Camotes Place guide

When visitors travel to Cebu, they usually expect to see a metropolis with a few heritage sites and numerous beach resorts near it, and they are not wrong. If you are the kind of traveler who wants to experience more than just what most every other traveler to this Visayan island experiences, then you should make your way to the small islands that surround the main island of Cebu. One such group of islands that you should consider going to is Camotes.

Located East of Cebu island, Camotes consists of four larger land masses and one islet, namely Poro, Pacijan, Ponson, and Tulang. Exploring these four islands, which are all in the Camotes Sea just north of Bohol, and southwest of Leyte, will have you experiencing a number of nature’s wonders that include the Bukilat Cave, Timubo Caves, and Lake Danao. If you want to bask in the sunlight to get that tan started without crowds and congestion, the quiet beaches of Santiago White beach and Mangodlong are just a couple of the many white sand beaches in the area.  If you are into history and heritage sites, a visit to Poro Church and the Heritage House in Pilar should be added to your list of must-see places.

Apart from the white sandy beaches, and the clear blue waters of these islands, you can also enjoy swimming in the cool waters of Busay Falls and Panganuron Falls, both found on Poro Island. If you want to go around some of these islands by yourself, you can rent a motorcycle from motorbike rental places found there. You can also choose to have a tricycle take you around, with one of the locals driving you to some of the places mentioned earlier.   

Trip Guru advises visitors to check the weather before making any plans to go to Camotes since getting there involves taking a boat. If the weather is windy and very rainy, boat trips can get cancelled. The options you have for getting to Camotes include ferry boats, motorized outrigger boats, and fastcraft. The best time to visit these islands is in the summer, when seas are calm and crossing from the mainland is not a problem. Make sure to bring cash with you since ATM machines are rather scarce on the islands. Prices for accommodations range from P250 per person in a pension house to P6000 for a hotel and resort room.