The last time I was in Mauban, Quezon was 2008.
Back then, I was not yet a full-pledged traveler nor the thought of being a blogger came to my mind. I went to the house of my former student Mark and stayed in Mauban for just one day. I never thought that Mauban offers one of the best island resorts in Quezon until lately when I was reading my co-travelers' blog.
And I learned the tourist spot called - Cagbalete Island.
Board a bus going to Lucena or Bicol either from Cubao, Buendia or Alabang.
From Buendia, travel time is 3-4 hours (129 kilometers/ 72 kilometers from Sto. Tomas, Batangas) and the fare is P209.50.
Alight in Lucena Grand Central Terminal and then, board the mini-bus going to Mauban. The mini-bus leaves every 40 minutes. NCR Bus Transport is the servicing common carrier.
Travel time to Mauban is 1 hour and 30 minutes. Fare is P50.00. Another option is to go to SM City Lucena and board the aircon vehicle to Mauban. Travel time is only 1 hour and the fare is P60.
You can enjoy the scenery on your way to Mauban.
Arriving in Mauban, go to the Pantalan (port) at Barangay Daungan and board the boat to Cagbalete Island. Fare ride using the trike to the port is only P10.
You can also contribute to their economy by paying the Environmental fee at the Tourism office for only P50.
There are only 2 schedules of the boat transportation from Mauban to Cagbalete island – 10:00 am and 3:30 pm (from Cagbalete to Mauban – 7 am and 1pm).
Travel time is 45 minutes only and the fare is P50. It is better to arrive at the port early. During lean season, the boat leaves 10:30 but during peak season, it leaves 9:30 am.
Maximum capacity of the boat is 50 passengers only. But during my trip to Cagbalete, I know that we were overloaded. Good thing it was summer.
Again, try to go to the port early or else you might miss your ride to the island. In case you miss the 10 am ride, wait for the 3:30 ride or you can charter a boat for P1,000 to go to the island.
Leaving the port, you can look back at the town of Mauban and wonder at the scenery.
Environmental fee – P30
Environmental fee – P30
Terminal fee – P20
Hired Boats
P1,500/P2,000/2,500/P3,000/4,000 depending on the number of passengers 2 way
Tour around the island by boat P1,000
You can tour the island in 2-3 hours by foot.
The boat ride was pleasant. The sea was calm that day.
It took us only 45 minutes and we reached our destination.
You will pay the fare for the boat ride once you are onboard the boat. A member of the crew will be collecting the fare.
Once you are in Cagbalete Island, the experience will be different. There is no port. The passengers will be fetched by a small boat paddled by a single man. Usually, this is the scenario during low tide.
It takes 5-10 minutes before you are fetched and transported to the beach.
You have 3 options in touring the island, either by boat (P1,000), by motorcycle (no idea about the price) or by foot with a local guide (P100 only!).
Now, before we go to the resorts in Cagbalete Island, it pays to know that the island has homestays and rest houses.
Just a stone's throw from the docking area, you will find Aling Pinay's rest house (0948-547-9943). She offers the lowest accommodation in the island for P1,000, P1,500 and P2,000.
It is not air conditioned and there is no wifi. The truth is that the lowest accommodation in the island is using tent (P300).
It was 10:30 am, weather was around 33 degrees and we started our tour by foot wearing my jacket and my backpack. It was scorching hot!
There are several resorts in the island. They also offer homestay. The resorts are Pansacola Beach Resort, Villa Cleofas, MVT Sto. Nino Beach Resort, Joeven’s Blue Beach Resort and Villa Noe Beach Resort.
After less than 10 minutes of walking, we reached the first spot and the nearest to the docking area -
Pansacola Beach Resort
Pansacola Beach Resort
Contact Numbers
042-784-0158
0928-505-8633
0917-546-5901
Pansacola offers the best spot for your souvenir pictures. It offers the finest white sand.
You can stroll in the beach and enjoy the white sands and sand ripples during low tide!
According to one of the locals I talked to. The low tide depends on the size of the moon. If it is a full moon, low tide is 8:00 am - 10 am and 2 pm - pm. But if it is not full moon, low tide is during midday. Honestly, it is better during high tide, since you cannot swim, snorkel or kayak during low tide. But during low tide, you can enjoy the sand ripples!
After staying for 20 minutes at Pansacola, next stop was -
Dona Choleng Camping Resort
Dona Choleng Camping Resort
The Boracay of the Pacific
Contact numbers
Office: (042) 784-0789
Smart: 0910-882-3346
Smart: 0998-352-0544
Smart: 0910-524-4370
Sun: 0932-852-5489
Globe: 0926-654-9958
Email: manaogrc@yahoo.com
donacholeng.com
donacholengcampingresort.com
It offers the best accommodation and the staff are very accommodating and cordial.
Third stop for the day -
Villa Noe Beach Resort
Villa Noe Beach Resort
0929-217-6971
0905-519-3847
facebook.com/villanoebeach
Walking further, fourth stop -
Joeven's Blue Sea Beach Resort
Tired and exhausted, I forgot to get their contact numbers. Villa Noe and Joeven are new resorts in Cagbalete.
Last stop for the day -
Villa Cleofas
Villa Cleofas
Tonet - 0917-839-5852
Tess - 0917-814-3475
Ed - 0919-220-5000
02-928-7934
http://www.cagbalete.net
For my insights, if you want to enjoy the beach, go to Pansacola and Bonsai Island.
If you want to have a nice and affordable accommodation, Dona Choleng.
If you want to have the space to relax, roam and have fun, Villa Cleofas.
Due to time constraint, I was not able to go to MVT Sto. Nino Beach Resort.
I started my tour 10:30 and and finished 12:30. Afterwards, I went back to the docking area to catch the 1 pm trip back to Mauban. I was planning to stay, but I cannot afford the accommodation due to limited budget. I went back to Lucena and stayed at Diamond Hotel and Resort and paid P1360 (with wifi, hot shower, swimming pool and cable television).
I enjoyed my tour of the island and I'm planning to go back next year to do camping in the beach.
It's Really More Fun in Cagbalete island!
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvmmB5OnGho
No comments:
Post a Comment