About a year ago, I already shared with you my trip to Leyte with some of my friends. I had the time to update that very article and decided to make a separate write-up about Kalanggaman Island.

This might be one of the usual how-to-go-to-Kalanggaman posts, but I’ll try my best to make it unique as possible.

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🚤 How to get there

Ormoc to Palompon

If you’ve read my previous article Lazy-ing in Leyte, you’ll know how I was able to reach Ormoc. There are lots of ways – by air, by land, by sea. I’m not going to elaborate on that but instead, I’ll just share how we were able to get to Kalanggaman Island from Ormoc City.

Kalanggaman Island is located in Palompon, Leyte, about two to three hours drive from Ormoc City. You can either ride a van just across the port of Ormoc or rent a van if you’re traveling with a group.

We rented a private vehicle (thanks to my partner’s mom) to take us to Palompon from Ormoc City. We left around 4 AM and arrived at Palompon proper around 6:30 AM. We went straight to Palompon’s Ecotourism Office to register our group and make the necessary payments. We also bought food from their mini market.

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🚤 Boat Rental

The original plan was to rent our own boat going to the island. But boats going to Kalanggaman Island will just drop you off and fetch you back. With that, we decided to join a group who was about to disembark Palompon’s port to Kalanggaman. Very timely! We were able to save lots since we were more than 10 in the boat to share for the boat rental fee.

Boat rental fee can go from 3,000 to 4,000 PHP depending on the number of passengers and the capacity of the boat.

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💰 Fees

These are the necessary fees before you get to board any boat going to the island:

Day Tour (As of 2016)

• Local Tourists – P150
• International Tourists – P500
• Senior Citizen Tourists – P120
• College Student Tourists – P40
• High-school Student Tourists – P30
• Elementary Student Tourists – P20

Overnight Camping (As of 2016)

• Local Tourists – P225
• International Tourists – P750
• Senior Citizens – P180
• College Student Tourists – P60
• High-school Student Tourists – P45
• Elementary Students – P30

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The Island

Kalanggaman Island is an hour ride from Palompon port by boat. The place was still peaceful when we got there since we were one of the first groups to arrive. The island was not that crowded and we were still able to appreciate the island’s beauty.

There is not much to do on the island but you can choose any from these activities:

• Swimming
• Kayaking
• Snorkeling
• Aqua-biking
• Scuba diving
• Camping
• Beach-bumming!

We ended up bumming under the palm trees since it was too hot to swim. After we ate and chitchatted, we eventually decided to take a dip because what’s the use of going there if you’re not even going to swim?

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💡 Handy tips

1. 1. It pays to be early. This also means less people and calm seas.

1. 1. There is no commercial resort/s on the island but there are tents and cottages for rent. It is best to ask the Eco Tourism office about this before you go to the island. You also have the option to bring your own tents or sleeping bags.

1. 1. There are lots of trees. You can just set up your beach blankets, mats or hammocks easily.

1. 1. The island has comfort rooms and shower rooms. Your boatmen will also provide water for washing, just ask them.
   2. No electricity means you have to charge all your power banks, portable speakers and other gadgets. For emergency purposes, you can ask nicely from the coastguard stationed on the island to let you charge your phone.

1. It is expected to have weak network connection. Enjoy the moment and relax!
2. A mini-store with no cold drinks or ice, so bring your own cooler or pack of ice before going to the island.
3. Bring enough drinking water since there is no potable water on the island.
4. No corkage fee! Bring food or buy fresh catch from the fishermen. The island has grilling stations.
5. CLAYGO – Clean As You GO. Boatmen sometimes give you trashbag for your rubbish. If not, be responsible enough to keep your trash and throw them properly.

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⏰ Best time to go

A good time to visit Kalanggaman is during the summer from February to May. But knowing that summer in the Philippines can get really crowded, I think the best time to visit the island is from October to June. Also, try avoiding national holidays, long weekends, and during the typhoon season which is from July to September.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment. Also, keep posted since I’ll be going back to the surf capital of the Philippines in 10 days and I cannot wait to share it with you!

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xo,

 

PHOTO GALLERY