Leyte's Undiscovered Treasure

CEBU, Philippines - From Cebu, Cokaliong and Tagbilaran Ferry have daily trips to Palompon, Sun. 12noon, Mon., Wed. and Fri. 8pm and Tues., Thurs. and Sat. 10 p.m. P426.52 for class A, P349.90 for Class B and P292.47 for Class C. The trip takes four to five hours, depending on the weather situation.

Super Shuttle Ferry also has daily trips at 12:00 pm from Bogo, Cebu to Palompon.

Palompon To Calanggaman

At the Palompon Pier, porters can carry luggage for a few pesos. Tell them to get you a sidecar (locals call it potpot, their means of transportation) and ask to be taken to the Municipal Town Hall. Officials at the Town Hall will assist you with boat rental fees. Boat rentals range from P2, 000 - P3, 000 good for a maximum of 15 persons. It's an hour and 30 minutes boat ride to Calanggaman.

P200 is collected from every visitor, for the maintenance and protection of the island. The place is declared as a marine sanctuary.

A Bantay Dagat volunteer will accompany you in your boat ride. This ensure safety and security among the tourists.

The boat that brings you to the island will be the same boat to bring you back to Palompon. You just need to tell the boatman what time you want him to take you back to the town.

Accomodation

The island itself is uninhabited so if you want to stay overnight, you have to bring your own camping needs, like tents, drinks and food. There are fishermen who frequently visit the island to sell their newly caught fish. These can be cooked as there is a grilling place and an improvised dirty kitchen.

Other Itineraries

While you are in Calanggaman you can also visit the very famous marine sanctuary of Palompon which is called the Tabuk Island. It is a prime ecotourism hotspot because of the diversity of its wildlife.

It has giant fruit bats, migratory birds coming from different countries, clams and a great variety of fish.

You can ask the boatman to take you there. Just add a few hundreds for the gasoline of the boat.

Calanggam is also included in the island hopping activities of a lot of resorts in Malapascua and Bantayan. So if you are planning to go to those places, you can ask them to include Calanggaman in your itinerary.

Calanggaman is a great place for diving, snorkeling, swimming, unwinding, hiking, fishing, dolphin watching and yes, camping!

The island may not be as famous as Boracay, crowded as Puerto Galera, well-developed as El Nido but here you can feel the true spirit of nature. ?

eyte is only known by Filipinos for the historic event that happened during World War II and the famous longest bridge in the Philippines, the San Juanico Bridge.