Padre Burgos in Quezon province (Philippines)

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This is an updated blog about the town of Padre Burgos which we revisited in May 2016.
I wrote this blog during our visit there in November 2011. During that period, it was not yet a popular tourist destination. Nowadays, the town has become a tourist spot. We still have a lot to discover but for now, we can give you this useful information for your convenient stay there. A day stay is enough to explore 3 islands and spend the rest of the afternon just relaxing. A two-night stay is good enough if you want to combine exploring the islands, visiting the waterfalls, going on a cave expedition and have a well-deserved rest.

See our ALBUM OF PADRE BURGOS
to give you an impression of what you can expect from the touristic town. Most of the photos have short descriptions which can give you useful information.

Video and photo album with music (see end of this page)

After a few trips to island of Palawan wherein we incurred expensive travel airline fares and at times high-priced accomodations, we thought of exploring other places which resemble the natural beauty of Palawan. For us, beauty lies in rock formations, sea, greenery. Hopping from one island to another is also a priority. A well-deserved rest and tranquility after rigorous activities are more than welcome. Who would have thought that we can find such place in the first town of Bondoc Peninsula called Padre Burgos? The most important thing, it doesn’t cost a lot because you travel by land.

TRANSPORTATION AND DIRECTION

The road going to Padre Burgos is well-maintained. It is a zigzagged asphalted road with a nice view of nature. The town proper has a wet market, eateries, bakery and small grocery stores. The approximate distance from south Manila to Padre Burgos is 203 kms.

Commuters: The town is a 3 1/2-4 hours ride from either Kamias/Cubao/Buendia-Taft. Ride a JAC liner airconditioned bus in going to Lucena then get off at the Lucena grand terminal (estimated travel time: 3 hours). Ticket price: 229 pesos. From grand terminal, you either ride an airconditioned van or an ordinary bus going to Unisan. I have no experience with a van because I prefer riding an ordinary bus. The bus has its own time schedule, leaves on time even if there are only few passengers but picks up passengers along the way (estimated travel time: 45-1 hour and 15 mins.). Ticket price: 35 pesos. We discovered last April 2015 that there is an airconditioned bus going to Mulanay. It passes by Padre Burgos town proper. Setback: it takes 1-2 hours before the bus leaves the terminal. Price: 40 pesos. At SM Lucena, there are jeepneys and aironcitioned vans going to Padre BUrgos. We have no experience here yet. We prefer going to Lucena grand terminal.

Private transportation: The travel time is shorter when riding own vehicle but use of gasoline is expensive unless you travel with a group which makes it cheaper by sharing the costs. From SLEX, follow Lucena- Batangas- Bicol exit. Drive in the direction of Sto. Tomas, Batangas then head to the direction of Alaminos afterwhich you head to Maharlika highway and pass by San Pablo, Laguna. Afterwards, you reach Quezon province by passing Tiaong, Candelaria and Sariaya. Follow the main road until you reach diversion road in going to Lucena then turn left. Upon reaching Lucena grand terminal to your right, just pass it by and follow the road to Pagbilao. To a certain point, you see a road going up to your right with an arch “Welcome to Bondoc Peninsula”. Follow that direction until you reach the town proper.

Fees from jump-off points

From the jump-off points of Bgy. Basiao, Bgy. Marao and Port Laguimanoc, you have to pay 20 pesos per person for environmental fee. Ask for a receipt. Parking lot is 50 pesos per day and 100 pesos overnight. We prefer the jump-off point at Bgy. Basiao. Direction: Upon reaching the town proper, ride a tricycle or you ask the conductor to drop you off at the green waiting shed in going to Bgy. Basiao. Walk down the street for around 10 mins. At the end of the street, turn left to the fisherman’s village. A tricycle ride costs10 pesos per person.

WHERE TO STAY

You can pitch a tent, rent a tent/hut at any of the three islands: Dampalitan (long seashore with mangrove), Borawan (large rock formations) and Pagbilao Grande (with passing through cave). This is the budget alternative. You have to hire a boat in going there. Bring mineral water and food to cook although there is a small store in the islands. You have to get off at Port Laguimanoc/Bgy. Basiao/Bgy. Marao for a boat ride in going to the islands. ALBUM OF PADRE BURGOS

If you don't want to camp out in either of the three islands and stay conveniently in an airconditioned/fan room then at Borawan 3, there is a newly built hotel and restaurant. You can also choose either Tamarind resort, Villa Anita Hotel and Oreto Beach resort. Villa Anita Hotel is 4 kms away from the town proper and is situated at baranggay Danlagan. There is abundance of water supply, the room is spacious with separate bathroom and comfort room. You can commute by riding a bus or tricycle for 10 pesos per person. There is no restaurant so it is either you cook your own food with a portable burner with buthane gas or buy/order food from the eateries/restaurant. Prices range from 2,000- 2,800 pesos per airconditioned room which can accomodate 2-8 persons. The rooms are spacious with abundant water supply with bathroom and comfort room. We had a very convenient stay in this hotel. Contact Manny: 063-9169360260. If you google Villa Anita resort, you only find the outdated telephone numbers and website where the old location is described. Make it easy on yourself by going to the operational hotel at Bgy. Danlagan. Oreto Beach resort is located at at Bgy. Marao. The location is outside the town proper. Tel.nr: 0917-6591414. Tamarind resort which is located in Bgy. Punta is by the sea. Bringing own food is prohibited or you pay a fine. Hut rental is around 700-1,200 pesos per person without breakfast. Huts are either equipped with airconditioning or electric fan.

EXCLUSIVE DAY STAY FAR FROM TOURIST MASSES

There is an elevated, private lot opposite Borawan island. Its basic facilities are: simple toilet and bath, an open long house basic concrete structure, benches recycled from a tamarind tree (built May 2016) and an open nipa hut (built May 2015). It has a concept: sharing nature in exchange for a fixed contribution for lot maintenance (max. of 10 persons). You have 2.000 sqare meters area exclusively at your disposal for a day. Commune with nature while having breakfast and lunch before and after your island hopping. You have seaview, Bagocina islets, mountains, rock formations and greenery all by yourself. Explore the secluded area, meditate, pray, do yoga and have group discussions/chats while having the background of seawaves and singing of birds instead of tourist masses. The contact person can provide boat ride, food and water supply. eMail for detailed information. Go to facebook page Sharing nature at Padre Burgos, Quezon and mail for inquiries.



THINGS TO DO

There are a lot of things to do in Padre Burgos: island hopping and swimming, swimming in waterfalls and our latest discovery last April 2015, cave expedition.

Island hopping is an alternative to Palawan due to its huge rock formations and mountains along the way except the latter has better corrals, has lagoons and different kinds of fish. Besides you do not have to pay a plane fare to reach the village. Boat rentals have uniform prices. The tourism council made sure that the prices are the same in the jump-off points of Port Laguimanoc, Bgys. Basiao and Marao. Borawan costs 800 pesos per boat , Borawan and Dampalitan: 1.2000 pesos and for three islands : 1,800 pesos. See link to boat prices . Hire a boat from Cyrus Santos who is well-known in the fisherman's village of Bgy. Basiao. His cell nr: 09469490055.

Hinguiwin falls and Sipa waterfalls. We were able to pay a visit to Hinguiwin waterfalls. There are five of them. How to go there? From the town proper, we hired a tricycle for 300 pesos, two-way with free mineral water. It is around 20-minute ride, one-way. You need a guide. Look for Paz, a kind middle-aged woman who can accompany you to the five waterfalls. Her house is at the start of the trail going to the falls. We gave a 200 pesos tip afterwards. She advises to go here when there is sufficient water supply, before the holy week. When we were there, it had little amount of water, being also El Ninyo, draught conditions last May 2014. See the last few photos of ALBUM OF PADRE BURGOS

Mountain hiking and cave expedition at Baranggay Lipata is our newest dicovery last April 2015. We rented a boat equivalent to 1 island hopping (800 pesos) and from there, looked for the mountain guide, Darwin Salvid with contactnr. 0907-3539509. You can also hire a guide at the Bgy. Lipata baranggay hall next to basketball court. What a nice experience in entering three caves known as Mahangin caves. Most tourists can only reach 2 caves. We gave 500 pesos to Darwin because it was an awesome adventure. There is no standard fee asked but I found in another blog that 200 pesos is good enough.

Experience its town fiesta of jump-off point Bgy. Basiao during the first week of May. Every May 2, there is a mass then a procession and parade of fishermen boats in the sea making their way to Bagocina islets until they reach the pier/harbor. The boats are then blessed by the parish priest. On May 3, it is fiesta (feast) at the baranggay.

ISLAND HOPPING
Island hopping in Padre Burgos makes us nostalgic about our trips to Palawan. Every island has its own charm. Regarding snorkeling, we conclude that Palawan is the best. Although dynamite fishing is prohibited in Padre Burgos, most coral reefs are already destroyed.

Barangays Basiao and Marao have a very beautiful view of Mag-asawang Bagocina (Bagocina couple) . These are two rock islets jutting out in the sea. From the fisherman’s village in Bgy. Basiao, you can cross the seashore during low tide and head to Bgy. Marao so that you can step on beachfronts with huge and flat rocks. Tihs is where you can find the private, elevated lot mentioned earlier where you can have an exclusive day stay away from tourist masses. From this location, you have a beautiful view of the sea with the two rock formations. You can just hang around in the seashore but of course, island hopping is an exciting experience.

Dampalitan island has its white sand, mangrove and long beachshore. Camping here is better than other islands because it has a long seashore. Other islands are too crowded during tourist season (April-May). It has free toilet. Entrance fee is 75 pesos.

Borawan island has a lot of rock formation. Although rock climbing is not yet approved by the tourism council, rock climbers do it at their own risk. It has water and electricity. It has an expensive entrance fee of 150 pesos. Last 2014, the entrance was 80 pesos.

Maliit na Talabaan is a rock formation jutting out of the sea where boats can dock. There, you have a good view of swimmer Christine Jacob’s island and the fishpens with huts. Port Laguimanoc is located nearby.

Crossing the border of Padre Burgos is Pagbilao Grande island also Puting buhangin beach where Kwebang Lampas (go beyond/passing through cave) is situated. It has a pure, white sand beach with rock formations and greenery. From Padre Burgos jump-off point, the boat ride to Pagbilao grande is around 45 minutes. Upon reaching the island, the entrance fee is 80 pesos. Bring your own food and drinks. If you have folded beach umbrella and folding table and chairs, you won't be charged additional fee for picnic table (350 pesos). Before reaching the island, you will pass by Mag-asawang bato (stone couple). These are two big rock formations jutting out of the sea where boats can dock. Just be careful in walking because rocks are either slippery with mosses or are sharp because they are embedded with rough shells. For better photos, ask your boatmen to bring you closer to the big stones.

TIPS

1.) Before going on a boat trip, buy drinks, canned goods and snacks in the stores and cooked foods in eateries. However, there is a small store in the islands but the price is expensive.

2.) If you want to enjoy the serenity of nature, go here during weekdays because there are fewer tourists. Option: contribute a fixed amount to an elevated, private lot at Padre Burgos in exchange for an exclusive day stay surrounded by tranquility and nature: eMail for detailed information. Go to facebook page Sharing nature at Padre Burgos, Quezon and mail for inquiries.

3.) You can combine your your Burgos trip with a trip to the town of Agdangan with its church. Unisan has old houses. It has a seashore along the road and has a beautiful view of an old bridge. Duration of travel: 30 mins.

4.) For commuters who are going back to Manila: buses ride either to Lucena grand terminal or straight to Manila. However, they are ordinary buses. It is better to get off at Lucena grand terminal and transfer to an airconditioned bus in going back to Manila, a JAC liner and . Jeepneys also ride from Padre BUrgos until grand terminal but are slow compared to buses. There are vans going to Lucena and cost P 50.

5.) If you will pitch a tent, make sure that your camera batteries are charged. There is solar panel and generator at Dampalitan while Borawan has electricity and water supply. Flashlights, gas lamp, headlamp, telescope and single burner with buthane gas come in handy. We experienced both camping and staying a few nights at Villa Anita hotel. The hotel is of course more convenient and hygienic.

6.) Use sunblock lotion 30 minutes before going outside. Towels and hats come in handy, too. Use good shoes in going to caves and at the passing through cave in Puting Buhangin.

EXCLUSIVE DAY STAY AT A PRIVATE, SECLUDED LOT WITH VIEW OF SEA, BAGOCINA ROCK ISLETS AND IS OPPOSITE BORAWAN ISLAND

SEAVIEW AND BAGOCINA ROCK ISLETS AS SEEN FROM THE PRIVATE LOT

VIDEO OF ISLAND HOPPING 2015

PHOTO ALBUM WITH MUSIC

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Photos

An exclusive day stay in a private lot
Basic facilities: open long house basic concrete structure, open nipa hut, simple toilet and bath and benches