Calaguas 2025

Fast forward 2025. I have to admit, I have honestly forgot about this blog. 3 years without a blog post.  Did I  get busy? Well yes and no. Just lazy. Anyway., ived been through a lot of riding the bike lately thats why. I will post some of them soon. And of course, my yearly Calaguas tour. The Island is like the same as ever but better.  What do I mean by better? There are less people. The Island is now in population control. Regulated by the tourism department to preserve its natural beauty. Few years back it was getting ugly due to pollution, over population of guests and the un controlled number of resort operators. Now, Calaguas Island became stricter, Only major resorts are allowed to operate. And the rules became stricter. Hence, the beach is again, worth visiting.

Like before, I still pitch my tent under the tree. As I write this blog, I still remember the fond memories of Calaguas. The time I met Abby. How good it was just chillin by the beach. Drinking while having some bbq. Anyways., it was always good. Always be. Even in memories. Now, i have to make new ones. New memories to cherish. And Calaguas is always a nice place to start.  I really love this Island. For me , the best beach in this country. Been here 22 times. 

 

I met new friends thanks to my good ol friend Kuya Dhenver. Met Kuya Dewen and his wife Ate Owen. Engr Ronald also tagged along with us! Fresh from Siargao. He really wanted to come with us along with his family. Nikki was also there who just came from US. Mariko and Greg also joined us. Its a fun bunch. Many thanks to our tour org  Josh for making this happen.

 

there goes Nikki enjoying her tan. 

What better things to do in the Island? To drink. Good thing Josh provided us a huge tent where we can pitch our tent. Gave us shade and protected  us from rain. Nice!

As always, food was great. My favorite bicolano dish, Sinantolan was served. Also the buttered seafood platter is always a favorite. This is actually my favorite part in the trip, eating. They serve really good food out there. 

   

Many thanks to Calaguas Paradise Resort once again for having us. One of the best here in Calaguas Island. If you are not into camping, there are a lot of villas to choose from. They offer good food and their common bathrooms are clean. If you happen to visit Calaguas, i do recommend this place.

 

No doubt, Calaguas is still my favorite beach so far. Yes Palawan beaches is really beautiful. But generally going to Calaguas is definitely on top of the list. Why? because the place is basically spectacular but will not hurt your wallet. This is just me. An ordinary citizen who earns enough. Going to places like Palawan, Siargao, Siquijor is quite expensive due to the surge of ticket prices and hotel accomodations. In Calaguas, i just spent 6,000 pesos all in for 3 days and 2 nights. With this kind of place, its definitely a bargain.

Here's a video I made from that trip.  Thank you once again. Promise. I wont be lazy this time.

 

Forever Calaguas!

Can you imagine going to a place 16 times! Yes that many. Theres something about this place that keeps me coming back. It's simply beautiful. Welcome to the island of Calaguas in Camarines Norte. Before anything else, I would like to say sorry for the people who follow this blog. I actually don't know if theres any... Hahaha but any way im sorry its been a while. Imagine my last post was 2 years ago! I had a blog post about my trip to Siargao. That was the last. Pandemic came and suddenly my world stopped. All my trips got cancelled. All those events gone. Basically im just stuck at home doing nothing. But i didnt even wrote a single blogpost. What have I been doing? Sleeping mostly. So here we are now. Blabbing again! 

  

This is actually my 3rd Calaguas trip of the year! It wouldnt be possible without my good friend Paps Dhenver of AutoConnect Transport Services for hooking me up for this trip. Also to Josh of El Viajeros Travel and Tours who coordinates trips to Calaguas. Thank you sobra! There wer so many new things in Calaguas after the pandelmic. It recently openned its doors around feb this year. You can see a lot of changes! Camarines Norte tourism made sure that Calaguas should be rehabilitated. So they cleaned the beach bigtime. They made sure that theres order in maintaining the island and not turning it into a cesspool like kinda place like.. Boracay. So they made sure that crowd control must be enforced. You cannot cross Calaguas Island without registering  your name at the Tourism office in Daet. You must first coordinate to your local trip coordinator for you to submit your valid ID and Vaccine Card. Once you're cleared, you can now sign to the manifest and go on to your trip. Now, the jump of point to Calaguas has a new port called Centennial Wharf! 

 

Its a brand new port in Bagasbas, Daet Camarines Norte. It is way much better than the old Vinzons Port. This one is a brand spanking new. Its not fully built yet. Construction is still going on. Soon there will be restaurants there. I even saw a hotel by the side. And probably more restrooms to shower at after that long trip from the island. You can also park you car, your van here . Its much safer. Much cleaner. I just dont know if its free. 

 

 

If you're planning to visit Calaguas, please do consider contacting El Viajeros Travel. Look for Josh. Good quality service. They serve great food and will take care pretty much  of everything. This year, I have been to Calaguas three times already all assisted by El Viajeros. Many thanks also to Auto Connect Transport most specially to Kuya Dhenver.

This is the place where we stayed. Calaguas Paradise Resort. Unlike before, you can pitch your tent anywhere you wish. Now, there are protocols that you should pitch your tent inside the resort. Good thing this resort has a wide space to pitch your tent. They also have a decent bathroom. You can also avail their Aircon villas depending on how many are you. Fan villas and open cabanas are also available.

an areal shot of Calaguas. Again, if you want to take a photo of the beach, take it during high noon. Because thats the time the waters is at its bluest. Its really an amazing site to see. Just looking at it makes me want to look back. 

nothing really special here. Just me :P So there it is. My 3rd calaguas trip this year. Its quite an experience! I really enjoyed it so much. The other guests were really friendly. They brought a lot of booze! Jack , Johnny and Jose were always present. Alfonso and Miguel were there as well. We were all hammered that night. It was fun. Always remember to book your trip 3 days 2 nights. Coz 1 night is not enough i tell you. After all that long travel, its not worth it to end it real quick! 3 days is fine. 

It rained that night. Somehow disappointed because I really want to take a photo of the Milky Way. Why? Its just, shooting a galaxy in a place free from pollution is really something. So when it began raining, hassle naman. Then suddenly, it stopped! Sky was clear! I took out my small tripod and went to the darkest part of the beach. Free from light. Took my trusty camera and set it to 30 seconds long exposure at iso 1000. Set it to the widest aperture my lens can do w/c is 2.0 and there it is.... Love it. 

I just want to leave you with a video that I made. enjoy! 

Can't Get Enough of Calaguas

For the nth time, I went to Calaguas once again. My chill and happy beach!  There's something about this place that's like a magnet to me. It attracts me like gravity. You just can't get enough of it.  But this year's trip is different. I'm going by myself. Technically, I'm not alone since it was a group trip from Biyahe Lokal. Thank goodness the people were are all a bunch of happy, crazy, outgoing and gorgeous... Met some new friends. Drank beer by the beach. Climbed mountains..and had a good share of laughs! Maybe thats the reason why I go back. Even though every corner of it misses me of someone i shared good memories for the longest time...

Weather is fine on the first day. Scorching hot. Almost no clouds that made the waters look insanely blue. The sea is not that rough... and there was no traffic with the boats going out the open sea. Last year was dreadful.  It took as almost an hour just to get out Vinzons port...  Its quite a surprise because theres a lot of people at the beach since its holy week and because of the long weekend yet we arrived early as scheduled. 

On our second day, it was a different story.  Clouds are starting to roll in. Rain is imminent. Made the whole sky gloomy... Which actually made the locals happy since its been a while when it rained in Calaguas.  But it didn't stopped us from doing things that we love....

Drinking beer!!!!  This is just the 1st batch! Many more to come!  Good thing that the clouds just dropped by and just provided us shade for a few moments.... I also bought my 1st Lagu beach blanket. Sand really doesn't stick to it. Great for moments like this.. hanging out.. sitting in the shade.. reading, drinking.. or sleeping.  Its pricey (P995 for a freaking blanket) but its all worth it!  O sya sya.. Buksan na yan!  Shot na! When I sat foot at the island, i was so thirsty. I went to the store and asked for a cold Coca Cola... The lady said they dont have a cold one yet but they have a cold beer.... thats the first thing i did in calaguas on that day... drank beer! haha

 Tacio had a great idea of bringing a kite... and yeah. It's quite unusual but its fun! I never thought of that actually. Since its windy and free from telephone lines, the beach is one of the best places to fly a kite. Chicks love it! 

This is one of my favorite photos from the trip. Why? Because its an accident. This freakin' kid just ran in front of me and I almost dropped my camera.. When I placed down the camera, I fired a series of burst shots and this came out. I like the minimalist feel... the action of the kid and the splash of the waves.  This is actually a kodak moment. Wonderful things come in unexpected ways...parang pag-ibig lang.

I was getting woozy so i decided to take a short nap..  The joy of doing nothing. I was just staring..Just lookin up. Enjoying the blue sky and the green leaves fall as you listen to the  sound of waves crashing... Sobrang chillax lang. I kinda miss it already...  

I took my camping experience to a much simpler approach. Unlike last year, this set up is not to much but its comfy. I brought a large pillow and I just have to thank myself for that. I had a better sleep at the van and also inside the tent. Its way better than rolling up your towel...  I also bought an earth pad and a silk blanket! I slept really well on that 950 peso tent! Yup. its that cheap. :) Good thing the seams did not tore out after the strong winds. I saw some some small tear though but it held together. 

And these are my fellow neighbors.. i like their choice of music. And it seems that they'r having fun! 

We went hiking from one of the hills. One of the guests brought a drone... but he didnt took the chance to fly it. Because its really windy.  He said, it's his second drone and he doesnt want to crash it again. I really love this view. Air is fresh.. soothing..very relaxing.  Calaguas doesnt have a phone signal except here. This is the best spot to call someone that you're still alive.... When you're here.. you have to stop taking photos for a while and just look at it. Stand still and just savor the moment.  

What I like about this group trips is meeting up new people who has the same passion for travelling. You arrive as strangers and all of a sudden as the trip goes., you became friends who seem you guys knew each other for the longest time! I really had a blast!  I actually have another trip going this April 23 to Alibijaban beach via Biyahe Lokal! So guys, see you soon! 

Im thinking of a good parting message to end this blog.... They say, you should collect experiences rather than material things.... i should stop my addiction in buying shoes... haha. and save money and go travel! Theres a lot of places to go! Theres a lot of places to see.. Sand to beach bum to.  Waterfalls and cliffs to dive on or planes to jump off to!  Life is short. Lets do this when we're still young. It's fun being crazy and wild. Just watch your ass all the time and be careful.  Im hopin to write more travel blogs. Its actually one of my dream jobs - to travel and get paid. 

Thank you Biyahe Lokal! See you soon!