Summer 2016 is memorable because of our trip to Calaguas Island! This summer I had been planning a trip to the beach for my family when I got an opportunity to visit Calaguas Island with the team of Calaguas iAdventure headed by Mark Ramirez. We scheduled our trip for April 15-17, 3 days and 2 nights. Trips especially for families with kids can be difficult. Tour organizers make it so much easier because they provide you with an itinerary, transportation and food and lodging.
Calaguas Island is not developed having no commercial establishments. They’re trying to preserve the pureness of island life. A trip to the island is one that consists of sleeping on the beach, sharing the common bathroom area and pumping water for your bathroom needs.
However, don’t let that discourage you. As someone who can be a bit on the sensitive side when it comes to amenities, I didn’t find it difficult. Under the care of Mark and his team the bathroom situation is livable.
Getting There:
From the get go we knew it would be quite a trip. We took a taxi to the Superlines Cubao terminal to catch the 10pm bus to Daet. There was a mix up with the buses though so we ended up leaving at around 10:40pm
Travelling with 3 kids I thought would have been hard but since I had 2 teens who could occupy themselves and a behaved 5 year old the trip went surprisingly well.
When we reached Daet we were picked up by Jay who offers his van for travel with Calaguas iAdventure. We had a quick breakfast at Jollibee and headed to the port.
This was where I got a little nervous because I don’t know how to swim and it would be a 2 hour boat ride to Calaguas Island. Surprisingly, the ride was pretty smooth. The surroundings were amazing and really breathtaking the farther out we got.
Tip: Make sure you wear clothes you’re prepared to get wet in because when you get off the boat in Calaguas you’ll get wet. Also make sure you have a waterproof bag and keep your cellphone in a waterproof case.
As we neared the island the water was crystal clear blue. Absolutely wondrous. The sand was the kind of white that you look for.
We arrived on a Friday morning and since it was a weekday there weren’t as many vacationers.
Where we stayed:
We had a cottage on the beach front and a tent set up next to it where we would be sleeping.
The cottage is great for hanging out, having meals, and drying off in between swims.
There are a couple types of cottages depending on how many you are.
Tents are provided and you pretty much have your pick. You can also bring your own though and pitch where there’s space.
Not all areas of the beach have bathrooms, fortunately, Mark and his team have provided one that is sufficient for going number 1, 2 and taking a bath.
You’ll need to get your own pail of water whenever you need to go to the bathroom or take a bath. Be ready to get some muscle work in while pumping.
Tip: Pump the water by making sure the lever goes all the way up and down. You get more water that way.
Near where we were set up is a sari sari store where we consumed an insane amount of halo halo and soft drinks.
Now that we’ve pretty much got everything down check out our pictures from our 3 days and 2 nights stay on Calaguas Island.
Day 1
Photo credit: Sebastian Mercado
Photo credit: Sebastian Mercado
Photo credit: Sebastian Mercado
Photo credit: Kianna Mercado
Day 2
Meals during your stay are provided and though as simple as the meals are it seems doubly delicious under the warm sun and refreshing view of the sea.
Kianna went trekking and I would have loved to go but I wasn’t comfortable bringing Jael with me to a steep hill. When he’s bigger and we get the chance to go back this is definitely on my list.
Pics by Kianna Mercado
We went island hopping which was more of a rock climbing experience. Honestly, this part terrified me because I was with Jael and the rock formations were sharp and steep.
Credits to us though because we successfully climbed it to the other side. On the other side of this island was a hill that you could climb for Instagram worthy pics. We decided to stick to land though and swam instead.
At night Calaguas iAdeventure sets up a mini bar for some cocktails and music.
We were entertained with fire dancing and were lucky because they don’t have fire dancing every weekend.
Day 3
On Sunday morning you could see that the beach was full of boats. I was really thankful that we came in on a Friday morning and had a boat free beach.
We decided to walk on the beach and I could see the difference in the way that the beach was being taken care of in Mark’s section.
Mark and his team were one of the first to start a tour organization on Calaguas. They don’t aim to amass thousands of clients rather a solid core of  guests who return and refer their services because of the more than satisfactory experience they had.
The boat ride back was a different story. Since we were leaving after lunch the waves were stronger. The coast guard on Mark’s team safely secured Jael which gave me a sign of just how strong the waves would be.
Needless to say, we were soaking wet when we reached the port.
This is one adventure we’ll definitely look back on and wish to revisit.
Calaguas iAdventure Team headed by Mark & Sheila Ramirez. Thank you so much for a wonderful vacation and memorable trip!
Calaguas iAdventure
Mark Ramirez
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wow! This place is amazing! I hope we could visit this in the future. Sa pic pa lang, ang ganda na, lalo na sigurado sa personal. ♥
can i visit this place.amazy i wish that will be vivt this place
yay! ang saya! Siguro when my kids are bigger, susubukan din namin ang ganitong adventure 🙂
Love your picture. It looks like you and family had a wonderful time. I am a bit apprehensive though as it may be to rugged for me and my kiddos.
Swimming + trekking looks fun and exciting! Philippine beaches are really stunning and Calaguas is one place to visit.
Super ganda talaga kapag naprepreserve yung mga na beaches especially if hindi talaga sya commercialized. And by the looks of the pictures, it seemed like you & your family had a very wonderful summer!
Good thing meals are covered, that’s one less thing to worry about. 🙂 And I really do hope we can preserve the beauty of the place.
Thank you for featuring me on your blog. My pleasure to entertain you guys. Hope you and your family had fun that night. 🙂
-yourfiredancer
Oh dear! Calaguas!!! Per my friends who have been in the island already, it is the best beach ever!!! And I wanna go there, too. Maybe when Gabriel’s old enough for some vitamin sea then we will travel as a family. 🙂
Ang ganda saka ang saya! It will take a lot of convincing for my husband to agree to a trip like this, but perhaps if he sees how beautiful the place is, he’d think that the igib and the tent part will be worth it. 🙂
Paradise!!! Looks like a perfect place to unwind and relax. I do hope to get a chance to visit this some time. To my bucketlist this goes. 🙂
Havent been to Calaguas and I would like to go there with my family. They will surely enjoy the tent experience and the water. Perhaps in the near future as I do not want to travel that long with an eight-month baby in tow. The photos are really inviting. Ihihi.
Super ganda! The water is so inviting and looks super clean! Another must visit for us but maybe when bunny is bigger na 🙂
So fun! We haven’t been to a beach trip this summer. Kelan kaya? hmmmm….
The beach looks great! What an amazing experience. Hope I can take my family there too but we’d have to wait since I’m still preggy and wouldn’t be able to do all the trekking and hiking.
Wow! #takemetoCalaguas. The beach looks so clean and pristine! Thank you for sharing.
Your daughter is pretty mommy 🙂 Looks like a great adventure! I can’t wait for my kids to get a bit bigger too so I could bring them to these places. It’s hard to go on an adventure with two kids below five tagging along :))
Looks like a super summer place! I’ve never really been to many islands in our country. And I’m missing out on a lot like this! Thanks for sharing Mommy, your white sand photos look so inviting!
The view is amazing. The place you’ve stayed is absolutely stunning. However I don’t know if I could do it like that. Not having a bathroom is difficult for me. Do I sound spoiled now? Haha
Hey, nice. Far but without the tourists traps, this makes the destination solid! Imagine after spending several hours on a bus, then off and how it must feel once you set your eyes on the beach!
Ang ganda ng dagat! Beautiful paradise indeed. With the photoa you shared, i am sure you enjoyed. Would love to go here next time!
Wow! At least, there’s a bar at night. Sorry, bachelorette over here haha. glad you had a fun time. I think I’ll be booking a Calaguas trip anytime soon 😉
Looks like you really had fun! And I’ve been wanting to visit Calaguas for ages now. huhu been hearing lots of good stuff about it and some people would even compare it to Boracay because of how beautiful it is. Maybe your blog post is a sign! haha!
Calaguas is very beautiful! I hope I can visit it one day. Hirap pa dalhin si toddler. Will keep this in my bucket list 🙂
Beautiful pictures!! Looks like everyone had a fantastic time!!
Great adventure for sure, the kids surely enjoyed themselves. I love “they don’t aim to amass thousands of.clienrs rather a solid core…”
Looks like a lot of fun! The photos you shared with us are very unique!
It looks like you guys had an awesome time. I’d love to do something like this!
The very blue water, and those beaches – so inviting. I really like your photography – some really interesting perspective in some of the photos.
What a great adventure y’all had! What a gorgeous island! I would love to go relax and explore there!
How I miss Calaguas. I should bring my family there before the weather gets bad by the rainy season. 🙂 Hope to still see blue sky as you had.
What an incredible view, the beaches look pristine and the water looks crystal clear. What is halo halo by the way?
Hi Ana, it’s a Filipino dessert made of crushed ice with evaporated milk that has boiled sweet beans, coconut, sago, gulaman (agar jelly), fruits and topped with a slice of flan.
I’ve heard so much about the beauty of Calaguas. Too bad I never had the chance to go there. Now I heard that it’s too crowded already. I salute you for traveling with 3 kids. I can’t imagine how hard it is!
This may seem weird, but I’m really thankful for bloggers like you, that actually give practical advice on travelling to a certain place. Like you informing people that they need to bring a waterproof bag because they are going to get wet. Maybe is sounds stupid. but not a lot of people actually give helpful and practital travelling tips
Looks like you and your family had a blast on this trip! Your pictures are amazing! I loved the pictures of splendid beaches!
Oh wow! What a great family adventure. The fact that you made it in one piece with three kids is amazing. Love your photos.
What a great adventure you had! Sleeping on the beach might be so exciting! I didn’t expect Calaguas is so beautiful island! The photos are simply amazing!
What a lovely place for a family vacation. You guys look so happy and relaxed. The beach looks stunning.
xx, Kusum | http://www.sveeteskapes.com
What an amazing place for a peaceful getaway under the sun! Your whole family looks so happy 🙂
That looks so fun! Filipinos are very lucky to have lots of beaches!
Glad you had a safe trip! Never been to Calaguas and thats one of my goals soon! I love traveling with my family coz I can see how Can I make them happy. Photos here are so beautiful 🙂
Amazing view of the beach! The color of the water is like turquoise gem and the white powdery sands contrast it. All the long hours on the road is worth I think as you can experience beautiful nature like this.