(DIY) Cheap tour at the Hundred Islands National Park - Pt1

During my school days, we are taught about beautiful sceneries in the Philippines. I always saw them whenever my grade school teachers required us to bring posters or postcards. Some of them are displayed inside the classroom. During those years, I dreamed about visiting all this wonderful place. And this dream is slowly about to turn into reality when I got the chance to visit one of them - the Hundred Islands.

Hundred Islands National Park, located at Barangay Lucap Alaminos, Pangasinan has a total islands of 124 during low tide and 123 during high tide. These protected islands are scattered in Lingayen Gulf and has around 1844 hectares. (Thanks Google!)

How did we get there? From Shaw, ride a bus going to Five Star terminal in Cubao. From the terminal, ride a bus bound to Alaminos. You have two bus options, ride an air-conditioned or an ordinary bus. Our group chose the ordinary bus because we have a limited budget for this trip. The fare is P300 (as of January 2015) per head. Based on my observation, choosing ordinary bus going to Alaminos will take about 5-6 hours travel time because of two stops over and traffic. We arrived at Five Star terminal Alaminos around 1:45 pm. Outside the bus terminal, a lot of tricycle drivers will offer you a ride going to the Hundred Islands. But always use your chartering skill to get a fair amount. Ride a tricycle going to Lucap Wharf – that is the gateway to the Hundred Islands. The fare we had is P20 each (as of January 2015).

Upon arriving at Lucap, a lot of boatmen offer us a tour and island hopping. You will notice a lot of transient and cheap accommodation around the place. For us, we decided to drop by at one of the houses that offer room accommodation. The room rate is P1600 good for 4-5 pax. Since we cannot think straight because of empty stomach, we decided to eat before chartering. During that time, we are still puzzled if we will have room accommodation or stay overnight on a certain island. After a few minutes of brainstorming, we chose the island. The good thing, the woman we asked is so hospitable even we did not chose to avail the accommodation. She instead offer us a cheap boat rental. She immediately introduces the two kind boatmen to us.

Where to eat?

We decided to eat at Maxine by the sea restaurant. I love the restaurant because it has sea deck that serves as one of their dining areas. The deck has 180 degree view of the Hundred Islands.

This is what we ordered. Good for sharing!

But if you want to eat in carindirias, there are also a few of them at Lucap Wharf near tourism. Just ask the locals where it is located.

Let the tour begin!

After we eat, we meet our boatmen and start chartering. [Hint] The cost of a boat varies on number of people, overnight or day tour and regular or service boat. For day tours it cost P40. Since we are going to stay overnight, we paid P2000 for the boat. After chartering, we settle first the environmental fee that cost P80 per head/overnight at tourism.We also rented tent with the inclusion of blanket and pillows that cost P600. It was around 4pm when everything is settled. One of the Barangay kagawad makes sure of our safety. He gave his number just in case of any trouble once we decided to stay overnight at one of the undeveloped island. He advises our boatmen to never leave and protect us for any unnecessary event that may come. 

Governors Island

Governors Island is one of the developed islands. One of the main attractions here is the island-to-island Zipline. It has a length of 546 meters and height of 450 ft above sea level. From Governors Island, you will cross the magnificent sea and land at Virgin Island. If you want to try Zipline, you need to pay P250 (as of 2015) at tourism area upon paying your environmental fee.

View from the view deck of Governors Island.

Helloooo Pangasinaaan! :)

Marcos Island

Our next stop is the Marcos Island. Lots of locals and foreigners are enjoying the pristine sand when we were there. 

There is no doubt that this island is one of the favorite islands of tourists and locals because of its one main attraction - cliff jumping at Imelda cave.

According to Kuya Jovit (our boatman), the height of the water is around 25 -30 feet tall.

During high tide, the shoreline of Marcos Island is narrow which gives you a little space to enjoy the sand. Moreover, cottages are available if you plan to have lunch or stay there overnight.

Quezon Island

We arrived at Quezon Island around 5:30 pm. I notice that there are lots of visitors in the place who already pitching their tents. If you want to stay overnight on this island, you are required to pay P200. Not bad for having a security around the island because of Bantay dagat is protecting the area. 

Like Governors Island, another attraction here is the Zipline.

Lopez Island

Since there are a lot people in Quezon Island, we chose to camp at the beachfront of Lopez Island. This island is located just in front of Quezon Island. The thing about staying overnight on an undeveloped island is that, there is no security around the place. Also, there are no electricity and source of clean water on it.

Hello morning!

Friends enjoying the water and the beach!

For more information about our stay in Lopez Island, follow the link here.

Other Islands and Islets

Inside the cave of Cuenco Island

After a long day of swimming and you want to clean yourself, there is a public toilet in Lucap Wharf. Also, there are a lot of vendors selling souvenirs and delicacies. 

Side story: Our original plan is to climb Mt. Gulugod baboy and I will guide my friends to start their first ever hike. But it seems that the weather was not so coordinating the night before our trek so we decided to go somewhere else in the northern part of Luzon where the storm will not strike. And that’s the start of the whole unexpected adventure/story :)

I had a great start this year! My friends and I had a lot of fun and unforgettable experience in one of the iconic place in the Philippines. Another first for me!

Breakdown of expense:

Cubao to Alaminos – P600 rountrip

Tricycle going to Lucap Wharmp – P40 roundtrip

Environmental Fee – P80/overnight

Boat rental – P500/pax (group of 4 and overnight)

Tent Rental – P150/pax (group of 4)

Public toilet – P5