Alibijaban Island and Busay Falls

May 24-26, 2014

Have you ever seen an odd-looking, protozoa-shaped island in the Philippines? I have. It's that little island in San Andres, Quezon which has a name that is not so easy to pronounce, Alibijaban (A-li-bi-ha-ban) Island.

This little island first interested me a year ago due to its shape and it's not a popular tourist destination yet. I have long wanted to go here and luckily one of my travel buddies arranged a trip for this.

Alibijaban is located at the tip of Quezon and from the San Andres port going to the island, you can already see Mt. Mayon and Burias Island in Masbate. You are almost in the Bicol area. That's how far you have to travel to get to this island.

The group met at Shell Ayala-EDSA, ride a hired van and left at around 11pm. We arrived at San Andres port (the jump-off point to Alibijaban) at around 7am. It took us 8 hours but it could have only been 6 hours if we didn't get lost along the way. Instead of taking the Pan-Philippine National Highway/ Maharlika Highway where a lot of road construction is going on, we took the road less traveled to save time. We went thru the Pitogo-Catanauan-Mulanay route but ironically, we got lost and spent more time finding our way out before finally reaching San Andres port.

Alibijaban Island is that little orange dot in the map

Upon arriving at San Andres port, we ate our breakfast at the Frank's burger stand located at the port and then we rode the boat to Alibijiban. As you can see here, the boat was not as big as those used in Calaguas because the island is just around 15 minutes away from the port. The waves are calm and even if you are still in the deep part of the sea, you can already see the bottom. The water is just so clear!

The little boat where we rode

When we were alighting from the boat, these kids were smiling at us as if welcoming us to their island. They were just so warm.

Kids welcoming us

In the island, there was a nipa hut where we placed our things. We immediately set up our tent and then just bummed out. The place was just so relaxing. I felt like I was in a far, far away land. Away from all the hustle and bustle of the city life. I love the place.

This was the view of the beach from our nipa hut

While waiting for the other half of the group, my boyfriend went snorkeling in the area. He saw this and initially he thought it was a sea snake but actually it's not. One of our friends said that it was a pipe fish but to me it looks like a sea cucumber.

The clear waters of Alibijiban would have been a perfect 10/10 if not for these sea urchins. There were A LOT of them and their long spikes are scary.

When it was around 10am the other half of the group arrived. We hired a boat and roamed around the island. Here's a sneak peak of their waterworld.

 

 

In this picture, you can see the crystal clear waters of Alibijaban. It was just so beautiful and amazing. How come not all beaches in the Philippines have this clear waters? It really looks like a pool! This place is special.

After snorkeling, we went to a sand bar in the island. This sand bar can also be reached by walking for an hour or so from the mainland. It's a nice place for some photo-ops.

Mangroves were very abundant  in the place

After snorkeling, we had our lunch and bummed out again. When it was sunset, we walked by the beach and took some photos.

As the sun was setting, we fell asleep at the beach. When we woke up, it was already dark and they were having dinner. After dinner, I fell asleep under one of the trees in the beachfront. It was funny because I was so tired that even if my travel friends were having socials near me, I wasn't bothered. I was in deep slumber. After an hour or so, my boyfriend woke me up and made me sleep in the tent. I woke up at around 4am and the stars were all over the sky. I haven't seen such a clear sky in a while now. It was just so beautiful. What more could I ask for from this island? It is indeed the perfect getaway.

SIDETRIP:
We left the island at around 9am, I think. They suddenly thought of doing a side trip to Busay Falls in Banaba.

We didn't expect for the trip to Busay Falls to be challenging yet we made it through. It was approximately an hour and a half from San Andres town to the falls via van. The road was unpaved and full of rocks so the van had a hard time going there. However, you can hire a motorcycle or habal-habal. It costs 50php each person for the ride to the falls. Our van parked after the bridge and then we trekked for a kilometer until we reached the falls. When I saw the falls, I was like. "WOOOOW!"

There were no accommodation in Busay Falls but there's an environmental fee of 10php/head. We just changed our clothes in one of the hospitable houses in town.

*THE END*

Tips:
1. You can reach this island by:
    a.) riding a bus going to Lucena Grand Terminal and then ride another bus going to San Andres. Trips to San Andres starts from 5am and last trip is at 8pm or;
    b.) riding a Superlines bus bound to San Andres. Travel time might be 9hours or so even in an aircon bus.
2. For boat rides, better be at the port before 10am as that's the time boat rides are readily available.
3. There are no accommodations/houses in the island so better bring your own tent/hammock for a place to stay; or you may just sleep under one of the trees in the beach front there like what some of my friends did.
4. They use solar panels to have electricity so we didn't ask if we can use their electricity to charge our gadgets. Nakakahiya naman. Better bring your own powerbanks.
5. We brought our own drinking water to the island. I'm not sure if there are available source there. It's best to just buy in San Andres Market before going to Alibijaban. We also brought to the island the food that we would eat for our whole stay there.
6. There's a clean and covered C.R. in the beach front.
7. A day in the island is enough to roam around.
8. Safe budget would be 2000php.
9. Last but not the least, keep in mind that you are a visitor in their island. Respect their place. Behave yourself.