Breathtaking Batanes

I can’t believe it took me this long to visit this wonderful place. Batanes, an archipelago province located in the northernmost part of the Philippines, is one of the most picturesque places I have been to here in my country. It’s actually closer to Taiwan than in Manila. We were quite lucky with the weather because September is a bit tricky when traveling in the Philippines as you will most likely get daily rain showers. We had 4 days of blue skies and sunshine, thus our unexpected tan lines.

There’s a lot of sightseeing in Batanes and it is broken down into municipalities. Basco, Mahatao, Ivana, Uyugan, Sabtang and Itbayat. We were able to visit everything but Itbayat because you will need to stay there overnight as they only have 1 boat that ferries daily.

Batanes is a bit pricey compared to other provinces in the Philippines. I guess because of its location, it is quite far from the mainland. It is still very much rural and fortunately well preserved, thanks to the Presidential Proclamation making Batanes the only province declared in its entirety as a protected landscape and seascape area.

Just a few things to expect when in Batanes:

1. If you’re a Globe subscriber, expect to have no or little signal and no 3G or LTE. They say Smart subscribers have better signal in Batanes. Wifi is also not free, you will need to pay the hotel or restaurant for internet (P 150 for a few mbps only, quite expensive).
2. Most hotels offer packaged tours with an air-conditioned van, lunch and a guide. But if you want to save more, you can hire a tricycle that can take you around (which is what we did) or you can rent bicycles from the town center.
3. If you are a coffee lover (like us), there are probably only 2 cafes you can visit for a decent cup of coffee or latte. Harbour Cafe or Fundacion Pacita. They also serve yummy pasta if you get tired of eating local food.

On the third day, we visited  Sabtang which is in a different island. Don’t forget to pack a swimsuit because you can swim in some areas. We rented a small boat that took us to Vuhus Island, a 20 minute boat ride from Sabtang. We brought along some beers and snacks and just chilled in that island for an hour or so. On our last day, we hung out and took a quick dip at the Blue Lagoon (back in Basco).

Best time to visit is during summer or the dry ber months, however, they say it can get really packed. We were lucky that the weather was so nice and that there weren’t many tourists around. It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.

The Philippines is soooo beautiful and I’m so happy I was able to see this great gem of an island called Batanes!

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