The barkada trip that we've been drawing since time immemorial is finally painted into life. We were originally planning to go to Siargao (it being one of the top local destinations during the past year), but for some reason we ended up booking plane tickets to Romblon; and lo, we were all blown away!
This trip happened March of 2019. Back when I posted the photos on facebook, a lot of my friends messaged me asking for the 'budget' and 'itinerary', which by that time up til now (sorry guys) I was not able to provide because of the following reasons:
1. Our friends who are working abroad paid for the hotel. (thanks guys, you know who you are :P)
2. I never participated in the preparations; I just nodded my head in agreement to all of their suggestions without even reading a thing in our group chat, hehe.
But here, just to share with you the things we did, and the places we visited.
HOW WE GOT THERE:
We booked our flight through Cebu Pacific, from NAIA T4 to Romblon Airport (Barangay Tugdan, Alcantara, Romblon). Please note that Romblon, Romblon is a different island. If you want to go there directly, you could ride a ferry (you could search it in google).
note: Flights aren't scheduled daily; back then available days were Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays.
WHERE WE STAYED:
Romblon isn't as developed as other local tourist destinations; back then, it was very hard to search for accommodations at Romblon, Romblon (we didn't find Airbnbs nor budget hotels; it didn't help as well that the change from Siargao to Romblon was sooo last minute and the first few hotels that our
-organizer friends- contacted can no longer accommodate us. We ended up checking in at Aglicay Beach Resort, which is located at Tablas.
(see screenshot of google map for better imagination:)
Land Transfer from Airport to Aglicay Beach Resort Options:
A. Van - you may try arranging this with the hotel
B. Tricycle - you may actually negotiate with the drivers if you haven't arranged with any tour companies your transportation for the duration of your stay.
Note that it will take you at least 30 minutes to get to the hotel from the airport (if you're riding a van); add another 15 minutes if it's a trike.
Aglicay Beach Resort boasts a picturesque scenery with clear, pristine waters perfect for a whole day swim. It also offers recreational activities to its guests such as beach volleyball, videoke, frisbee, billiards, etc. Food though is a bit expensive for its taste, but it's not like we have a choice since there are no nearby restaurants. Signal is very weak as well; which is perfect if you want to disconnect from the outside world.
Food Tip: You could buy from the sari-sari stores in the bayan and ask the resort personnel to cook for you. They'll charge you cooking fee of P90 if I remember it right.
Signal Tip: Globe > Smart in this place. I am a Smart subscriber and I only get to send messages when I'm staying near the shore. How near? Waves were touching my feet!
Here's their website: http://aglicaybeachresort.com
Day 1: Aglicay Beach Resort - Rest. Eat. Appreciate. Repeat.
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| theviewfromwhereIstand |
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| Aglicay Beach Resort is <3 |
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| sunset on our first day |
Day 2: Carabao Island
How to get there: Get a van or tricycle going to Santa Fe.
Daytour: Our friend arranged a daytour with a boatman (whose contact details she stumbled upon when she was reading other blogs about this)
Possible Option: Well, Carabao Island is 20minutes away from Boracay. You may want to consider :)
Activities: Cliff Jumping and well, Eating. Note though that food here is expensive. We paid P500 per head for our lunch.
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| waiting for the sunrise |
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| blue water |
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| cliff jump: everything you want is on the other side of fear |
Day 3: Romblon, Romblon
So for Day 3, we went to Romblon, Romblon. If you'll be staying in Tablas (just like us), please research for the SCHEDULE of the ferry online because said schedule is subject to change. We had to wait for hours because we got an outdated information.
The first thing we did when we got to Romblon, Romblon is to buy marble souvenirs. (We won't be riding a ferry back; we hired a private boat so we had to buy our pasalubongs before the inland tour starts). We bought food as well which we will be bringing to the beaches we're going to.
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| BonBon Beach |
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| Sandbar |
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| RomBlown Us Awayyyy! |
We went to another beach but sadly, I don't have the pictures. We alighted at San Agustin where our transpo back to the hotel was waiting for us.
Day 4: Fish Sanctuary
And now we're down to our last day. Our flight is in the afternoon so we decided to use our morning to explore Looc where the Fish Sanctuary is located. We brought skyflakes with us so we could feed the fish. You may also opt to swim with them! No worries, there's a restroom back to the tourism office where you could take a bath and change clothes. Fare is at P100 each; those who would rent gears will have to pay an additional P50.
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| fish feeding program |
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| Gihigugma Tika, Romblon! |
And then we're back.
PS. Just want to share with you, we had a problem with our baggage when we were going to Tablas. Two of us (both using hard case, handcarry luggage) were told that our bags do not meet the standard specs accepted for a handcarry luggage. We had to pay for the check-in fee. Anyway, we find it really weird but we didn't argue with the airport personnel anymore. Bitterness crept when we were already inside the plane and we saw other people whose handcarry bags are even larger than ours. Oh well.
