Backpacking Philippines: Bicol: Apuao Grande Island Resort, Mercedes, Camarines Norte

Bicol: Apuao Grande Island Resort, Mercedes, Camarines Norte

On the second day of Tutubi's Camarines Norte Tour the took him and his friends to Daet, Mampurog River and Bagasbas Beach, the group then hied off to the town of Mercedes' fish port, called pandawan by the locals to board a rented boat and go island hopping.

There were several islands with visible white sand beaches and interesting rock formations along the way but the group's mainly headed to an abandoned resort on Apuao Grande Island with sandbar, mangrove forests, nine-hole golf course and the adjacent Apuao Pequeña Island.

one of the tropical huts on the resort island you can rent for P2500/night good for 15 persons.

the virgin beach of Apuao Pequeña Island

Similar to Anawangin's beach lined with agoho (an evergreen species of trees that look like pine trees), Apuao Grande Island, one of several islands belonging to the so called Mercedes group of islands, has beaches without the dangerous undercurrent of Anawangin.

the Bantay Dagat boat, with markings BFAR-BDP-2806, that ferried other tourists to the island.

mangrove forest in between the two Apuao islands

Tutubi's companions frolicking on the sandbar

Apuao Grande Island Resort used to be operated by Swagman Hotel chain. It's funny that when Tutubi was inquiring for booking accommodations on the island regarding the resort, the booking officer reserved a room for Tutubi at Swagman Hotel in Malate! The misunderstanding was cleared when Tutubi again inquired about Calaguas Island

For your appreciation, herewith is a satellite image of Mercedes group of islands from wikimapia.org:

Other islands belonging to Mercedes Group of Islands: Canton Island, Quinapagihan Island, Caringo Island, Canimog Island, and Malasugui Island.

Other Places to see in Mercedes:

Colasi Falls - about 70 meters in height and can be reached by hiking/trekking. located in barangay Colasi.
Canta Cave, Caringo Island Resort on Caringo Island

How to get there:

Commute: from Daet, board a jeepney bound for Mercedes. Ask around for the fish port (pantalan or pandawan) then hire a boat to take you there for about 45 minutes.

Labels: Beaches, Bicol Region, Camarines Norte, Islands

posted by GingGoy @ 12:01 AM,

34 Comments:

At May 14, 2008, 5:10:00 AM, pieterbie said...: Looks like a nice enough and fun place. Is life one big holiday for you?
At May 14, 2008, 5:42:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Maganda sya! Love the look of the place based on your pictures.

Buti na yan na me mga bagong discoveries lately. I think people are trying to find alternative destinations
At May 14, 2008, 10:34:00 PM, Anonymous said...: nice stretch of white sand and beautiful waters!!! must be a secret hideaway until you discovered it! kidding!!! this is a nice, place, tutubi.

ps: is that you with the camera and tripod in the last picture?
At May 15, 2008, 12:39:00 AM, lagal[og] said...: agree ako sa sinabi ni bai ferdz. it's really good that a lot of other provinces and places are opening up. i'm sure marami pang hindi pa talaga napa-publicized
At May 15, 2008, 8:27:00 AM, Rochelle said...: Wow... beautiful. I am missing the ocean these days!
At May 15, 2008, 9:46:00 AM, GingGoy said...: pieterbie, i'm a usually burned out corporate slave. i try to make my life a holiday with work in between, not the other way around :P

ferdz and ogie, marami pa talaga beautiful places dito sa pinas pero we need to find them before the usual tourists and crowds ruin them

acey, nope. not me. i took all pictures posted here. i posted some pics of me here on some entries but you need to dig deeper :P

rochelle, rains are coming. will stay away from the sea for now :P
At May 15, 2008, 12:39:00 PM, Oman said...: Never-ending fun. Sana makapunta rin ako dyan.
At May 15, 2008, 3:33:00 PM, Kyels said...: Beach; never ending fun!

(:
At May 16, 2008, 3:42:00 AM, Photo Cache said...: a new destination. i am dreaming of a pleasant holiday right now.
At May 17, 2008, 1:48:00 AM, Anonymous said...: I'm not sure I wanna come over and read your blog any more...*giggles*

It's just too frustrating to see all your gorgeous photos!!!!!!! It's like torture....

I wanna go too! Especially now when we've had a bit chilly weather here in Sweden lately... Ah...

Actually, we've been discussing if we shouldn't go to the Philippines next year (in the end of January or so) after all.

Yezzzz, we sure are tempted!
At May 17, 2008, 9:58:00 AM, GingGoy said...: lawstude, the best part of the tour is yet to come. do drop by again

kyels, it's about to end. summer's over :(

photo-cache, you may want to re-schedule your holiday. rains are here

lifecruiser, sorry for that, i didn't mean to :P you're welcome to my Philippines! if time permits, i can even show you around
At May 17, 2008, 3:09:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Hi Tutubi ,
love to visit your site , and i love the RP cant wait to get back , but mean time its great here in far north queensland . like you i try to make each day a holiday.....except when work intervenes , lol .
At May 17, 2008, 10:24:00 PM, Vlado&Toni said...: wow, i really didn't know that part of the philippines has so much too offer. i only think of mayon when i hear bicol, what a shame, i am so embarassed! thank you for showing me around tutubi, i thought i could come home this december and see some of the spots you mentioned but it turned out i only had a 2 week off. too short and too expensive.. will check 2009 though, in the mean time, i will be happy to see pinas through your eyes and blog of course!
At May 18, 2008, 6:06:00 AM, mgaputonimimi said...: sana makapunta ako jan minsan..
At May 18, 2008, 9:13:00 AM, orange said...: very nice beach! love the pics :)
At May 18, 2008, 10:47:00 AM, Tinunuy said...: i love the color of the water. skyblue!!! :)
At May 18, 2008, 7:20:00 PM, Toe said...: Great pictures Tutubi! That really looks like a paradise. The water looks very inviting and the weather is perfect. That's the first time I've heard of Apuao Grande!
At May 19, 2008, 10:41:00 PM, Anonymous said...: yan pla yung place na cnasabi nung ofcmate ko ganda sobra....pde mahiram itin mo? magkano budget thanks :)
At May 19, 2008, 11:39:00 PM, GingGoy said...: mark, balik ka na sa bayan natin

toni, two weeks is too short for you since you came from far away...re-schedule

mimi, someday you will

orange, thanks

ethyl alcohol, water so clear and blue as you said

toe, you can visit it too if you really want to...drag your toe there :P

pinoyislands, you ain't seen nothing yet. the best part of the tour is yet to be posted here: calaguas island! :P i spent PhP2.7k for the whole trip. will post details later
At May 27, 2008, 1:47:00 AM, -= dave =- said...: So beautiful, I'm speechless.
At May 27, 2008, 3:56:00 PM, Deng's Outdoor World and Travel said...: ei napuntahan ko na din yun ibang katabing isla at maganda din:D
At May 30, 2008, 2:19:00 PM, edelweiza said...: when we went to apuao grande island in 2007, we were not able to swim in because there were several jellyfish wandering around the waters.but i have to agree the place is tranquil and awesome. :D
At Apr 9, 2009, 10:15:00 AM, yase1222 said...: hi tutubi! i dont know how long ago this was and perhaps my comment is already irrelevant... oh now i see this was last year pa. yikes.

anyway i love this site! thanks for doing this for us... now it'll be easier for us lazier peeps to explore the real beauty of my beloved philippines. ;-)

i love bicol. i was there last year and i didn't get to see much but i swore back then i will come back for more. it's just amazing how endless the things it could offer. i love the people too. ;-D
At Apr 9, 2009, 10:38:00 AM, GingGoy said...: yase1222, nothing's irrelevant...the place is beautiful yet it's no longer maintained. someday maybe...i was back from bicol: legazpi and sorsogon. will post about the trip one of these days...so many travels to post hehe
At May 19, 2009, 6:18:00 AM, kaydeen said...: I hope to travel with you guys.. lol.. I love the beach.. Thank you so much!!
At May 20, 2009, 9:59:00 PM, GingGoy said...: kaydeen, what is it that you like besides beaches?
At Mar 12, 2010, 12:57:00 AM, Chyng said...: we also went here. but after seeing maculabo and calaguas, we didnt appreciate this place anymore. biglang tumaas na standards namin. hihi
At Mar 13, 2010, 7:07:00 PM, GingGoy said...: chyng, hehe same here. calaguas rocks
At Jan 31, 2011, 5:34:00 PM, Anonymous said...: buti ako sa apuao nakatira,kc meron dyan barangay nakatira ang mga tao sa barangay nmn ,nasa gitna ng resort at barangay ang glof course,saka pwede ka umakyat sa bundok kita mo lahat ng tanawin saka sobrang ganada ng paligid lalo pag nasa taas ka ng bundok kita mi ang malawak na golf course,buti na lng taga dito sa apauao,nakakamiss umuwi.
At Apr 18, 2011, 4:20:00 PM, joan deguzman said...: hi! pwede ko ba malaman how to reach calaguas island & apuao island? me & my husband wer planning to go to camarines norte dis may. i really need the info on how to get there & if possible can i ask also how much it will cost? please email to joan_0896@yahoo.com. thank you so much!!
At Apr 18, 2011, 4:33:00 PM, GingGoy said...: joan, how to get to apuao grande island? just go to the the port of mercedes then haggle with boats to take you there as well as Calaguas Island. calaguas island is far from there, it's nearer to the port of Paracale though even if it's part of Vinzons town
At Apr 27, 2011, 10:50:00 AM, Mark Paul yanto said...: salamt at na appriciate nio ung gnda ng plce namin..khit npbyaan n ung apuao....pero mganda p man din khit papanu..tnx
At Sep 15, 2011, 9:49:00 AM, Kris said...: Marami pa talaga magandang beaches sa Pinas, kailangan lang talaga idevelop ng local government.
At Apr 10, 2012, 6:41:00 AM, marieta said...: just visited apuao island. wow! GANDA!

Bicol: Apuao Grande Island Resort, Mercedes, Camarines Norte

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