This new year, satisfy your thirst for seeing new places. Places more than just the famous tourist spots and commercialized areas. Places which are remote and will give you that fresh experience of being somewhere that most people haven’t visited.
Romblon is a province with a rich marine life but isn’t given so much attention. They have three main islands: Romblon island, Sibuyan island, and the one we’re about to visit, Tablas island.
From Batangas port, you can take a ferry going to Odiongan. Regular fare rates start from around P700- P800 pesos for both Montenegro Lines and 2GO Travel. Daily ferry trips are available. Just make sure you book ahead so you can manage your time well. It takes about 7-8 hours to travel from Batangas to Odiongan.
Philippine Airlines recently started offering direct trips to Tablas with 3 flights a week. Although a short flight would be convenient, I would still personally suggest enjoying a long cruise with other travelers and Romblon locals. It adds up to your experience traveling somewhere remote and simple. Unless you have sea sickness, maybe a flight would do.
We arrived at Odiongan before the break of dawn. From the port, we rode a jeepney going to Looc pier. The ride took about 1 hour and 30 minutes. During the jeepney ride, the passengers seemed to be familiar with each other or maybe they’re just very friendly that they engage into conversation to make the most of the travel time. One of them noticed that I’m not a local and asked me why I’m visiting Tablas. She guessed that I was there for research. I was a bit appalled because I realized that tourism in Tablas is so low that a local would suggest that people visit Tablas for research instead of leisure.
It was still a bit dark when we arrived at Looc pier. From there, we had a boat ride going to the resort we’re about to visit. After an hour of sea travel, we finally arrived at the resort early in the morning.
We stayed at By The Sea Resort. It has a wonderful view of the sky and ocean being located in front of the sea. They have less than 10 rooms for accommodation so they get really swamped with guests during summer season. But they do have a small seawater pool and a restaurant where guests are served meals.
The place is also surrounded with gardens of beautiful flowers and fruit trees. Check out the way walkway to our cottage.
We stayed in a simple wooden cottage with an astonishing view of the ocean from the balcony.
The place is owned by an Italian couple, Flavio and Chiara. They are both very hospitable and accommodating. They’ve been here in the Philippines for over 5 years. Of course, being a proud local of this beautiful country, I asked them how they find the life here in the Philippines. You should have heard the way they talk about how much they love living here. They mutually decided to move to the Philippines from Italy and they did not regret their decision. They loved the simple life, the sun, the humor and positivity of Filipinos, and of course, the sea!
For breakfast, they served us some eggs and bacon. Yum! They also served us these croissant bread with some fruit jams which Chiara all made from scratch! I don’t consider myself a huge fan of breads, but I can possibly eat 10 pieces of Chiara’s breads and still want more. It tastes so fresh and delicious.
The resort, being located in Tablas where the underwater life is rich and diverse, would likely have resort guests that are mostly looking forward to diving and snorkeling activities. By The Sea offer diving lessons and activities by reservation. The sea area in front of the resort is just perfect for these activities as the water looks infinitely clear!
I was very lucky to be able to see Tablas’s pride under the sea. Even with a shallow 12-meter diving spot, I was already able to swim with schools of fish and see colorful corals! Tablas should definitely be on the bucket-list of diving enthusiasts. The view underwater is simply breathtaking.
