If your trip to the Philippines is going to include the beautiful island of Camiguin, you won’t regret it for a single moment. The island with the most volcanoes per square kilometer has incredible landscapes and, although the island’s own beaches aren’t the typical postcard kind, by doing island hopping in Camiguin you’ll see some of the country’s most gorgeous beach paradises. Really, we’re not exaggerating: both Mantigue Island and White Island are spectacular.
Island hopping in Camiguin?
If we compare visiting these islands with the tours around the islands near Coron or El Nido, perhaps the label island hopping in Camiguin is a bit much. In this case you don’t combine several islands; you first visit one and then you need to go to another port to visit the other.
If you get up early, you can visit both in a day without any problem. However, we advise dedicating 2 days and enjoying them at a relaxed pace. In addition, since they are geographically far apart, it makes sense that on the day you go to Mantigue you also take the opportunity, for example, to go to the beach next to the Giant Clams Sanctuary (the island’s only blond-sand beach), ride the Mahinog zipline over Taguines Lagoon, or visit the Moro Tower. Whereas if you go to White Island, you can also go snorkeling at the Sunken Cementery, visit Guiob Church, climb the Old Volcano, or take a dip in a waterfall or natural pool. It’s up to you!
You can read all about these places in Things to do in Camiguin.
Where are White Island and Mantigue Island?
White Island lies just 2 kilometers off Camiguin’s northwest coast, while Mantigue Island is 3,5 kilometers off the southeast.
Can I do island hopping in Camiguin on my own?
Not only can you — it’s actually the way to do it.
Unlike in El Nido, Port Barton, or Coron, where there are more or less recommended guides or agencies, island hopping in Camiguin works differently. That is, in this case you don’t need any guide’s contacts, since you go to each port and everything is organized there.
When you arrive at Yumbing port, you’ll be assigned a bangkero (boatman) to go to White Island, and the same will happen when you get to San Roque to go to Mantigue. You don’t have the ability to choose who you go with. You don’t need to worry either: the crew’s job is simply to take you there and back; they won’t explain anything; you don’t need guides. With what we’re going to tell you in this article, you’ll enjoy them a lot.
Although the fees are per person, the boat price is the same regardless of the number of travelers. So it’s worthy to ask at the port if some joiners are interested to share.
The best island hopping in Camiguin
Ready to discover some of the best beaches in the Philippines? Here we tell you everything you need to know about the tours to White Island and Mantigue Island from Camiguin.
1. White Island tour from Camiguin
Just 2 kilometers from Camiguin you’ll find this impressive stretch of white, powdery sand that will leave you speechless. Medano Islet, its other original name, is, out of the many we’ve visited, one of our favorite sandbars in the Philippines.
Besides being surrounded by such turquoise water that your eyes won’t believe it, what makes White Island so special are the incredible views of Camiguin and its volcanoes it gives you. From any point on the island you can see the imposing Hibok-Hibok, while in the foreground you’ll have a bed of white sand and crystal-clear water.
White Island’s shape changes over time. The different winds that affect the Philippines modify the profile of the sandbar, so you’ll always find a slightly different island. For example, on our last visit, in November, a small natural pool formed that had nothing to envy of the Maldives — we spent hours soaking!
On the other hand, although it’s a single sandbar, keep in mind that sometimes it is divided into 2 parts. That is, there’s a small channel that separates them, so it’s advisable to go when the tide is low and thus cross to the other side more comfortably. Even so, if that’s the case, you can always swim between the two. Check the tide table.
While visiting White Island is one of the most popular activities to do in Camiguin, it’s still not crowded at all. Every time we’ve been, we’ve felt comfortable and have even ended up alone. Obviously, if you go on a Filipino holiday, like Christmas or Easter, you’re sure to find more visitors.
The island is surrounded by a reef. Although snorkeling on White Island isn’t as spectacular as on Mantigue (where it’s not uncommon to see turtles), it’s worth spending some time swimming around. If you face towards Camiguin, on the right side of the island there are some corals where clownfish never fail. However, the best part and where the sanctuary is located is when you’re facing the left side, where you’ll see some white buoys. Don’t hesitate to ask your bangkero to point out where it is. Please be very careful with the currents.
Price of the island hopping to White Island
The boat, which can take up to 4 people, costs 550 pesos. Then you need to pay 50 pesos per person in environmental fees. You can rent umbrellas (quite large) for 150 pesos.
At the stalls at the terminal you can rent snorkel masks (100 pesos) and fins. Although the snorkeling isn’t as good as Mantigue, it’s worth bringing it. Fins may not be as necessary. Since there isn’t a single patch of shade, you can rent an umbrella for 150 pesos.
Although before you could stay as long as you liked, it seems that now the maximum is 3 hours. In any case, better ask to make sure. It’s normal for the boatman to ask when you’d like to be picked up, but if you don’t know, they’ll give you a phone number you can call and, by saying your boat number (each one has a different one), they’ll come back in 5–10 minutes. If you don’t have credit on your phone, you can approach any bangkero on the island and they’ll get in touch with him.
Schedule for the White Island tour
You can go to White Island from 5 am. The return is made, at the latest, at 5 pm. Although before you could watch the sunset, after asking the tourist police and the boatmen, they assured us that it’s no longer allowed and you also can’t spend the night on the island. So you can watch the sunset on the boat back, but not on White Island itself. The last trip to the island is at 4 pm.
Traveler-to-traveler tip: although elsewhere you’ll read that going to White Island for sunrise is worth it, in our opinion, it’s much better to go to the island around 10 or 11 in the morning and avoid the earliest hours. We tell you this for two reasons:
- Filipinos love getting up early and don’t like the sun much, so they always go very early and when the heat starts to bite they leave, which means you have a better chance of there being fewer people;
- clouds tend to cover Camiguin’s volcanoes early in the morning and then clear later, so you have better chances of seeing the full panorama if you go a little later. This, of course, is completely random, but in the more than 15 days of our last visit to Camiguin it was always like this.
On the other hand, try to go Monday through Thursday, when there tend to be fewer people (unless it’s a local holiday).
Bear in mind that there is absolutely nothing to eat or drink on White Island, so if you think you might get hungry, you can always buy something in Yumbing, where you have several restaurants, carenderias, and sari-saris.
How to get to White Island
Follow the steps to get to Camiguin and then, if you have a rental motorbike (you can write us a comment and we’ll tell you the place where to rent them for 300 pesos in Camiguin), you just need to head to the town of Yumbing, specifically to the so-called White Island Ferry Terminal, next to Paras Beach Resort.
If you’re coming from Balbagon port or staying around Mambajao, you can take a motorela “de línea” (a contraption between a small jeepney and a tricycle), that is, shared, to Mambajao market for 10–12 pesos per person and then another from Mambajao to Yumbing for 12–15 pesos. These are set prices; you don’t need to haggle, and we advise asking other passengers on board. From the main road it’s a 3–4 minute walk to the port.
If you’re coming from the Benoni area (the port where boats from Balingoan arrive), you can take a jeepney or multicab (the transport halfway between a jeepney and a motorela) to Mambajao for 25–30 pesos and then a motorela to Yumbing for 12–15 pesos. If you want a whole motorela from Balbagon port to Yumbing, the official price is 270 pesos, although we were offered it for 150 pesos.
If you don’t ride a motorbike, you can rent a motorela or a multicab for the whole day for around 1,200–1,500 pesos. Even so, if you’re going to spend many hours on the island, it’s not worth it. If you like, we can give you a trusted contact for this.
At the boat terminal you just need to say you want to go to White Island and in just 5 minutes you’ll be in that paradise.
2. Mantigue Island tour from Camiguin
In a fierce battle for having the best beaches, Mantigue is another must for island hopping in Camiguin.
Unlike White Island, Mantigue (also known as Magsaysay Island) has an area of about 4 hectares with not only white, fine sand but also some vegetation, including beautiful Filipino palm trees. Of course, from it you also have spectacular views of Camiguin’s mountains.
Although as soon as you arrive at the island by bangka you’ll be dazzled by the beach — and in fact this is the best area for swimming — we encourage you to walk all the way around Mantigue. It’ll only take 10–15 minutes, but you’ll surely get sidetracked a bit and have a slice of this paradise all to yourself. There’s even a wooden platform that crosses the island from north to south that no one knows about. Everyone tends to gather in the same spot.
On the other hand, although people used to live there, on our last visit we saw that the village had been demolished and the debris hadn’t yet been collected. Apparently, these people were living there illegally. We hope the area will be cleaned soon and the island’s full beauty restored.
What’s more, Mantigue is one of the best places for snorkeling in the Philippines. The reef is healthy, colorful, and home to enviable marine life. By just swimming a little in the south and southwest areas, where the marine sanctuary is, you’ll have access to tons of corals, parrotfish, clownfish, sea stars and, very likely, beautiful green and hawksbill turtles.
By the way, you can also visit Mantigue Island on a diving trip, as we did. The dives on the island’s reef are gorgeous and the turtle population is enormous (we saw more than 20!), so don’t hesitate. Usually you do 2 dives and the surface interval is on land. They give you 1 hour there. In our opinion, although it gives you time to walk all the way around Mantigue, it’s not enough if you like to take things slowly. Therefore, we also recommend coming back again without the wetsuit. We’ll soon tell you more about Diving in Mantigue.
Price of the tour to Mantigue Island
The boat costs 750 pesos and holds up to 6 people. You can stay 3 hours on the island. You have to pay 75 pesos per person in environmental fees and 75 extra on the island if you want to snorkel. The snorkel guide (which seems optional right now — help us confirm) is 300 pesos per group. If you do tank diving it’s 200 pesos per person.
If you’d like to rent a hut with a table, you need to pay 150 pesos. You can also pay for the tables (100 pesos for the large one). Paddle boards are rented for 200 pesos per 30 minutes and glass-bottom boats for 300 pesos per 30 minutes (up to 6 passengers). You can also rent a snorkel mask for 100 pesos.
Schedule for Mantigue Island island hopping from Camiguin
Boats from the terminal start leaving at 6 am and you can return until 4 pm. Since it’s farther from where most people stay (Yumbing), unlike what happens on White Island, you can tell the island starts to fill up around 9h30–10h and many Filipinos take the opportunity to eat here and shelter from the sun in the huts.
Therefore, although it’s by no means a crowded island, we recommend arriving at Mantigue as early as possible, around 7 am. Another option is to go after lunch and stay until closing time.
If you can avoid weekends and holidays, so much the better.
How to get to Mantigue Island
After arriving in Camiguin, if you have a motorbike, you don’t need to worry about looking for transport. You just have to get to the San Roque terminal (about 35–40 minutes from Yumbing) and request a boat there. On Google Maps it appears as “Mantigue Island Departure Area”.
If you’re staying in Yumbing and want to go by public transport, first you need to go to Mambajao. Take a motorela and it’ll cost 12–15 pesos per person. Once there, you can take another motorela or jeepney to San Roque (30 pesos), but not many pass by. Ask at the market; there are also vans and multicabs for about 30 pesos. Keep in mind this route will be longer. A fair price for a private motorela from Yumbing to San Roque would be 300–350 pesos, since it’s a long journey.
The boat from the bangkas terminal to Mantigue takes about 20–30 minutes.
Mantigue or White Beach? Which one to choose?
In our opinion, both are truly wonderful and we think it’s essential that you go to both. No wonder we’ve been to both several times and will surely return many more. If you ask our opinion: it would be a sin not to do both island hoppings in Camiguin.
If you’re short on time, this can be a 1-day itinerary for your island hopping in Camiguin:
6h: depart for San Roque port.
6h30: boat to Mantigue Island.
7h – 11h: beach, snorkeling on Mantigue.
12h: lunch at Taguines Lagoon, J&A Fishpen is great, but you can also eat around Yumbing or at our favorite: La Dolce Vita.
12h30: transfer to Yumbing.
1 pm: boat to White Island.
1h10 pm – 4h45 pm: total relaxation on White Island.
5h15 pm: sunset at the Sunken Cemetery.
Tips for these tours in Camiguin
Although we’ve been giving you hints about these island hoppings in Camiguin, here are some more tips that we’re sure will help:
- The months of the driest season in Camiguin are February, March, and April. It also tends to have good weather between May and August, with the rainiest season from September to December. Even so, the weather is unpredictable. We were there last time in November and, except for 1 day, the weather was incredible.
- Bring a dry bag to store electronic devices, cameras, and money. Although the boat rides aren’t long, there are sometimes waves and you won’t want them to get damaged. You can buy bags of this type almost anywhere in the Philippines — in fact, at Yumbing port itself, right before the ticket office for White Island, they sell them for 300–400 pesos (depending on size).
- Don’t forget sunscreen (if possible, 0 aggressive for corals and marine life) and clothing to protect you from the sun, especially for White Island, where there’s not a single patch of shade (only from the umbrellas they rent). It’s also advisable to bring water shoes to visit White Island; there’s a lot of coral and it’s more comfortable for crossing the sandbar. In Philippines Packing List we recommend what we use.
- Bring food and drink with you; nothing is sold on White Island, only sea urchins. On Mantigue there’s a bar/restaurant, but prices aren’t especially cheap. If you’re vegetarian, don’t hesitate — bring something, because almost everything is fish or grilled meat.
- Follow our recommendations for snorkeling in the Philippines and be respectful.
- If you want to send photos to the family in real time, don’t worry, 4G works almost better on these islands than in Camiguin. Figure out the best rates and plans in Internet in the Philippines.
- Something essential for doing these island hoppings in Camiguin is using the app Windy to see tide times and wind strength. This is particularly important on White Island, since if you go at low tide you’ll be able to enjoy the sandbar at its fullest. It’s also advisable to go when it’s not so windy because, as it’s not protected at all, it’s a bit uncomfortable if there’s a gale. Here are more apps recommended for traveling to the Philippines.
- As we always say, travel protected with travel insurance like the one we use. If possible, choose the IATI Mochilero option or the adventure-sports add-on to be covered while snorkeling or diving. From this link you have a 5% discount on your policy.
- If you want to rent a motorbike in Camiguin at the best price, 300–350 pesos, leave us a comment and we’ll share our trusted contact.
Recommended accommodation in Camiguin
Every time we go to Camiguin we stay in the Yumbing area. For us it’s essential to have places nearby for dinner time, since at the end of the day you don’t feel like riding the motorbike much and the truth is that at night there are no jeepneys and there aren’t many tricycles or motorelas in Camiguin. So our recommendation is to stick to this area. Here are our recommended accommodations in Camiguin:
- Mountain View Cottages: the place where we felt most comfortable in Camiguin. These bungalows owned by a Canadian–Filipino couple have everything — even a super well-equipped kitchen! They’re super close to Yumbing and there’s a nice restaurant nearby. A 10. Availability and prices by clicking here.
- Pabua’s Cottages: if you want something basic, this place is right in the town, so you have all the restaurants and bars at the doorstep. Don’t expect wonders, but it’s fine. Availability and prices here.
- Balai sa Baibai: for something a little more top and well located, take a look at this one. Availability and prices here.
You have more options in our article on Where to stay in Camiguin.
Ethical code: By booking through the links on the site we receive a small commission that allows us to keep working on the page every day. You’ll never pay more: your bookings will have exactly the same price and sometimes you’ll even get a discount. You won’t find any company recommended on this website that we haven’t tried ourselves.
Camiguin guide
We’re in love with Camiguin, so we’ve been several times enjoying the island. You have all the information about it in our Camiguin Guide.
Do you still have any questions about these tours from Camiguin? Anything to add? We’d love to answer you in the comments!
