Day-off ni Inday: Palompon

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte

I travelled across Biliran, Leyte and Southern Leyte for 4 days and 3 nights. Yes, that was three provinces in 4 full days. As always, I would love to share how I did it.

The summary of my trip is enumerated below. Click each link to see full details of the trip.
Day 1 - Kalanggaman Island, Palompon Leyte
Day 2 - Biliran Tour (Chasing Waterfalls)
Day 3 - Sambawan Island, Biliran
Day 4 - Agas-agas Bridge, Sogod, Southern Leyte and Tacloban City Tour

4D3N Itinerary and Expenses

Day 1
01:00 AM - Departure from Dau, Pampanga
01:00 AM - 03:00 AM - Travel from Dau to Pasay Terminal via Bus (P150)
03:00 AM - 03:30 AM - Travel from Pasay Terminal to NAIA Terminal 4 via Taxi (P100)
03:30 AM - 07:00 AM - Waiting time (My flight was supposed to be at 6:00 AM)/ Breakfast (P99)
07:00 AM - 08:00 AM - Travel from NAIA Terminal 4 to Daniel Romualdez Airport via Airasia (P425 RT)
08:00 AM - 08:30 AM - Wash up/Changed clothes
08:30 AM - 09:00 AM - Travel from Airport to Tacloban Downtown - Mcdo via Jeep (P13)
09:00 AM - 09:30 AM - Travel from Tacloban Downtown - Mcdo to Abucay Terminal via Multicab (P7)
09:30 AM - 10:00 AM - Boarded van/waiting time
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM - Travel from Abucay Terminal to Palompon Terminal via Van (P150)
12:30 PM - 30:00 PM - Registered at the Tourism Office (P225)/Lunch (P44)/Bought food (P150[a])/Rent tent (P150[a])/Waiting time
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM - Travel from Palompon Port to Kalanggaman Island via Boat (P375[b] RT)
04:00 PM - 06:00 PM - Explore the island
06:00 PM - onwards - Dinner/Socials/Rent beach bed (P50)/Drinks (P30)
Total Expenses for Day 1 - P1,968

Day 2
06:00 AM - 07:30 AM - Breakfast/Bought warm water (P5)/Explored island
07:30 AM - 08:00 AM - Pack up/Waiting time
08:00 AM - 09:00 AM - Travel from Kalanggaman Island to Palompon Port via Boat
09:00 AM - 09:30 AM - Brought back the tent/Walked to Palompon Terminal
09:30 AM - 10:00 AM - Boarded van/Waiting time
10:00 AM - 12:00 NN - Travel from Palompon Terminal to Lemon via Van (P120)
12:00 NN - 01:00 PM - Travel from Lemon to Naval via Van (P80)/Bought snacks (P10)
01:00 PM - 02:00 PM - Check in at TJ Pension (P215[a])/Lunch (P60)
02:00 PM - 03:30 PM - Travel to and explore Tinago Falls/Entrance (P20)/Tip to Guide (P20)
03:30 PM - 05:30 PM - Travel to and explore Recolleto Falls and Ulan-ulan Falls/Entrance (P20)
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM - Travelfrom Ulan-ulan Falls to Accommodation/Payment to Kuya (P400[a])
06:30 PM - onwards - Dinner (P72)/Socials
Total Expenses for Day 2 - P1,022

Day 3
06:00 AM - 08:00 AM - Breakfast (P85)/Bought food for Sambawan (P71)/Prepared for tour
08:00 AM - 08:30 AM - Travel from Accommodation to Kawayan Port via Habal-habal (P150[a] RT)
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM - Travel from Kawayan Port to Sambawan Island via Boat (P750[a] RT)
09:30 AM - 01:00 PM - Explored the island/Entrance fee & environmental fee (P100)
01:00 PM - 02:00 PM - Travel from Sambawan Island to Kawayan Port via Boat
02:00 PM - 02:30 PM - Travel from Kawayan Port to Accommodation via Habal-habal
02:30 PM - 04:00 PM - Wash up/Pack up
04:00 PM - 05:00 PM - Bought snacks (P10)/Waiting time
05:00 PM - 07:30 PM - Travel from Naval Terminal to Tacloban Terminal via Van (P120)
07:30 PM - onwards - Check in at GV Hotel (P225[a])/Dinner (P109)
Total Expenses for Day 3 - P1,620

Day 4
05:00 AM - 06:00 AM - Call time/Prepared for tour
06:00 AM - 06:15 AM - Travel from Hotel to Abucay Terminal via Tricycle (P30[a])
06:15AM - 07:30 AM - Breakfast (P35)/Waiting time
07:30 AM - 09:30 AM - Travel from Abucay Terminal to Agas-agas Bridge via Van (P150)
09:00 AM - 10:00 AM - Explore Agas-agas Bridge
10:00 AM - 12:00 NN - Travel from Agas-agas Bridge to Hotel via Van (P150)
12:00 NN - 12:30 PM - Check out
12:30 PM - 12:45 PM - Travel from Hotel to Robinsons via Multicab (P8)
12:45 PM - 01:30 PM - Lunch at Bonchon (P155)
01:30 PM - 6:30 PM - Travel and explore (via Tricycle): MacArthur's Landing, MV Eva Jocelyn, San Juanico Bridge, Santo Nino Shrine Museum, Santo Nino Church, Chew Love. (P300[c] for Tricycle; P235[d]for Dinner)
06:30 PM - 11:30 PM - Arrival at Airport/Terminal Fee (P150)/Bought Pasalubong (P300)Waiting time (Flight was supposed to be at 09:00 PM)
11:30 PM - 01:30 AM - Travel from Daniel Romualdez Airport to NAIA Terminal 4 (Flight Traffic)
01:30 AM - 02:00 AM - Travel from NAIA Terminal 4 to Five Star Pasay Terminal via Taxi (P30[f])
02:00 AM - 04:00 AM - Travel from Pasay Terminal to Marquee Mall via Bus (P139)
Total Expenses for Day 4 - P1,647

Total (All-in) Expenses for 4D3N - P6,257

a - Expenses shared between me and my travel buddy, Sarah
b - Boat ride - P3,000/8 pax
c - Tricycle hire - P1,200/4 pax
d - Individual dinner + share for dinner of Kuya Vergil, Tricycle driver
e - Taxi (Grab) - P90/3 pax

Snippets of my travel below!

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Leyte: Kalanggaman Island

indaygala July 26, 2017 inday gala , indaygala 0 Comments

Famous for its two sandbars, white sand, and blue waters, Kalanggaman Island makes it as one of the top tourist destinations in Leyte.

How to get there

From Manila, take a flight to Daniel Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City. - 1 hour
From the Airport, you can opt to hire a tricycle to bring you to Abucay Terminal (P150) or you can ride a jeepney (outside the Airport) to Downtown - Mcdo (P13) then transfer to a multi cab that will take you to Abucay Terminal (P7). - 30 minutes
Ride a van going to Palompon Terminal (P150) - 2 hours
Hire a pump boat going to Kalanggaman Island at the Palompon Eco-Tourism Office (rates below) - 1 hour

Kalanggaman Island Rates

Entrance and Conservation Fee

Regular Rate (Day Tour)

International Tourist - P500

Non-Palompon Tourist - P150

Non-Palompon College Student - P40

Non-Palompon High School Student - P30

Non-Palompon Elem. Student - P20

Non-Palompongan Senior Citizen - P120

Overnight Rate

International Tourist - P750

Non-Palompon Tourist - P225

Non-Palompon College Student - P60

Non-Palompon High School Student - P45

Non-Palompon Elem. Student - P30

Non-Palompongan Senior Citizen - P180

Private Pumpboat

P3,000 - 15 capacity/persons and below

P3,500 - 16-25 capacity/persons

P4,000 - 26-30 capacity/persons

Cottage

P250 - 15 capacity/persons and below

P500 - 16-25 capacity/persons

P700 - 26-30 capacity/persons

Tips and Basic Information

From Palompon Terminal, there are bikes that you can hire to take you to the Eco-Tourism Office. However, you can walk to the office for just 15 minutes.
Make sure to register in the Eco-tourism Office before doing anything else. This is to know if you have fellow travellers heading to the Island and the time of departure. More people means lesser boat fare.
The Eco-Tourism Office gives a quick briefing about the Island and gives a trash bag for your waste.
There are few stores in the Island that sell goods at above the normal prices (which is understandable). You can buy your food and water in the market where the Terminal is.
The first boat trip is at 6:00 AM and last boat trip going to the island is at 5:00 PM.You
You can rent a tent at the office or at the store outside the office for P300. A deposit of P200 plus an ID will be needed.
There are wooded Teepees like accommodation on the other side of the island. Price is at P1,000
You can rent beach bed (P50), table (P30) and chairs (P10) at the island
There's no electricity in the island but they offer gas lamp at night for free
Also, there's no fresh water available in the island expect for the 1 gallon water that the Eco-Tourism Office will provide.
There's a water pump that provides "filtered" sea water
Comfort rooms and shower areas are available.
You can have a "fresh water" shower at the Eco-Tourism Office
You cannot swim along the sandbars as there are rip currents. Suggested place for swimming is at the front and back portion of the Island
If you are on a budget, you should consider having a flexible itinerary. As for our case, we originally planned to have a day tour but we do not want to spend P1,500 each and charter our own boat so we decided to stay overnight together with the rest of the travellers.

For inquiry and reservation you may contact the Eco-tourism office at (053)555-9731/09268164005

For more reference, you can check Kalanggaman Island's website here.

This trip is part of our 4 days and 3 nights Biliran, Leyte and Southern Leyte Tour. For itinerary and expenses, please click here.