Exploring Romblon Paradise Islands

Imagine your perfect island destination. It should have perfect beaches, superb diving and snorkeling, relaxing comfortable accommodation and healthy fresh food at knock down prices. In addition, lush vegetation and friendly locals. Well, this island is not fictional. It is real and is called Romblon Situated of the Coast of Manila, 25 minuet boat ride from World Famous Boracay Island.




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Romblon island is linked with Batangas Port (Luzon island) every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday with Montenegro Lines. The Boat departs at midday, reaches Odiogan Port in Tablas 4-5 hours later and eventually Batangas at 2-3:00am. A "de Luxe" ticket is 560 Pesos, you can see what sort of accommodation is the "de Luxe". Traveling by Boat in the Philippines is not for the faint hearted.

Mary the Queen links Sibuyan Island with Romblon Island every Friday, and then continues to Batangas.
Mary the Queen was used in the past in the UK and was serving the Isle of Man. It is a far better option than the Montenegro Lines, as it has a decent restaurant on the top deck, which serves decent food at decent prices. Deemed expensive by the rest of the passengers, it is highly likely that you will have the restaurant on your own. You can get to Sibuyan Island from Romblon (recommended) every day with a pump boat and a cost of 160 Pesos. This information was valid in February 2006.


The overall trend, however, for the 3 islands of Romblon Province that are Tablas, Romblon and Sibuyan islands is of increasing frequency and larger transport modes.
Romblon is a "get away from it all and relax" destination. This by no means implies that there is a lack of interesting activities in Romblon. Starting with the little picturesque town, which is worth exploring, you can visit the 17th century Fort of San Andres, and also the beautifully maintained and imposing, with its sheer size, Church (also 17th century) of St Joseph. On the south and western side of the island there are some fantastic beaches and if you tour the whole island (using a hired tricycle-duration non stop about two and a half to three hours) you will be able to sample the impressive scenery and images from the life and works of the people of Romblon. The island is a marble exporter and the eastern side has several quarries, not to mention the countless marble workshops. Should you fancy some additional exploration rent a boat and visit the nearby minuscule islets of Lugbung, Alad and Cobrador.
Quick Tips:
Romblon and Sibuyan islands are a definite MUST in the Romblon Province of the Visayas. If you wish to sample properly both islands, consider a minimum stay of 3-4 days on each and another 2 days on transport depending where you come from and where you are going to, as connection with the rest of the Philippines is the big handicap (or perhaps a huge blessing) of both islands. The accommodation I refer to further below in this journal (St Pedro’s beach resort) will only increase in popularity in the future and I strongly recommend booking in advance. Diving in Romblon is among the best in the Philippines and I highly recommend Josef Mazenauer, a Padi Master Instructor with superb facilities, equipment and knowledge for the area. He can be contacted at mobile numbers 09102837612 and 09189144930. Personal email address: cabanbanan@hotmail.com
Best Way To Get Around:
Your best mode of transport around the island is probably the famous tricycle, followed by the Jeepney. Some brave tourists will hire motorcycles to go around, but with roads incredibly variable I feel this is a bit risky. We found it very useful to stick with one tricycle driver during our stay in Romblon called Elvin. We negotiated prices slightly higher than those paid by the locals, gaining a "preferential margin" and Elvin would wait for us for any length of time and we knew that we would call him or arrange a meeting and he would be there waiting for us. Elvin’s mobile phone was 09193255360. Elvin has a deformity on his right hand and leg and a right limp, which makes him instantly recognizable among the rest of the tricycle drivers in Romblon. His minor disability does not deter him to be a very careful and competent tricycle driver. He had a satisfactory command of the English language and proved immensely reliable and punctual. He was also an invaluable source of information. He made a difference in the quality of our stay. At times he looked after our interests better than his own.
Romblon Town sightseeing
Romblon Town, which is your arrival and departure point, is a small place. It is naturally protected from rough seas and winds by the hills around it and the natural harbor. It is a quiet sheepish Town, when compared with other places in the Philippines, and you can go around it within a space of a few hours. If you are an Internet addict and you cannot live without your emails, then you have no option but to visit Romblon Town, as this is where you will find the sole Internet café on the island (in February 2006, this was located on Republica street, almost opposite Republica restaurant and just around the corner from the main square).If you wish to buy fresh fruits and fresh fish then you will visit the local market, which is located in a closed compound. You can buy your choice of Ray fish, fresh parrot fish, Lapu Lapu or Tuna and give it to Mina (San Pedro Beach Resort) to cook it for you. There are plenty of bakeries in Romblon Town preparing all sorts of cakes, but also freshly prepared bread. Most unfortunately the locals add sugar in their bread, but you can negotiate with a local bakery to prepare bread without sugar for you, if you pay the cost of the loaf in advance. It is definitely worth visiting San Andres Fort, only a short 15 minute walk from Romblon Town, to get some great views and appropriate holiday snaps and also St Joseph’s Church (one of the oldest in the Philippines, beautifully maintained). Should you get too tired and need a relaxing massage, go to Romblon Plaza hotel and ask for their massage service. You will be relieved from your aches and pains and for a few hundred Pesos too. The massage room is in the hotel, just below the rooftop restaurant. You will definitely notice that there are very few foreigners in Romblon Island and Bob (the owner of Republica restaurant) told me there are only ten westerners who live permanently on the island as a result of mixed marriages. Even at peak season (early February), when we visited the island, there were no more than a few arrivals and departures of western backpackers per day, making Romblon island a very well kept secret.

Cabanbanan Beach and Dive Resort
Without a shred of doubt, one of the best diving sites in the whole of the Philippines is Sibuyan and Romblon islands, the former with numerous unrecorded undiscovered fish species. I can think of no one better to help you with your diving explorations than Josef Mazenauer, who is a properly trained and equipped PADI instructor (Master instructor 903790). He has an impeccable knowledge of diving sites and extremely competitive prices (compared to the pricey Boracay a few miles further south). Married to a Filipino he can be contacted on mobile numbers 09102837612 and 09189144930. His email address is cabanbanan@hotmail.com and his commercial website is http://www.romblon-isl.com
Captain Lanon
Through Elvin (our tricycle driver), we met Captain Lanon, who owns a small trimaran boat and he is a competent seaman, and very amicable and nice person too. With Captain Lanon we visited Lugbung island (one of the three islets northwest of Romblon island—the other two being Alad and Cobrador) and a number of remote and unique beaches like the one on photo 1 below. You can be pretty certain with Captain Lanon that he will find a beach with no other person on it, creating a Robinson Crusoe experience. After a couple of days, we felt honored to be invited to his home and meet the rest of the family, his wife and his daughter Virgin, as well as grandchildren and rest of relatives. These friendly, hospitable and nice people make all the difference in the quality of your holiday and make me keen to visit the Philippines time and time again. Their smile is genuine (not part of a job), their kindness is true and their friendship an honor for every guest. Lugbung island is where the Lanon family live and is an impressive little Paradise where family ties are real, where the village life and the harmony between environment and humans is still existent and present. It is a pleasant and positive feeling to see that in tiny isolated Lugbung, almost all children of schooling age DO go to school and that fishing and farming is done in traditional and environmentally friendly modes (in contrast with dynamite fishing taking place in other parts of the Philippines). Nature is respected and crime is almost non existent.