North Pandan Island, Mindoro Occidental
Northern Pandan area is an separated exotic vacation off the shore of Sablayan, Mindoro Occidental. Its still relatively mysterious to many People from the belgium, even though its easily among the top locations in the Malaysia. Its main fascination is its perfect expand of breathtaking seaside, whose breathtaking quality competition even that of more famous Boracay. In fact, it offers the sand and water of Boracay without the packed areas of people and mind-blowing range of showy hotels. The ocean around the area are short and moderate, making it fantastic for relaxing boating and snorkelling. The tranquil, calm environment is perfect for relaxing guides and good vacations. Night time are best spent stargazing through glare-free air, since even proper power eludes this position. Pandan is simply the best position for doing nothing.
Heres how I got there:
Boarded JAM bus bound for Batangas Pier at the Buendia-Taft terminal at 3:30 a.m. Fare: P111.
Arrived at Batangas Pier at 5:45 a.m. Boarded M/V Manaoag II bound for Wawa Pier, Abra de Ilog, Mindoro Occidental. The ferry left at around 6:00 a.m. Fare: P130.
Arrived at Wawa Pier around 8:45 a.m. Walked the short distance to the highway. Took the first bus I saw bound for San Jose (Make sure it passes through Sablayan). Be prepared for some of the roughest and dustiest roads! Tip: Since the buses are invariably non air-conditioned, its best to seat yourself on the right side of the vehicle. Youll avoid most of the dust kicked up by oncoming traffic. Fare: P107.
Made it to Sablayan at around 1:30 p.m. full of Mindorine grime and feeling very third world. Took a P5 tricycle ride to Emily Hotel. Beside this establishment are the flat boats that service North Pandan Island. The ride to the island is around 20 minutes. Fare: P100 one person, P120 good for 2, otherwise everything is negotiable. Arrange for the boat to pick you up on the island on your return date.
Rest on the best beach this side of the planet at around 2:00 p.m. The place indeed rewards the journey well!Other options to getting there is first by plane to San Jose and subsequent 3-hour bus ride to Sablayan. The resort has a direct seaplane service from Manila, but it costs a whopping 450 USD for just three persons!
Tips:
Day trippers are charged P50. The resort probably wont allow camping, especially if there are room vacancies.
Rooms cost around $10. Each guest is required to partake of the $7 dinner buffet (dont worry, its a culinary feast!) for each nightly stay. So an overnight for one person will probably amount to P1,000. Bring a partner so you can share the room cost!
A flashlight will be handy since at night, only the bar is lighted by batteries solar-charged during the day. The rest of the resort is lit by gas lamps.
