Deers & Dugongs: 2-Day & 3-Day Busuanga Wildlife Package

• 4x4
• Expeditions
• Hiking
• Northern Luzon
• Sea Kayaking
• Snorkeling

Calamian deer and dugongs might be endangered, but not so scarce on and off their home island of Calauit not to come out to play!

If you’re yearning for an overdose of wildlife and nature have we got the all-inclusive package for you!

Two days has giraffes feeding out of your hands and cute Calamian deer posing with you for a selfie. It also has you out discovering by kayak or on foot one of the most extraordinary sandbars the Philippines dishes up at low tide. It’s a sandbar linking the three Midpid Islands to the main island of Busuanga.

Three days, staying not one but two nights at Tribal Adventures’ dedicated expedition camp “SandCastles”, will have you experience dugongs coming out to play. It’s a snorkeling experience like no other. And, the tour is Indigenous-led, one of the few such experiences anywhere in the world.

And, sandwiched in your activities-packed programme is a short hike into Sinibayan waterfall with its incomparable rockpools set in lush rainforest among towering palms, lianas, a plethora of plants and hardwood trees. At Sinibayan, your guide will barbecue you a sumptuous lunch, one of a number of gastronomic natural & native meals prepared specially for our Wildlife Adventure participants.

Waterfalls & Wildlife of Busuanga

A full day by 4x4 to come face to face with giraffes, zebra, and other wildlife before hiking through tropical

Palawan

Full Day

Dugong Snorkeling Off Luxury Catamaran Or Native Banca

With the help of a local Tagbanua guide, you’ll cruise Northern Busuanga in search of Dugongs, and with some luck,

Palawan

Full Day

The Wildlife Adventure Package is two full days — with even a third for those eager for activity! You can opt to stay one night or two. The package includes full board, tours and activities–and yes even through to late afternoon on the third day and there’s no extra cost–as well as airport or hotel pick up and drop off.

Calauit is big – at 3,700 hectares, Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary is Southeast Asia’s largest exotic wildlife park, turning on its head the Law of the African Jungle, as a variety of African species roam free on the island, and will literally eat out of your hand! This 2-day adventure splits up the long drive from the airport or Coron Town to Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary, giving you more time to explore untouched northern Busuanga.

Calauit is an island, separated from the main island of Busuanga by a remarkable 7-km long mangrove estuary. It’s one of the best kept secrets of zoo-less conservation. Though some caution is warranted: There is a tiny zoo within the park established to pander to the local Filipino market housing a porcupine, some monkeys, civat cats, a python (from mainland Southeast Asia) and the occasional eagle. We usually give it a wide berth to send a message of disapproval.

Calauit also has a controversial history that pulls at the heart-strings — of a native people displaced to satisfy the whims of a dictator’s penchant to have an African safari park transplanted to his homeland of the Philippines.

Yes, during Kenya’s Mau Mau rebellion, Ferdinand Marcos made the right noises about saving African wild species, but the truth was he and a business associate of his wanted a safari park for their personal pleasure.

Marcos, the dictator, has long since gone — now replaced by his son Bong Bong as President — and the Calauit sanctuary is a public conservation project, which was subsequently expanded to become a refuge for the Calamian deer. In recent years, the native Tagbanua, many of whom have moved back to the edge of the island, have offered their services to guide visitors on a snorkeling tour of dugong.

Dugong snorkeling is a paid extra–and you need to book ahead.

The tour incorporates accommodation in a Palawan SandCastles Busuanga beach house: they’re airconditioned, but they’re designed to open up and capture the sea breezes. Their en suites each have a spring water mini-plunge pool. Accommodation is with a queen size bed for a single person or double occupancy. There is no single supplement on the Wildlife Adventure Package–just a per person price depending upon the number of persons in your party.

The trip may use our Land Rover Defender or a more comfy van, depending upon road conditions and availability.

Time and conditions permitting, we really recommend a late barbecue lunch stop at Sinibayan waterfall and rock pools after visiting Calauit Wildlife Park: Now, this tropical waterfall is another well kept secret! Set within a lush rainforest are rock pools fed by waterfalls. The swimming is divine and the 20-minute hike in is an experience to savour with birds chirping, the distinctive smell of the canopy’s undergrowth, the speckled light so characteristic of the jungle. And, most important–this, the best waterfall in Busuanga, is off the tourist trail. Only true locals are in on the secret!

Should you have your second day free you can add Tribal Adventures’ tour snorkeling with dugong. The cost is a fraction of the usual tour cost. But don’t consider it if you have a flight out on the second day. It’ll be too rushed even for a 4pm flight out of Coron-Busuanga. If no flight, you can consider a second night’s stay in your SandCastles beach house. A modest extra charge applies and you can avail of our 4-course dinner and hearty breakfast, as well as hike, bike, snorkel and kayak free of charge! And, you’ll also have a late 3pm checkout before your free transfer to airport or Coron town.

Car pick up and drop-off included, as are meals, accommodation, the Calauit tour and snorkeling, biking and kayaking activities out of expedition base SandCastles.

If you’re not opting to snorkel with dugong, Day 1 has you checking in to Palawan SandCastles, Tribal Adventures rustic and secluded adventure camp, giving you the opportunity to kayak and snorkel the crystal clear waters and stunning coral reefs of Dugong Bay – home to over 30 dugongs (sea cows). Your Tribal Adventures guide will take you to nearby islands and sandbars, showing you the best snorkeling spots and introducing you to some of the local community to chat about their way of life – all while keeping an eye out for the bay area’s elusive dugongs. Should you have opted for dugong snorkeling, your Day 1 will be your visit to Calauit Wildlife Park and Sinibayan Waterfall.

For those not doing dugongs, you’re up early on your second day for the trip to Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary, which can either be done by Land Rover or van, giving you some amazing hilltop views.

The Calauit Safari brings you on an up-close encounter with African animals – feeding giraffes and patting zebra, and giving you all the history of how they ended up in the Philippines. After the safari, a 4×4 will be waiting to take you to the jump off point for Sinibayan Waterfalls. The 45 minute hike through tropical rainforest gets you to the cool freshwater rock pools, where your guide will prepare a barbeque lunch while you go for a relaxing dip.

The tour ends with a 4×4 transfer back to SandCastles to take a dip in a spring water plunge pool, checkout and pick up your gear before heading back to Coron Town or to the airport for a late flight out. (We strongly recommend a flight departure after 4.30pm and not before).

Participants of the Wildlife Adventure Package may, after their dugong snorkeling experience on the second day, opt to stay a second night at SandCastles on full board (dinner & breakfast) with continuing free kayaking, hiking and mountain biking, along with free transfer out any time on your third day to the airport or Coron town. Late 3pm checkout applies. A generous rate applies.