Get Lost in Polillo Islands

After our Apo Reef Tour, Red and the rest of the group decided to have another tour. 

This time in the islands of Polillo.

How to get there by public transport

Option 1 (Antipolo Route)

Ride either the van or Raymond bus (ordinary) going to Infanta, Quezon situated at Legarda, Manila. Fare in Raymond bus is P205.00 while the fare for the van is P220.00 Travel time using the bus is 6 hours while for the van is 3-4 hours only. Infanta, Quezon is 148 kilometers from Manila while Real, Quezon is 136 kilometers from Manila. 

If you are traveling in a group of 10-15 pax, better hire the van for P2,500.00 (one-way) and contact Sir Herman 0910-980-9755.

Option 2 (Sta. Cruz, Laguna Route)

Ride the aircon bus (either Greenstar or DLTB) en route to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. The terminal can be found in Buendia, Pasay City. The fare from Manila to Sta. Cruz is P140.00 Travel time is 3 hours. From Calamba City to Sta. Cruz, the fare is P61.00 and travel is only 1 hour and 30 minutes. Reaching Sta. Cruz,  board the jeep going to Siniloan for P40.00 and travel time is 1 hour (There is also a van in Pagsanjan directly going to Infanta and travel time is only 1.5 hours; from Sta. Cruz board a jeep to Pagsanjan for P8.00 only). Then, alight in Siniloan and board the jeep going to Real, Quezon. Travel time is 2 hours.  

You can also rent a van from SM Calamba City to Real, Quezon for P4,000.00 and contact Sir Herman 0910-980-9755.

Option 3 (Lucena Route / longest route from Manila)

Ride the bus going to Lucena either in Cubao or Buendia. In Buendia, the bus companies available are Lucena Lines, Jacliner, DLTB or Jam. Travel time from either Buendia or Cubao to Lucena is approximately 4 hours. Fare in Cubao to Lucena is P218.00 and it is 132 kilometers. Fare in Buendia is P209.50 and it is 127 kilometers. Alight at the Lucena Grand Central terminal,and then ride either AH bus or the van going to Infanta, Quezon. Fare in the ordinary bus from Lucena to Real is P158.00 and travel time is 4.5 hours. While the fare in the van going to Real is P200.00 and travel time is 4 hours.

If you are traveling in a group of 10-15 pax, you can rent a van for P4,500 and contact Sir Ryan 0920-260-8471.

Getting the number of the participants for this tour was the primordial problem. Good thing my original travel buddies, Laine, Jayson, Lester, Nikko and Jen were able to give their much needed yes for this tour. 

It has been a while since we had toured together. I think the last one was in Bicol about two years ago. But the feeling of again being with them in this tour was priceless. I missed these guys. They were my former students (Red Chuca was also a former student). 

We have another tour slated on July for MJ Corillo but this tour is a much needed respite for everyone.

Anyway, at the appointed date and time, we met, parted, and arrived in Real, Quezon. We boarded the boat ride to Anawan. Fare was P200.00 and the ride was good for more than 2 hours. There are two stops for the said boat ride. First stop is in Anawan and the second stop is in town itself of Polillo.

Schedule of boat trips from Real to Polillo: 5:20 am; 5:30 am; 6:30 am; 7:30 am; 9:15 am; 10:00 am 

Our boat ride to Anawan was good only for 1 hour and 45 minutes. The boat ride from Anawan to Polillo is good for another 35 minutes.

From Pollilo to Real, the schedule of boat trips are: 4:45 am; 5:00 am; 9:15 am; 11:00 am; 12 noon; 1:00 pm

After the boat ride in Real to Anawan, we boarded the jeepney ride to the heart of Anawan. Travel time was good for 45 minutes. We were hoping to ride at the top of the jeepney (just like in Sagada) but the driver refused our request. Nearing the town, we were informed that there was one passenger who fell from the roof of the jeepney. And there were plenty of electric cables that can drag the passenger down from the top of the jeepney.

Finally, after the bumpy ride, we reached Anawan. There we met our tour organizer and took our breakfast.

Tour organizer

Rommel - 0928-623-8277

Emy - 0907-535-8346

After our sumptuous breakfast, we boarded our boat ride to Anilon Island.

The boat ride to Anilon Island was more or less an hour. And we were greeted with monsoon rains along our ride. Weather was not at its best but we did not mind it. We are here to enjoy! It was cloudy that day.

We reached Anilon Island past 12 noon and we went to our place of stay.

Anilon Island is one of the best islands in Polillo to stay and it has one of the finest white sand beaches. But you can choose from the numerous islands. But Anilon offers fresh water, food, and shelter. You can buy fish here at a very minimal price.

Nelson and I remembered and relived our last tour in Apo Reef. We even remembered Atty. Judy. We were prepared to get intoxicated. 

Everybody was busy pitching their tents or tying their hammocks.

After we are done pitching our tents, we decided to start with our escapade. Explore Polillo!

First stop was Pulong Buhangin!

For me, I think this was the best part of the tour. I enjoyed snorkeling here and the tide was quite shallow. Everybody was  busy either swimming, snorkeling or looking at the corals.

This is the best place to enjoy the beautiful corals of Polillo!

After nearly an hour, we decided to embark to our next destination - Puting Bato.

There were also plenty of corals in the said island but the others were busy exploring the island. I lost my "tsinelas" in the vicinity and Mon was kind enough later on to lend me his spare sandals. 

Last stop was - May Leeg.
This area is abundant with corals and various kinds of fish.

After 3 hours of exploring the islands of Polillo, we decided to head back to Anilon Island and catch the sunset. It was cloudy that day and we were given only a glimpse of the sunset.

The best part of the day was the dinner and the drinking spree! We consumed all the liquors we brought in the island. It was already raining hard when we were having our drinking spree and the weather got worst later. 

We played several parlor games and the unanimous winner was Lester. Mon was very busy that night doing what he does best and his most avid and persistent client was Red Chuca.

Day 2

A lot of us did not sleep well. It rained hard that night. All our tents, hammocks and some of our stuff got wet. But still everybody had high spirits and enthusiastic of what Polillo has left to offer for that day. Jen's clothes got wet. Laine and Jayson also got wet. And I was not able to sleep for the whole night.

After our late breakfast, we decided leave Anilon island and head to the other islands. It took us more than an hour to reach our first destination. Weather was not again on our side. Mother nature was still raining.

Add caption

This was the best island for that day!

After our joyous ride, we reached Pulong Coccok. 

The boat ride was almost two hours from Anilon Island.

It was low tide and we explored the enormous area of the island.

Next stop was Binunbunan Island.

We took our late lunch on this island.

notice the jumpshot

And since it was low tide, we again explored the entire area of the exposed land mass.

We stayed for more than an hour and then headed to Bakaw-Bakawan. We reached it after 15 minutes and then headed to the port. After reaching the port, we went to our hotel left our bags and went to the dam.

Honestly, I was expecting a huge dam. 

The best part of the day was the birthday celebration of Nelson Aclan.

He bought two enormous Lapu-Lapu and we enjoyed the whole night drinking beer!

Happy Birthday again Nelson!

Day 3

Red, Nikko, and I woke up early the following morning and headed back to the port. The weather that day was at its best and the sea was calm. The sky was so clear you can see the milky way.

We enjoyed the scenery and took pictures of the sunrise!

After breakfast, we headed to the town of Polillo. 

After almost two hours, we reached the town of  Polillo and thereafter boarded the boat back to Real, Quezon. In Real, Red bought pancit for everyone and then we parted ways.

Till our next journey guys!

The Team

Red Chuca

Nelson Aclan

Mayrene Uy

Lester Reyes 

Nikko Darilay

Jen Torres

Laine Dave

Jayson Javier

Mon Torres

Estrangherang Gala

Ivan Jingco

Ma Cherrie D Amour

Naiza De Los Santos

Olay Rullan

Philip Lim

Robin Papina Jun Villegas