Romblon Island (Philippines) – Travelling Tips

Do you want to go for quiet holidays where you could swim, dive, hike and lazy around in a beautiful landscape? The Romblon Island is what you might be looking for.

The Romblon Island is a relatively small island (you can ride from one end to the other in around 30min) with limited number of tourists. It’s famous for its marble mining. Thus, there are plenty of marble souvenir shops all over the town (there’s only one town – I’ve told you the island is small ;). That’s not what I found the most interesting though. The island has one of the most beautiful and interesting coral reefs I’ve ever seen. In most of those sites you can just snorkel from the beach (means you don’t have to pay for a snorkelling trip). There are also 2 dive centres which could let you know the reef ‘in more depth’. 

Romblon Romblon, marble shop

On the island there are also plenty of hills and mountains you can hike. There are not many actual hiking trails, but on many of those mountains there are small villages, which means there are paths that villagers use to climb there. Just ask around. People are extremely friendly and always greet you with a smile. They’ll also look at you in utter disbelieve when you’ll tell them you want to climb a mountain. They will show you the way nevertheless. Some of the children might want to follow you for some time just to have a chance to talk to a foreigner. I had a bunch of giggling primary school kids trailing me good 2km. They were really nice though. I always find talking to local people an invaluable cultural experience. 

Hills behind Coral Canyon guest house.

When you board a ferry, you might encounter another local curiosity. When the ferry is docked, local boys are swimming around it or hang on the ropes. They will shout to throw them coins. If you do so they will dive for it. This whole procedure gave me mixed feelings. On one hand it was an interesting cultural experience. Especially that those boys diving skills are uncanny (I saw a 7-year-old free dive without even a mask up to 7-8m). On the other hand, this made me feel like I’m watching a display in a zoo when people are throwing snacks to a bunch of playful seals. All in all, that’s one thing you should expect in Romblon (that’s also the only port where I saw something like this happening).

Boys in the ferry port

Boys diving for money

Travelling Tips:

1.     Transportation:
By air – there’s no airport on Romblon so you’d have to fly to the Tablas Island. Plains from Manila fly 3 times a week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and. From there you need to take a jeepney or a tricycle to San Augustin, where you can get a ferry to Romblon.

By ferry:
From San Augustin (Tablas):
5am – a Seahorse Ferry. That’s the ferry that I took. (it actually departed at 4.40 so it’s better to board it earlier). It costed 100 PHP (~2$) and took 50 min to Romblon, Romblon. 
6 am a Montenegro ferry
8.00 and 13.00 a pump boat. 
 
From Batangas:
–      2go ferry departs on Tue and Sat at 21.00.
–      Navios Lines departs on Wed, Thu, Sun at 17.00.
–      Montenegro departs on Mon/ Thu/ Sat at 17.00
–      CSGA FERRY Departs on Thursday and Saturday at 16.00
 
Any ferry ticket can be purchased at the ferry terminal before the departure. 2go additionally offers an online booking (it also has the best standard). Travel takes around 7-9h, which means that in most cases, you’ll arrive in Romblon in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. The fare depends on the ferry and the class, but it’s usually around:
1000 PHP (~15$) for the economy class
1200PHP (~20$) for the tourist class (with AC)
1500 (~29$) for a cabin
 
2.     Accommodation – there are a few lodges in the town itself including Romblon Fun Divers & Inn for those who would be into diving. If you prefer to stay in quieter place, I highly recommend Coral Canyon Romblon. It’s a guest house in the southern part of the island (getting there takes around 30 min by a tricycle). It has very neat bamboo houses with private bathrooms. Everything is very well thought with simple, yet very functional deign. Not to mention the superb view. There’s no sandy beach in there, but there’s absolutely fantastic snorkelling site just in front of the house. Let’s just say that the owner didn’t exaggerate when called the place ‘Coral Canyon’. Place is very reasonably priced (1500 PHP ~28$ for a house with private bathroom). The also provide meals. I especially liked homemade jam for breakfast (they give you a set of 4 or 5 different ones). I fell in love with green tomato jam.
Since the guesthouse is in a literal middle of nowhere (which could be both an asset or a problem) they conveniently have bikes and scooters for rental. So as long as you wish to go somewhere you are not trapped in a place.

Coral Canyon

Coral Canyon Romblon, the terrace

3.     Payment – every payment is in cash. I haven’t found a single facility that would accept cards. There are 2 ATM in Romblon, Romblon. Once is PNB bank, and it’s close to the port. Regrettable it rarely works. Another ATM is at the other site of the town (like 20 min walk) so it’s best to ask a tricycle driver to get you there (it costs only 10 PHP).
4.     WIFI – there are no landlines on Romblon so the only internet comes from mobile data. That is why it’s good to purchase a good data package (preferably from Globe). Be advised though that mobile internet works fine only in the town itself. The further you get from the town, the worse reception you’ll get.

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