ITINERARY:
DAY 01 MANILA – BASCO (B, L, D)
A very early check-in time at 4:00 am begins this fantastic tour to the northernmost islands of the Philippines. The early flight is to allow airplane access to the islands before the afternoon winds pick up – and we have to fit- in with the only flight to Basco!! After transferring to Batanes Resort/Batanes SeasideLodge/Amboy’s Hometel, you have free time to explore the place and its beach (or catch up on some sleep!). After lunch we take you on a tour of the capital town of Basco and its environs. We stop by the Casa Real, now the Provincial Capitol, which used to be the residence of the Spanish Governors, then the Basco Cathedral (the first stone church was built from 1787 – 1796 and was destroyed by a typhoon. The new Cathedral is built within the original ruins. We then go to Vayang rolling hills and have a full view of the South China Sea from Bashi Channel and Itbayat Island at a distance. On the return trip, we pass by Naidi Hill where the first wireless telecommunications facility in the Philippines was completed on Nov. 30, 1941 and bombed and destroyed by the Japanese Imperial Army on Dec. 8, 1941. We make a brief stopover at the lighthouse built about 10 years ago. From there, we proceed to the eastern side of the island to touch the Pacific Ocean, along Valugan shores; to the Japanese tunnel; the hill fortress of Idjang and the Weather Station where we can have a 390-degree view of Batanes. From there, we return to the hotel and wait for dinner.
DAY 02 SABTANG ISLAND (B, L, D)
Our day starts at 5:30 for our breakfast, after which we proceed to the Port of Ivana to catch up with the ferry boat for Sabtang Island, one of the Department of Tourism’s 12 best tourist’ destinations in the country. Upon disembarkation at the Seaport of Sabtang, we proceed to the Tourism Office to register. From there, our tour will bring us to the southern part of the island where we will see the province’s last two remaining sugar cane crushers, used in the manufacture of the native wine called palek or basi in other parts of the country. We pass by the province’s most beautiful hill fortress in Barangay Savidug and inch our way to the southernmost tip of the island, which is Barangay Chavayan. It is only here we could see the province’s only house of worship roofed with thatched cogon. Of course you should not miss the Monument of Satisfaction there. We then return to the northern part and western parts of the island, before taking lunch at the Rock Ark in Nakabuang beach. After lunch, we return to the town proper and ride again the motor boat to return to Basco where you have some free time for swimming before dinner will be served.
DAY 03 MAHATAO (B, L, D)
Today’s tour starts at 8:00. Our first stop over is at the View Deck in sitio Chawa in Mahatao where you can have some spectacular views of Batanes coastline. Our tour guide will relate to us the story of the “Enchanted Cave of Chawa”. Then we head to the island’s high country, known as “Marlboro’ Country”, to view the undulating grazing lands. Our journey brings us down to Barangay Imnajbu, the southernmost tip of Batan Island, then to the old Loran Station of the United States Coast Guard, which is now being reconstructed as the Batanes National Museum. We pass by Barangay Itbud, home of the 2008 American idol finalist Camille Velasco; Sitio Songsong which was wiped out in 1953 due to a tsunami, hence the monicker “Ghost town”. We stop for lunch at the municipal park of Uyugan. In Ivana, where 2009 Binibining World Danielle Castano’s parents come from, we’ll see where the first Spanish missionaries landed in 1685 and the Katipuneros in 1898; the House of Estrella, built in 1877; and the Spanish Bridge built in 1850-1860 which is still passable to vehicular traffic. From there we proceed to the Church of San Carlos de Borromeo in Mahatao to see where the only laurel tree and the only Spanish lighthouse in the province are found. Then, finally we return to our hotel and wait for dinner.
DAY 04 BASCO – MANILA (B)
After check-in at 5:30, we have breakfast and get ready for our return flight to Manila.
Inclusions: 4-day/3-night standard room accommodation based on twin or triple room sharing, daily meals, roundtrip airport/seaport transfer, daily tours and entrance fees
Note: Rate and package subject to change without notice.