Boat Ride from Paracale to Vinzons

Traveling to a beautiful tourist destination in the Philippines is not that easy. Most of the precious, amazing, and unspoiled islands in the archipelago are far away from the town. And Calaguas Group of Island is not an exception.

Two hours ride is not good for other people, especially if the waters are hasty and the waves are high. And if you have a problem being seasick, you have to think twice. And most of the time, the hardest journey ever is the most satisfying of all.
Our jump-off area is the fishing port of Paracale, one town away from Vinzons. Sometimes the problem would be how big is the boat. In our case, since it was owned by a fisherman, the banca was not convenient for passengers. Since tourism had boosted in the fishing port, most of the fishermen’s boat is rented to accommodate travelers like us. And yes we had to endure it for two hours.


While traveling the best way to enjoy the boat ride is to look around. Since it is a group of islands, there will be nearby islands or islets that are just around the corner. We were able to see the Maculabo Island from the left side going to Tinaga along Paracale Bay.


The boat ride is almost straight and just a little left towards the island. Upon reaching the tip of Tinaga island, rocks are visible in the shorelines.
Tinaga Island is the most traveled by visitors because of the long and wide sand bar of Mahabang Buhangin. There is a barangay called Mangkawayan where the local fishermen live with their family. The hillside of Tinaga is also accessible if you want to see the long beach from the top.


We only rented the boat for a one-way trip. The following day, the usual passenger boat from Vinzons arrived after lunch. And we availed the service with other tourists who were going back to the town.
From Tinaga island, we then saw Guintinua Island and some small islets. The water was rough, but because we had a bigger boat this time, the two hours ride was okay. And yes, I didn’t wear any life jacket, even if the waves where a little rough going to Vinzons.


Or maybe because I’d been to different long boat rides in the country that I don’t get seasick or get bored and sometimes it also helps to get excited first to your travel destination and the rest will follow.

For more information about Calaguas you can check the post here: Calaguas Islands, Camarines Norte

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Pearl Watch

Calaguas Islands, Camarines Norte

Our 5th Quezon – Bicol Escapade is in Calaguas Islands, Vinzon, Camarines Norte. Calaguas is a group of islands including the famous Tinaga, Maculabo, Guintinua islands and other islets, included in the town of Vinzons in Camarines Norte. The seaboard of Calaguas is rough during the rainy season as it is located along the Pacific Ocean. The best time to explore to Calaguas is during summer.

As we often do, we stayed in Cam’s house in Calauag on our first night. We packed our things, this time with a tent, food and water. The following day, we rode a bus towards Paracale. Along the bus stop, we rode another bus towards Paracale town. We headed to the fishing port of Paracale and bought some other stuff while we waited for a boat for a two-hour boat ride. We were excited to see the picturesque paradise from afar. Sighting the pristine white sand of Mahabang Buhangin or Long Beach, the unparalleled green mountainous area of Tinaga Island, turquoise water, the island was a real beauty.
There were no resorts on the island during the time of our visit. But I remembered there were Nipa Huts being constructed at the center of Mahabang Buhangin, and we were told that the owner has a resort in Boracay. Upon setting foot on the island in the afternoon, we were sun-kissed already by the sun’s heat. We looked for a good camping site in the left part of the island.


The island was divided into different owners because there were caretakers in the area. We found a nice spot, near a Nipa hut of the caretaker, with so many coconut trees that shaded our area. At our back, was the caretaker’s source of water, public bathrooms and a small house with a sari-sari store. They have food, drinks, and water supplies.
We set up our tent, mingled with the caretaker where we bought our coconuts. We took a nap to enjoy the tranquillity of the island. There was a set up of volleyball net near us, so Butchick and Cam played beach volleyball, as were able to get a ball from our caretaker.
The beach was fronting a very romantic sunset, as many tourists like us, started lining up to witness the orange colored sun going down the horizon.


Although it’s camper’s site, the phone signal is high and there’s electricity on the island. We had a few drinks with our caretaker and jammed with them because they had a guitar. We watched the stars while in the sand.


Early in the morning, Butchick and I played with the water in the beachfront because there were few boats along the coastline. We stayed on the beach for a long time until the time we had to leave the island.

Pearl Watch

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