Kayak the waters of Northern Busuanga in an expedition sea kayak. Stop to wander deserted islands and pristine beaches. Snorkel colourful reefs, explore the area’s rivers and nipa palm and mangrove estuaries. Led by a skilled Tribal Adventures’ kayak guide, your half-day or daylong adventure is pitched at your skill, interest and endurance level. If you got a bit of paddling behind you and wish to ditch the kayak guide, you can also do a self-guided trip out of SandCastles.
Experience “the last frontier”
For a full day trip, the paddle proper gets underway around 8am after a briefing and a cup of coffee. Participants from Coron town an hour’s drive away by van leave by 6.30am, arriving around 7.30am. Transport is not included. Two-way from Coron town is 8,000 pesos should you wish to avail of Tribal Adventures/SandCastles private vehicle transport. If you’re on a hired motor bike do give yourself an extra 30 minutes: you’ll want to snap some photos along the way and greet the locals!
For a half-day trip, say, to the Midpid sandbars out of SandCastles, your trip typically starts at 10am, departure from Coron town being 8am or so.
On the shore at SandCastles, when your guide has helped fit you to your sit-in sea kayak, giving some safety tips and perhaps demonstrated how to recover and re-enter your sea kayak should you capsize, you’ll be ready to push off.
At first we’ll hug the coast, getting our sea legs, before venturing into Dugong Bay, so named for being the home to the largest number of sea cows in the Philippines.
Keeping one eye out for dugong, jumping fish, sea turtles and sea birds, we’ll kayak a coast with unparalleled beauty in the rich and diverse Calamian, the name given to the archipelago of some 200 islands, the principal ones being Busuanga, Coron and Culion.
Depending upon the wind and tide, your guide will decide to tackle the circuit clockwise or anti-clockwise. You’re about the discover why the legendary marine explorer Jacques Cousteau named the area ‘the last frontier”.
Wildlife, Culture, Activity
The paddle ranges from 5 to 9 kilometres, throwing up the magical Midpid Arch, three snaking sandbars, and three islands with wildlife including cheeky monkeys.
The three Midpid islands are joined to the mainland of Busuanga by the last of the three sandbars, all walkable at low tide. Our route–clockwise or anti-clockwise–will be largely determined by the timing of low and medium tide.
Merienda will be had on a Midpid beach ideal for stringing up hammocks. Actually, each expedition sea kayak has a hammock inside a hatch. Find a shady spot, take a siesta if you like, or take a walk on the island or on the snaking sandbars. Leaving our sanctuary, we kayak across to Lakdayan Beach, meet an Indigenous Tagbanua family — they might tell you an all-too familiar story of land dispossession.
Timing permitting, your guide could show you how to harvest sea urchins before paddling back to SandCastles via the resort’s rugged headland featuring small coves, a cave and some colourful reefs approaching the resort.
Feel free to tie up to SandCastles snorkeling platform and do some snorkeling before arriving at SandCastles. There, take a dip in our bar spring water plunge pool at the end of your tour.
| DEPARTURE/RETURN LOCATION | Palawan SandCastles | |
| DEPARTURE TIME |
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| HIGHLIGHTS |
The paddle ranges from 7 to 17 kilometres, and incorporates as many snorkeling opportunities as the destinations you traverse throw up. 9am push-off after an equipment and safety briefing from SandCastles Adventure Centre. A typical 12-km route is paddling north to a snorkeling spot, then west from expedition base SandCastles to the Minuit River: the early reaches of the river reveals a massive expanse of nipa growing out of the brackish depths; upriver the leaves of tropical trees drip into the river, requiring some slalom paddling. In the water we pass tethered water buffalo cooling off in the shallows. Pacing the progress of we paddlers will be a colourful kingfisher or three, flying from tree to tree, staying just beyond reach of a camera without a decent zoom lens. Before turning to return, a stop-off’s in order, a chance for a snack and a dip. Exiting the river and hanging a left you get to Minit village, a fishing community. It’s a chance to soak up some local colour before exploring the estuaries and coastline of Minit, arriving at the house of Tribal Adventures’ guide Bobby. He and his family will welcome you, inviting you to enjoy his home. We’ll take lunch together. We paddle on to the main barrio (village) of Cheey, located on another lovely beach. Exiting the kayaks we take a stroll to the village high school rebuilt after the first school — funded by Tribal Adventures — was flattened by a typhoon. Paddlers’ funds have also been used to build the school the second time around! Departing Cheey, we cross the bay, arriving at the Midpid Islands for a stroll and snorkel. The three Midpid islands are joined to the mainland of Busuanga by a sandbar at low tide. Our route–clockwise or anti-clockwise–will be largely determined by the timing of low and medium tide. At afternoon merienda (afternoon tea) time, your guide will effort to have us break at a shady spot, ideal to string up hammocks, catching the tropical breeze and lulling all to a wondrous short siesta before merienda. Leaving our sanctuary, we kayak back to SandCastles, depositing those who haven’t had enough excitement at a final snorkel spot in earshot of expedition base SandCastles.
| COST PER PERSON
Guided Self-Guided |
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| 3+ PERSONS | 3,000 1,000 |
| 2 PERSONS | 3,250 1,000 |
| 1 PERSON | 3,500 1,000 |
| INCLUDED for 3-hour TOUR | Single sea kayak or place in double sea kayak, paddle, life vest, snorkel/mask, water bottle with bulk refill, entrance fees, lunch, snacks, guide, life saving/safety monitoring, post-tour plunge pool dip with coffee/tea, shower, towel |
| INCLUDED for 3-hour Self-Guided trip | Single sea kayak or seat in double sea kayak
Paddle, life vest Life saving/safety monitoring |
