Sibuyan Island

Patok na patok ngayon SUMMER !!!

Ang natatagong ganda ng Sibuyan, Island Romblon

Sibuyan Island

Island in the Philippines

Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of 445 square kilometres.

Area: 445 km²

Population: 59,274 (2015)

Province: Romblon

Peak: Mount Guiting-Guiting

Ethnic groups: Sibuyanon (Romblomanon)

Largest settlement: San Fernando (pop. 23,271)

Pop. density: 118.2 /km² (306.1 /sq mi)

Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of 445 square kilometres (172 sq mi). The island has two prominent peaks, Mount Guiting-Guiting with a height of 2,058 metres (6,752 ft) and Mount Nailog with a height of 789 metres (2,589 ft). The people speak the Sibuyanon dialect of Romblomanon, a Visayan language.

Sibuyan has been dubbed by some local and international natural scientists as "the Galápagos of Asia", because it has remained in isolation from the rest of the world since its formation. Never in its geological history has it ever been connected with any part of the Philippine archipelago. Seismic forces pushed up a 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) peak from the earth’s crust, forming a series of smaller peaks and slopes. The peak is Mt. Guiting-Guiting (literally means "the saw-toothed mountain", in reference to its jagged ridge). Because of the steep slopes, much of its original forest remains untouched, and the rest is the island as we find it today.

Primary forests cover 140 square kilometres (54 sq mi), which is 33% of the land area of Sibuyan. However, most of the lower altitude forest has been logged or is secondary. Mt. Guiting-guiting Natural Park (equivalent to the IUCN category of National Park) was established to protect these forests, which are mainly in the centre and north of the island, and covers an area of 157 square kilometres (61 sq mi) out of Sibuyan’s total area of 445 square kilometres (172 sq mi). The park features a scenic landscape with twin towering peaks set amidst closed canopy forests. Its forests remain largely intact, and include the entire elevational gradient from lowland dipterocarp forest (at 200 to 900 m) and mangroves, through montane forest (above 700 m) to mossy forest, heathland and montane grassland around the peaks.

There are several entry points to this island, but all routes are equally challenging. I suggest you allot atleast a week of vacation time to enjoy the place.

Via Ferry
There is no airport in Sibuyan (but local kids told me that the area where we usually jog will be developed as an airport soon. Not sure if its true. Im not putting a bet on it.)

Taking a ferry is the easiest way to get to Sibuyan in my opinion. It requires longer travel time though but taking the plane from one island to another and catching the unregulated ferry schedules might take you more time and money so here is a safe advice : plot a longer vacation and take a ferry.

From Manila, take a bus to Batangas Port.

From Batangas, you can ride a ferry going to the island. Travel time via ferry is approx 17-23 hours. Most ships set sail around 5PM so its going to be an overnight trip.

I can only recommend those that I’ve tried so you can either take MV Annabel or MV Grand Unity/MV Grand Venture (Navios Shipping Line). Updated Apr 2016: I tried  the 2Go Romblon Port to Magdiwang Sibuyan route and is by far the fastest (and the most comfortable) route going to the island so I’m sharing that schedule to you first.

1. 2Go Shipping Lines.

You can book your ferry ride from their website: travel.2go.com.ph

Search for the schedule from Batangas Port to Romblon (Capital City) – fare is around P1000  t0 P3000 depending on the room type. You will aboard St. Anthony de Padua.

Travel time is less than 9hours. Ship will depart Batangas Port at 10pm and will reach Romblon Port at 6AM. Once you arrived at Romblon Port (capital city) , you still need to catch another Ferry Ride going to Sibuyan Island. From the map below, Romblon Port is located at the small island between Tablas (left) and Sibuyan (right).

From Romblon port (capital city), you need to transfer to another ferry named MV Querubin. MV Querubin travels between Romblon Port and Sibuyan atleast 3 hours so make sure to check their schedule.

MV Querubin will drop you off at Magdiwang Port. From their, you can charter a jeep or tricycle to take you anywhere in the island. Note that Magdiwang to San Fernando is roughly about 3-4 hours away.

2. MV Annabel – cheapest at P760 for an air conditioned bunk. They depart from Batangas twice a week (Thursday and Saturday) going to Azagra Port.

MV Annabel
Departs from Batangas to Azagra Port, Sibuyan
Schedule (BAT to SIB) : Thurs and Sat| 5PM
Schedule (SIB to BAT): Fri and Sun | 11AM  (schedules going back to Manila is abit erratic, so my suggestion is get a port personnel’s contact info and text them to confirm schedule)
Rate : P640
Contact Info : None. No reservations are entertained. You need to be early in Batangas port to get a ticket.

2. MV Grand Unity or MV Grand Venture – is slightly bigger than MV Annabel with better airconditioned bunks.  Fare starts from P950 (economy), P1200 (deluxe) and P1450 (cabin).

MV Grand Unity/Venture (Navios)
Departs from Batangas Port to Cajidiocan Port, Sibuyan
Schedule (BAT to SIB) : Wed, Friday and Sunday | 5PM
Schedule (SIB to BAT): Monday, Thurs atnd Sat | 11AM
Contact Number : 0908 146 2243. You can also check their facebook page, Navios Shipping Line

1. via Tablas Island – As of writing, Tugdan Airport is operational and Philippine Airlines (PAL) carries flight to and from Manila-Tugdan atleast twice a week. I recommend you use Skyscanner for faster search of flights. Fare is approx P5000 oneway.

From Tablas Airport, you need to go to Odiongan port the earliest, as you need to take a ferry to Sibuyan. The early (and probably the only ferry I can search that travels from Odiongan to Azagra is MV Querubin) Entry point to Sibuyan Island is either via Azagra Port or Cajidiocan. Travel time from Tablas to Sibuyan via ferry is around 4-6 hours.

2. Via Boracay – from Kalibo, you can take a bus to Roxas City, Capis (P120). Once youre in Roxas, take a tricycle to Culasi port. From Culasi port, you can get a multicab or walk your way to the area where boats going to Sibuyan are docked. Yes, boats. Pumpboats. Boats are scheduled daily but I dont have the exact schedule for each trip. Travel from Roxas City to Sibuyan is around 8 hours.

1. Sanctuary Garden Resort – starts at 250/person for a dorm type room.
Contact them thru their website at
http://sanctuarygardenresort.com.ph/

This is the only accommodation I have seen personally and the place is vibrant, homey and really close to nature. This is also the most recommended accommodation in the island so its best to get early reservation. It is located in Magdiwang which is about 30 mins from Mt G2’s National Park entrance.

2. The Boat House – one of the accommodation that I consider visiting in the future.
Contact them thru Facebook at facebook.com/sibuyanboathouse

3. Sea Breeze Inn – a small accommodation by the pebbled beach of San Fernando.
600/ day good for 2pax. Contact number: 09212116814

There is a community page in facebook that is a good reference/resource about the island’s tourism. Like their page here : https://m.facebook.com/RomblonIslands/

Have you been to Sibuyan? Share your thoughts and experiences. I would love to know about them!

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