Balatan, Camarines Sur. The Summer Capital of Rinconada District

If you’re not from the Rinconada District of Camarines Sur, I’m pretty sure that you’re not familiar about this town. Balatan town is one of the town in the 5^th district of Camarines Sur.  This is the summer capital of the Rinconada. A lot of people flock to this town to swim on its beach. The town has a lot of resort. It doesn’t boast any white sand beach or a diving spot but this is a popular spot for swimming for people residing in the 5^th district of CamSur since this is the nearest beach that they can go and swim. 

the view from the Balatan fishport

On a lazy Sunday morning, I was having that dilemma of choosing which place to explore. I want to explore the Consocep Resort located at Tigaon town because it boasts 3 magnificent waterfalls, and I also want to explore Balatan because this is the only town in Camarines Sur that I’ve never been to. There are about 35 municipalities and 2 cities in Camarines Sur and I’ve already been to the 2 cities and 34 municipalities. So I decided then to choose Balatan so that I can finally tell to the world that I’ve already been to all the municipalities and cities of my home province, the Camarines Sur.

So on that early Sunday morning, I packed my bag and rode a tricycle bound for downtown Iriga City. It’s just a 5 to 10 minutes ride from our house. I then ride a bus bound for the town of Nabua. It’s another 10 minutes ride from Iriga City to Nabua. I then proceeded to the LCC transport terminal to ride a jeepney bound for Balatan. The LCC transport terminal is near the town church. LCC is a mall in Nabua.

Balatan Public Market

Municipal hall of Balatan

The jeepney was already about to leave and it was already full so I have no choice kaya sumabit na lang ako. I was thinking na okay na din ang nasa labas ako at nakasabit sa jeepney so that I have a full view of the scenery going to Balatan. The road to Balatan is well-paved except for the remaining 5 kilometers before approaching downtown Balatan. It was a dusty road with landslides. And since nakasabit ako sa labas, nalanghap ko lahat ng alikabok. Nilagyan ako ng free face powder ni inang kalikasan.hahaha!

view from the fishport

founder of Balatan town

Kilometer post

Anyway, Balatan town is just around 24 kilometers away from its neighboring town which is Nabua but the road is a winding road, some are mountain roads, so it took us almost an hour to travel from Nabua to Balatan. By the way, the jeepney fare from Nabua to Balatan is 40 pesos. After arriving at downtown Balatan, I took a walking tour. Well, it was almost 10 in the morning and the sun was up at nakakasunog ng balat but since maitim na din ako, dedma na lang.hahaha! I took some pictures of their downtown and then ask some locals about the other destinations in Balatan. I asked if there are waterfalls pero sabi nila mga beach lang daw meron sa Balatan. So after taking some pictures ng downtown at ng municipal hall nila, I took a habal habal ride and proceeded to the nearest beach resort.  The beach resort was located at Coguit Balatan which is about 10 minutes ride from the downtown. Fare is 10 pesos only.

Balatan jeepney terminal

Coguit beach, Balatan

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Balatan

The beach at Coguit are brown sand, coarse brown sand and all of the locals that I’ve talked to informed me that all of the beach in Balatan have the same color and texture. Since it was a summer season, there were a lot of people enjoying at the beach. So I just took some pictures of the beach and then left. I took a tricycle ride back to the jeepney terminal and took a jeepney ride back to Nabua. Hindi na ko naligo sa beach kasi there was an emergency family thing na nangyari kya bumalik na agad ako sa Iriga City. So that ends my short stint in Balatan. I think I only spent around 2 hours on that town but it’s still worth it since I was able to roam around downtown Balatan at nakumpleto ko na rin na puntahan ang lahat ng 35 municipalities and 2 cities ng CamSur. By the way, the town is also near Burias Island of Masbate. You can see the island from the fishing port or from the beach in Balatan. Every market day, people from the town of San Pascual of Burias Island, Masbate, travels to Balatan to sell their goods. Burias Island is about 2 to 3 hours boat ride from Balatan.

How to get to Balatan:

By Plane:

Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines have several daily flights to Naga Airport. From Naga Airport, located in the town of Pili, you can ride a bus or a taxi bound for Nabua town. Nabua is about 45 minutes to 1 hour ride from the airport. The bus fare from Pili to Nabua is 40 pesos. And then from downtown Nabua, look for the LCC transport terminal, that's near the town church, and then ride a jeepney bound for Balatan. The travel time from Nabua to Balatan is about an hour. Balatan town is about 24 kilometers away from Nabua.

By Bus:

From Manila, there are several buses bound to Bicol region. Ride a bus that is bound for Legazpi City and then get off at the town of Nabua. And then from Nabua, look for the LCC transport terminal, that's near the town church, and then ride a jeepney bound for Balatan. The travel time from Nabua to Balatan is about an hour. Balatan town is about 24 kilometers away from Nabua. The usual travel time from Metro Manila to Nabua is 8 to 10 hours. There are a number of bus terminals in Cubao, Quezon City, that have buses bound for Tabaco City. There are also bus terminals in Pasay City, near Pasay Rotonda. 

You can also ride a bus bound for Iriga City, which is the neighboring town of Nabua. The travel time from Manila to Iriga City is 8 to 10 hours. From Iriga City, you can ride a bus or a multicab bound for Nabua. The travel time is 10 to 15 minutes and the fare for bus and multicab is 9 pesos only. And then from Nabua, look for the LCC transport terminal, that's near the town church, and then ride a jeepney bound for Balatan. The travel time from Nabua to Balatan is about an hour. Balatan town is about 24 kilometers away from Nabua.

By Train:

The PNR has a regular train schedule for the Manila-Ligao City route. The train departs at Tutuban Station in Manila every 6pm and arrives at Ligao City at around 6am the next day. Ride the train and get off at PNR Iriga City Station. The last station is Ligao City station which is 45 minutes away from Iriga City so be sure to get off at Iriga City. The usual travel time is 10 to 12 hours. From Iriga City, you can ride a bus or a multicab bound for Nabua. The travel time is 10 to 15 minutes and the fare for bus and multicab is 9 pesos only. And then from Nabua, look for the LCC transport terminal, that's near the town church, and then ride a jeepney bound for Balatan. The travel time from Nabua to Balatan is about an hour. Balatan town is about 24 kilometers away from Nabua.