***Calbayog > Allen > Lavezares > Biri***
*Plane from Mactan-Cebu Airport to Calbayog Airport (1 hour)*
- (You can also take a Cebu – Catarman flight. I heard there’s a ride from Catarman straight to Lavezares.)
*Tricycle from Calbayog Airport to Calbayog Grand Tours Van Terminal (15 minutes)*
- Just look for a trike driver and ask him to drive you to Grand Tours. The airport is a bit far from the town proper, so he might ask you to pakyaw the ride for 120php. Try haggling for 100php for the entire ride, if you can. Normal rate per tricycle ride around the town proper is 10php per head. Local carenderia stalls abound the area too, if you are hungry).
- (If you plan to stay in Calbayog for a while, Marcial’s Grill has some tasty tender ribs and fried chicken. Buy pasalubong in Brgy. Matobato (just a hundred-meter walk from Marcial’s Grill) on your way home. Calbayog’s smoked fish is the bomb!)
- (If you have a few days to spare, check out Calbayog’s waterfalls, and the Pink Beach in Sila Island.)
*Van from Calbayog Grand Tours Terminal Can Terminal to Allen (2 hours)*
- Originally, we planned to go to Catarman (east side of N. Samar), but the friendly people at the terminal told us to take the Allen route instead, since the town is closer to Lavezares. Van leaves around noon, but multiple trips are available until late in the afternoon. Van fare is 100php per person. I’m not sure if it applies to all drivers, but they like to ride rough. Hello, motion sickness.
*Trisikad from Allen Grand Tours Terminal to Allen Church (10 mins)*
- There should be a sikad nearby. Ask the driver to take you to the church where tricycles bound for Lavezares park. Sikad fare should be 10php per person. There are also local habal-habal and tricycle rides that could take you to the church, if you prefer a faster ride.
*Tricycle from Allen to Lavezares Port (15 minutes)*
- You have two options here. You can [1] wait until all 6 seats inside the trike to get taken, and just pay 20php per head, or [2] opt for a special trip to Lavezares for 120php, without waiting for the seats to be taken. Try haggling for 100php, if you can. Ask the driver to take you directly to the port in Lavezares. Do not expect too much from this port. The place is still a work in progress, but there should be enough people there to talk to for you to get to Biri.
*Boat from Lavezares Port to Biri Island (1 hour)*
- Again, two options. You can [1] wait until all the motorboat’s seats are taken, and just pay for 100php per head, or [2] opt for a special trip all the way to Biri for 750php without waiting for the seats to be taken. They can offer to take you to Biri until 4pm. The waters are rough, so don’t be surprised if the boat driver offers you large tarps for protection. Don’t miss the Virgin Mary statue to your right, and a glimpse of Mt. Bulusan (on a clear day) to your left! Also, make sure you have noise-cancelling earphones for the trip, as the motorboat’s noise is a bit too loud and too annoying for a one-hour trip.
***Biri Island***
You should arrive at Brgy. Santo Niño. If you already know when you will be leaving the island, tell your boat driver. They will arrange a special trip once you leave. If not, no worries. Boats bound for Lavezares are available until 4pm. LGU-accredited tour guides will immediately offer their assistance. They’re the habal-habal drivers wearing IDs. I suggest you contact Kuya Richie (09503988482) ahead of time. From there, you’ll travel north to Brgy. Poblacion where the Tourism Office is. The rock formations are in Brgy. Progress, just 5 minutes to the east of Brgy. Poblacion.
*So here’s how it works:
- Habal-habal drivers are also your tour guides.
- You cannot go to the rock formations without a tour guide. Multiple accidents and a death of a tourist resulted in a “No Tour Guide, No Entry” ordinance.
- The habal-habal is very long, and can accommodate 6 people. But due to strict regulations, they are only allowed to accommodate 4 tourists per habal-habal.
- First stop should be the Tourism Office for a small orientation and environmental fee of 50php per head (good for 3 days).
- Tour Guide fee: 300php/day + Habal-habal fee (fare and gasoline): 195/day = 495php per habal-habal, per day.
- Plan ahead! Official island electricity is from 12pm to 12am, although the power mostly comes back at 10am. So charge your gadgets and powerbanks ahead of time.
- There are plenty of accommodations in the island. The nicer ones are easy to spot, with rates up to 2,000php per night. If you are travelling back-packer style, ask Kuya Richie to take you to Ezekiel’s (where we stayed). We rented an entire concrete (and pink) house for 200php per person. This should be your second stop. If you have time to spare that day, you can start the tour immediately.
- Prepare for a small hike and wear ready-to-swim clothes. Your Havaianas and/or jogging shoes won’t work well here. Wear a sturdy Spartan slipper or trekking sandals with good traction for the slippery and rocky areas.
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is served just right beside the tourism office. About 70php per meal.
- Sari-sari stores are everywhere. There’s a bakery and a barbecue stall nearby too.
- You might want to buy meals for breakfast before calling it a day. The next day’s tour starts at 6am (low tide), and breakfast meals won’t be available until around 7am or 8am. If you can survive with just bread for breakfast, ask Kuya Richie to stop by the bakery. Also, don’t forget to bring/buy bottled water.
- Do not bring too much stuff during the tour. It involves uphill hiking, a little bit of climbing, and wading through hip-deep mangrove waters. Vitamins and caffeine can also help.
- Geron, Magasang, Magsapad, Makadlaw, Puhunan, Bel-at, and Caranas — ask why they were named that way. Also, watch out for the turtle, the wolf’s head, the bull’s head, and the fossils.
- People get 4G signals with Globe in Biri Island. Other networks have signals too, but I'm not sure with the mobile data connection.
*Other things to do in Biri:
- Magtutuka is a haven for divers.
- Cogon (Philippine Dream) is a haven for surfers during summer season.
- Catch the sunset and sunrise on clear, cloudless days.
Excluding the pasalubong and air fare, we spent a total of 6,500php for the 3-day and 2-night trip (this includes an overnight stay at Casa Apostol in Calbayog). That’s 3,250php per person!
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