa City
10:00 AM ETA San Jose Terminal / ETD for Puerto Princesa Airport
💰💶 ESTIMATED BUDGET (for a solo joiner of public island hopping tours): Php 7,000 – 8,000 (exclusive of airfare)
***Expenses may vary depending on personal consumption of food and other necessities and length of stay/number of days you will allot to explore Dumaran. If there are no available public tours on your travel dates, you will solely shoulder the boat rental fees for island hopping.
The next day, we strolled and chilled out here at the port to catch the sunrise then went back to the inn to prep for our island hopping tour. I asked our boat crew to start early so we could cover the rest of the islands in our itinerary.This beach named Calampuan Island was first on our list. Our ride was so smooth as if we were sailing on a lake. The weak southwest winds finally died down so there was no strong weather system that would disrupt this adventure of ours.It took us about 45 minutes of crossing Dumaran Channel before we reached the shores of Calampuan. We were welcomed by this island’s owner (or caretaker; I’m not sure though) who asked for the entrance fee. If my memory serves me correctly, my sister and I gave ₱100 (roughly $2) each.The coastline of this beach actually looked different from what I saw in photos online. Some of the pictures show a wide sandbar although most of them were shot during the northeast monsoon season. Just like other sandbars in the country, the direction of the waves and tides at this time of the year caused a shift in the shape of Calampuan’s shoreline.The sand of Calampuan is similar to that of Matintinen Sandbar which has much coarser grains compared to other beaches I’ve been to here in Palawan.The place would have been much more enticing if only the pieces of seagrasses were cleaned. I mean, the island is beautiful but an entrance fee worth a hundred peso is kind of steep for a place that is not well-maintained.Like I always tell myself, there are times that you can’t get what you want in life. So we just enjoyed the peaceful ambience of Calampuan and continued taking shots in angles, albeit limited, that were worth capturing.Apparently, we could only make use of a very few angles in our frames considering the litter of seaweeds on the other side of the island (I didn’t take photos of it because it was quite unpleasant to the eye). The thick pile of seagrasses made the shores seem carpeted with dark-colored clutter.Because nothing really caught my attention at the other side of this beach due to the heap of seaweeds occupying its shore, we finally bid goodbye to Calampuan Island after about half an hour.We cruised towards the direction of Maruyog-ruyog Island. Unfortunately, its owner no longer allows visitors so we had to skip it. We made a stop at a coral garden a couple of hundred meters away from the coast of Maruyog-ruyog.Our boat captain slowed down as we were nearing the coral reef. I frantically changed into my diving gears the moment I saw the corals from the surface of the water. It’s swimming time again!This is probably the only place in my entire backpacking career (*wink) where I blurted out a couple of times to our boatmen that our boat was about to slide against the corals and hit them. They assured me that it only looked shallow because the water was too clear. The moment I dove into the water, I realized they were right. It’s a couple of meters deep. If you’re feeling lazy, you could actually see the corals from the surface without needing to swim.As I was preparing for my dive, I kept looking at Maruyog-ruyog Island from where we were. I tried taking a photo but it was too far for my camera. It would have been nice to play on its wooden walkway.Swimming that early in the morning was not as exhausting as the previous day. The water was so calm and the current was manageable.I told our boat crew that the coral reefs here in Dumaran were so far the most untouched and breathtaking I have ever seen. According to them, a lot of their marine sanctuaries were destroyed by dynamite fishing years ago. Our boat captain was actually one of the locals who utilized such method back then. Luckily, the LGUs intervened which in turn restored the coral reefs to its pristine state.Aside from the fact that the coral population here in Dumaran flourished since dynamite fishing is now prohibited, this town is also not yet touched by mainstream tourism. Corals being smashed by the heavy steel anchor of boats tend to be a common sight in famed tourist attractions.Thick clouds started covering us but disappeared again after quite some time. I still prefer underwater shots being touched by sunrays than those that are not, just like this picture. The corals in this shot still looked amazing but the colors were a bit dull.I don’t have a background in coral taxonomy so I am not familiar with all the species of corals I’ve seen here. But this one in the photo really caught my attention. I was too preoccupied with all the colorful schools of fish that I didn’t notice I was already a bit far from our boat. This huge formation of corals similar to branches of trees during winter greeted me. It looked creepy because they were so many so I hastily swam back to our boat.My sister just opted to stay on our boat while listening to our boat captain’s stories about his life as a pearl diver and his misadventures as a fisherman. I would go back to the boat’s ladder from time to time to recover and I learned that this boat is regularly used to deliver loads of pigs all the way to Coron. I quickly thought of the open sea situation as the boat passes by El Nido then Linapacan to Calamianes Group of Islands. There was even one instance when our boat captain was traveling to Coron with his uncle and the boat’s outrigger was snapped by huge waves so he had to swim and fix it. But wait, there’s more. He had to fix it while staying afloat amidst big swell in the middle of the night. Yes, in the middle of the night. I wonder how traumatic the journey of the pigs was for hours, as they get splashed by rough seas then finding out that they’re going to be butchered for consumption once they arrived in Coron.Because I was able to get enough sleep the night before, I got the sufficient energy I needed to swim tirelessly. That’s why I suggested my guide to use one life vest as his floater while filming me since it would be exhausting for him to follow me.I took advantage of the moment as the sunshine was still not that harsh to the skin. We stayed for about an hour in this coral garden before setting off for our next destination.By the way, I didn’t bother to ask our guide and take note of the names of these coral reefs. For me, it didn’t really matter whether they have names or not since they’re all lovely and beautiful anyway.We crossed Dumaran Channel to get to another coral reef near Renambacan Island.I noticed that the sunlight was already beginning to hurt my forehead but at least a huge portion of my face was covered by my diving mask. I was afraid of what my tan line would look like though.Just like the previous coral gardens we visited, this one also didn’t disappoint. It is full of life and everything around me is like an explosion of colors.I went back to the boat and convinced my sister to snorkel. Some parts were shallow anyway. She panicked the moment she floated a few feet away from the boat’s ladder. She just watched the underwater scenery through her mask while sitting on the ladder.I could actually relate to what my sister felt. For someone who has thalassophobia, conquering my fear of the ocean was definitely one of my greatest developmental milestones.The truth is, up until now, I still have thalassophia but not as severe as before when I still didn’t know how to swim. I could still remember my Apo Reef trip. I was wearing a life jacket all throughout because I was too afraid. But by the time I learned freediving, I still could not go not go deeper since I’m scared of the dark portions of the ocean which look so blue as if there’s a monster lurking underneath.If only I got more companions who can also dive, I could probably swim deeper in these coral reefs. But my sister was just sitting inside the boat while my guide was on the surface filming me. So technically, I was still “alone”.Whenever I go down, I always have this tendency to look up and check if I’m getting too deep. At the back of my mind, I’d be like, “Oh crap!” and I’d be freaking out which in turn would increase my heart rate and consume my remaining air. Damn.This Dumaran getaway was only my third freediving trip (Port Barton was my first while Ticao Island was my second) but I still maximized all the time I had practicing in these coral gardens. And since we were on a private tour, I could tell our boat crew how long I wanted to stay in one destination without having to worry about other joiners if we were on a public tour.I swam for another hour and hovered above this huge expanse of marine wilderness. I have always loved the feels of the jungle in mountains and but it never crossed my mind that I’d appreciate forests of corals too.Our boat was slowly moving near the coast of Renambacan Island and I noticed that it was getting shallower. One could actually just swim from Renambacan to get to this coral garden as it’s just a few meters away.As we were about to dock, these two fluffy guardians of Renambacan Island welcomed us. My bad for the low quality as this is a zoomed-in photo.The still enticing water of this beach was a delightful sight. It’s time for pictorial!By the way, Renambacan Island was one of the islands we saw the day before from Barangay Danleg when we were still aboard the passenger van and thought that we were already near Santa Teresita.Our boat captain told us that if tourists are afraid of braving the southwest monsoon waves of Lingit Bay in front of Santa Teresita Port, they may opt to take a motorcycle ride to Barangay Danleg which would be the jump-off point for island hopping since this side of Dumaran Channel is much calmer during this time of the year. However, this portion gets rough though every northeast monsoon season.The owner of Renambacan greeted us together with his two dogs. I noticed his rest house a couple of meters away from the shore. How I wish I have my own island where I could chill out whenever I want to have a break from the hustle and bustle of city life.Our boat captain and guide went to the huge table in front of the house to prep for our lunch. We took advantage of this opportunity to explore the coastline of Renambacan.Compared to other white sand beaches I have explored in other parts of the Philippines, Renambacan may look pretty ordinary but what makes this place extra special was the absence of other outsiders during our visit. After all, Dumaran is not touristy.I’ve finally come to a conclusion that no matter how beautiful a place is, a crowded atmosphere due to the influx of tourists in a mainstream attraction could ruin the idyllic aura that a supposedly magical place exudes.I could now conclude that the sand of Dumaran’s islands are of the same quality. Renambacan’s shoreline have that coarse granules, with bits and pieces of pebbles and crushed corals.These beaches may not have that powdery sand as that of Boracay but I’d still choose the tranquil ambience I felt in Renambacan Island over and over again than feel cramped in a famous yet congested beach as if in a blockbuster movie.I couldn’t help but compare my trips in Coron and El Nido with what I experienced here in Dumaran. El Nido and Coron are world-class, I gotta admit, but they’re too crowded for my taste. There were even instances when I wasn’t able to take even one solo shot in some of these towns’ beaches because there were too many people in my frames. Well, “too many” is actually an understatement.We may not have the opportunity to explore the majority of the islands in Dumaran and Renambacan’s total land area may be smaller compared to these beaches such as Calampuan Island but this is so far my favorite island among the destinations we checked off in our itinerary.I was actually supposed to visit Dumaran in April 2019 but for some reasons, I had to choose Port Barton instead. But I’m glad I was able to visit Dumaran the month after.A few weeks before this trip, I had to regularly text my contact and remind him to include us as joiners in public tours in case there were any. After all, renting our own boat for a private tour would be expensive and the month of May was still considered peak season because of summer vacation so I was expecting that there would be fellow tourists. Fast forward to the day of our trip, my contact sadly messaged me that there would be no group to share the costs with so we were left with no choice but to shoulder all the expenses. It was totally fine. I trusted my instincts that everything was going to be worth it. I was right all along.My sister decided to take a swim while I reveled in this perfect weather swinging under the shade of this tree.Our guide called out to us for lunch. We feasted on fresh fish, squid and fruits while the two dogs patiently waited for our leftovers.Aside from being a paradisiacal destination in the world, if there’s another thing that always reminds me of Palawan, that will be the delectable and fresh-from-the-sea catch I really enjoy whenever on an island hopping trip here. Your tour will not be complete without enjoying the feast of seafood and other delicious dishes always prepared by boatmen for lunch.Feeling sleepy after all the food we ate, I decided to get inside our boat to relax while my sister went back to swimming.I noticed a boat from the direction of Santa Teresita then realized it was headed towards us. On board was a group of tourists accompanied by my contact from the tourism office. I heard that they brought their own private vehicle and they were just planning to stay for a couple of hours before going back to Puerto Princesa.The blue sky was then blocked by some huge rain clouds by the time we were about to leave Renambacan. It started drizzling as soon as we were cruising along the other side of the island towards its rear portion facing Dumaran Channel. Boy was I so thankful that we were already done with this fascinating island before the thunderstorm rained on us.We passed by some pearl farms then continued our way to our next stop. It seemed like there was an assembly of dark clouds as they gathered to form bigger nimbus ones.We moved closer to the shore of this island which is just a few minutes away from Renambacan Island. This small beach is known as Encantasia Island or Baguenben (Bagonbon) Island.As soon as our boat came to a halt, we quickly got off to take advantage of the remaining sunrays before the clouds totally covered the skies.One unique feature of Encantasia Island compared to the rest of Dumaran’s beaches is its picturesque rocky shoreline.The island though is just a few meters long with very minimal vegetation. You won’t see any huts or cottages as well.What makes Baguenben Island special though is its marine paradise surrounding it. Encantasia Reef is another coral garden that this municipality is proud of.We sailed towards a spot where I could swim and see what the reef looks like underneath. I hastily wore my diving gears. And up to this last dive of mine, Dumaran upholds its reputation for being among the best.Dumaran may not have lagoons, it may not have a huge number of beaches for island hopping and its islands may have fallen short in terms of sand quality but its jaw-dropping coral reefs definitely make up for that. For me, it bears the crown for holding my top spot in terms of its rich marine biodiversity.I’ve got this feeling that there’s a breathtaking coral forest, whether it’s small or wide, scattered everywhere you go in the bays surrounding Dumaran. That’s both quantity and quality at the same time.We didn’t stay that long due to the impending thunderstorm. It’s a big no-no: water + lightning. Unquestionably not a good combo. Besides, I was already satisfied and happy with everything I saw during our two-day adventure.I felt sad when it dawned on me that we had finally fulfilled our journey here in Dumaran. But it didn’t feel quite right. Then it seemed like a eureka moment when I thought of another side trip to prolong this fun adventure of ours.I asked our boat captain if we could go to this sandbar near Baguenben Island and spend the rest of our time before going back to Santa Teresita. I already noticed it on our way to Encantasia when my eyes caught the glimmering water from afar. For someone who has been to countless number of sandbars, I’ve always known what it looks like even if I’m hundreds of meters away especially if it’s being touched by sunrays. 📍Baguenben SandbarWe were only able to take a few photos before it started raining. So I decided to return to our boat to wait out the downpour.As soon as the rain turned into a drizzle, we quickly got off the boat. Thank the gods that the sunlight was already directional. There may still be dark clouds above us but the rays from the west granted us the sunshine we badly needed for our shots.According to our boat captain, we were the only people who set foot in this sandbar. He was actually puzzled why we wanted to go here, considering boats of locals and even tourists just pass by this portion of the bay facing Encantasia Island. We took a dip under intermittent clouds with sunshine and drizzling in between. I was a bit worried for taking such a risky feat due to possible lightning strikes. I just remembered the news a few a months ago in an island off the coast of Eastern Mindanao when a group of people on an island hopping tour was struck by lightning. Even if we’re roasted by such a deadly lightning strike, our parents are gonna kill us had they known what we did. So please be mindful of your safety. A thunderstorm or a squall could endanger your life and that of your companions.I went back to our boat to retrieve my GoPro then captured this wider shot of Baguenben Sandbar.We returned to our boat after about an hour of frolicking. By the time our boat was maneuvering in the direction of Santa Teresita, I saw this view and asked our captain to stop so I could have this picture taken.The current was a bit strong so I only got two photos with Baguenben Sandbar as my backdrop before thick clouds enveloped us again. We finally bid goodbye to the beaches and coral reefs of Dumaran and sailed towards Santa Teresita Port. I activated my mobile data and surprisingly, the signal was strong that I was able to send my friends a real-time video of us on the boat. For about two days, this was the only instance that I was able to check my social media accounts.
📜✏ Tips/Reminders:
📌Santa Teresita is the jump-off point for island hopping. It is a barangay which is geographically part of the municipality of Dumaran and mainland Palawan. The town center of Dumaran, on the other hand, is located in Dumaran Island.
📌Dumaran offers public island hopping tours for joiners. You may opt to avail of a private tour if you are traveling with a group. However, due to the low number of tourists visiting this town, there are days when there are no available public tours for solo joiners compared to mainstream island hopping attractions in Palawan such as El Nido.
📌Santa Teresita is a rustic village and Dumaran is not that developed compared to Coron or El Nido so don’t expect fancy restaurants and hotels. There are also no available ATMs so bring enough cash.
📌Smart is the only reliable mobile network in Santa Teresita.
📌Van trips to and from Dumaran are quite limited. Most of them leave early in the morning so book your van seats in advance. The driver can pick you up at your hotel in Puerto Princesa City. The contact person from the tourism office of Dumaran can provide the updated schedule of van trips. There is also a bus that plies the Puerto Princesa-Dumaran route and vice versa but taking the bus will take much longer.
📌The island hopping fee for public tours is already inclusive of lunch.
📌Always observe the LNT principles.
☎️ Contacts:
📌Tourism Office POC/Tour Guide/Boat: Pastor Leove Fontillas (09302610066 / 09481375868)
📌Public van: Kuya Joseph (09988686926)
📌SUV for hire: Kuya Edward Tuvilla (09271612401/09213831037)
We thanked our boatmen and told them that we will come back in the future. After all, a place as beautiful and pristine as this deserves to be revisited. We stopped by the store where we snacked the day before to eat again. Freediving always makes me super hungry. We then washed up at our accommodation and waited for my contact so I could pay all the fees for island hopping. We had a talk about the challenges their municipality faces to be a mainstream tourist destination such as paved roads and availability of restaurants and developed resorts offering air-conditioned accommodations. I thanked him for taking care of us and told him that I will return in the future to revisit. My sister and I then decided to stroll along the port and here are some of the shots we took while waiting for the sunset.We walked farther near the area where boats are usually docked. Santa Teresita Port that afternoon was quiet and empty. There were no more trips to and from Dumaran Island.I’ve been traveling since 2011 and this village really felt off the grid since we had no way to contact our family. I thought of buying credits for my Smart sim but we only got one night left anyway and we would be back in Puerto Princesa the next day. All we did after our island hopping trip was check our photos and chill out here at the port. Honestly, it felt good to disconnect from all the stress of the chaotic cyberspace. Besides, this was not really new to me because I always make it to a point to minimize my cellphone usage whenever I’m traveling. I just want to focus on enjoying my vacation.Since Dumaran was facing east, we were no longer expecting a splendid sunset that afternoon. But this faint glow in the horizon was still a one-of-a-kind spectacle engraved in my memory. Some places do possess a soothing aura that leaves a mark on your soul for the rest of your life and Dumaran is definitely one of those places.We went back to the local eatery where we had dinner the day before to check out their available food. Luckily, they would be cooking a fresh dish so we sat by the road facing the eatery to wait while watching local kids play with their dogs. I remembered my simple life in the province when I was still young. I wondered if these kids have big dreams like I did which made me decide to leave our island to study and work in the city jungle.It was nearing dark when the staff of the eatery informed us that dinner was ready. Their delicious hot pot of fish soup was a great dish to cap off our stay here in Dumaran.We woke up at dawn the next day as the van would be picking us up by 5:00 AM. My contact from the tourism office already booked us two seats. Who would forget the giant insect by the wall outside our room which almost flew towards us? Yet I was not really shocked that creatures like this thrive in an unspoiled place like Dumaran. We walked to the main road quite early to wait for the van. The driver would actually be picking us up from our lodge but we were so paranoid that he would forget us. We didn’t want to miss our flight back to Manila in the afternoon. The street was full of stray dogs, sleeping, walking and barking. I wouldn’t want to get caught right in the middle of these animals since these dogs are not used to seeing people at night unlike in Manila.We picked up passengers along the way who also pre-booked their seats. By the way, this van that we were on board was owned by the other van company that we didn’t take on Day One. We didn’t want to experience again a problematic engine on our way back to Puerto Princesa. I’ve had enough of that.The bumpy van ride actually seemed more tolerable than the experience we had on our first day but what made this memorable was the almost zero visibility condition for about an hour as the road was covered in fog which reminded me of the film “Wrong Turn” and “Silent Hill”.We arrived at San Jose Terminal before lunch time then tried out chao long (Palawan’s version of Vietnamese noodle soup) for brunch and the famous halo-halo (a type of Filipino dessert) of Noki Nocs afterwards. I’ve been to this province numerous times but this was my first time to taste these popular specialties of Palawan. We were supposed to cap off our itinerary at the city’s baywalk park before our flight but we took our chances and proceeded to the airport early. Luckily, there were available slots on an earlier flight to Manila so the airline accepted us without any additional fees.On a scale of 1 to Riley: How high and ecstatic was I when I visited Dumaran? Stating that Dumaran’s coral reefs are magnificent would be an insult and an understatement at the same time. This place definitely has some of the most breathtaking and best undisturbed coral reefs I have seen in the country.Boy was I exhausted swimming and playing with Dumaran’s marine biodiversity. These underwater forests are so rich that the corals look crowded and overpopulated. There are portions where you won’t see any spaces of vacant sand in between corals unlike in reefs of other provinces where presence of corals looks like patches scattered across the seabed. According to the locals, they have lots of coral gardens and I had a chance to see only a small percentage of it. I’d probably be able to see all of them if I opt to stay for about a week.The concept of beauty may be relative but Dumaran has set my standards high when it comes to coral gardens. Sometimes, I was lost for words while marveling at the colorful display below the surface but there were instances when my mind was bombarded with every adjective I could think of to describe what it’s like underneath.I’ve been meaning to explore Dumaran two years ago. I could still remember when I asked a friend of mine if she wanted to go with me but she refused right away without giving it a second thought. It’s like she wanted to tell me, “What’s in it for me?” She thinks that Dumaran is not known and she wants to see Palawan’s famous destinations first such as El Nido and Coron. I totally get it. For a lot of people, being able to visit popular tourist spots is a status symbol. Keeping up with the trends means seeing Boracay, Cebu, Bohol or Siargao in person instead of being able to visit virtually never-heard places among mainstream travelers such as Mapanas and Palapag of Samar, Sadanga of Cordillera or Baganga of Davao Oriental. If you proudly tell other people that you’ve visited these places, they will be like, “Where’s that? Is that place even beautiful?” But that’s fine. I couldn’t care less. I hope they enjoy these crowded tourist spots. Because during my Dumaran visit, I got the beaches all to myself, even if it was still peak season for travel in the Philippines. The islands were literally deserted, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.If El Nido is to otherworldly lagoons and hidden beaches, Coron is to awesome shipwrecks and Balabac is to overwhelming sandbars, Dumaran is unquestionably to rich coral gardens. The coral reefs of Coron and El Nido are also worth seeing, don’t get me wrong. I may not be a fan of comparing to conclude which is better but I just can’t help myself. Dumaran’s marine reefs are way too remarkable.There is without a doubt a common denominator among all of Palawan’s natural wonders. Using the modifier “beautiful” is not even enough to describe these pieces of heaven in the Philippines. I could never argue why Palawan is known as the last frontier of our country and why it has always been voted as one of the best islands in the world. When I come back for a revisit of Dumaran’s coral reefs, I will also explore the beaches of its neighboring town, Araceli!
***For other destinations in Palawan and MIMAROPA, you may visit this link.
