Camotes Island - Day Tour

Patricia Narsico
May 1, 2017
4 min read

Here's the meat of the adventure we had in Camotes;

Santiago White Beach > Pito's SuTuKil > Paraiso Cave > Danao Lake > Holy Crystal Cave > Timubo Cave > Buho Rock

We spent the whole day just touring around island and as I said in my earlier post:

"We rented out a tricycle for the a day tour to 7 locations in the islands and this costed us ₱1000; that’s quite a bargain because of the amount of places we went to and the duration . I’ll talk about it more, in detail, on another post."

We started out our adventure at around 10:00 AM and ended at around 4:30 PM. I can't do time stamps for every stop we did because of my atrocious memory, so please forgive me. I will do my best to give an estimate travel time per destination.

Without further ado, let's get started.

Santiago White Beach

Location: Pacijan Island, San Francisco, Camotes

Travel Time from Mangodlong Paradise Resort: 10-15 minutes

One of the famous beaches on the island, its reputation precedes it. Its a public beach which is accessible by anyone that goes to the island or lives there.

The beauty of this area, being a public place, is that people have the option to camp out here. Below are the rates:

Camping Fee: ₱50.00

Tent: ₱450.00 (pax 4-5)

There's a dive shop in the area and a lot of places to eat, which includes Pito's SuTuKil.

Pito's SuTuKil

Location: Pacijan Island, San Francisco, Santiago White Beach, Camotes

Travel Time from Santiago White Beach: 0 minute

Being situated in one of the famous beaches of Camotes. It’s the best place to eat in it (in my opinion); great food at minimal price, what more can you ask for.

When we ate there our total bill was around ₱270.00. The food was great, served hot and fresh; also the wait time was short.

Paraiso Cave

Location: Pacijan Island, Barangay Macahilo, Consuelo, San Francisco, Camotes

Travel Time from Santiago White Beach: 20-25 minutes

Inside this underground cave is a pool of sea water; this comes from water ways and crevices that connects to the sea. The depth of the pool depends on the tidal level.

Getting to the pool isn’t really that far, it’s couple of meters down the cave and everything is easy because of that staircase the management created.

Entrance Fee: ₱ 25.00 (plus 10 if you want to swim inside the cave)

Lake Danao Park

Location: Pacijan Island, San Francisco, Camotes

Travel time from Paraiso Cave: 20-25 minutes

If you like boating and you’re also allergic to sea water like I am, this place would be perfect for you.

There are plenty of activities you can try out such as; kayaking, boating & swimming.

Entrance Fee: ₱ 15.00/head

Sakanaw: ₱700.00/10 people/trip (Excess ₱ 50.00 /head)

Speedboat: ₱500.00/10 people/trip (Excess ₱50.00/head)

Horseback Riding: Tour - ₱50.00/head | Photo Op - ₱ 25.00/head

Holy Crystal Cave

Location: Pacijan Island, San Francisco, Camotes

Time Travel from Lake Danao Park: 10-15 minutes

It was discovered by Mr. Formentera in 1996, he runs a tour of the place and educates people about the crystals inside the cave.

Before entering the cave Mr. Formentera will brief you about the history of the cave, how he discovered the cave and rules when going inside of the cave.

Descending down the cave was an adventure because there isn't any proper staircase (mainly because the cave isn't advertised by the local government), but it's worth it when you see the crystals.

Make sure not to touch any of the crystals because it will not glimmer and shine for the next 100 years; this is due to the acidity level on our finger tips.

Fun Fact: It takes over stalactites (comes from the ceiling) and stalagmites (comes from the ground) hundreds to thousands of years to form. So please be respectful and again please DO NOT TOUCH IT!

Entrance Fee: 0

Donation Fee: ₱100.00/head

*Source: http://www.sciencefocus.com/qa/how-long-does-it-take-stalagmites-and-stalactites-for

Timubo Cave

Location: Pacijan Island, San Francisco, Camotes

Travel Time from Holy Crystal Cave: 15-20 minutes

Unlike Paraiso Cave, the spring inside Timubo Cave is fresh water and the actual spring is a few meters down. It's also the most popular cave in the island

Like Paraiso Cave, the depth of pool also depends on the tidal level. The spring comes from a source in the mountain.

While going down through the spring, we saw some crystals like the ones in Holy Crystal Cave.

Entrance: ₱30.00/head

Buho Rock

Location: Poro Island, Poro, Camotes

Travel Time from Timubo Cave: 30-35 minutes

If you're an adrenaline junky and like high places, this place is for you. I would have described the feeling of jumping, if I actually jumped but unfortunately I didn't due to various reasons (mainly fear).

Asides from the fear of jumping off a cliff, the view it has of the Camotes Sea is amazing. All you will see is the vastness of the sea.

Also, my best friend didn't jump because he was lazy (*wink* *wink* :D)

Entrance: ₱20.00/head