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Island Hopping in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro: Ambulong, Grace, Ilin and White Island

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Have you tried island hopping in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro?

White Island or Manadi Island,  Occidental Mindoro

If you have then you must be familiar with these three islands where you can see from San Jose's Caminawit Port. And if you haven't, then let me give you a quick preview of what is waiting for you!



We passed through the White and Ilin Islands to get to the farthest two islands, Grace and Ambulong.



Grace Island


Grace Island Resort,  Occidental Mindoro

Grace Island, or Grace Island Resort, is a little white sand island that can be found very near to Ambulong Island Cove.  Grace, for me, seems to be cupped and protected of its mother island at the south most part of Ambulong. The whole island was turned into a resort and was developed thereafter into a unique little haven that is best if you are searching for serenity. Available there are zip-line, zoo, floating accommodations, among others. The travel time from San Jose's Caminawit Port is approximately 1.5 hours.




Ambulong Island



Ambulong Island,  Occidental Mindoro

Ambulong is one of the two largest islands near San Jose which is abundant with its fine white sand beaches, cliffs and coral formations. From afar during the boat trip, you can see the fisherman's village located at the sheltered side of the island. It is also a jump-off point to some of the dive spots in the area, such as the Ilin Point, Baniaga Reef, Ambulong Bank, Dungan Reef, Sardines Reef, Apo Reef, and Manadi Island.



Ilin Island

Cansubong Cave Resort, Ilin Island,  Occidental Mindoro
Ilin is the largest among the islands in San Jose. Abundant with shells and coral reefs, the villagers in the islands are mostly shell divers and fishermen. One of the attraction of the island is the Cansubong Cave Resort. The resort has a pathway made of limestone rocks that leads to the Cansubong Cave. This structure was hand-built developed by former San Jose Mayor Javarata.



White Island



White Island or Manadi Island,  Occidental Mindoro

White Island or Manadi Island, is a 15 minute boat ride from San Jose's Caminawit  Port and is also located near to the Cansubong Cave Resort in Ilin. It is small powdery white sand beach that you can tour in a few minutes and is also known as the beach where buried turtle eggs are occasionally found.

We saved the nearest as our last destination because we planned to stay longer here and take a long dip. I totally enjoyed it but was just disappointed with myself when I realized, when I got back in San Jose, that I left my sentimental and colorful beach necklace on the island.


Ilin Island (left) and Ambulong Island (right),  Occidental Mindoro
I went there and took these last February. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day and I was determined to visit the three islands I have researched for weeks. So, I pushed through the plan for island hopping. Expectantly, it was drizzling during our boat ride and it (our boat) was battling with the strong waves of Mindoro Strait. Sadly, because of the strong waves my pink cellphone which I placed at the pocket of my camera bag fell of the sea and rescued by our boat man, but eventually died hours thereafter.





         



Yours truly
Island hopping at Occidental Mindoro


For the whole island hopping trip, we rented a boat good for two (which can accommodate up to four) people for Php 1500.  Kuya Allan, who drove us around the municipality contacted the boat man. Please note that what I have rented was some local's small fishing boat, if you want to have a better way for the island hopping, you can also contact their Dept of Tourism. For contact details of Kuya Allan, leave your e-mail address in the comment box section.




 


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Elal of The Shades of Grey Travel and Photography
Elal is a traveler, student of life and photography enthusiast who wants to experience and capture what is raved and not raved about. For more about her travels, subscribe here, email at elal.lasola@gmail.com, or visit her portfolio.

53 comments:

ronielmacatol said...

i am from Caminawit. Thanks for featuring my hometown Elal!

Elal Lasola said...

I thought sa Sablayan ka Sir Roniel. Weee, happy to feature it. Sana pagbalik ko sunny day na para mas maganda ang pics :D

Sweethestia said...

Nakaktuwang tignan ung mga nakakpag travel sa ganitong places...

Elal Lasola said...

Thanks. :) You too must try it.

Henry said...

Never been to San Jose Mindoro before but we have friend there who always invite us to go there. May magaganda pala lugar sa kanila, sama kami next time. ^_^

Elal Lasola said...

Yes. Maganda ang place nila. Hindi lang developed ang San Jose. Also, mas maganda mag island hopping na maaraw. Nong kami kasi hindi eh. :)

modassar said...

wow, what a beautiful beach pic I love to enjoy this trip really please visit us http://www.classictajtours.com/

Elal Lasola said...

thanks! :)

joan | the backpack chronicles said...

sayang talaga hindi na ko natuoy dyan sa mindoro. twice ko na tinangka magpunta, wala pa rin. kelan kaya ako mapapadpad dyan?

Elal Lasola said...

makakarating ka rin soon. sana maaraw pagdating nyo. hehe

WANDER SHUGAH said...

wow what a beauty!! Sana malapit lng ako sa places nato :D kaso anglayo ko. but im happy and a proud mindanaoan :)

Elal Lasola said...

Ang dami din magaganda jan. Sana makapag mindanao tour ako. In my dreams. hehe

Aleah | SolitaryWanderer.com said...

I have worked in Puerto Galera for 4 years but never made it to San Jose! Ganda pa naman pala jan. Btw, not a good idea to post your email, spammers can send you messages!

Elal Lasola said...

Yep. Maganda ang islands surrounding San Jose. Thanks for the tip Aleah. Geee. I totally missed that! :)

Kristeta  (kalokang Pinay) said...

Ive never been there but it looks so beautiful and inviting. Sana makapunta din kami dyan some day. I prefer going to undeveloped islands kesa dun sa mga mega commercialized na.
Thanks for taking us with you. It's a shame you lost your necklace and that your celphone died....

Elal Lasola said...

It does! I am hoping to come back on a very sunny day hehe I agree with you, gusto ko puntahana yung hindi commercialized na islands. Unexplored and sulit!

Gladys | ByahengBarok.com said...

how pathetic! i've only been to puerto galera in mindoro. how i wish i can find the time to go there and explore the rest of mindoro...

Elal Lasola said...

Very opposite to Puerto Galera. Lahat kasi ng tourists na kasbay namin dito papuntang Sablayan lahat! Haha :)

Mitch said...

The necklace will eventually be replaced by someone. hehe.Yaan mo na at least, you enjoyed the exp. of Island hopping..

Elal Lasola said...

Yeah, I did. It made the trip more memorable :)

Christian | Lakad Pilipinas said...

nice off the map places! sayang naman celphone, dapat may drybag ka lagi pag dumadaan ng dagat

Elal Lasola said...

it was worth the visit, indeed. yep. learned from experience talaga itong trip na to. hehe

Chyng said...

give occ mindoro another try, it will wow you kapag ok ang weather =)
dont forget ang apo reef! =)

Elal Lasola said...

oo nga. actually, i went to sablayan's pandan island. d ako nakapag apo reef kasi masyadong mahal for two lang. next time! hehe

Beadeguzman said...

Hi elal. My friends and i are going there on Dec. may i ask where you stayed there? We've been looking for places near the beach but yung iba hindi nagrereply sa mga emails or phones nila. Looking forward to your reply, thanks! :)

Elal Lasola said...

Unfortunately, when we went there the inns were full! I went to Mindoro Plaza Hotel (http://www.elaljanelasola.com/2012/06/mindoro-plaza-hotel-san-jose-occ.html). It was not much but at least we had a place. :)

Kitty Hawk Vacations said...

Impressive shots of equally stunning places. I guess it only makes sense for an archipelago to have such amazing island-hopping opportunities.

Elal Lasola said...

Thanks Kitty! :) I'm planning to go to those equally stunning places I've never been to here in Ph and abroad. :)

Anonymous said...

Impressive!

Salamat Elal, were going to San jose this February, we plan to do island hopping, are we just gong to look for kuya Allan at Caminauit port?

titatita

Anonymous said...

Hi Ela,

Thanks for this post.

My friends and I are interested in renting the boat. Can I have the contact details?

hapeeism@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Julius

Elal Lasola said...

@titatita: Kuya Allan is the pedicab driver po.

@Julius: Pm-ed you. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Thank you to this travel blog made my research easier! :)


We are going to Sablayan, Apo Reef and San Jose on April 21-26. We will stay a day and a night in San Jose and hoping we could do a quick Island hopping if schedule permits. Can I ask for Kuya Allan's contact number too? Would be a great help and will save us time bargaining the price. Maraming salamat.

Ces (cv_resano@hotmail.com)

Anonymous said...

Occidental Mindoro has a lots of things to explore, you can do mountaineering, 4x4 river crossing, and lots of resort for local & foreigner tourists. You won't cost to much in exploring the island... everything is fresh from air you breath to the food you eat! I Love This Place... Simply San Jose!

To Ela, thank you for giving others a chance to see what you have experience during your stay in San Jose, Occ. Mindoro.

Gabz said...

Yung 1500 for island hopping standard rate or natawaran nyo lang? Hehe. Pa-send na rin contact info ni Kuya Allan to pinoytravelfreak[at]gmail.com - Thanks!

Elal Lasola said...

Emailed you ces and gab! Cheers!

Elal Lasola said...

Thanks for the wonderful input there about your place!

Anonymous said...

Hi. May i ask for kuya allan's contact info? My email ad: kulotsiching@gmail.com. thank you.

Elal Lasola said...

Emailed you :)

Anonymous said...

hi..can i have the number of kuya Allan and the boatman, planning to go here in 2 weeks time. hopeful na maganda ang weather...thank you for sharing your experience here, big help :)

my email:kprimaylon@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

nice blog.. dear, can i get Allan's number?
thanks a bunch!

merspuno@gmail.com

Unknown said...

thanks for sharing this.. nice getaway!

btw, can i get Allan's number? Thanks a bunch!

merspuno@gmail.com

Elal Lasola said...

sent! :)

Erica Poyauan said...

GRACE ISLAND!!!!
<3
The Girl with the Muji Hat

Anonymous said...

Hi, Elal. Nice pics :) May we get the contact details of Kuya Allan. PM me pls at arsen_asistin@yahoo.com. Thanks!

joanne said...

Hello, may I ask for the contact details of Kuya Allan? My email is jlodia@gmail.com

Super thanks! :)

Life in a backpack said...

Hi, please send me the contact details of Kuya Allan. email's alenha126@gmail.com

many thanks!

Wanderlust said...

Hi Elal. Thanks for this post.
Please send me contact number of kuya Allan because we want to go there next week. Please send it to - karne_uste04@yahoo.com
I would highly appreciate it.
Many thanks & Godbless.

Anonymous said...

hi! we're planning to go to san jose this October and planning to go for island hopping :) how'd you get in contact with allan or can i have his number too? was it 1500 for the boat in total or 1500 for each person?

Thanks! will appreciate your response

my email address : hardest_rch@yahoo.com

Kevin said...

Hi,

Can you also send the contact detail to my email? It's kevin_kek92@yahoo.com

Annie Girl said...

Hi Elal,

Could you please send me kuya Allan's contact details to annieams@gmail.com? Thank you.

Anonymous said...

ellen_bajarla1986@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Hi!

Kindly email me (ellen_bajarla1986@yahoo.com) the contact number of Kuya Allan.

Please...

Anonymous said...

Hi, Elal. Can I ask for kuya Alan's number? My email address is josh.tanador@gmail.com

Thank you

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