So after 3 freakin’ years, I decided to write a travel guide and I promise to update this when I hit Calaguas again pretty soon!

How to get to Calaguas from Manila (by land/ by bus):

Buses bound to Camarines Norte (Bicol,Philippines) where Calaguas is located  are everywhere, you can find several buses in Ali Mall Bus Station in Cubao, Quezon City, along EDSA highway, Pasay, and Alabang (fronting Metropolis Mall).  Famous bus lines are : Raymond, Philtranco, Amihan, Penafrancia, etc. Look for a bus bound to Paracale, if there’s none, then Daet is your nearest choice.   There are buses bound to Panganiban / Paracale  in Superlines Cubao and Philtranco in Pasay.  Bus fare ranges from Php500-Php600 (cheapest is Raymond bus), for non-air-conditioned buses it’s Php 300-Php400 and most buses bound to Paracale are non-airconditioned. Travel time is 8-9 hours so it’s best to leave at night and Bicol buses are usually night trips.

I’m from the south so I boarded a  bus in Alabang,take note most buses will bring you to Daet, Camarines Norte, only a few would pass by Paracale and  I was lucky to board one but was stupid not to get down in Paracale and and instead I got off in Daet because I had planned on visiting Apuao Grande first and then get to Calaguas via Vinzons port. Very smart decision Gael!haha

Coming from Daet, original plan was- -> board a jeepney to Vinzons or Mercedes and ask around for the fish port, hire  a boat to take me  to the island -> at Vinzons fish port, I will hire boats to  Brgy. Banocboc –> I will rent a boat  to take me to Mahabang Buhangin on Calaguas Island.  But when I reached the fishport in Brgy. Banocboc, no one wants to take me there saying it’s too far.   One tricycle driver offered to take me to a group of tricycle drivers who can take me to the highway called Talobatib junction where buses to Paracale passes, the nearest jump off point to  Calaguas or Mahabang Buhangin beach (Halabang Buhangin).

From Daet, the town of  Paracale can be reached in less than two hours by public vans, fare is around P150.00. But if you are coming from Manila by bus to Daet, you can get off at  Talobatib junction (Brgy. Talobatib) in the town of  Labo and ride another bus for less than an hour to get to Paracale town and then head to Paracale fish port by tricycle or by foot.  You can ask around for fishermen’s boats to Mahabang Buhangin or Calaguas (facing the beach it’s located on the right side  not the port the left side where the old lighthouse is located), I paid Php1,500 for the entire bangka good for 6 people (they gave me a discount because I’m a Bicolana)  but recently, the boat fare is said to have increased to Php 2,500 -Php 3,000. Boat ride to Calaguas from Daet will take approximately 2 hours, the sea is rough and the boats have no life jackets since they are usually used as fishing boats only.

Route 2:

In Daet, board a jeepney to Vinzons or Mercedes and ask around for the fish port. Hire a boat to take you to the island. At Vinzons fish port and pier, there are daily schedules of boat trips to Brgy. Banocboc at 11am. Return trips to Vinzons town proper from Banocboc is at 6am. In Brgy. Banocboc, you can hire a boat to Mahabang Buhangin/ Calaguas. In Brgy. Banocboc, you may rent a boat to take you to Mahabang Buhangin on Calaguas Island.

How to get to Calaguas by air/ by plane:

Naga Aiprort is the closest airport with flights serviced by Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, AirPhilippines and Zest Air.  Head to Naga Van terminal, forning SM Naga, looks for vans bound to Daet , fare is Php 145, 5Am-7pm. From Daet you can take a van to Paracale for Php 50 or  alternatively you can take a jeep to Vinzons. (see by land/by bus guide)

Calaguas Travel Tips:

Paracale is a fishing village, life is simple and most fishermen who own boats for hire to Calaguas have no cellphone. But trust me, it’s easy to get a boat in the port, there are tons of them out there.

Mahabang Buhangin is a secluded beach, no food, no water and no store, better bring everything  that you need and make sure your stock is enough. Camping when your in a group is recommended.

At Paracale, the last bus (non-air-conditioned buses only) to Manila is at 6pm so if you don’t wanna be left like me.  Better leave the beach at around 4:00 pm (estimated travel time from Mahabang Buhangin to Paracale is 2hrs)  to catch the last trip.  If you miss it,  you could stay at the only hostel  in town (forgot the name , still waiting for the response of the owner’s son) for as cheap as Php 200 or hire a tricycle to take you to the highway (Talobatib junction) where you can take a bus  to Manila.

But I suggest with the long ride and all, you stay at least overnight in Calaguas, bring your tent and other camping equipments and

Please be responsible . Do not leave your trash in the beach.

*Activities in Calaguas:*

island hopping- you can actually ask the boatman for other islands, other famous islands are: Maculabo Island and Pinagcastillohan Island

other  offbeat islands: Comalasag Island (Brgy.Banocboc), Cagbalisay Island, Little Siapa Island, Siapa island, Huag Island,Ingalan Island, Amalia Island, and Paquita Island.

diving at Quinamanukan Island and Banocboc. 

swimming and snorkeling – bring your beach gears

camping – bring your own tent, and camping gears as well as foods, drinks and booze (no resort nor store in Calaguas)

trek – Tinago hills is the hills on Mahabang Buhangin beach

visit Mangakawayan village – it’s a fishing community at the back of the beach, approximately 30 minute by foot.

*Other Attractions in Paracale, Camarines Norte:*

the old church of Paracale

gold mining and smithing processes  in Paracale gold shops

Pulang Daga Beach Resort (it means red sand beach) (Day resort only) can be reached by tricycle it’s on the far left of the lighthouse  at the other side of the hills

Pabirik  festival ( February 1-2) – “pabirik” street dancing, depicting the gold mining industry in Paracale.

*Other attractions in Vinzons, Camarines Norte:*

the century-old church of  St.Peter, the oldest in the province

Wenceslao Vinzons Historical Landmark –  Open Mondays-Fridays, 8am-5pm.  Admission is free.

Hotel in Paracale (jump off point for Calaguas) : CM Hotel

For Calaguas travel story , click here—> Calaguas Island

*This is part of my Camarines Norte series, click here–>Camarines Norte

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Apuao Grande Island is not a private resort island, it’s actually a fishing village and only a portion of  it (the white sand beach with agoho trees) is owned by the abandoned resort. The concrete houses with the same style near the resort is owned by Australians who married Filipinas. Some houses are for sale already.  The large part of Apuao Grande Island is a fishing village.  If you’ve already been to Calaguas,  don’t expect much from it’s beach.  But  it’s one of my favorite islands because  of the warmth of  it’s locals, they sorta adopted me,  so it felt like closer to home .

How to get  to Apuao Grande Island:

From Daet, board a jeepney bound for Mercedes. Ask around for the fish port (pantalan or pandawan), walk towards the small Caltex gas station then hire a boat to take you there for about 45 minutes or you could hitch a ride to the fisherman’s boat. Php700-Php 1,000 will do for the gas.

During my trip back in July 2009, I hitched a ride with a fisherman.  The old man and his kids brought me to the resort.  I didn’t have enough money that time so wasn’t able to pay their kindness, despite the 45 minute ride, I was only able to give them Php 100 which they refuse to take but I insisted.

There’s one villa left at the resort.  There’s a 2 story-house where a couple (the caretakers lived) and a villa with some appliances.

Where to stay at Apuao Grande Resort:

Do not expect  a grand accommodation or hotel like in an All Inclusive Holidays Tenerife ,  there’s only one villa with 2 rooms  for rent for Php 2,500 and can accommodate up to 10 people (rate as of July 2009).   But because I was alone, the caretakers let me used the villa for Php 500 without turning on the generator all day.  But they’ve been so kind and turned it on for me from 5pm until 10pm and they let me use  a very small fan attached to a jeep’s battery so I was able to sleep well. They’ve been very accomodating despite the fact that I have no money to spare them that time.  I didn’t bring any food thinking there’s a carinderia around where I could eat  so they cooked fresh fish for me and they didn’t even let me pay for it. Sweet!

If the villa is full, you could ask the house near the resort for accommodation. There’s an old lady there who sorta adopted me and she said that she also offers her house for tourists to stay in for an affordable rate.  Tourists can also pitch a tent in their grounds. But I highly suggest you get a room.

Bring enough food, drinks, booze and water.   Also take note that there’s no electricity in the island.

Other destinations to see in Camarines Norte:  Calaguas Island, Maculabo and Bagasbas beach.

For the full story of my trip to Apuao Grande Island click here –>Apuao Grande Island.

This is part  of my Camarines Norte series.

To go back, you can ask the caretaker to rent there boat to take you to the nearby island where you can take a tricycle to the port and take a ferry for  3 pesos to Mercedes port.

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After leaving Apuao Grande Island I decided to start the search for the virgin beach. Took me 5 hours  to find the nearest fishport or  pandawan. Thanks to my map, the helpful locals, & of course to the Man above.  My original route was: in Daet -> board a jeepney to Vinzons or Mercedes and ask around for the fish port, hire  a boat to take me  to the island -> at Vinzons fish port, I will hire boats to  Brgy. Banocboc –> I will rent a boat  to take me to Mahabang Buhangin on Calaguas Island.  But when I reached the fishport in Brgy Banocboc, no one wants to take me there syaing it’s too far. One tricycle driver offered to take me to the nearest tricycle lane to the highway with buses passing by that are bound to Paracale, Camarines Norte. That’s the nearest jump off point to the virgin beach.

The beach is called Calaguas Island, it was featured in Jessica Soho as the next Boracay (which I highly doubt because of it’s storm-stricken location ). It’s actually Mahabang Buhangin located in Pinagtigasan Island.

Alright, So I was in Paracale and had to look for the port ( I ended up at the wrong side where there’s lighthouse). So I asked around and was told to walk back (if you’re facing the sea it’s at the right side, walk to the end of the beach and ask the locals for boats heading to Mahabang Buhangin.) People in Cam Norte speaks tagalog by the way so don’t worry about dialect barrier. =) I chanced up some women chatting at the sea side and they refered me to a boatman. I haggled the price down to Php1500 sine I arrived around noon already and I;m alone anyway, I don’t wanna ask below Php1,000 because it’s a 2 hour boat ride anyway (maawa naman ako sa mga mangingisda noh!). But as of the last trip of fellow travel bloggers, I heard the boat for island hopping is now (php 2,000-Php2,500). The women and their respective families became my friends by the way as I stayed for a while at their humble house. (I lost their contact number, arrgh! and my cam norte photos we’re deleted, i retrieved these few pix from my facebook account). I asked one of the daughters of the woman I met there (Rosalie) to join me. She was hesitant at first but her mother inssted.

During the 2 hour bangka (boat) ride to the island the waves were so huge that it nearly swallowed the bangka a couple of times.   I don’t have a life jacket & I can’t swim, not to mention nobody knows where was I exactly.  I was praying so hard to get out of there alive.  The fear of death almost drained me.  I had to control my emotion because it’s either I will live or die, but if I die it’s either I’ll drown or be eaten out alive by fear plus the fact that I kinda forced this local girl to join me so she’s my responsibility! arrgh!

At some point the blue skies & the heat of the sun awakened me. I could see the boat moving towards a beach with a long stretch of white fine sands and a few cottages.  I roamed around trying to find a wash room but I failed.

There’s one family that lives in the island and there is a small sitio on the other side of the island but you have to walk a few kilometers  to reach it ( according to the boatman).   So far, the owner  ( a politician according to the locals)  has no plans yet of developing the island.

Mahabang Buhangin is indeed a virgin paradise beach slowly being discovered…So far this is the best beach in the country that I’ve ever been to, no crowd, just me, the beach, the clear turquoise water, the powdery white sand, the blue sky and nature at it’s best!

The backpacker’s way :
From Manila or from your destination, ride a bus or plane to Daet.

Route 1:

Paracale is  the nearest jump off point to Mahabang Buhangin. From Daet, the town can be reached in less than two hours by public vans, fare is around P100.00. But if you are coming from Manila by bus to Daet, you can get off at Barangay Talobatib in the town of Labo and ride another bus for less than an hour to get to Paracale town and then head to Paracale fishport by tricycle. You can ask around for fishermen’s boats to Mahabang Buhangin. I paid Php1,500 for the entire bangka good for 6 people  but recently, the boat fare is said to have increased to Php 2,500 -Php 3,000.

Route 2:

In Daet, board a jeepney to Vinzons or Mercedes and ask around for the fish port. Hire a boat to take you to the island. At Vinzons fish port and pier, there are daily schedules of boat trips to Brgy. Banocboc at 11am. Return trips to Vinzons town proper from Banocboc is at 6am. In Barangay Banocboc, you can hire a boat to Mahabang Buhangin. In Barangay Banocboc, you may rent a boat to take you to Mahabang Buhangin on Calaguas Island. (source: tutubi)

Tips:

Mahabang Buhangin is a secluded beach, no food, no water and no store, better bring everything  that you need and make sure your stock is enough. Camping when your in a group is recommended.

At Paracale, the last bus to Manila is at 6pm so if you don’t wanna be left like me.  Better leave the beach at around 4:30 pm (estimated travel time from Mahabang Buhangin to Paracale is 2hrs)  to catch the last trip.  If you miss it,  you could stay at one hostel  in town or hire a motorcycle to take you to the highway where you can take a bus  to Manila. There are buses that passes by Paracale by the way.

Please be responsible . Do not leave your trash in the island.

THEpinaysolobackpacker would like to thank the locals esp Ate Myrna for letting me stay & take a bath at their place and tutubi’s page for the direction.

Discover a great degree at courses online.

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This resort is owned by Swagman Hotel Chain (in Malate) , a group of Australian entrepreneurs and 1 Filipina lawyer . The resort used to be a famous destination in the 80′s but now it’s being sold for Php35M and has only 1 guesthouse left for rent.

I reached Daet via bus and immediately looked for the jeep station bound to Mercedes.  The jeep stopped at a busy outskirt. I walked towards the port and asked about boats going to the resort. I was surprised that there’s none but one local pointed me towards a small gas station and told me I could hitch a ride to one of the boats of the fishermen.

Mercedes port

I asked the boy sitting uncomfortably at the port. He’s waiting for his father and his siblings to catch fish overnight. Then came an old timid fisherman carrying a huge gallon of gas.  He agreed to let me ride not even asking for anything. He said I could give him any amount.  They are actually living at the same island. All the while I thought Apuao Grande Island covers the entire island but the resort is only a small part of the island, the rest is a remote fishing community.

my ride

The resort is empty when we arrived, there’s a 2 storey-house and a guesthouse.  The fisherman’s kids assisted me towards the island, they don’t wanna leave me alone there. So they looked for the caretaker in the resort. I was left standing in the house not moving because of the huge black dog.

an island covered with pine trees adjacent to Apuao Grande Island

The kid introduced me to the caretaker. The 1st thing I asked her is the rate of an overnight stay. The guesthouse is worth Php2,500. It has 2 huge rooms good for 10 people.  She looked at me and said, ” I’ll give it to you for Php 500 but we won’t turn on the generator. “  I didn’t know that there’s no electricity in the island but I agreed.

After unpacking my things, I explored the island.

The rest of the island is a fishing village, a few houses that’s close o the resort are actually owned by Australians, some are for sale. They are foreigners who married Filipinas but most of them are gone now.

a house for sale owned by an Australian

I spent the afternoon at one of the house of an Australian and a Filipina couple, it’s now being occupied by the latter’s mother and her siblings. The old woman was gardening when I passed by, she saw me swimming in the beach earlier that day and she invited me to their house.  Her daughter married the Australian and bought the house in the resort but they don’t own the land, they still pay for the lot’s rent each month. She showed me every corner of their house and the pictures of her family and her daughter’s wedding with the Australian.

the beach on the way to the fishing village

Her lovely grand-daughter tag along with me to the fishing village. We bought some snacks and drinks for my entire stay. We spent the rest of the afternoon at their small cottage.  Sometimes they do offer their house to tourists when the resort guesthouse  is full or they allow camping w/ fee in their grounds. She said  that the only problem with the beach is  that sometimes  there is jellyfish  everywhere.

As the sun slowly disappeared at the horizon of the beach. I bid goodbye to the old woman and walked back to the guesthouse. The path is covered by huge trees and grasses and some timid animals.

The caretaker was kind enough to share the lights until 9pm, she visited me and let me borrowed an improvised tiny fan which is being run by the battery used in a jeep.  She even slept on the floor of the sala so she can be sure I’m safe, while his husband stayed at the house . That night they invited me to watch TV, they have a 14-inch black and white TV and even brought me a dinner for free saying it’s a fresh catch. A lot of things in that island reminds me of my childhood, from the battery of jeep being used to run the fan (we also use that during brown outs in the province when we we’re young), the fresh catch, and the 14 inch black and white TV.

The next day, a breakfast is served on the table.  I had a good conversation with the caretaker an even showed me the old pictures of the Swagman Group during the resort’s fame in the 80′s.  I felt sad though for the abandoned resort.  I think the resort just lacks good marketing. But the caretaker said the owners are determined to sell it, their focus is on the Hotel Chain in Malate.

Here are the remains of the abandoned resort…

the billiards room

the cottages

my lil guide @ what used to be the resort's 9-hole golf course

Since there’s no fishing boat that would go to Mercedes.  The caretaker asked his humble husband to take me to the neighboring island ( My bad, I forgot the names and the island’s name. I lost my notes and my original pix were deleted so I’m recounting this trip based on my multiply pictures). Then,  I took a tricycle to the port and boarded a small “ferry” to Mercedes port.

the small ferry, fare is Php3 only!!!!

inside the ferry

He said that’s what they normally do especially during typhoons. They cross the other island  near Mercedes port and they spend the day or night there until the storm is over.  You can also hire boats from that island . The caretaker’s husband pointed to me the other islands. My next stop –> Calaguas Island can’t even be seen from that point.

All in all,  I like Apuao Grande Island. The fine sand, the clear serene waters, the pine trees, the naturally friendly neighborhood and some things that reminds me of my childhood. It’s a good get-away when your in Bicol, away from the overcrowded beaches.

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