We chose the Leyte route.
From Tacloban airport, a three-hour land trip will take you to Palompon, the gateway to Kalanggaman Island. Fare per way is 150 pesos.
According to the locals, the earliest van leaves at 4 o' clock in the morning. That may be true for some months of the year, but when we arrived the UV express station at 5 o' clock in the morning, we were informed that they will leave the terminal at 7, or when we reach a group of 18 passengers. We were only 6 then.
Since the water was said to be rough after 12 noon, we agreed to divide the total fare among the six of us, so we can arrive before the coast guards cancel the trips after noon time.
We arrived Palompon around 9 o'clock in the morning, had a quick breakfast at the back of the tourism office, and boarded our pump boat to the island. A private boat ride is 3,000 pesos. Other boats offer group reservations. We chose the private boat.
At Palompon, take a photo of the welcome sign before the tourism office registration, as you may forget about the existence of this sign when you get back.
We left Palompon at 9:30 a.m. and the water was little bit rough and sharp.
After an hour of a bumpy boat ride, this sign welcomed us.
A few steps to the right lead us to this paradise.
The sand bar at the eastern side of the island is a long stretch of white sand with bits of white stones and broken corals.
We chose a Tipi (Teepee) house with a bed, instead of a regular tent for an overnight stay. The tipi houses are located at the western side of the island and is a little exclusive compared to the eastern side. Tipi house costs 1,000 pesos a night. Bed sheets can be rented for 300 pesos. We brought our own.
A pretty tree house and a nipa hut can also be found at the western side of the island with banana boats, kayaks and bicycles for rent for 150 per head per hour.
We rented a bike to the eastern side of the island where the rest of the other campers are.
The eastern side also has the longest sand bar.
It only takes an hour or less to travel the whole island by foot.
Just like most camp sites, there's no electricity in this island.
We had solar-powered bulbs, flash lights and the moonlight to help us see and do things throughout the night.
You may need to bring extra blankets as it was really cold when we stayed there. It may vary on some months, but it really was cold at this time of the year.
We had our early morning coffee with the moon setting on the west.
The other sand bar on the western side also appeared at dawn time.
The tide was low until 8 o' clock in the morning.
Star fishes and other sea creatures can be seen in the shallow areas of this part of the Visayan Sea.
There's a lot of dead corals and there's very little fish.
We left the island at 9 o'clock in the morning after our breakfast.
For me, an overnight stay is just enough to have an overall island experience. Another night in this island would bore me.
It was a good island camping experience.
Until our next trip. 😎
