Explore Journeys > Tours by Itinerary > Mariner Tribes

MARINER TRIBES

Our passage in the Calamian Islands, which consist of a cluster of 163 islands in the south of the Philippines, takes us to many isles that are outposts of dazzling tropical scenery – desolate beaches, rugged karst forests, intact coral gardens, and dense embroideries of mangroves. The isles and surrounding seas remain gloriously wild; the tropical waters are home to coral gardens that are among the richest in the world, offering some of the most rewarding snorkelling you will do in your life. The islands are home to the one of the largest surviving communities of dugongs in Asia, and an encounter with a dugong – the enigmatic sea mammal that was mistaken for a mermaid by early mariners – is virtually guaranteed. The indigenous inhabitants, called the Tagbanua, remain partly untamed seafarers who run their own affairs, possessing communal ownership of many islands that are legally recognised as their ancestral domains. We will explore all of this in our journey by vernacular boat, visiting many varied islands, and being hosted by the natives, including one dinner with a Tagbanua chieftain accompanied by tribal music. We will snorkel with the mythical dugongs, and join fishermen fishing for groupers and snappers on the reefs, then grill our catch on the beach. And on some nights we will sleep blissfully in desolate tropical beaches where we will have the entire beach for ourselves; on other nights we will stay in a fishermen’s village. 

STOP PRESS: We have two tours of the Calamians. The one outlined on this page is the more adventurous one. If you prefer lighter adventures and more sightseeing than activities, as well as accommodation in hotels on virtually all nights (as opposed to camping on some nights), then please see our other tour called Dugong Moments.

We will see the following places and do the following activities:

Coron Island

From the distance, Coron Island looks like a crown – a girdle of cliffs around its coast that gives way, in the interior, to a series of domes reminiscent of the jewels in a crown. It’s an enigmatic, forbidden, and enchanting island; it’s full of sacred lakes that are the realm of powerful spirits, and it’s managed by the Tagbanua, a secretive tribe who live in two villages. The villages are hidden behind thick forests of mangroves that fringe the bays where they are situated, and the Tagbanua scrape a living from the collection of swallows’ nests (for the Chinese bird’s nest soup), traditional fishing, limited farming, and the charging of tourists that visit the few spots on the island opened for tourists (two lakes and three beaches). We are able to visit the parts of the village that are only open by special arrangement at the invitation of one of the inhabitants, who will host us in his home (outsiders need an ‘invitation’ to visit the island’s interior). We will get to see the mysterious island upclose, and we will partake in daily activities – one afternoon we will join the locals waddling in the mud during low tide to fetch seashells; on another morning we will walk up to a high bluff for unforgettable views over the island; on another evening we will trap crabs and then have a veritable feast of crabs for dinner. And to cap it all off, we will be treated by the chieftain in a ceremonial dinner accompanied by tribal music – the playing of traditional drums and bamboo flutes. 

Mattaya

Mattaya is known for bountifulness: the reef teems with sea urchins and sea grasses that attract scavenging fishermen from nearby islands. We will join them in the daily ritual of gathering one’s own dinner – angling for groupers on the reef, and gathering sea urchins and lato (these consist of two species of sea grasses that have succulent beady leaves that make an excellent fresh salad). By nightfall, all the fishermen would be gone, and we’ll have the beach to ourselves for a dinner of sea urchins, lato salad, and grilled groupers. Then we’ll sleep in hammocks or tents on the beach, slumbering deeply in the conducive milieu – a breeze laden with fresh seaside air, waves lapping soothingly on the shore, a sky laden with stars – where we will have the entire island to ourselves. 

Maricaban Bay

Set in the remote northwest of the Calamian Islands, Maricaban is a large bay enclosed on one side by rugged steep slopes inhabited by iron trees (endemic trees that survive in the mineral-rich soil) and a pearl of uninhabited isles on the other seaward side. There is only one village in the entire area – more like a hamlet, home to fishermen that subsist from the fish-rich sea of the bay. We will lodge in the village and then we’ll set out kayaking in the limpid water of the bay – first snooping among scenic coves and isles, and then threading upriver to see the dark and sulky mangrove forest where local fishermen trap crabs. 

Coral reef snorkeling

The coral reefs that fringe the Calamian isles are among the richest in the world (the Calamians are in the Sulu Sea, which has the greatest variety of species in the world). We will have plenty of time to soak up the unforgettable spectacle in the coral gardens – we will snorkel in pristine reefs (where fishing is banned, and hence marine life completely undisturbed) on three different occasions. We will only snorkel within a hundred metres off the beach in shallow waters, and yet we will be dazzled by a riotous array of coral outgrowths and the sheer variety of starfishes, as well as many fishes – green turtles flapping languidly in the shallows, rays and mantras grazing sandy bottoms, giant squids in poises reminiscent of praying, reef sharks darting after fishes, mandarin fishes in delicate tangos, shoals of jackfish so thick they block the sun, giant clams more than 100 years old, lion fishes skulking among the rocks, and much much more. You’re likely to see more marine species in ten days with us in the Calamians than in a lifetime of travel elsewhere. 

Dugongs

The community of dugongs in the northeast coast of Busuanga island is one of the densest and happiest communities of dugongs in Asia. Almost everywhere in their range in Asia, dugong populations have plunged by about ninety percent in the last thirty years, mostly due to deliberate killing of dugongs for meat by fishermen and also due to accidental entanglement and eventual suffocation in fishing nets. The dugongs here are one of the few success stories: they live off the beach where fishermen villages are situated in harmonious coexistence. The dugongs are so docile that they surface alongside the fishermen’s outriggers boats in a spirit of playfulness and curiosity. We will spend ample time snorkelling with dugongs, getting close to these animals that are as large as cows (they weigh about 400 kg) and that live at depths ranging from 3 to 9 metres, where they spend the entire day eating sea-grasses. Dugongs are enigmatic and mythical and intelligent creatures, and you will understand after swimming close to one of them why the early mariners were convinced that dugongs were mermaids. 

Fishermen villages

In many of the isles in the Calamians, small and quaint fishermen’s villages have sprouted up at the beaches. These villages make an exotic sight – the individual huts constructed of wood and bamboo and roofed with palm fronds – clusters of rustic huts set among swaying coconut palms and fronted by azure sweeps of water. The imagery is timeless and hearty: fishermen paddling their outriggers, mostly subsisting off fishing and with only a toehold in the money economy; children fishing for octopus and lobster that live in nooks and crannies of rocks or reefs, or simply frolicking in the water with abandon; women cooking squid in its own ink or grilling an array of fishes. We will spend two nights at the most romantic fishing village this side of the world, either sleeping on a hammock on the beach or, depending on the preference of private groups, actually lodging with a fishermen’s family. On one of those days we will go fishing on the reef with the fishermen, catching groupers and snappers, then barbecuing our catch for dinner. On another day we will have a dinner consisting of an assortment of hearty and fresh seafood dishes cooked at a fisherman’s house. 

World War II wrecks

During World War II, a flotilla of Japanese warships took up anchorage in the Calamian Islands, mostly in Coron Bay, a suitably large bay surrounded by islands and hence well-sheltered from storms. The Japanese navy thought that the enclosed bay also protected it from ambush, but it turned out that they were trapped like sitting ducks: an American-led attack sank all the Japanese warships in the harbour or, in some cases, as they attempted to flee. These sunken ships now constitute one of densest underwater graveyards of ships anywhere in the world, and they make excellent wrecks for snorkelling. We will spend an entire day snorkelling among some of the wrecks in shallow waters.

Mangrove kayaking

The Calamian Islands are a stronghold for mangrove forests in Asia, holding the densest tracts of mangrove forests that still exist in the Philippines. Mangrove forests have an eerie charm, and they are crucial spawning grounds for fishes and crabs – the most important nurseries in the tropics. We will have two occasions to explore the mangrove forests in kayaks, seeing firsthand the richness of the species – the ground teems with crabs and shells in low tide – and soak in the atmosphere of the dark mangrove forests that conjures images of spirits and ghosts. 

Glorious beaches

Some of the islands we will visit have the most divine tropical beaches in the world, and these beaches are virtually desolate – we will have these beaches entirely to ourselves, enjoying them when we stop for swimming or snorkelling, and on some nights we will grill fishes for dinner and then sleep on the beaches of uninhabited islands. Evenings on the beach are romantic and unforgettable, an experience that few people are lucky enough to enjoy. 

Calawit

Calawit has finally been returned to its rightful owners – a sub-tribe of Tagbanua – that were back in the 1970s evicted to make way for a wildlife park, which was partly filled with African savannah animals. Now the Tagbanua have been recognised as the ancestral owners of the island, and they have gained self-autonomy. They have retained certain aspects of the park, which is important not so much for its African game animals (the African animals are a bizarre relic of the eccentricities and vanities of President Ferdinand Marcos, who dreamt up the park and set it up by decree) but for some of the rare indigenous species that it holds. These endemic species include rare animals such as the Calamian deer, mouse deer, bearcat, peacock pheasant, and even Palawan crocodiles (which are virtually extinct). Although the park is something contrived for tourists, we will do a very short tour of the park to see some of the rare indigenous animals.

Start & Finish: Coron, Busuanga

Duration: 11 days

Prices: Prices start at €1400 (US$1900) total per person for two travellers, €1180 (US$1600) each for three travellers, and then continues to fall thereafter depending on the size of the group. The price is all-inclusive; the only things that aren’t covered are incidental or superfluous personal expenses.

Crew & Boat: Clients travel most of the time in sizeable vernacular outrigger launch (or banca in Tagalog; the boat is equipped by radio equipment, life jackets, and first aid). There are also some land transfers in aircon minibuses. The crew consists of skipper, general boat-hand, tour leader, and local guides where needed. 

Accommodation: Upscale resort on one night, mid-range resorts on two nights, guesthouses on three nights, and homestays or camping (or hammock) on four nights. 

Dynamic Prices & Flexible Arrangements: Since we mostly cater for private groups, the itinerary here is a default or suggested itinerary that we usually alter depending on the clients’ budget and preferences. The prices quoted above are for a full complement of crew and mid-range hotels. You can change these arrangements to something that suits you better – find out more about ways with customised arrangements at Dynamic Pricing.  

Seafood Plus: You will feast on fresh plainly-cooked and delectable seafood during any tour in the Calamians, but you can customise a tour by making it a more distinct seafood cookery tour. This could mean more involvement in preparing traditional seafood dishes and in catching fish or gathering seaweed and shells. Some traditional dishes can be replicated at home, and you can learn delicious dishes such as a tamarind-spiced soup with seafood, spicy and lemony raw tuna chunks in coconut milk, aubergine and dried-salted-fish omelette, salad of seagrasses, grilled stuffed squid (as well as squid in its own ink, or adobo style in soy sauce and lemon), fish dipping sauces, and lots more.

Photography Plus: Our tour leader in the Calamians is also an award-winning photographer in the Philippines. He specialises in coastal land-waterscapes (one of his beach pictures won first prize in a Canon competition) and ethnography. A native Calamanian, he has long experience working in the Calamians, allowing him to choose the best locations for spectacular photography. He can organise fine-tuned travel photography journeys focused on photographic instruction – and using the same hands-on practical instruction principles and modules as employed in our flagship Travel Photography tour. Any photography tour in the Calamians could be built on any locations mentioned in the tour on this page and the sister tour Dugong Moments.

Flight Assistance: We can assist you in booking and purchasing your flights (or to give you advice if you prefer to purchase the flights yourself) between Manila and Busuanga, where our tour will begin and finish. 

Detailed Info: For any questions or more details about this tour, please write to us.

Terms & Conditions: For the general terms and conditions that govern our tours and operation, and Frequently Asked Questions, please go to Nitty Gritty (FAQs)

Travel Independently: Would you prefer to travel in a more independent spirit to the places where we work, which are mostly locations beyond the main tourist circuits? We can help you arrange the logistics so that you can focus on enjoying the trip instead of using up your stamina in frustratingly trying to solve logistical tie-ups. Bear in mind that it may be impossible or very hard to find public transport to destinations where we operate, and it’s equally hard trying to find local guides and accommodation unless you speak the language and have local contacts. We can take away the hassles by fixing all these logistics, but you can still travel at your pace and unattached from general guide. Find out more at Travel Independently.