Sandbar Adventures in Floating Cottages at Little BORACAY Calatagan BATANGAS Philippines

About below Video: Floating cottages in Batangas, Philippines / Floating Bamboo houses or "Balsa" / bamboo raft beach experience - Little Boracay and Sandbar - Brgy. Poblacion 4 Calatagan Batangas Philippines. Cinematic travel video and beach hopping - beach summer fun 2021. If you want to have a quick summer getaway in very affordable and nearby Manila (4 Hours travel time) this one’s for you. They called it Little Boracay where the long stretch of white sand and clear crystal water with different corals and lots of starfish. The place features floating cottages (Bamboo raft tourism) or "balsa", Sand Bar, star fish island. This is not a beach front - you have to ride  balsa or bamboo raft to reach beach and sandbar, just 10 to 15 min bamboo raft / floating cottage ride.

There is really this backpacking adventure called sandbar hopping and of course you can experience it best in the Philippines. In 2019, the National Mapping and Resource Information (NAMRIA) has confirmed that there are 500 new islands in the Philippines making the famous Philippine 7,107 islands an outdated fact. The Philippines now has total number of islands in the archipelago to over 7,600 making it the best country to go hopping on breathtaking and panoramic sandbars.

However, due to the current travel restrictions brought about by the COVID 19 pandemic, most people are looking for island getaways just near Metro Manila. One of the best options of course are the beaches in Batangas. Just a few hours ride from Manila, you can have a relaxing dose of vitamin sea!

With the lockdowns easing out, I decided to look for travel events in Facebook offering beach adventures near Metro Manila. There are lots of travel organizers nowadays offering backpacking adventures in Facebook - all you need is to do a quick search and do some inquiries with the organizer. You will then be called as "joiner". I find this new way of backpacking cheaper and easier since I don't usually have enough time and patience on travel planning which includes researching, transportation and local reservation arrangements and all that necessary pre-travel arrangements stuff. Of course random travel is fun and exciting, but most of the time - without planning - it becomes more costly.

The place they called "Little Boracay"

I came across this place called Little Boracay. Sometimes, naming a place from a more famous travel destination does helps in marketing - but personally I don't usually agree with this trick because each place has a unique beauty of its own. Anyway, we then decided to give it a try since we've been on lockdown almost a year already and I've been dying to go on a quick beach escapade. Since this place is just few hours ride away from Metro Manila and travel restrictions are being relaxed on few places near Manila, we then decided to give it a go - with necessary COVID precautions of course.

Pick up point was at Greenfield District in Mandaluyong. Before the pandemic, this place was a famous meet-up place for backpackers joining group tours - and it was near our place so it was very convenient for us. We then leave at around 1:00 am going to Batangas, but on our way, we picked up a few more "joiners".  We arrived at the place a bit early - around 4:00 am - and the bamboo rafts are not yet allowed to sail, so we decided to take a quick nap and have breakfast at the market.

At around 7 am, we were allowed to board our raft - then our beach adventure begins.

Check out below video showing our fun "Dragon Boat" ride. 

Little Boracay Calatagan Batangas Quick Info

Activities:

• Snorkeling and swimming at Starfish Island
• Photo ops and selfies at Calatagan Sandbar
• Snorkeling - (don't expect too much - it's just seagrass, sea urchins, sea snakes and lots and lots of starfishes. The area doesn't have a lively coral reef where you can see lots of colorful fishes.
• Kayaking 
• Dining and drinking while on board the floating cottage

LITTLE BORACAY Calatagan, Batangas (Day Tour) - Sample Costing (Costing depends on organizer - better check out other offers in Facebook). This is the one we availed since it offered limited passengers in the van so we can observe social distancing.

1,799/Head for group of 3 and above.

1,899/Head for group of 2 and solo.

INCLUSIONS:

🔹Roundtrip Van Transfer(MNL-Calatagan-MNL)

🔹Entrance Fee

🔹Service of a Life guard/Boatman

🔹Service of a #TeamEscape coordinator

🔹Floating Cottage Rental

🔹Island hopping

🔹Lifevest

🔹Free use of griller

🔹Ecological Fee 

EXCLUSIONS:

🔹Meals (our group also decided to just let the organizer include lunch in the package since there are no restaurants while you are in the middle of the islands. Cost is 200 Pesos per head)

🔹Banlaw fee(20-50 pesos)

DESTINATION:

✔ Sand bar

✔ Little boracay/Star fish island

✔ Snorkling spot/Coral reef viewing (bring own gear)

SAMPLE ITINERARY

01:00AM Assembly Mcdo, Greenfield

01:30AM ETD to Calatagan

05:00AM Breakfast along the way

06:00AM Registration and Start of tour

✔ Sand bar

✔ Little boracay/Star fish island

✔ Snorkling spot/Coral reef viewing (bring own gear)

12:30PM LUNCH

03:00PM Back to port

03:30PM Wash up/Shower

04:00PM ETD to Manila

07:30PM ETA Manila/End of Tour

[TERMS AND CONDITIONS]

*Joiners who are experiencing any flu symptoms are not allowed to join the event.

*Seating Arrangement is on First Come, First Serve Basis

*For Exclusive Tours you can choose your own Travel Date and Pick up point

*A Reservation Fee of 500 per pax is required and will be deducted from the total package.

*Send us the PROOF OF PAYMENT or the DEPOSIT SLIP for verification. 

*For Confirmed Bookings, reservation/deposit are strictly NON REFUNDABLE but is considered transferable to the third party assigned by the client otherwise the participants group will be responsible for the payment of his/her balance. 

*Guest/s who cancelled  THREE days or less before the event are responsible for paying the whole amount of the package

* Change of travel dates must be advised FOUR DAYS before the travel date. 

* The agency has the right to cancel or reschedule  any trip under these circumstances:

a. If we did not reach the minimum  number ( 6 ) of pax needed to proceed with the trip. (For weekday schedule only. All weekend trips are sure event.)

b. If there is a report of typhoon that may  compromise the safety of our passengers.

c. In case of tour cancellation, due to  whatever reason

*BAGGAGE POLICY , All guests are advised to travel lite. No trolleys allowed

*The Management is not responsible for any  loss or leaving behind your valuables in the hotels and other areas.

💡 GOOD TO BRING  💡 

▪︎ Face mask

▪︎ Face shield 

▪︎ Alcohol 

▪︎ Extra clothes

▪︎ Sunblock

▪︎ Toiletries / Kikay Kit

▪︎ Powerbank

▪︎ Shades / Sunglass

▪︎ Extra cash

▪︎ Personal medicine

▪︎ Bottled Water

▪︎ Valid ID