Camiguin Diary

I’ve always wanted to explore more of our country and Camiguin is on my list of places to visit. Thanks to the new direct flights of Skyjet to the island, getting to Camiguin island has been easier and more convenient.

Dubbed as “the island born of fire”, the island is home to 7 volcanoes, and one of those, Mount Hibok-Hibok is still active to this day.

Located at southern part the Philippines (northern Mindanao area),  and part of Region 10, flight time takes about 1 ½ hours. The airport is located at the capital, Mambajao.

Upon arrival at the airport, there are multicabs and tricycles readily available to take you to your chosen accommodations. It’s also a place where you can discuss tour arrangements directly with the drivers. We arranged a half day tour and a full day tour the next day (since we were staying 4 days) with our driver. 

Since we will be out most of the day, we chose a modest but nice resort, The View Hotel and Restaurant. They weren’t kidding when they named the place “The View” since you really have a good view especially from their open air restaurant. 

Pros of staying here:

• They only have a couple of rooms which makes the room sizes big. Our room was huge, definitely bigger than most accommodations I’ve stayed at. It had 2 queen beds, TV, a little sitting area and a veranda that gives you a view of their lush garden and pool area. Toiletries provided like soap and tissue.

• The surrounding area is very lush and peaceful, definitely a place for relaxation. The garden, although overgrown, was still nice.

• Host (I’m assuming she’s the owner) and the staff are very welcoming, friendly and nice. You definitely feel you’re staying at someone’s home.

The downsides I can say about the place are:

• It is far from the main road, which means you’ll need to have the host call someone to pick you up. Basically it’s far from everything else. There’s a store nearby for some small necessities like snack or toiletries. The restaurant is currently not operational as well so you’ll need to eat before you come home. They still serve the complimentary breakfast though. Breakfast options were good.
• The pool needs cleaning and maybe the pool area needs to be refreshed, not very inviting to swim at.

We had our tour guide bring us to The View and come back for us after an hour so we can settle in and refresh before we do our half day tour. 

We had our tour guide bring us to The View and come back for us after an hour so we can settle in and refresh before we do our half day tour.

First on our agenda was Katibawasan Falls. There’s an entrance fee of Php 50 to get inside.

The place is a little developed, there are restrooms/shower areas available, there are a few cement chairs and tables and base of the waterfall is cemented to create a pool.

I liked the surrounding area of Katibawasan, it was lush and you can hear a lot of birds chirping in the background. There are even birds diving in for a drink at the pool.

The water is at most chest deep but very cold.

There are stores outside selling souvenirs and snacks. We tried the Kiping which are think cassava flakes topped off with syrup. 

Next stop was the Walkway to the Old Volcano and Stations of the Cross. There an entrance fee of Php 20. If you plan to make a stop here, make sure you are physically fit. Hiking the trail is no joke. 1/3 of the path is cemented however the rest is not. Also, make sure you are wearing comfortable shoes since again, your feet will thank you. Since I wasn’t really expecting a hike, I was just wearing flip flops. 

Now, don’t get discouraged, the views from the top are amazing and definitely worth the unexpected exercise (lol). Also make sure to bring insect repellant since there are mosuitoes.

After a tiring walk, we definitely needed some refreshments. Across the street, there are several stores selling different souvenirs as well as snacks. We had some mango shake and boy it seemed like it was the best mango shake ever. 

I was excited for our next destination since pictures of Camiguin will always have this spot, the sunken cemetery. Actually we already saw this way up from the old volcano. 

It wasn’t what I expected really, I thought of it as a little more picturesque. I don’t know why, I guess because the area is commercialized with a lot of stalls selling different souvenirs. You can also go to the cross and ride a banka for Php 20 only (I think per person). Also, I thought the cross would be farther from the shore but it was actually pretty close ( I think you can even swim going there, if the thought of swimming above submerged dead people doesn’t spook you out (lol).

Close to the sunken cemetery is the Old Church Ruins which basically is an old church destroyed by volcanic eruption and was never built again. It’s a good stop for some pictures as well.

Last stop for the day was Ardent Hot Springs. This was already close to where we were staying plus after all the hiking, this is what we needed.

Apparently, the so called hot spring wasn’t really hot, seriously. We were told that the spring isn’t what it used to be so it was more of a room temperature water or tepid spring (lol). On a somehow chilly night (we were up in the mountains), a nice hot dip would be nice. Anyway, we still made the most of it and just enjoyed the dip.

There are different pools with different depths so be careful. There’s one which I think that was 8 feet so make sure to know the depth of each pool. Restrooms and wash areas are available here. They also offer accommodations as well if you plan on staying here.

Like any other touristy destinations, there are souvenir shops and food stalls available outside.  We decided to grab a simple dinner of pork barbecue and rice before heading back home.

The next day, we had some delicious beef tapa to start the day. It was raining but it didn’t stop us from still pushing through with our itinerary. 

First stop was the soda springs. It was still raining when we got here but it was OK, we were going to have a dip anyway. There are cottages available as well as restrooms and shower areas. There’s a small store as well as a restaurant if ever you get hungry. 

The main draw of the place is the natural spring water from that you can drink. Not sure why it’s called soda when it’s not really carbonated. We spent a good hour or two here just swimming  at the pool. 

Next stop was Tuasan Falls. Like Katibawasan, the water is chest deep and is super cold. The base of the waterfall is also a little small compared to Katibawasan so space is an issue especially if there are a lot of people wanting to take a dip as well. There’s an entrance fee of Php 50 here as well (this seems to be the standard rate for all the tourist spots in the island) and there are again sveral stalls and vendors outside selling snacks and souvenirs.

 

Last stop for the day and what I’ve been waiting for is Mantigue Island. This was quite a drive since we were already on the other side of the island from where we were staying. This is the part where my friend and I wished we were a big group so that we can split the boat rental with more people (lol). We arrived here around 1PM and were advised that we can only stay in the island until 5PM (you can’t stay overnight here). The island is quite near and will take about 5 - 10 minutes to get there. 

There is a restaurant (although limited food options) in the island as well as shower facilities. You can rent any of the cottages surrounding the beach or just catch some sun in the sand and relax. There’s only a portion here where you can swim and the area also has a lot of sea weed in the swimming area.

As mentioned, people were already leaving the island by 4:45 since again, we can only stay up until 5PM. 

To cap the day, we decided to get dinner at La Dolce Vita which is an Italian restaurant. It was a busy night because they were celebrating their anniversary and all their pastas and pizzas were at 50% off. 

We had their Meat Overload pizza, Rigatoni alla Vodka pasta and Panna Cotta for dessert. We also got some red wine as well. Food here is excellent, and the pizza is really good! The price was also very affordable and with their promo, was a really good deal.  

The funny incident here is that we were swarmed with flying insects (I think these were winged termites). Being and open air restaurant and dinner time, these bugs were literally flying over our heads since they were attracted to the light bulbs. Anyway, people didn’t seem to mind that much since they were enjoying some delicious Italian food. 

Our agenda for the 3^rd day was Naked Island or White Island and to transfer accommodations to Guererra Rice Paddy Villas. The new accommodations are also near the port going to White Island so this was a win win.

Since we arrived early before checkin time, we eft our things at Guerrera’s restaurant and headed to the port which was only walking distance. You can get your supplies here, rent snorkeling gear / life vests, get souvenirs as well as getting snacks that you can bring. We were trying to share the boat with other tourists but to no avail so we got one boat again to ourselves.  The sand bar is quite near and it will take around 5 – 10 minutes to reach it.

The good thing about it though is that we have the boat to ourselves and we can stay as long as we want, which we did. Since this is a sand bar, make sure to bring snacks and water. You may also bring maybe an umbrella or something to protect you from the sun. Although when we went here, it was a cloudy day so it was OK. 

I really enjoyed swimming here. Just be cautious though since this is a sand bar, the water can be deep around it. We stayed in the island the entire morning til’ around 1PM (since we were also hungry already). Note that the boat will not wait for you in the island, you need to contact them (keep the paper that will be given at the port because the contact # is listed there) and mention the boat # assigned to you.  

Once we got back, we had a late lunch at CheckPoint. Must try here is the mixed seafood which was very tasty. We also had some halo-halo and ice cream for dessert while enjoying the view of mount Hibok Hibok.

 

We didn’t have any other agenda for the day but to relax and just unwind. There are only 3 rooms at Guerrera. The room we got was nicely decorated however it was tiny. It did smell good though. The wrap around veranda made up for the lack of space inside and it was also good that our veranda overlooks and sea (I can see white island from a distance). The small refrigerator is also located outside near the bath tub.

There are some books in the room (reading materials) as well as a notebook and writing materials. It was nice flipping through the pages because guests left notes and I did too! There’s also an electric kettle with coffee/tea. Toiletries are also provided here (plus points for having Off lotion available). 

There’s no pool at Guerrera but you do have an outdoor bathtub where you can soak and enjoy the scenery from the outside. To be honest I was expecting rice fields (as shown in pictures) however we only got some grass (maybe harvest season was over???). 

Guerrera is also known for its restaurant that serves Asian cuisine so we really planned on having dinner here. They are known for using the vegetables and spices that are being grown in their garden. Choices are limited though.

For dinner, we had 4 pcs of Goi Con (spring rolls). The sizes were small however we had a lot of dipping sauces. I actually forgot what we ordered (since it was a seasonal menu) as our main course however I know mine was chicken with peanuts. JK ordered beef (or pork) with beans. I know people are raving about the food here however, for me it was just OK. Maybe I expected too much, I don’t know, but the food was above average at best. 

Guerrera has a boutique hotel feel due to the very limited rooms. The surrounding area is beautiful. You have the ocean on once side, mountain in the other, and just beautiful scenery wrapped around the resort.

Some downsides for me:

• Yes, it’s a beachfront property however, it is a public beach. Also, maybe because it not a white sand beach, I wasn’t really enticed to take a dip.
• The inside of the room was clean (and smelled good) however the outside seemed to be forgotten, the veranda furniture needs cleaning.
• Price wise, it was a little expensive. Also, breakfast was still separate (maybe because I booked via Agoda?).

Also note that they don’t have a generator. During our stay, there was a power outage (for about an hour or two) so we were basically in the dark during that time.

Next day, it was raining again but good thing we were already home bound by this time. It was a relaxing morning though just sitting outside, drinking coffee and just listening to the rain.

Once it stopped, it was a queue for us to get going. Since we were already walking distance to the main road, we were able to just use public transportation to get to the airport via a modified tricycle (no jeeps or buses here).

Last stop was to get lunch at La Dolce Vita (again) since this was already in front of the airport and to get some last minute souvenirs. While waiting for my food, I was able to catch-up with the owner who was an Italian national. It must be the reason why the authenticity of the food was captured in this restaurant. I got Penne Fume (because it had bacon in it) and it was really delicious and very filling. It was a good way to end my trip here in Camiguin.

Ofcourse, I couldn’t leave without taking anything home. I got the famous pastel (ofcourse) as well as some locally grown coffee. 

Overall, Camiguin offered a lot of beautiful scenery, from mountains, to waterfalls, to springs and its beaches.

I can now cross this off my Philippine destination list. Off to my next destination! 

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