We booked a flight to Kalibo for our anniversary. The original plan was to visit Boracay only but because I went there two times already, we decided to visit Antique too. Just a 2-hour drive from Kalibo.
How to get there?
By air:
The nearest airports are Caticlan, Kalibo, Roxas, and Iloilo with dozens of daily flights both domestic and international. Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, AirAsia, and Tiger Airways are offering flights from major cities in the country. Example: Manila, Cebu, and Clark.
By land and sea:
From Cubao to Batangas port is approximately 4 hours depending on the traffic and another 9 hours of ferry ride from Batangas to Caticlan. Boats are traveling from parts of the country to Caticlan. From Mindoro, Romblon, Bacolod, Cagayan De Oro, Puerto Princesa, Cebu City. Please check:
While I am doing our itinerary, Ian had second thoughts about visiting Antique because of the creepy stories there. But after this trip, he’s the one who fell in love more in Antique. LOL. He also told me that he enjoyed Antique more than Boracay because of the relaxing ambiance and peace there unlike in Boracay, too many people on the beach. But don’t get us wrong, we enjoyed Boracay too. The beach is amazing. There’s no question about that. We did parasailing there and that’s the highlight of our trip to the island.
Because we have four exciting days to enjoy, we decided to visit these places respectively:
Day 1: Mararison Island, Culasi, Antique
Day 2: Boracay Island, Aklan
Day 3: Tibiao, Antique
Day 4: Flight back to Manila
Our trip to Culasi and Tibiao was separated because we already booked our hotel accommodation in Boracay so we can’t cancel it anymore. Three months before our trip, I am searching for a reliable tour guide throughout our trip. At first, we want it DIY but as time goes by, I saw a post on DIY Travel Philippines about a trusted and recommended tour guide in Antique. So I went to visit this person’s FB account and messaged him. And then, we met Kuya Carlito Amar.
ABOUT ANTIQUE
This is in the Western Region in the Philippines. The capital of Antique is San Jose, the most populous town. The local dialect use there is Kinaray-a. They can speak and understand English and Filipino, too. The word karay-a comes from the word iraya which means “mountain dwellers”.
MODE OF TRANSPORTATION
In Antique, there are only motorbikes, tricycles, vans, and buses.
TOUR PACKAGE
So our tour package cost 2,195 PHP each for Tibiao & Mararison Island. This includes:
- Environmental fee
- Accommodation in Tibiao & Mararison Island
- Kawa hot bath
- Tour in Tibiao
- Tour guide in Mararison Island
- Boat transportation
Except FOOD! 🙂
As per Kuya Carlito, he requires 10% DP for securing the reservation. You can send money through any remittance center.
FB Account: Carlito Amar
Contact number: 09264252926
Since we got to Kalibo Airport at 12:00 NN, we first had our lunch at Bagobos Resto Grill. For as low as 80 pesos, you are good to go! It is located just outside the Airport. There are other carinderias around the vicinity.
After eating, we went ahead to Ceres Bus Terminal to Culasi. The bus left at the terminal around 2:00 PM so the itinerary got lost already. LOL. We reached Culasi around 4:30 PM and from Culasi Terminal, we met Kuya Carlito and started the tour.
MARARISON ISLAND
Day 1
Around 4:30 PM, we went straight to Culasi Port. By boat, we went to Mararison Island. The boat ride to the island is only 10 to 15 minutes from the port.
We arrived at Mararison Island at exactly 5:00 PM. We first registered our names at the registration booth. After that, we went to our accommodation which happened to be the house of the sister of the barangay captain on the island. We were lucky indeed!
We owned the house! Yep! We just gave an extra 200 PHP for the generator because the electricity runs only from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
What even made this house more relaxing? Every corner of the house has bible verses! Even in the bathroom! AHA! Look at this sample.
We left our bags in the room. Then we went out to explore the island and wait for the sunset.
The island is amazing. Very breathtaking!!! Plus it also has the perfect sunset! Ugh, we’re so blessed to experience the sunset here! <3
We went back to our accommodation to rest for a while and get ready for dinner. By the way, the house is just near to the beach. Just a minute walk. For our dinner, we just told Ate Maribel Dayo (the owner of the house) to cooked something for us. Of course, we pay her.
Contact: 09304599265
Around 7:00 PM, Kuya Carlito said that the dinner is ready. And what’s for dinner? Sinigang na Isda & Fried Fish! My favorite! And surprisingly, the food was so delicious!!! Sadly, I don’t have a pic of it. But yeah, it was good, really good.
So after eating, we just watched TV, freshen up, and get ready for sleep *we really needed because day 1 was really tiring*. Excited for tomorrow because we will have a morning trek. Yay!
Day 2
We woke up around 5:30 AM, I guess? Kuya Carlito slept around the sala but unfortunately, he’s still asleep when we woke up so we just had our breakfast first at our room and get ready for the trek.
Around 6:30 AM, Ate Maribel introduced Ate Inday (our tour guide). I definitely recommend her if you’re going for a trek because she’s not boring *hehe*.
The trek lasted for only an hour. *Though I think it was slower than the usual hehe.* I was happy because I finished it! HAHA. I was about to quit when we were about to reach the summit but Ian pushed me, so yeah! I still made it! LOL.
While trekking, Ate Inday introduced us to the famous plant here in Mararison Island. It is called Pitcher Plant because obviously, it looks like a pitcher.
NOTE: Guys, don’t you dare pick it! Taking pictures/videos are only allowed! 🙂
I was move when we saw students along the trek going to school. Yes, the students walked for hours to get to school. There is only one school on the island. The secondary schools are located in the city proper (Culasi) that needed boat ride.
And at last! We made it to the summit. Ugh, guys! The view is amazing! I thanked God for His wonderful creations! Sharing some pictures of us at the summit.
After we went back to our room, we prepared our things and took a bath. Unfortunately, we didn’t have an opportunity to swim because we ran out of time. Huhu. Around 10:00 AM, we left the beautiful island. We promised ourselves that we will go back here because it is really beautiful! Yaaaaaaas!
We stayed at Boracay Backpackers. Guys, this hotel is very affordable and I recommend it to all. The staff were very accommodating! We got our room for only 1,300 PHP for one night with FREE breakfast! Good deal, right? We grab this from Traveloka. Plus, the hotel is just a minute walk to the beach! AHA!
My bad that I didn’t have a pic from the hotel but go try it guys! We had a good stay there. We arrived at Boracay around 3:00 PM. After checking in, we just rest for a while and freshen up. After that, we explore the island and got some refreshing drinks. Of course, don’t forget to try Jonah’s Fruitshake and Snackbar.
We got to experience the sunset in Boracay, too. What an amazing experience! Boracay sunset, I will never get tired of you! Ugh.
After that, we just had our dinner and got back to our hotel and rest.
We woke up early morning to have our free breakfast from the hotel. After that, we were ready for an adventure! Yaaas! We will go parasailing!!! We got it for only 1,200 PHP each.
Contact number: 09153163202
After that, we got back to our hotel and get ready for check out! We will go back to Antique. This time, in Tibiao! Yay.
TIBIAO
Day 1
We arrived at Barangay Importante around 4:00 PM already. From there, we met Kuya Carlito again. Hehe. He will drop us in La Escapo Lodge, our accommodation in Tibiao.
We registered first before going to La Escapo. We didn’t pay anything because it was already included in our tour package from Kuya Carlito. We arrived at La Escapo around 5:00 PM and first, we put our bags in our kubo and explore the place.
We were so excited to try the famous Kawa Hot Bath so we went down where the Kawa is located to check. Hehe.
The view is the Tibiao River. What a nice view we had. This view made us more excited. Hehe.
The electricity runs regularly. No need for a generator. Hehe. What made this accommodation more relaxing? You can hear the river flows. Ugh, that’s very relaxing!
After exploring, we went back to our room and get ready for dinner. They have a menu inside so you can order. We had adobo, grilled liempo, and iced tea for only 240 PHP. The food were good! Again, I didn’t have a picture of it but they cooked well! Very good for that! After having our dinner, we just freshen up and get ready ourselves to sleep.
Day 2
After breakfast, while the boy prepares our kawa, we took more pictures of the place.
We even went down to take some pictures with the Tibiao River. Hehe. The water is so freaking cold! Waaaa. As in!
The long wait is over. We finally tried the famous Kawa Hot Bath! It felt good and relaxing. The happiest part is we can stay as long as we want to because there are no other people in the place.
Bucket list checked!
I’ll be honest, I don’t wanna leave the kawa because it was freaking good! Huhuhu. But we need to prepare our things because you know, flight back to Manila. 🙁
We just took a bath and had our lunch. We had chicken inasal with 4 rice (hehe) for lunch for only 190 PHP. Before saying goodbye to Antique, Kuya Carlito took us to some wonderful places in Tibiao.
After that, we headed straight to Brgy. Importante to wait for a bus going to Kalibo. Huhu. Mixed emotions but the memories and experiences we had were one for the books! Yup. Excited for more travels like these!
Look! What a wonderful view while we were in the plane going back to Manila.
We arrived in Manila around 7:00 PM and went home at 10:00 PM. Huhu I’m really back in Manila! Traffic ugh. So I just freshen up and had a much-needed rest because you know, back to work again. Hehe.
#THTPHtravels