Tutubi first read about this new cave when he read a news article about the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which classified a certain Kwebang Puti in Cavinti, Laguna as Cave Class 1 but no information can be found online about it until news spread from Tutubi's friends in Paete, Laguna.

UPDATED: April 2014

Travel Guide: Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex

Tutubi knows how to get to Cavinti, either via public transportation or by private car, finding the site is not hard for him come his turn to actually visit the site. Other information will be posted once available and reviewed by his sources of information.

The poster of Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex, good there are people on the image to add scale

Travel Guide: Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex Tour in a nutshell:

1. Make a reservation for an entrance pass to the Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex by contacting Cavinti Tourism office. Email advance booking/reservations to this email address: lgucavinti@gmail.com
Reservations are limited to 10 persons per group. Contact number and official website will be posted once available.

2. Confirm your permit to tour Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex by getting your permit personally, though your authorized representative or package tour operator. You need to pay the entrance fee of PhP10.00/person (called environmental fee) Walk-in visitors are NOT guaranteed visitors entry permit. The visitors permit confirmation and payment can be paid at Cavinti Municipal Hall in weekdays and at Bumbungan Ecopark on weekends.

3. Go to Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex on your reserved date. Bring proper identification cards (school ID accepted)

4. Enjoy the tour but do observe the rules posted at the site particularly do not touch stalactites, stalagmites and columns inside the Cavinti caves

a giant stalactite of Kwebang Puti (stalactites hang from the ceiling, stalagmites are on the ground, and a column occurs when the cave roof and floor are joined together

The Laguna underground river has mini-waterfalls inside gushing with cold natural mineral water

How to Get to Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex

(Tutubi will create the map via OpenStreetMap once he gets to the place and will post waypoint/GPS coordinates later). An interactive map of Cavinti (helped updated by Tutubi with the cool guys of OpenStreetMap Philippines) can be found here where you can trace back to your origin and jump-off point.

How to Get to Cavinti, Laguna from Manila:

1.0 How to Commute by bus and jeepney

1.1 Commute to Sta. Cruz, Laguna by Bus
From Cubao Quezon City, take HM Transport or DLTB bus to Sta. Cruz, Laguna (Bus Fare via HM Transport is PhP148.50)

1.2 From Pasay, near LRT Gil Puyat station, take Green Star Express or DLTB bus to Sta. Cruz, Laguna
Bus fare:, travel time is around 3 hours. Bus fare via DLTB is PhP132.00 while via Green Star express is PhP140.50 (yes, DLTB is cheaper plus free Wi-fi Internet)

1.3 In Sta. Cruz, ride a jeepney to Cavinti and request the driver to drop you off at Bumbungan Eco-Park (fare is about PhP20.00, travel time about 40 minutes) which is near a bridge over Bumbungan River (the river that feeds Pagsanjan Falls)

2.0 Driving Directions to Cavinti, Laguna

from Quezon City, it's recommended to take the scenic Rizal route via Marcos Highway, Sumulong passing through the city of Antipolo, the Rizal towns of Teresa, Baras, Morong, Tanay, Pililla, and the Laguna towns of Mabitac, Famy, Siniloan, Pangil, Pakil, Paete, Kalayaan.

After passing by the elevated portion of Manila East Road in Kalayaan town, you will need to turn left and pass by Caliraya-Cavinti Road until you reach Bumbungan Eco-park. This route, from Trinoma, takes about 3 hours travel time.

From Makati or southern cities of Manila, take SLEx and exit at Calamba (toll fee: PhP218.00 class 1 vehicle), head towards SM City Calamba then turn right. Follow the highway passing through the towns of Los Banos, Bay, Calauan, Victoria, Pila, Sta. Cruz, Pagsanjan and Lumban. After passing Lumban Public Market (and a police checkpoint barrier), choose the right fork of the road going to Lake Caliraya. Continue until you reach Bumbungan EcoPark which is the jump-off point to Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex

as of posting time, Pagsanjan Bridge near Pagsanjan Municipal Hall is under construction, you need to take the alternate route to Cavinti via Lumban and Caliraya Lake thus the direction provided above.

3.0 To get to Cavinti Underground River and Caves Complex from Cavinti, you need to pay PhP1,000.00 fee (inclusive of transportation and lunch) you still need to ride a jeepney (rent one (rental rates vary but about PhP200.00/person) or drive to the caves if you're adventurous and have a 4x4 vehicle) for 14 kilometers on bumpy, dirt road then trek for 2 kilometers (about 30 minutes walk over a dirt road) to get to the actual newly-discovered cave. (this is already easy compared to the previous 4-5 hour trek when the dirt road was not there)

4.0 The final travel part of Cavinti spelunking adventure is a short bamboo raft ride (balsa) to cross the Lalangawan River to reach the cave entrance which is near the boundary of Cavinti, Laguna and Mauban, Quezon

Notes:

1. The road from Cavinti town proper going to the site is not paved, only 4x4 vehicles (for off-road) or jeepneys can traverse it.
2. Bring your own high powered flashlight or gas lamp as it's dark inside the caves
3. At present, this is still undeveloped, tourism facilities are inadequate, guides are ill-equipped, area is restricted to 50 tourists (non-Cavinti residents) but cave entrance fee is now at PhP1000.00/person with transportation and lunch
4. There's an underground river and waterfalls inside but most parts of the cave complex and chambers remain unexplored, wildlife (if there are animals, lizards, snakes, pythons, spiders) taking refuge inside not yet documented
4. There are hotels and resorts near Cavinti particularly Pagsanfalls resorts or resorts in Lake Caliraya for you to spend the night, wash yourself or overnight accommodations.
5. You can take a swim in the Lalangawan River with cold mountain water and huge rocks and boulders

This will be updated from time to time to remain fresh and current. Tutubi's planned tour of this new "place to see in Laguna" last April 20 didn't push through due to the new rule on reservation and with fully-booked place for tour bookings.

Labels: Calabarzon, Caves, Ecotourism, Laguna, Spelunking, Travel Guides

This is a revelation for Tutubi who was informed of this virtually unknown destination by his friened from France who came here on his invitation, and got wind of this place from Lonely Planet Philippines (which makes the overrated travel guide book quite useful in this case): The Mystical Island of Lamanoc, Anda, Bohol

Why is it mystical? Well, this place is a small island off the coast of Anda with ancient rock art in the form of red hematite paintings (the Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, Rizal is another ancient cave art), ancient cave dwellings, tombs and burial grounds, prehistoric human settlement (prehistoric, in Philippine historical context does not mean dinosaurs) and mystic practices mostly involving chicken in the rituals (called manok or manok, thus the name)



Lamanoc Island (or Lamanok Island in some travel journals) has the Bakhawan Mangrove Forest of Anda as gateway where you board a very small outrigger boats (banca) for for only three persons from Lamanoc Point to the "enchanted island" about a kilometer away.

You can see one of the large wooden crosses (upper left of the photo) planted on the caves claimed by locals to drive away evil spirits

The first stop of the eco-tourism and historical tour is the ancient rock art in the form of red hematite paintings meaning ancient cave dwellers used tools made of rock and blood of animals on cave walls.

the most sought after tour guide on the island (meaning: only one) explaining how the place was discovered and the history of the place. Tutubi doubts though some historical claims as they don't really add up. Perhaps a more authoritative source like the National Museum can put everything in black and white as this tour guide inserts too much folk lore, superstitions and his own comments on the place.


Close up view of rock art which is very different from the famous cave art of Lascaux, France. No images of bison, horses and cattle, only abstract hand paints. Evidence of vandalism, looting (grave robbers), as always, are present

This prehistoric rock art is said to be evidence of Paleolitic era (Stone Age) civilization which can be found in this southern town of Bohol Island.

Coming up: Burial grounds and caves of Lamanoc Island

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Lamanoc Island Guide:

Entrance Fee: PhP180.00
Boat ride rental fees: PhP180.00
includes Tour guide fee already

How to get to Anda, Bohol:

from Tagbilaran Airport, you can already rent a van/car rental to take you there or ride a tricycle to the bus station to Anda. In Anda you need another tricycle to take you to Barangay Badiang. The easiest and leisurely way is to rent a motorbike/motorcycle in Tagbilaran to explore the island at your own pace.


Related Bohol Posts:
Tagbilaran Airport Guide
Bohol Van for rent,
Bohol White Beach

Labels: Art, Bohol, Caves, Central Visayas, Ecotourism

Over the holiday break, there have been reported sightings of whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu, or tuki as called by locals. These gentle giants are called Butanding in Donsol, Sorsogon that turned the sleepy town at the mouth of Donsol River into an eco-tourism attraction famous around the world.

This same attraction can be achieved by Oslob, Cebu, being nearer to the tourists of Cebu City but one disturbing news caught Tutubi's eye-- that the fishermen of Oslob town turned tuki-watching guides are feeding the tuki (butanding) with small shrimps.

Feeding whale sharks may be "more fun" but what they're doing is NOT right!


Such activity is uncalled for and with disastrous results, not now but in the future, where the tukis may become tamed or domesticated thus altering their natural behavior.

Oslob should learn how to deal with tukis in their town by setting up rules in tuki interaction, similar to what Donsol Butanding Interaction rules that simply state:

1. Do not attempt to touch, ride, or chase a whale shark.

2. Do not restrict normal movement or behavior of the shark.

3. Maintain a minimum distance of 3 meters from the whale shark and at least 4 meters from its tail.

4. Do not undertake flash photography.

5. Do not use underwater motorized diver propulsions.

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Oslob should try to put in place organized tuki sightseeing tours and avoid ganging up on sighted tukis, note in Donsol only one boat is allowed to interact with butanding. Ganging up on a whale shark may stress out the tuki.

the boats used in Cebu Whale Shark interactions are small ones and no life vests, good only for two people, unlike big boats used in Donsol.

Safety first should be implemented, use bigger boats and require life jackets!

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How to get to Oslob, Cebu:

From Cebu South Terminal, there are bus lines passing by Oslob, Cebu passing by Talisay, Naga, San Fernando, Carcar, Sibonga, Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy, and Boljoon towns with travel time of around 3 hours. No updated bus fares, trip schedules, entrance fees, boat rental charges or whale shark tour rates.


Related posts on Whale Sharks:
Donsol Butanding Whale Sharks
Butanding Donsol Whale Shark Tours

Labels: Cebu, Central Visayas, Ecotourism

A now getting popular cold water resort, formerly called Piit resort in Pangil, Laguna, once visited by Tutubi many moons ago, got much development and funding from the World bank, yet managed to preserve the pristine state of Panguil River, fed by Ambon-ambon Falls upstream, and empties into Laguna de Bay.

Several times Tutubi wanted to re-visit the now developed Piit Resort, the chance came with a rare time his entire family was complete in Paete, Laguna and where the plan to visit Pangil River Eco-park (Piit Resort) became a reality. Tutubi and his family arrived at Piit Resort around 11am, on several tricycles (PhP80.00 per tricycle), and left shortly around 1pm, barely enough time to wander around, take pictures but too focused on his "mini-me" frolicking on the cold water of the nature resort surrounded with lush greens, trees, birds and butterflies from Sierra Madre mountain range.

Pictures of Panguil River Eco-park, Pangil Laguna (formerly Piit Resort):

Panguil River Eco-park's clean river and river-side cottages with the hanging bridge on the background

Panguil River Eco-park has a ncie receiving area, clean restrooms, a 20 meter hanging bridge, kiddie swimming pool, a dam/spillway, cottages for rent, a gazebo for events (e.g. weddings, debut), a one kilometer trail to Ambon-ambon Falls (Tutubi intends to visit this next summer), camp sites and a police station nearby. Other activities besides swimming, and family picnic includes white water river tubing (using car wheel interiors to drift on the white water of Panguil River).

the kiddie pool is the recommended palce for kids to have some water fun, not on the spillway

the 20 meter long hanging bridge provides a nice photo-op and birds eye view of Panguil River

the spillway is the fun place to cool down, probably filled with people during summer but solely for Tutubi's family when he got there. Beware of the dangerous part of the spillway (the left side, not shown on the picture)


Tutubi's wishlist nest summer, he's wants to visit all of Laguna's waterfalls before he gets too old to visit them

Next summer, a visit to Ambon-ambon falls is in the offing. There's also a hidden falls there while neighboring Famy and Siniloan towns get the most attention from mountaineers and mountain climbers due to the presence of five waterfalls of Mt. Romelo including Buruwisan, Batya-batya and Sampaloc Falls.

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Suggestion: since there already is a dam, the untapped water power can be harnessed to generate electric power by building a micro-hydroelectric power plant. It can supply electricity to the resort, a source of clean, renewable energy, even to Pangil town to power up street lighting, for example, saves people's money.

To be also more eco-friendly, why not educate people against the use of plastic bags/styropor inside the resort, not just on waste segregation. Pangil can also emulate the move of Paete to ban the use of plastic bags.

WARNING:

the dam and spillway is a nice area to play around but danger lurks on the spillway canal where the outlet has no grills. Just one "faux pas" or a slip can result to serious injury or death. Pangil local government should construct grills at the mouth of the spillway to avoid accidents, don't wait for the day this warning becomes a reality. Flash floods can also occur anytime during rainy season, stay at the kiddie pool if there are vulnerable children with you in case there's heavy rain.

Panguil River Eco-park Entrance Fee:

Day rate (6am to 6pm): PhP40.00
Night Rate (6pm to 6am): PhP80.00
Overnight rate (more than 12 hours but not more than 24 hours): PhP100.00

Camping fees:

2 days/1 night camping fee per person: PhP160.00
3D/2N: PhP240.00

Other fees and charges:
trekking to biak-na-bato/ambon-ambon falls (tour guide): PhP60.00
environmental fee: PhP1.00
development fee: PhP1.00

cottage rental rates:

small house/cottage: PhP200.00
big house: PhP400.00

Other information:

parking area inside the resort. there are no restaurants but you can bring your own food. there's a sari-sari store inside plus vendors selling different stuff outside like fresh buko.

How to get to Panguil River Eco-park, Pangil, Laguna

From Taft Avenue near corner Gil Puyat (LRT Buendia station), ride a Green Star Express bus to Sta. Cruz, Laguna (or an HM Transport bus to Sta. Cruz, Laguna from EDSA, Cubao, Quezon City) (Bus fare fare is around PhP140.00). In Sta. Cruz (Pagsawitan or at the Jam bus terminal), transfer to a jeepney bound for Siniloan (jeepney fare is around PhP30.00), drop off in Pangil town then ride a tricycle to Piit (sitio Piit or barangay piit as how locals call the place).

Alternate route via Rizal Province, ride Tanay-bound jeepneys at EDSA Central terminal. In Tanay, Rizal, transfer to a Siniloan-bound jeepney. In Siniloan public market, either take a jeepney bound to Sta. Cruz then a tricycle in Pangil or negotiate with a tricycle driver to take you there directly.

You may also take a Raymond Transportation bus to Infanta/Real Quezon, drop off at the Siniloan/Famy junction on Manila East Road then take tricycle to Piit.

Driving directions to Panguil River Eco-park:

If you have a GPS navigator, Piit resort is present on OpenStreetMap (added by Tutubi). The service road going to Piit is linked to Manila East Road, do not enter Siniloan nor Pangil town proper. There's a sign visible on the highway after passing the junction of Siniloan, Famy and Mabitac.

Coordinates: N14 24 48.5 E121 28 49.1
Click online map here.

you may also be looking for these:
How to get to Pangil, laguna, How to get to Piit Resort, Pangil Laguna
How to get to Piit Resort, Panguil River Eco-park entrance fees, cottage fees,
room rates

Labels: Calabarzon, Ecotourism, Laguna, Laguna Resorts, Rivers, Southern Tagalog

Tutubi's posting information about this relatively new eco-tourism attraction in Cebu as he totally supports ecotourism ventures to protect the environment, wean people away from destructive ways; turn them to custodians and stakeholders of the environment.

This is just an FYI post, no feedback, pictures and review of Gaas Eco Adventure Park can be found here :P



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Gaas Eco Adventure Park Cafe

Location: Transcentral Highway in Gaas, Balamban, Cebu. conceptualized in 2000 by a group called Gama or Gaas Magsaysay Eco-Tourism.

Entrance Fee: PhP100.00 on weekdays; PhP150.00 on weekends

Restaurant Food/native dishes at PhP150.00 price per serving.

Telephone Number: None so far (please leave a comment if you know the
contact number or official website)

Amenities:

600 meters zipline (yeah, lots of them in PH these days, zipline
country), with equipment reportedly ISO rated for safety.

Wall climbing or rappelling rate: PhP100.00

de-stress by throwing plates at the stress wall: PhP25.00 per plate (ala tacsiyapo of Isdaan Floating Restaurant in Gerona, Tarlac)

exploring caves/ Caving / Spelunking: PhP250.00 per person complete with caving gear

Waterfalls guided tours: PhP650 for five people (just for the tour guide)

Tour of Mt. Manunggal can be arranged with the tour guide

In Planning Stage:

Overnight accommodations. No room rates for now

Areas for horseback-riding and “glamping” or glamour camping

Source:
href="http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/enterprise/view/20110516-336791/Cebu-park-pushes-eco-advocacy"
target="_blank" >Inquirer.Net

Please leave a comment if you've been there and possibly a link to your own blogpost and review of Gaas Eco Adventure Park Cafe, how to get there directions and other useful information.

Labels: Cebu, Cebu City, Ecotourism

As Tutubi's homage to the late broadcaster-environmentalist Doc Gerry Ortega of Palawan, Tutubi's publishing this post on his 40th day, for the information of many people and visitors to Palawan, the 5 ecotourism projects Doc Gerry helped established as head of ABS-CBN Foundation.

Note that unlike most tourism projects in the country, the 5 ecotourism sites in Palawan are all community-based sustainable tourism sites.

The next time you visit Palawan, do try to consider checking them out, not too expensive tours that provide direct livelihood to people of the community and helps protect the environment.

1. Bacungan River Cruise and Floating Restaurant in Puerto Princesa

Location: Sitio San Carlos, five minutes away from the city proper

A floating restaurant with meals while cruising along the Bacungan River and the 378-hectare mangrove swamp surrounding the river.

Cost: PhP3,500.00 for 10 people (Add PhP80.00 if more than 10 people)
Lunch: PhP150 to 200 per person
Contact Person: Mrs. Emma Dacanay
Contact Number: +63.907.973.0251

2. Honda Bay Island-Hopping and Snorkeling

Location: Dalubkaragatan in Pambato Reef.
Community: Honda Bay Boat Owners Association Inc.,

Tour Price: banca ride PhP1,500.00 for six people. (PhP250/pax in excess of 6 pax)
Rental for snorkeling gear: PhP 100.00 (suggest you bring your own)
Contact Number for reservations: +63.929.864.9255

3. Iwahig River Firefly Watching and River Cruise

Location: Iwahig River, 45 minutes south of Puerto Princesa city proper
Community: Iwahig Community Ecotourism Association Inc.

Tour Price: PhP600.00 per banca, good for three people.
Contact Person: Nelia David +63.910.600.1686

4. Ugong Rock Climb And Zipline

Location: Brgy. Tagabinet, 2 hours away from the city proper, a few minutes from Sabang

Length of zipline: 350 meters, about 2 minutes
Price: PhP350.00
Contact: Marivel Ocajada +63.930.862.2750; +63.918.755.8993

5. Puerto Princesa Bay Dolphin And Whale Watching

Seasonal tour from April to October (there could be tours during November to March but the waves caused by amihan may be too high and dangerous)

Tour package price: PhP600.00/person, in groups of six or more
Contact person: Jet Millare +63.918.755.8993

Go ahead, try one or all of these cheap Palawan package tours and help preserve the beauty of Palawan!

Source:
www.no2mininginpalawan.com

Labels: Ecotourism, Mimaropa, Palawan

A new community-based adventure tourism initiative in Puerto Princesa, Palawan is the installation of a zipline on top of Ugong Rock, a karst formation in Barangay Tagabenit where the sign along a dirt road leading to the jump-off point was seen by Tutubi on the way to Sabang. It's also one of five projects of the late environmentalist Doc. Gerry Ortega (of ABS-CBN Bantay Kalikasan), together with the Bacungan River Cruise Floating Restaurant, Pambato Reef Dalubkaragatan, dolphin and whale-watching tour in Puerto Princesa Bay and firefly watching tour in Iwahig River.

For the lack of time and no other adventurists with him, Tutubi deferred trying out the new zipline at Ugong Rock and instead posting the information for readers of this blog.

Here's the latest information Tutubi gathered from his correspondence with the Tagabenit Guide Association handling the Ugong Rock tours and zipline adventure package:

Ugong Rock caving/spelunking tour: PhP100.00/head to tour the Ugong Rock formation's cave.

Ugong Rock Zipline (opened on January 22, 2011)
Price for the Ugong Rock climb and zipline: PhP350.00 (introductory rate)
Length of zip line: 330 meters (approximately 21 seconds)
Open hours: 8am to 5pm daily (including Sundays and holidays)
Contact Person: Marivel Ocajada
Contact Numbers: +63.930.862.2750; +63.918.755.8993 for Ugong Rock tour reservations.

Note: you need to climb up Ugong rock (through the cave's cracks and crevices) then go down via the long zipline. There's no cable car nor elevators there. :P

Tutubi intends to visit Palawan again sometime in the future and setting his sights on finally trekking the Monkey Trail (adventure trail leading to the Underground River in Sabang) and this new Zipline in Palawan. (Note this is a new one and Tutubi has yet to see the cables and dampers so he can't comment if the new tourism facility is safe. Recommend waiting for some time for it to establish a safety record)

Should you visit Ugong Rock ahead of Tutubi, please post updated information, pictures and videos by hitting the comments!

you may also be looking for:
palawan zipline, palawan spelunking, caves in palawan, caving, palawan zipline rates, fees

Labels: Adventure Tourism, Ecotourism, Mimaropa, Palawan, Puerto Princesa

Looking for cheap whale shark tours in the Philippines? The cheapest of the cheap is the backpacking way. You can go there using public transportation while at the Donsol Visitor Center, everything is so easy for DIY budget travel enthusiast like Tutubi:

Tutubi was able to visit Donsol, in a spur-of-the-moment unplanned trip, and got to interact with the gentle butanding (local name for whale sharks, Scientific name: Rhincodon Typus), in April 2002 (Holy Week) and swears his Donsol butanding interaction Adventure is his most memorable experience so far.


Swim with the largest fish in the world in Donsol, a place frequented by locals, foreigners for the giant whale sharks, locally called butanding

Updated Information herewith (as of April 2013):

When to Visit Donsol:

Recommended visit to Donsol for the butanding is from January to May when the abundance of plankton, whale shark's main food, make those gentle filter-feeders stay in Donsol Bay. There's also the Butanding Festival in April so be prepared for competition with tourists and higher rates.

Whale Shark Interaction Adventure Tour:

Upon reaching Donsol, register first at the Visitor Center located in Barangay Dancalan where you'll be shown a short video about the whale shark interaction then hire a tricycle to take you to the boat station.

Registration fee per tourist:
Local PhP 100.00
Foreigner PhP 300.00

(at least here, they provide discounts to locals unlike in most places where prices only cater to foreign tourists)

Donsol Visitor Center Opens at 6:00am (even in Holy Week)

Whale shark interaction PhP 3,500.00 (per boat. price includes the three persons:
Skipper: who steers the boat for the tour
Butanding Spotter: standing at the bow always on the lookout for whale sharks
Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO): directs the whale shark interaction


Firefly watching/river cruising PhP 1,250.00 (cost per boat)

If you're a solo backpacker, you can pay PhP500.00 Butanding interaction fee and share the boat with six others

Do take note of the rules and policies posted on the walls of the Visitor Center and reiterated during the video presentation:

1. No touching/riding on the butanding
2. Do not restrict the movement of the shark or block its natural path
3. Recommended distance from the whale shark is 3 meters from the head and body and 4 meters from the tail
4. No flash photography allowed (tip: you may buy inexpensive disposable and waterproof cameras for this, not sharp but passable for bragging rights)
5. No scuba, scooters, jet-ski or any motorized underwater propulsion
6. Strictly one boat per whale shark policy with a maximum of six (6) swimmers per whale shark

Things to do in Donsol other than Butanting Interaction:

Other activities: Donsol River Cruise and Firefly Watching in the mangrove forest (optional but requires an overnight stay unlike the Butanding Interaction tours)

Whale shark picture and video here

Cheap hotels/resorts/accommodations and Where to Stay In Donsol Information:
Donsol Inn-keeper Association (DIKA): +63.906.762.5955

How to get to Donsol, Sorsogon for the whale shark tours (butanding adventure)

Donsol, Sorsogon can be reached via Legazpi City in Albay. Flights from Manila to Legazpi City and Cebu City to Legazpi City are available. Vans bound for Donsol are available at the Satellite Market for another one-hour ride. A short tricycle ride from the Visitor Center to the boat station is required.

Philippine Airlines, ZestAir and Cebu Pacific flies daily to Legazpi City daily. Donsol-bound vans are available at the Satellite Market for another one-hour ride.

For land travel (commute) to Donsol from Manila, buses are available in Cubao, Quezon City for a 12-hour ride to Legazpi City. These buses drop passengers at Satellite Market where one can get a van bound for Donsol.

Philtranco, with terminal in Cubao, has buses to Donsol. Inquire at their office or website for updated fares and trip schedules.

You may also hire vans in your area to drive you directly to Donsol then arrange the tour yourself to save on costs.

For your return trip, you may hire a tricycle (better to commission one in advance to fetch you at an appointed time to avoid waiting) to take you back to Brgy. Dancalan or the FX/Van terminal where vans going to Legazpi are available.

Note: other places where you can avail of whale shark tours are Puerto Bay in Palawan (where they're called tiki-tiki), in Bohol Island and in the waters of Calatagan, Batangas. Donsol is the most famous due to the high concentration of the butanding and already laid claim to the title "whale shark capital of the world."

Fare guide to Donsol, Sorsogon:
Tricycle from Legazpi Airport: PhP50.00/trip (good for 5 persons)
Van from Legazpi City terminal to Donsol: PhP60.00
Tricycle in Donsol to resort: P20.00/person

Besides Whale Sharks, sightings of rare megamouth sharks were recorded in Donsol bay while the nearby Ticao Pass is teeming with giant manta rays for sure sighting.

please leave comments for more tips or fore updates on the cheapest donsol butanding package tours, rates and cost chnages
UPDATED: April 2013

Related Posts:

Donsol Beach resorts

Labels: Bicol, Bicol Region, Donsol, Ecotourism, Sorsogon, Travel Guides