CRESTA DE GALLO: DIY Budget Travel Guide & Itinerary To The Hidden Paradise Of Romblon

Dreamy cerulean waters that goes as far as your eyes can see. Velvety fine white sands you can’t resist sinking your feet into. Breathtaking sunsets you would remember for the rest of your days. Bet you’re thinking of The Maldives or an island somewhere in Palawan to feed your curiosity by these mere definitions. Well, I hate to burst your bubble but it’s not even close. This secluded island paradise where you can run free all day -naked if you please, bathe in its pristine waters for as long as you want without nuisance, relish at its surreal beauty and purity and drive yourself crazy with its deafening silence, is no other than Cresta De Gallo.

Wait. Cresta what? Yup. I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t sound familiar since Cresta De Gallo is within Romblon, an amazingly beautiful province but is sadly quite underrated. I, myself, wouldn’t have known this paradise if it hadn’t been for my love of offbeat destinations. While many prefer beach resorts with infinity pools and posh rooms overlooking the vast ocean, I prefer to see only palm trees line up the shores. I don’t mind a hut or two and it’s even better without mobile signal. Cresta De Gallo Island is just my kind of island. It’s secluded, uncrowded, serene and best of all, unearthly. So how in the world did we find this paradise and how you can have the same epic adventure as did us? Allow me to share.

THE STORY

Our visit to Cresta De Gallo Island was part of our annual Holy Week Escapade. It’s a tradition my friends established since that wonderful experience we had in Babuyan Islands in 2017. The goal was to spend five days at least in some remote destination where finding a crowd is rare to impossible. And that’s when we thought of Romblon since it’s not so popular, it’s far and there’s only a handful of information about it on the internet which was good but not totally ideal to do some research for our trip.

Since we were traveling on a holiday, careful considerations were made regarding transportation, budget and a whole lot of unexpected stuff that may arise along the way. We normally travel cheap but given all considerations, we expected for it to come a little pricey for our taste. In our itinerary, Cresta De Gallo was our last destination. We thought it was the perfect place to cap off our Holy Week Trip and instead, started off in Carabao Island as it was the nearest destination from our jump off point, Caticlan. This trip began with a voyage and ended with one. In fact, we’re at the sea 95% of the time.

In each of our travels, we always expect the unexpected. We make room for adjustments no matter what may come along our way but it doesn’t mean we don’t pray for a smooth journey. As much as possible, we would like everything to go as planned but on our 3rd day, the moment we dreaded the most happened. It was already 8AM and we didn’t seem to be heading somewhere. We were in Romblon Port waiting for our ferry to Sibuyan Island that was supposed to have started the voyage at 6AM. Turns out there was a delay and a possibility of the trip getting cancelled was inevitable.

After three agonizing hours of waiting, we finally sailed to Sibuyan Island. It was a pretty rough ride as the waters weren’t too friendly but we survived. We arrived in Magdiwang Port, Sibuyan Island at 10AM and immediately went to ride a jeepney to San Fernando. The jeepney ride was probably worse than a roller coaster. It was rough and bumpy. It wasn’t treacherous in any way but to say it was a hell ride was an understatement. Jeez. I hated that part of the trip. I mean I don’t mind a jeepney ride along dangerous but smooth concrete roads but the one over unpaved, rugged road is the worst. I was just glad for it to be over after an hour. Otherwise, I would have gone down and walked.

Arriving in San Fernando, we immediately grab lunch. After that, we went to look us a boat while some of us went to the market to buy us provisions. At 1:30PM, we were having the best time of our lives on a boat to Cresta De Gallo undermining the waters splashing on our faces as the outrigger boat sailed like a speedboat in disguise over huge waves. At 2PM, we couldn’t believe our eyes as we stared at the crystal clear waters of Cresta De Gallo. It was as if someone poured in a giant bottle of gatorade around the island. It was so surreal. So breathtaking. Indeed a paradise.

Cresta De Gallo Island was, for us, one of the best islands we have ever seen. It made everything worth it as it easily wiped off traces of unpleasant encounters we had during this trip, from us getting ripped off several times to having a feeling of not making the most out of this travel. It simply was the answer we needed so that we could finally say that we have yet another epic adventure like we did in Babuyan Islands, perhaps better. Don’t get me wrong. I love every moment we had in Carabao Island. That island was absolutely gorgeous. And that island hopping in Romblon Islands was really exciting. Let’s just say Cresta De Gallo is the delicious icing on an already decadent cake. It made everything more special.

HOW TO GO TO CRESTA DE GALLO

There are several ways to go to Cresta De Gallo Island but most of the options involve travelling by sea. The nearest island and also the jump off point which is Sibuyan doesn’t have an airport yet. So depends on your schedule, you can choose which route to take from the options below.

From Manila – CebuPacific flies to Tablas Airport three times weekly. Once in Tablas Island, head to Odiongan Port via a jeepney (1Hr ; P120). From there, ride a ferry to Sibuyan Island (4Hrs ; P340).

Once in Magdiwang Port (Sibuyan), you can either charter a boat going directly to Cresta De Gallo (a little expensive) or go on a cheaper route which is riding a jeepney to the town of San Fernando and hiring a boat once you get there.

Now if you find flying to Romblon expensive or if your schedule doesn’t coincide with the flights available, then you can just ride a bus going to Batangas Port for P160 and take the ferry of your preference. Indicated below are the shipping lines you can choose from and their corresponding schedules.

From Lucena Port – Starhorse Shipping Lines has trips to Sibuyan Island every Tuesdays and Saturdays which depart at 2AM and arrive at 8PM. Trips from Sibuyan Island to Lucena Port are on Mondays and Fridays at 8AM. Fare is P500.

From Marinduque – In Cawit, Boac Marinduque, Starhorse Shipping Lines stops by at 6AM every Tuesdays and Saturdays enroute San Agustin, Romblon Island and Sibuyan Island.

From Caticlan – 2GO has daily trips going to Odiongan Port at 8AM. From there, you can ride a ferry going to Sibuyan Island. You should be able to get to Cresta De Gallo via a direct boat or via San Fernando.

From Capiz – 2GO has trips from Roxas City to Romblon Island on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 2PM. From there, you can ride a boat to Sibuyan Island.

You can also hire an outrigger boat to go to Cresta De Gallo from any of the nearby islands.

From Carabao Island – A 6-to-8-hour o boat that can fit up to 15 people from Carabao Island to Cresta De Gallo may set you back P10-12k.

USEFUL TRAVEL TIPS

• Reservation is not necessary but for convenience, you may contact a boat operator ahead of time. I recommend Ate Vicky – 0926 462 3377. They offer a day trip boat transfer for P3000 from San Fernando to Cresta De Gallo. Rates may vary for overnight and multiple days stay.
• If you are going overnight in Cresta De Gallo, make sure to discuss clearly with the boat operator the hours as to when you are going back to San Fernando the next day to avoid confusion and to set the price right. Some of them take overnight literally. Like staying on the island for the night and going back to the mainland at 6AM the following day.
• Bring enough cash as there are no ATMs in Sibuyan Island. Although withdrawals can be done via remittance centers, this is not totally foolproof as the service can at times go offline.
• Cresta De Gallo is devoid of any human infrastructure except for the small hut which is home to the caretaker of the island. If you plan to spend the night there, gear up. Bring a tent, hammock, cook set, cutlery and utensils. Your provision should also be enough to cover your stay and lots of drinking water is a must.
• Please keep the island clean and avoid bringing in single used plastics. As much as possible, bring reusable containers. Take your trash with you when you leave and dispose it properly in the mainland.
• After exploring Cresta De Gallo, you can explore some of the natural wonders found in Sibuyan Island such as Cantingas River and Dagubdub Falls. If you are into the adventurous side, scaling Mt. Guiting-Guiting will definitely give your much needed adrenaline rush. Ever you plan to stay longer, you may stay at Sanctuary Garden Resort – Brgy, Tampayan, Magdiwang, Sibuyan Island, Romblon, Philippines
• Getting out of Sibuyan Island is as easy as tracing the route you took to get to the island. You can also take Star Horse ferry if you’re headed back to Manila. Trips from Sibuyan Island to Lucena Port are on Mondays and Fridays at 8AM. Fare is P500. On the other hand, below are some of your other options if you are headed to Manila but these would require getting to either Odiongan or Romblon Island first.1

BUDGET, ITINERARY & OTHER ESSENTIALS

This trip to Cresta De Gallo was part of our 4-Day Romblon Holy Week Escapade. You can check out that article for the full itinerary. If you only need info for this island, please refer to the table below.

There you have it lovelies! For questions, suggestions and other info, just drop them on the comments below. Until next time. Don’t forget to share. Ciao!