ANTIQUE: 3D2N Budget Travel Guide + Itinerary & Useful Tips

Antique is one of the provinces within the Panay Group Of Islands. It is less popular than its neighbors, Iloilo and Aklan but it is not in any way less beautiful nor less interesting. In fact, it has a more versatile offering most people are not aware of. While Aklan has the world-famous Boracay to keep our minds full while seeing barely 10% of this entire province, Antique, on the other hand, is not all sun and sands. Sure, it has a handful of islands to satisfy our quest for white sandy beaches and clear turquoise water but it has left the more amazing stuff in its mountains teeming with waterfalls, rice terraces, adventures and “the original” kawa hot bath experience.

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MY 3D2N ANTIQUE ITINERARY

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I had a chance to get a glimpse of Antique during the start of the year 2020, just months before everything started going downhill due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I have a promising itinerary drafted inside my head (I stopped writing itineraries on paper or on my phone a long time ago) which I would conclude witnessing this year’s Dinagyang Festival. It didn’t go perfectly as planned just like all the other plans I had but it was one I would always cherish among my travels. Here’s how it all went down.

Day 1 – A Long Journey Ending With A Sunset In Malalison Island

I chose Iloilo as my jump-off point to Antique since I was flying from Davao City. Had I been flying from Manila, I would have chosen Caticlan as it will only take two hours the most to reach Culasi instead of the five hours coming from Iloilo.The absence of direct flights from Davao to Caticlan made me chose Iloilo despite knowing the painstaking 5 hours I will be spending on the road just to reach my first destination, Malalison Island.

4 AM on Tuesday, I was already on board a small Philippine Airline aircraft bound for Iloilo. In the background, I could hear people talking about why the aircraft had to be so small. I rolled my eyes when an elderly woman loudly expressed her worries and asked her companion if the aircraft could even take us safely to our destination. Like please lady! Don’t echo my thoughts as I already got a ton of Final Destination scenes played in repeat inside my head. Lol. But seriously, I still get nervous and unsettled as hell despite having flown many flights in the many years I’ve been traveling.

We safely landed in Iloilo at 5:30 AM. I immediately rode a van to take me to the town center where I could get a ride going to Culasi. If everything goes smoothly, I will be in Culasi by 10 AM and I will have plenty of time to explore Malalison Island before sundown. Of course, it didn’t go as planned. The van going to Culasi was slow to fill passengers that it didn’t leave until it was about 8 AM. It also had to stop several times to load and unload passengers. We also took the route in the mountains, which I think was the longer, more precarious route than the one along the coastline.

I arrived in Culasi at 1 PM where I was so famished I immediately looked for a place to eat. After filling my tummy, I rode a tricycle to the Tourism Office. I was expecting not to see a soul to share the boat with so I had prepared for this trip to take a huge chunk from my budget. Gladly, I met Edge at the Tourism Office and we decided to share the cost of the boat. He was also staying for the night and had no timeline in particular which is just to my liking. We rode the boat at 2 PM and 20 minutes later we were in Malalison Island. The scorching heat of the afternoon sun made me skip exploring to doze off a bit. I made sure not to skip the sunset though. At sundown, I was at the beach where I lay at the sands basking at the beautiful collision of colors in the sky.

Day 2 – Breathtaking Sunrise Atop Malalison Island & My First Kawa Hot Bath Experience

4 AM the following day, we began hiking to the top of the hills of Malalison Island. The hike started with a walk on a narrow concrete path along local houses. There were no streetlights so I had to rely on my phone to light up the way. The local dogs barking as we passed by made walking in darkness more unnerving. I love those furry creatures but the unfamiliar ones scare the heck out of me because I haven’t been bitten by a dog before and I pray it never happens ever.

The concrete path ended and we emerged into the shore. We quickly covered the walk along rough sands and piles of rocks and started ascending the hills. The trail is characterized mainly by huge rocks. It was rugged but not steep. Just a gradual ascent that went on for about 300 meters or so. What fascinated me was that the same trail is used by local children to go to school which they would normally cover within 10 minutes. That took me 20 minutes and a lot of sweat.

Overcoming the ascent, a long walk along flats followed. Here usually lies the infamous pitcher plants. You know those carnivorous plants we usually see in the movies swallowing humans whole but these ones are less dangerous. Insects are pretty much their diet. The final challenge was a long and steep ascent to one of the peaks. It was rockstrewn yet a bit eroded that I had to be careful with every step to avoid slips. There’s a rope at the side of the trail which you can use for support while you ascend.

At 15 minutes before 5 AM, we reached the first peak. It was windy but the cold morning breeze was so refreshing. We waited until it was about 6 AM for the sunrise. When the sun finally showed up, covering everything in sight in gold and orange, it was perfection. We spent about an hour taking in the view and snapping us photos. After that, we started our descent. We decided not to go to the other peaks to spend the rest of the hours while on the island at the beach. At 12 NN, we left Malalison Island. Edge and I parted ways after that as he was headed for Iloilo and I was to Tibiao to experience their Kawa Hot Bath.

Edge told me to choose Calawag Mountain Resort as it’s the best choice among the resorts in the area which I heed no less and I’m just glad I did. The resort is laidback, serene and pretty. The staff were kind and accommodating. The food is good. The kawa hot bath was superb that I probably spent over an hour just soaked up in its warm and comforting water. The room where I spent the night was homey. I slept like a baby and it made me forget I haven’t been able to access the internet since noontime.

Day 3 – Sumptuous Breakfast & The Amazing Whitewater Tubing

The only thing that I probably regret about this trip is me not bringing a floater for my Go Pro cam that I haven’t been able to capture the great adventure I had while water tubing. I booked it with Calawag Mountain Resort for P400 and they scheduled me for this morning. I just had coffee to get me out of a sleepy mode. My guide then took me to the water tubing site on a motorcycle. I was the only one scheduled for that day so I was anxious. It would have been more ideal if I had other guests to play with but my guide assured me we’re going to have a lot of fun. And a lot of fun we certainly had.

Whitewater Tubing is much like rafting but instead of a raft with a paddle on my hand, I was on a buoy holding for dear life as I let the surging river water take me to wherever. Of course, my guide was with me doing all the propelling while I simply enjoyed myself. The water tubing probably lasted 30 minutes or so covering 3-4 adventure spots where I just screamed my heart out in excitement. The surging water was less wild than the ones I had experienced before but I had one hell of a great time.

Back in the resort, I had breakfast over a generous serving of fried rice, corned beef, scrambled eggs, dried fish and fried eggplant. I completed this delicious meal with another cup of creamy coffee. It was an instant 3-in-1 coffee mix which was not at all that bad but I wish I brought with me some coffee I got from Buscalan for a much fulfilling coffee experience. I explored the resort some more and took in all the beauty before me before heading for a shower to travel back to Iloilo for the Dinagyang Festival. I made a pass at chasing waterfalls as I thought I would rather save energy for the weekend festivities.

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HOW TO GO TO ANTIQUE

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From Manila – The best airport to access Antique is Caticlan which all local airlines fly to daily. From Caticlan, there will be buses available to every destination nearby. Hop on the one going to Iloilo as it will pass by Antique. You can alight either in Culasi to head to Malalison Island or Tibiao for the Kawa Hot Bath.

From Iloilo – From the airport, ride a van to the bus or van terminal going to Antique (20 Min | P70) then ride a van or a bus to either Culasi or Tibiao (5 Hrs | P220). The earliest trip is at 5 AM daily.

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USEFUL TRAVEL TIPS & INFO TO ANTIQUE

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• Choose Caticlan as your starting point when exploring Antique. It is less of a hassle and only takes 2 hours to reach this magnificent province.
• I suggest staying a night in Calawag Mountain Resort. Reservation is not really necessary. The place is so serene and peaceful. Just know that there is no cellular phone coverage in the resort and you will have to do with the sound of the river and birds for entertainment.
• Calawag Mountain Resort offers almost all of the activities in the area at affordable prices such as Whitewater Tubing and Massage aside from their array of Kawa Hot Bath spa.
  Chasing waterfalls is best done DIY. You will have to coordinate with the Local Tourism Office to acquire a guide for P200.
• The motorcycle fare from Tibiao drop off point to the mountain resorts is P90/way. The ride will take about 20 minutes through the steep concrete roads of this town.
• Visitors are required to pay a fee of P50 before being allowed to go to the resorts.
• Malalison Island can be reached within 20 minutes via an outrigger boat. Visitors are required to register with the Tourism Office in Culasi and pay a fee of P30 before being allowed to go to the island.
• Round trip boat to/from Malalison Island is priced at P500 for a day tour and P1000 for overnight. Camping is allowed but homestays are recommended and are priced at P300/head/night.
• Trekking to witness the sunrise or the sunset in one of the peaks in Malalison Island is recommended. The guide fee is P300 and can be shared by up to 5 people in a group.

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BUDGET & OTHER ESSENTIALS

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EXPENSES (Solo w/o airfare)	Day-1 Van to Culasi - P220 RT Boat @ P1000/2 - P500 Environmental Fee Malalison Island - P30 Homestay Malalison Island - P300 Food - P300 Total Day1 - P1350 Day-2 Guide For Trekking @ P300/2 - P150 Food - P300 Bus to Tibiao - P30 Fare to Calawag Mountain Resort - P90 Environmental Fee - P50 Accommodation - P400 Kawa Hot Bath - P399 Total Day2 - P1419 Day-3 Whitewater Tubing - P400 Food - P300 Fare to Jump-off - P90 Bus to Iloilo - P220 Total Day3 - P1010 TOTAL for 3D2N - P3779
WHAT ARE THE FEES	Malalison Island Round Trip Boat - P500 Day TOur | P1000 Overnight Environmental Fee - P30 Homestay - P300/Head/Night Guide Trek - P300/5Pax Tibiao Environmental Fee - P50 Kawa Hot Bath - starts at P299 Whitewater Tubing - P400 Chasing Waterfalls - P200 Accommodation - Starts at P400
CONTACTS	Calawag Mountain Resort - 09174503121 | 09475316518

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There you have it, Lovelies! I hope my adventure in Antique helps you in planning your trip too. I know I had only seen the tip of the great iceberg that this province is and I have yet to see a whole lot so I’m definitely going back. If you enjoyed this post, share it with your friends. Until next time. Ciao!