and our destination...MARARISON Island in Culasi Antique.(yey!!)
Culasi, one of the municipalities in the province of Antique is about a 5 hours trip from Iloilo, so we decided to have a stop over/ side trip at Bugasong, also one of the municipalities in Antique since we want to arrive at our destination early! The heat of the sun will be scorching if we will start swimming at noon!
While at Bugasong, we also had the chance to visit Villa Apostol Mountainview Resort and Prayer Garden in Barangay Zaragosa (pictures on my next post ;))
We planned on leaving early in the morning from Bugasong since it is only around one hour and thirty minutes away from Culasi. We left at around 6 am and arrive at 7:30 am. (exactly)
Upon arrival, we went to their tourist center where we paid for the environmental fee and terminal fee.
**senior citizens and children under 7 years old are free.**
After paying for the environmental fee and terminal fee, we were directed to go to the group of boat operators and we were the one who transacted with them. We were reminded to keep our receipt as it might need to be checked upon our arrival at the island.
Environmental fee = php 20
Terminal fee = php 10
The boat fare = php150 for adults and senior citizens
= php50 for children under seven years old.
We brought a car and parked it near the port the whole day for only php15.
The fare (php150) already includes back and forth fare and island hopping. We were provided with lifejacket (though not everyone has since we were too many)
(actually, we did not really go to another island, but we just circumnavigated the island) for around 10-15 mins.)
Boat travel is 15-20 mins but it seems short to us as we were busy picture taking and fascinating ourselves with the very nice view and crystal clear water along the way!
When we arrived at the island, there there were already a lot of cottages available. Prices vary depending on the size of the cottage.
Big cottage =php500
Small cottage=php300
**the caretaker said that they allow overnight occupancy of the cottages for an additional php200, but to those who prefer homestay, there are locals who accomodate for php250 per guest.
For the food, we decided to bring our foods and snacks, but we did took advantage of being able to eat fresh fish sold in the small stalls nearby. They sold it at a very reasonable price. There are locals who can cook (grill) the fish for php100, but we decided to grill our own food (we rented the grille for only php50).
The kids really enjoy swimming at the beach and playing with the sand. I brought a sand molder so they will have fun playing with the white sand! I also encouraged them to pick some shells as we can make it into something later!
They also had fun chasing the fishes swimming near the seashore. It will really be good if you will bring them googles or snorkel. I allowed them to stay under the sun as long as long as they want, so it's very important to put on sunblock (I used
Beach Hut Kids Max 100 spf).
Mararison was dubbed as little Batanes of Panay, and according to the locals we met, our trip will not be complete if we won't be able to hike. They have a no tour guide, no hike policy, so we hired an Island guide (Oray Salvador, who a very energetic lady).
Tour guide fee costs php200 per 5 persons (php40 per head).
Trekking took around an hour (back and forth), but can be longer if you want to explore more! We were lucky since May is Duhat/Lomboy season. There were so many Duhat/Lomboy trees along the way and our tour guide said that we are allowed to pick some fruits.
We chose not to brings kids during the trekking as we might end up carrying them ;) But kids (bigger ones) can also enjoy it as the trail is not very steep.
Also, it will be a good way to expose them to the many plants (unusual to me), along the way! They have lots of pitcher plant and it's my first time to see these carnivore plant. This might be the reason why they don't have much mosquitoes in the Island ;) (we asked some locals if there are insects if we choose to stay overnight with kids)
We also went to the cave and swim in the nearby water where we were really thrilled to see colorful fishes of different kinds!
I am really glad that we were able to arrange this trip... Will definitely be back again ;)
