There are really lots of great places in Cebu and the so called Camotes Islands is one of them. Ram, Igoy, Jacky and I went to Santiago Bay Resort, Camotes last July 17 - 18 which was a Friday and a Saturday. We intentionally saved those dates because it was a long weekend since that particular Friday was a holiday.Travelling wouldn't be complete if you didn't experience difficulties during the process. Guess what? Our 8am ferry schedule to Camotes Islands turned into 1pm. It was a 5-hour delayed schedule, for goodness sake. Long story short, it was because of a technical problem on the ship's engine, that's why we had to wait that long.
Alright, fast forward to our real adventure now...
We arrived at around four in the afternoon already. It wasn't even that upsetting because the place gave us back our excitement.
We rented two tourist guides with motorcycles for only Php500 each and that comprised a one-day o tour of the finest destinations around the island including Mangodlong Rock Resort, Lake Danao Park, Paraiso Cave and Bukilat Cave.Unfortunately, we were not able to visit Bukilat Cave because the entrance road of the place was temporarily closed by the owner. Ugh, I still feel upset remembering it. We traveled half way through the island just to end up like that. Too bad, really, 'cause that was what we were probably looking forward to the most out of all the locations on our tour because of how beautiful it was over there. *sighs.
I really really like the place. It's like a village with a very big ocean nearby.
Here's what you need to know when traveling to Camotes Islands:
TRANSPORTATION
Ride a jeepney going to Danao Port.Book a ticket. Fee is Php150 for student and Php180 for regulars.It takes approximately 2 hours before you reach Consuelo Port in Camotes Island.You will meet lots of motorcycle drivers/tourist guides that will offer you a ride to your destination.We rode the motorcycle and paid Php50 per head.
ACCOMMODATION
We chose to stay at Santiago Bay Resort.We already reserved 2 rooms a couple of weeks before we arrived at the place so I prefer you should do the same.For their latest room rates, I suggest that you should email them directly at [email protected].
FOOD
Santiago Bay Resort has a restaurant of their own but the food is a bit too pricey. Luckily, there are food places nearby and they offer a much cheaper price on almost the same food quality.We ate our hearts out there and saved a lot of money, plus the view was directly to the ocean so it was really relaxing at the same time.
Each of us approximately paid Php2000 on that 1 weekend trip. A great bargain already!
I intentionally didn't include so much details on my photos here so that you'll watch our amazing video during our trip, just right down below. Please watch it in HD. I hope you'll like it!
As you have seen in the video, we captured underwater moments without any underwater cameras. We just used our phones inside ziplocks (not ziplocks for food but these ones!). But mind you, it's not totally safe for your phone, so you still need to take care and not let your phone stay underwater for a long time to prevent the water from coming in.
Here's also a (funny) vlog including our Camotes trip in Ram's channel, so be sure to check it out as well!
That's all folks! Wishing you a happy Camotes trip!
