With travel buddy Isa, we headed to arguably the most beautiful place in the country.
Batanes is composed of 3 main islands-- Batan, where the capital Basco is located; Sabtang, a 45 minutes boatride South of Batan and probably my favorite island in the country so far; and Itbayat, which they say is a giant uplifted coral reef, a 4-hour boatride north of Batan.
We arrived Basco, Batanes in a drizzling Saturday morning. We took a tricycle from the airport to Ivatan Lodge, a government-run inn. Accommodation costs P200/head/night (the cheapest place to stay in Batanes). The place is clean, the rooms are huge. Our only concern is that the bathroom has no sink, but then again it's only P200/night.
Having no exact itinerary in mind, we walked around the town to look for a local tourist center. Apparently, there was none. We saw SeaAir BCTA (Batanes Cultural Travel Agency) Office, went inside and inquired for a guided tour, but they don't offer any walk-in services. So we went back to the lodge, ask the receptionist if he has a tour contact and he recommended us to Lydia Roberto, the manager of Batanes Seaside Lodge. She offered us private 8 hour Batan tour for P1,600.
We started the tour at 10am. We headed south of Batan Island.
Chawa View Deck, Mahatao
Great view of the Pacific Ocean.
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Chawa View Deck, Batanes |
Marlboro Country
Communal pasteur and with awesome view of rolling hills, and both Pacific ocean and South China Sea.
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| Marlboro Country |
Honesty Cafe
A store without a tindero/tindera. You just get what you want, and leave your payment by the counter.
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| Honesty Cafe |
Dakay's House and Old Spanish Bridge
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| Dakay's House |
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| Old Spanish Bridge |
We headed back to Basco for lunch. We pre-ordered to Lydia over the phone Tatus (Coconut crab), Sizzling Cuttlefish, and rice, The Coconut crab was sooo yummy with its sweet meat and sinfully delicious aligue. We ordered another set of Tatus. We were quite shock when we received our bill of P1,400 for 2 people. The coconut crab cost P800 per kilo. Lesson: ask for prices first.
After lunch, we toured the Northern part of Batan Island, Batanes.
Mt. Carmel Church, Tukon, Batanes
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| Mt. Carmel Batanes |
Fundacion Pacita
"This Batanes resort was once the home studio of internationally-acclaimed artist Pacita Abad."
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| Fundacion Pacita |
Valugan Boulder Beach
The boulders were from andesite rocks spewed by Mt. Iraya many years ago. The rocks were smoothed over time by the tides of Pacific Ocean.
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| Boulder Beach (with our tourguide Mang Narding) |
Naida Rolling Hills
We kept singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music..." (And you'll see why. :) )
Basco Lighthouse
Our day ended watching the Sunset in Basco Lighthouse.
Quick Tips:
How to get to Batanes
Seair offers daily flights to Batanes.
Accommodations in Basco, Batanes
Ivatan Lodge
Perhaps the cheapest rooms for rent in Batanes
Rates: P200/pax/night
Contact: Margarita Varga at +63928.245.13.37
Batanes Seaside Lodge
If you want to stay by the beach
Rates: P1200-P1500/room for 2 pax
Contact: Lydia Roberto at +63921.229.01.20, +63915.940.48.23 or email lroberto_seaside@yahoo.com
DDD Habitat Lodge:
The newest built in Basco (free Wifi! :) )
Rates: P600/fanroom, P1200/aircon room
Contact: Noemi S. Cruz at (02)6819085/ (02) 6473534, GLOBE +639065177580; SMART +639084641319 / +639098770044 or email dddhabitat@yahoo.com
Fundacion Pacita:
The only high-end inn in Batanes
Rates start at P4,500
Contact: http://www.fundacionpacita.ph/
3 comments:
Hi Ma'am,
Just read your blog now,I would like to thank you for including DDD Habitat Lodge to your list of lodging house in Batanes.
I hope po na makabalik kayo uli ng Batanes and try to visit us.
Just want to correct the fan room rate...it's 600.00/day po.
Again, thank you so much.
Noemi
Thanks for considering Batanes... :)
Explore, Experience and Enjoy Batanes!
Satisfaction Exceeds Expectation...
for more info re batanes trip,
you can email at batanes_ryan@yahoo.com
Dios Mamajes!
Be in Love, Be in Batanes!
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