Caramoan is located in the province of Camarines Sur, Bicol Region, Philippines. It is secluded because it is isolated from the rest of Camarines Sur. One way of getting here is via Naga which is 4.5 hours travel. No wonder it's called the "Philippine's secret paradise". It's not easy getting here but once you see the islands, it's all worth it! The islands are truly captivating.
There are a lot of ways to enjoy Caramoan like swimming, island hopping, snorkeling, kayaking, scuba diving, trekking and spelunking to name a few.
Since we only have 2 days and 1 night to enjoy its beauty (because 1 day is allotted for traveling to and from), we opted for island hopping and the rest was just lying on the beach and doing nothing, just the way we wanted it.
There are two options for island hopping, one is the short trip and the other is the long trip. The short trip cost is Php 1,500 and the long trip is Php 2,500 to Php 3,000. The short trip can be done half day and for us the islands we visited were: Minilahos, Lahus, Matukad, Hunongan and Gota. For the long trip this can be done the whole day because there are many more islands to visit. In addition to the islands cited, the long trip includes: Sabitang Laya, Malawi Sandbar, Cotivas Island, Bugtong and Cagbalinad.
Minilahos Island.
The first island we visited. A small island with a large rock formation. There's nothing much to see here. You can stay here for 5 to 10 minutes and after picture taking you may go on to your next island.
Breaking free :)
Literally spent my 28th birthday at Caramoan Islands :)
Love the colors :)
Lahus Island
This island has two sides that's why it's called Lahus which means to pass through and through.
When we checked on the other side of the island, the huge waves welcomed us. Noel wanted to swim because it was really hot when we were there. I told him I'm afraid of the waves. It's kinda strong and huge when we were there. We just enjoyed the view and took pictures instead. :)
Matukad Island.
It has fine white sands and has a tall limestone cliff. Our boatman,/tour guide Kuya Sonny explained to us that "matukad" means to go up.
This is my favorite island.
This picture was taken when Noel reached the top of the limestone cliff. Thank God he braved climbing the spiky steep limestone cliff. I stayed on the ground. Decided not to go because I thought it requires strong grip and foothold, I don't have those! Hahaha... One has to be very cautious it climbing up and going down, not only difficult but also dangerous. And Noel jokingly told me for I'm petite it would be hard for me coz this requires long legged! Hmp. (but I thought, he's right)
The picture says it all. No filter added. Truly breathtaking.
When one reached the top there you can see the hidden lagoon where you can see the lone "bangus" or milkfish swims. There's a legendary tale. The story told that before there were two bangus there. The other bangus was caught by the fisherman and brought to his family and cooked it. They ate it and no reason was given but the son died, then the father next. Since then, nobody attempt to take the last bangus. I don;t think we should focus on this tale. Rather, the view from there are enough reason one has to climb up.
Taken by yours truly from the ground where I stayed and photo taken by Noel when he reached the top.
Hunongan Cove
This posh resort is managed by Gota Village Resort. We just passed by this island because the security didn't allow us to. The security told us that we need to check in first at Gota then go back at Hunongan Cove. We were not able to come back due to limited time.
On to the second to the last is the Small Cave as our boatman/tour guide told us.
The last is the Gota Island, where we stay for the night.
This is the island where the Survivor crew stay when they shoot the series here. This island is enclosed by the two giant rock formations. When the sun rises, you cannot see it from the Gota Beach.
Gota Beach
One of my favorite picture :)
Hopefully, the backpackers will be back here sometime in the future because we just visited five islands. According to them, there are ten famous islands which are truly a must see!
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