Marinduque

Marinduque - The Heart of the Philippines

A few months ago, I was planning on a getaway since it was summer months then, and I was stuck at home just reading ramdom stuff online. And then an idea popped out of my mind and I say to myself, how about a weekend adventure to Marinduque.

Summer month of May. One lazy Friday evening. It was 11pm when I got to the JAM Bus Terminal in Kamias, Quezon City, and lucky I was, the bus bound to Dalahican port in Lucena City was about to leave. So I boarded the bus and slept. 2 hours later, I was already in Dalahican port.

Dalahican Port, Lucena City

Onboard Montenegro Ferry

I took some pictures of the port and then bought a ticket from Montenegro shipping lines, since it was the shipping company with the earliest trip. I bought a ticket for a ferry bound to Balanacan port in Mogpog town, Marinduque. By the way, there are 3 major ports in Marinduque. The  Buyabod port in Sta. Cruz town, the Balanacan port in Mogpog town and Cawit port in Boac.

My plan was to travel around the island province of Marinduque, and that is why I choose Balanacan port in Mogpog as my starting point, because I want to travel counterclockwise from the town of Mogpog and ending my travel in the town of Sta.Cruz.

I was supposed to be travelling with some friends but due to some conflicts of schedule and some misunderstanding on the estimated time of departure, I ended up travelling alone. Oh well, it doesn’t really matter because this would be my second solo trip.

Anyway, it was around 7am when the boat arrived in Balanacan port. Finally, a view of Marinduque! And since I just slept in the ferry for the entire 3hour journey, I have the energy to greet and discover the beautiful island province of Marinduque.

Upon arrival at the port, I check for jeepneys bound to Boac. This is my first stop. Boac town is where Moriones festival is being held every Holy Week. The jeepney ride from Balanacan port in Mogpog to Boac  is almost an hour.

Balanacan Port, Mogpog

Mogpog Viewdeck, Balanacan Port

At around 8am, I was already in Boac and taking some photos of the sleepy town. My first stop was the Boac Cathedral. I was supposed to go to some caves in Boac but the locals informed me that it’s kind of far. So after taking some photos of Boac Cathedral and having my breakfast on a small restaurant, I boarded another jeepney bound to the town of Buenavista. This town is known for hot springs and waterfalls, but I decided to just visit the two hotspring near the town center. 


The jeepney ride from Boac to Buenavista is almost an hour. In order for me to get to the hotsprings, I rented a motorcycle for about 100 pesos. The Marinduque hotspring resort is already a developed resort with several pools, hot, warm and cold pools. There are also several rooms and cottages in the resort. I didn’t stay long at the resort so I proceeded to another not-so-developed hotspring nearby. I just checked the pools but I forgot to take pictures of the two pictures. Too bad!

Boac Cathedral

Anyway, after checking on the 2 hotspring, I then proceeded to the next town named Torrijos.  It’s about 1.5hour travel by motorcycle. I was supposed to just ride a jeepney but the locals near the 2 hotspring that I visited informed me that jeepneys bound to Torrijos is scarce during weekends. So I then asked the motorcycle driver if he’s willing to drive and drop me off to Poctoy white beach. We agreed on the price and then off we go to Poctoy white beach.

It was 1pm when we arrived in Poctoy beach. I was really expecting a white sand beach like in Camiguin or Palawan, but the sand in Poctoy was light brown in color. And since it was already noon time when I arrived in Poctoy, I didn’t bother to swim at the beach. Instead, I just indulge myself with cold halo halo, adobong isda and 2cups of rice while enjoying the view of the beach.

Poctoy Beach

After finishing my lunch, I then proceeded to the highway to wait for a jeepney bound to Sta. Cruz town. There are a lot of caves and islands in Sta. Cruz so this is  where I’m planning to stay a bit longer.

After almost an hour waiting, a jeepney bound to Sta. Cruz finally appears. The travel time from Poctoy beach in Torrijos to Sta. Cruz is about an hour also.

At around 3pm, I arrived at the town of Sta. Cruz. I immediately look for motorcycle, tricycle or jeepney that is bound to the caves. However, the locals there informed me that since it’s a weekend, the last trip was 1pm, and if I would be renting a motorcycle it would cost me more than 500 pesos. That was then I decided that I just go to Maniwaya island to spend the night.

I then boarded a tricycle going to Buyabod port in Sta. Cruz and upon arrival, another unlucky notice, they informed me that the last trip going to island already left past noon time. I guess this is unlucky day for me. I was about to return to the town center when I suddenly saw this boat with several passengers boarding. I asked if they are going to Maniwaya island and they said, yes. I immediately boarded the boat and I was kind of wondering why they’re kind of starring at me out of curiosity and only after several minutes of chitchatting I found out that the boat was a rented boat and the passengers rented it because they’re a clan who have just attended a wedding in the nearby barangay.

Lucky for me, they allowed me to join them and they are even sharing to me the foods and drinks that they have in theboat, a typical Filipino hospitality. And another speck of luck, it’s a free ride to Maniwaya island and they even offer their houses for me to stay for the night. But I don’t want them to be bothered by my stay so I just informed them that I’ll be staying in the nearby resort. By the way, the travel time from Buyabod port, Sta. Cruz to Maniwaya island is about 30 to 45 minutes.

Upon arrival at the island, I gave thanks to the family who let me hitch a boat ride and then I proceeded to the nearby resort. After leaving my backpack at one of the cottages, I took some beach photos and sunset and then by around 7pm, I already slept because there’s nothing much to do in the island.

Maniwaya Island, Sta, Cruz

Sunset at Maniwaya Island

Next day, Sunday. The resort owner informed me the night before that the boat trip to Buyabod port is 6am. So I wake up early in the morning. I ate my breakfast, took some photos again and then proceeded to the boat which would bring me back to Buyabod port in Sta. Cruz.

My plan was to proceed to Sta. Cruz caves in the morning but upon arrival at Buyabod port, the locals informed me that the last trip of the ferry bound to mainland Luzon is 9am and if I won’t be able to make it, then I have to go to Balanacan port in Mogpog town which is about an hour and a half jeepney ride. So I then decided not to go to the caves and proceeded to the ticket booth and bought a ticket for a ferry boat bound to Dalahican port in Lucena City.

After 3 hours of ferry ride, I arrived in Lucena City just an hour after lunchtime. And at the port, there are already buses waiting which are bound to Manila. Bus ride from Lucena to Manila was almost 3 hours also since it was daytime plus heavy traffic.

And that ends my Marinduque solo trip adventure. It was fun and challenging due to the fact that transportation is a little bit difficult especially during weekends. JAM transit have buses bound directly to Marinduque. You can inquire at JAM bus for the bus schedule of direct trip from Manila to Marinduque.

Overall, Marinduque is a beautiful province. A not-so-typical vacation spot. But if you’re looking for a nice view and beautiful beach, surely, Marinduque offers the tourist a raw beauty.