Ariara Island, Palawan. Another island making it to the international scene.

As you all know, this island located in the remote part of Palawan, has been named as one of the top 100 Best Holidays in Vogue-UK Magazine. This exclusive island or should I say high-class expensive resort is located in the area called Linapacan in Calamian Group of Islands. Now, this Philippine destination being named as a top destination on a known magazine is something that we Filipinos should be proud of. This could mean a free advertisement for Philippine tourism. Even though, I know, a lot of us Filipinos can’t afford to stay in this expensive resort, still, we should be proud that this island is getting an international recognition as a top destination.

Picture from  www.ariaraisland.com

I searched for some information regarding the resort and as I expected, this resort has that exclusivity. Only 18 guests are allowed to stay at the resort and you will need to pay for the entire resort. That means, you’ll have the entire island for you and for your friends or for your 17 other companion. You’ll have the entire island for partying and swimming, and snorkelling and just getting your tan. I checked their websites and here are their rates:

Ariara resort rates. Click for a larger view

Ariara resort rates. Click for a larger view

For the rates, all I can say is “what the heck!” It’s so freakin expensive for an average earning guy like me! Whoooooa! to the highest level! Hehehe! That’s about more than 200,000 pesos per night to stay in the island. That’s $295 per person per night and multiplied it by 17 or 18. Or if you’re only 8 in the group, that means paying 18,000 pesos per person per night. Well, you’ll be renting the entire island, so that means you’ll have the privacy that you want. But for me, since I don’t have that kind of money, I’ll just stay at some of the cheap but beautiful islands around the country. I know there are a lot of other beautiful islands in the country where I don’t need to spend that much, but for sure the amenities are not the same. So anyway, the thing is, we should be proud of our country because we are blessed with several thousand beautiful islands. What we should do is to take good care of our beautiful country and learn to appreciate what we have.

For more information, you can check their website at www.ariaraisland.com

Cocoro Island and Tagauayan Island of Magsaysay town, Palawan.

Magsaysay town is one of the towns in the Cuyo Group of Islands. This group of island is located between Palawan and Panay Island. Cuyo is known for the luxurious Amanpulo Resort. The town of Magsaysay is not your typical tourist destination. Only few people brave to visit this far island municipality. But braving the long sea travel and braving some of the sea waves would definitely rewards you with a stunning view of this beautiful municipality. This town has a lot of beautiful places and islands. The town is a sleepy town. It doesn't have much of an urban feel. It doesn’t have large supermarkets, restaurants or middle-size resorts. In fact, only few resorts and establishments that cater to tourists exist in this town. The neighboring town of Magsaysay is the town of Cuyo. These two towns are located on the main island of the Cuyo Group of Islands.

cocoro island, magsaysay,palawan

the location of magsaysay, palawan

If you want to visit the town of Magsaysay, you’ll need to travel on a ship from Iloilo City or from Puerto Princesa City. Two shipping companies ply the route Iloilo City-Cuyo-Puerto Princesa City. One is Montenegro Shipping Line and the other one is Milagrosa Shipping Line. The Montenegro has a larger ship plying this route and they have a much faster travel time compared to Milagrosa Shipping Line. When we travelled to Cuyo from Iloilo City, we rode the Montenegro ship and it took us 12 hours to reach Cuyo. And then going back to Iloilo City from Cuyo, we rode the Milagrosa ship and it took us almost 15 hours before we reached the port of Iloilo. From Cuyo port, you still need to ride a jeepney or a tricycle bound for Magsaysay. The town is about 20 to 30 minutes travel from Cuyo port.  There is an airport in Magsaysay but only private planes use this airport and mostly the airport is being used by airplanes delivering fresh seafood to Metro Manila.

Cuyo Airport located at Magsaysay, Palawan

Cuyo port

One of the destinations in Magsaysay town is the Quijano beach. This beach is famous for kite surfing and wind surfing. In order to reach this beach, you’ll be travelling through rough roads and barangay roads. Another destination is the Cocoro Island. This island is a big island with a several families living in the island. The island can be reach via a 30 to 45 minutes boat ride from a small port in Magsaysay. I forgot about the name of the port but it is a little bit far from the town center of Magsaysay. It’s about 15 to 20 minutes tricycle ride from the town center of Magsaysay. From this port, you can already see the islands of Magsaysay. Cocoro Island boasts a cream-colored sand beach, not really a white sand but somewhat more of a dirty white in color. The island doesn’t have a modern resort but there are some open cottages near the community.

cocoro island, magsaysay town, palawan

the port in magsaysay

Quijano beach

Another beautiful island in Magsaysay is Tagauayan Island. This is just a 20 minute boat ride from its neighbouring island, the Cocoro Island. Only few families live in this island. There are no resorts and only a couple of stores are located in the island. The island has a few hundred meters of white-sand beach. There’s also a marine sanctuary in the island where you can swim and snorkel but there’s a part in the island where the current is a bit strong and you need to be a good swimmer to brave that part of the island. There are other islands in Magsaysay but weren’t able to explore them since we were on a tight schedule and the waves are a bit rough going to the other islands.

tagauayan island, magsaysay town, palawan

tagauayan island, magsaysay town, palawan

So far, this town could surely surprise you when it comes to its beauty. They have beautiful beaches, a laid back atmosphere, a green surroundings and it’s a cheap place to enjoy the beach. It may be hard to reach and to travel to this island municipality but if you’re an adventurous person and you don’t care much of not having to stay on a 5, 4 or 3 star resort, then for sure you’ll enjoy and you will have a wonderful time in this simple town.

Milagrosa Fare matrix

montenegro ferry bound for cuyo and puerto princesa

How to get to Magsaysay:

If you have a budget, then you can charter a flight going directly to Magsaysay town. This town has a small airport that can accommodate small aircraft.

If you don’t have that large amount of budget, then you can just ride a Cebu Pacific, AirPhilippines, Philippine Airline and ZestAir plane bound for Iloilo City. And then from Iloilo City port, ride a Montenegro or Milagrosa ship bound for Puerto Princesa. The port in Iloilo City for Puerto Princesa-bound ships is different from the port for those vessels that are bound for Bacolod and Guimaras. Just tell the tricycle driver to drop you off at the port for Puerto Princesa-bound ship. The Puerto Princesa-bound ship will have a stopover at Cuyo port before proceeding to Puerto Princesa. The travel time is 12 to 15 hours. And then from Cuyo port, ride a tricycle or a jeepney bound for Magsaysay. The travel time is 20 to 30 minutes.

location of magsaysay town, palawan

location of magsaysay town, palawan

You can also reach Magsaysay via Puerto Princesa. Ride a plane bound for Puerto Princesa and then from Puerto Princesa, ride a Montenegro or Milagrosa ship bound for Iloilo City. These ships will also have a stopover at Cuyo port. This is a much longer route compared to the Iloilo City-Cuyo route.