Travel With Rach Jenkins: Islas de Gigantes

I have been seeing these islands in popular blog sites and travel magazines, and was placed in my bucket list as early as summer last year. The reviews and feedbacks are practically the same, and I may not be much of a help to other travelers, but still, I want to share how we did it, our own special way.

I traveled with my beyboss, Essa.

We booked a flight to Roxas (Negros Occidental), as according to bloggers, it is the closest airport to Gigantes Islands, though the latter is part of Iloilo.

We arrived Roxas at 1 in the afternoon, just in time for lunch.

Roxas is known as the "Seafood Capital" of the Philippines, and the restaurants along Baybay beach serve all types of fresh sea creatures.

Crabs in garlic and butter, baked diwal shells and fresh "lato" (photos above) are some of my favorites.

From Baybay beach, we took a tricycle ride to Lawaan Terminal, where buses and UV Express to Estancia port are parked. Tricycle ride is only ten pesos per head and is 15 minutes away from Baybay beach.

We took the UV Express as it is faster and has less stopovers according to bloggers. Fare is 100 pesos per head and travel time to Estancia is approximately three hours.

We arrived the town of Estancia at around 6 in the evening, just in time for dinner. We had our dinner at Paon Beach Club, where we also stayed overnight.

We rented a boat to and from Paon Beach Club for 1,500 pesos per head, inclusive of lunch.

Our destination: Islas de Gigantes. 😎

We opted to book our own so we can control our time and not rely on other passengers. We left the resort at 5 in the morning, the next day.

Places of interest are:

Bantigue Sandar

Cabugao Island

Tinagong Baybay

Tangke Lagoon

and Bakwitan Cave