Mauban, Quezon - Cagbalete Island

16Feb2010 Filed under: Travel Author: kesh

Cagbalete Island
Remote island with cream, rippled-sand beaches in Mauban, Quezon

We’ve been planning to go to this island months ago together with Paul’s family but because of typhoons and other unforeseen circumstances, the plan remained a plan. It was 1:00AM of January 30 when Paul and I decided to go to Cagbalete. I was bored and we’re not actually doing anything; and Mitch was on her trip to Singapore. “Do you wanna go to Cagbalete?” I said. And Paul said, “Now? As in right now?” “Yeah. Go. Let’s pack,” I replied.

We knew that we have to be at the bus station by 3:00AM but since we’re really not ready and our stuff were all over the place, it took us a lot of time to prepare. Eventually, we arrived at the Buendia bus station at around 4:30AM.

Knowing that our itinerary’s already messed up and that we actually haven’t been to that place, we still continued with our trip. We arrived at the Lucena City Grand Terminal just in time for the 10:00AM trip of the mini-bus. If only we took a van going to Mauban, Quezon, we might have arrived before the banca left the port. The mini-bus took almost two hours in traveling from the grand terminal to Mauban; this is because it frequently stopped to get and drop-off passengers. They told us that the banca left late; instead of 10:00AM, it left at 11:00AM. We missed it and because of that, we have to wait until the next trip leaves; that is 4:00PM. Good thing we took our lunch already at the grand terminal.

I was able to finish around 10 short chapters of the book I was reading and Paul was able to get some sleep.

The waves are big. They have to put some plastic canvas on one side of the boat to prevent the splash from getting in. After about an hour and a half, we reached the island. I was expecting a small island but it was just like Calaguas.

There’s a big barangay with a lot of concrete houses. Even some of the streets are concrete.

We have to take a 30-minute walk from the port to Villa Cleofas and we arrived before 6:00PM. We checked-in, cooked our dinner and met Moymoy. T’was my first time to meet him. We know each other online and we’ve been exchanging itineraries and travel tips through e-mail and text. We didn’t expect that we’d actually meet each other on this island. So, we had a chat with him while we cook our dinner and while we eat. After that, we went back to our room to rest. Since the island doesn’t have electricity and generator only powers the resort, we didn’t like the fact that they don’t have electricity after 12:00MN. It was a little hot; so we have to open the windows.

We woke up early for the sunrise but we didn’t see it fully because of the weather; it rained that morning.

$Paul\'s morning swim in Cagbalete Island$

I read my book and Paul went out to swim. It was only during 10:00AM where we saw the very blue skies, less clouds and the rippled-sands-due-to-low-tide; the perfect Cagbalete scene.

Took some pictures then packed.

The beach is not good for swimming because of the seaweeds. Scenery is nice; perfect for solitude, emo and reflection. There were times where the sea is noisy but during low tide, it’s very peaceful and FAR. If you wanna go here for the low-tide ripples, you have to wait until the water cease at around 9-10:00AM. It will return to high tide at around 2:00PM.

Like Boracay? Definitely not. The sand here is cream and Boracay’s sand is finer and more powdery.

The people in the resort are nice; even the people in Brgy. Sabang. They speak Tagalog so it’s not that difficult to communicate. You can ask the people at the resort to cook your food for you; even get coconuts for a reasonable fee.

Cagbalete Island Itinerary

Day 1
3:00am - 7:00am - BUS from Buendia Terminal (Manila) to Lucena City Grand Terminal
7:00am - 9:00am - MINI-BUS from Lucena City Grand Terminal to Mauban, Quezon (VAN is faster as the mini-bus tends to stop to pick and drop-off passengers)
9:00am - 10:00am - Buy food and supplies in Mauban, Quezon; Tour the town and wait for Banca bound to the island
10:00am - 11:00am - BANCA ride from Mauban, Quezon Port to Cagbalete Island Port (Sabang)
11:00am - 11:30am - WALK from the port (Sabang) to Villa Cleofas (Depending on your pace, I think you can do it in 15-20 minutes only)
11:30am - 12:30pm - Check In, Cook and LUNCH
12:30pm - 5:00pm - Rest, Swim, Rent Boat, Do horseback riding, Take pictures, Snorkel, Skim Board, Play softball or football by the beach, Take fishing lessons, Surf the waves, Island hop, Hike, Crab hunt, Bird watch
5:00pm - 8:00pm - Cook and DINNER
8:00pm - 10:00 - Socials
10:00pm - LIGHTS OUT

Day 2
5:30am - 6:00am - Sunrise
6:00am - 7:00am - Cook and BREAKFAST
7:00am - 11:30am - Low-Tide Photo-shoot, Rest, Swim, Rent Boat, Do horseback riding, Take pictures, Snorkel, Skim Board, Play softball or football by the beach, Take fishing lessons, Surf the waves, Island hop, Hike, Crab hunt, Bird watch
11:30am - 12:30pm - Prepare and Check Out
12:30pm - 1:00pm - WALK from Villa Cleofas to the port (Sabang)
1:00pm - 2:00pm - BANCA ride from Cagbalete Island Port (Sabang) to Mauban, Quezon Port
2:00pm - 2:30pm - TRICYCLE from Mauban, Quezon Port to Bus/Van Terminal
2:30pm - 3:30pm - MINI-BUS or VAN from Bus/Van Terminal to Lucena City Grand Terminal
3:30pm - 4:30pm - LUNCH at Lucena City Grand Terminal
4:30pm - 8:30pm - BUS from Lucena City Grand Terminal to Buendia Terminal (Manila)

Cagbalete Island Rates
Bus from Buendia to Lucena City - P210.00
Mini-Bus from Lucena City to Mauban, Quezon - P50.00
Tricycle around Mauban, Quezon - P9.00/person/ride
Banca from Mauban, Quezon to Cagbalete - P40.00
Duplex House Accommodation in Villa Cleofas - P1,500.00

How to go to Cagbalete Island, Mauban, Quezon
Through Public Transport
1. Go to Buendia bus station in Manila.
2. From Buendia Station, take a BUS going to Lucena City Grand Terminal.
3. From Lucena City Grand Terminal, take a MINI-BUS or a VAN going to Mauban, Quezon.
4. Within Mauban, Quezon, take a TRICYCLE from the mini-bus’ station to the port (Pantalan)
5. From the port (Pantalan), take a BANCA to Cagbalete Island (Sabang Port)
6. Take a 30-minute hike from the Sabang port to the resort.

Where to eat in Cagbalete Island, Mauban, Quezon
Before going to the island, it is advisable to go first to the market and buy food/ingredients. The resorts in the island have menus or you can ask them to cook the ingredients that you will be bringing with you. Should you want to extend your stay or you run out of food, you can always go to the port (Sabang) and buy food/ingredients there. The island offers a wide variety of seafood.

Cagbalete Island Photos
Here are some of the pictures we took on Cagbalete Island (Villa Cleofas Resort):