The Poor Traveler and his college friends had not been together in over a year. We had always wanted to meet up and hang out but because of our tight schedules as corporate slaves, it just couldn’t happen. Last April, somewhere in our Twitter exchanges, the idea of going to Lucban, Quezon for the Pahiyas Festival came up. Unfortunately, as expected, not everyone was free that weekend. We had to move it to the weekend after that.

But because Pahiyas Festival would be over by then, we had to find another destination in Quezon. After a lot of research and a long deliberation, everyone agreed to just go on a camping trip in Padre Burgos and Pagbilao, Quezon.

What’s in Pagbilao and Padre Burgos, you ask? Well, three white beaches! Puting Buhangin in Pagbilao, and Borawan and Dampalitan Islands in Padre Burgos.

Dampalitan Island

Puting Buhangin and Kuwebang Lampas

Borawan Island

After deciding on the destination, the challenge now was the logistics.

Backpacking vs Budget Travel Agency

Because a camping trip would require us to bring food and tents, we ended up hiring a budget travel agency to do all those for us. None of us had tents, we didn’t have time to buy or borrow tents and we had no idea how to commute to Padre Burgos. With a travel agency, all we had to do was show up and the agency would take care of everything else. It would have been nice to backpack but since it’s a reunion, we figured it would be best to just relax and enjoy one another’s company without worrying about anything else.

The travel agency we hired was 7107 Islands Tour (+63917-627-4945, 7107islandstours@gmail.com). We asked for a quote for 10 people. The price was reasonable. Each of us would be paying P2800 for the entire trip.

The P2800/pax covered the following:

• Round-trip Manila-Quezon-Manila transportation (including driver, gas, toll gate)
• Padre Burgos Tour: Borawan Beach, Dampalitan Beach
• Pagbilao Tour: Kwebang Lampas, Puting Buhangin
• Four meals (lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch)
• Tent accommodation
• Entrance and guide fees
• Boat rental

The only things not included were the first breakfast and last dinner. Both would be somewhere along the way.

Overnight Camping Itinerary

After a couple of days, we received the itinerary. Here it is.

Day 1:
0300 – Assembly time
0330 – ETD Manila
0700 – ETA Padre Burgos
0800 – ETA Puting Buhangin and Kwebang Lampas
1200 – Lunch
1500 – ETD Puting Buhangin
1530 – ETA Borawan Beach; pitch camp
1800 – Dinner
1900 – Socials

Day 2:
0600 – Wake up call
0700 – Breakfast
0900 – Breakup camp
1000 – ETA Dampalitan Beach
1200 – Lunch
1400 – ETA Campo, Padre Burgos
1500 – ETD Campo, Padre Burgos
2000 – ETA Manila

Tips for Weekend Overnight Camping

Since it is a camping trip, preparations must be made. Our agency would provide us with tents and meals so we didn’t worry about those.

Dampalitan Island

They also arranged our land transfers and boat rides. But here are some things that you need to bring for the trip and why.

• Toiletries and sunblock – The usual. There are stores in the islands but expect that items are a bit overpriced so better bring shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper and wet wipes. There are public toilets on Dampalitan Island but water is a bit scarce.
• Mosquito-repellant lotion – Lots of them because some of your friends will forget to bring and will ask you to share. There are mosquitoes on the islands. Better be safe than sick.
• Flashlight – I swear, you’ll need it. There’s no electricity there.
• Lighter and lots of stories – You’ll be tempted to start a bonfire and you will need the lighter to start the fire and conversations to keep it burning. LOL.
• First-aid Kit – You’ll never know.
• Snorkeling Gear – We didn’t see live corals there but there were lots of fish and they were so nice to watch.
• Water-proof camera – Kuwebang Lampas (in Putting Buhangin) is awesome but the water going there is deep. If you want pictures inside the cave, a waterproof camera will prove very useful.

There you have it. I will be posting more about our Quezon Tour. Stay tuned.

How to Get There

Although we availed the services of a budget travel agency for this trip, let me share you how to get to this place from Manila by public transport.

1. Ride a bus to Lucena City. There are many terminals in Metro Manila that go to Lucena. Fare is somewhere between P250-260. Travel time: 3 hours.
2. Alight at Lucena Grand Terminal.
3. From the terminal, take another bus to Unisan. The bus is not air-conditioned and fare is around P35-40. Travel time: 1 and a half hours.
4. Get off at QCRB Bank (Padre Burgos) or ask the driver to drop you off here.
5. Take a tricycle to Aplaya. Tell the driver you intend to go to Borawan.
6. There are boats for rent in Aplaya. These boats can take you on an island-hopping tour with stops in Puting Buhangin (Pagbilao), Dampalitan Island and Borawan Island.

That’s it! Enjoy Padre Burgos and Pagbilao, Quezon!

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