The Gigantes Islands slash Isla Gigantes slash Las Islas de Gigantes gives travelers the prominence of the word adventure. It is an all-in-one summer trip offering you trekking, swimming, diving and caving -- in just a day if your legs still can. A treasure in itself, the Gigantes Islands is not a common knowledge even for Ilonggos themselves being it located in the northern tip of mainland Iloilo. From Iloilo City, it roughly requires a 5-6h hours trip getting to the accommodations capital island, Gigantes North.
I mean to share my own and our group's overall observations going there and getting back through this blog post. It is actually not my first time to visit the island, so practically, I served as our group's part-time tour guide. I made my first visit with my family and coworkers of my mom sometime in April 2012 (which I missed to take notes of). This second one I had with my UNORSSGO 2012-2013 family. It is an annual practice for our organization to make merry after all the efforts we've put through the school year. We were given a Php30,000 which we owed to budget for 20 pax. Initial plan was to have this farewell party at Boracay Island. Honestly though, 30 grand is just enough for our fare. So, I suggested to have this at Gigantes Island.
TO GET THERE:
- Step 1: We, coming from Bacolod City, had 2 options to get to Iloilo:
1. By RORO Vessels that charged us Php 50.00 (Students with valid school ID) and Php 60.00 (Non-students) per one way trip. We chose TriStar Shipping since it was the cheapest (lol) with no air-con units though. Apparently, I encountered one TriStar Vessel (same charges) that had air-con but the accommodation was on first come, first served basis. RORO trips from BREDCO Port Bacolod to Dumangas Port Iloilo lasts 2-3 hours.
2. By fast craft (Ocean Jet, Weesam and so forth) which costs Php500-600 per round trip ticket that'll get you to Iloilo City in only an hour or two.
Dumangas to Bacolod
RORO Vessel Trip Schedule
* sorry found no summarized Bacolod to Dumangas RORO trip schedule
* will update this later.
