After our latest visit to the ever-famous Boracay, we wanted to take the chance to visit its neighboring island, Carabao Island. Despite being just minutes from one of the most well-known destinations in the Philippines, this other island is totally removed from mass tourism, so it’s a real treasure for those of us who like to explore less-crowded places without having to make long journeys to faraway spots.
Not only that—Carabao belongs to the Romblon archipelago. So you can also continue your journey through other islands we love: Tablas, Romblon, Sibuyan, and the wonderful Cresta de Gallo.
In this guide to Things to do in Carabao Island, we’ll tell you everything that awaits you and share the tips we wish we’d known before visiting. For us, stopping by was a complete success—are you up for discovering it?
What to expect from Carabao Island and how many days to spend
Before heading to this lesser-known island, we think it’s important that you’re clear on what you’ll find so you can decide whether it’s worth including in your Philippines travel itinerary. The first thing you should know is that, as it’s still off the usual tourist circuit, getting around is harder here than in other, more popular destinations. To cover its main places to see, you have 3 options:
- Hire a habal-habal for the whole day: Basically, through your hotel or by asking in the main town, hire the services of a motorbike taxi to take you to the spots you decide to include from the list of places to see on Carabao Island. The price will depend on the hours and places you agree to visit.
- On your own by motorbike: This is our favorite way to explore the Philippines—the freedom of being able to “get lost” at your own pace on the island and decide what to see and when. The problem on Carabao is that the number of rental places is very limited and, as a result, prices are among the highest in the Philippines. At the place where we stayed, they rented manual motorbikes for 1.000 pesos (outrageous!) for 24 hours. Since we prefer the ease of automatic scooters, we rented at a resort that was half an hour from ours. The price in that case is 500 pesos for 4 hours and 125 pesos for each extra hour; it includes having them come pick you up to take you to the rental place and then bring you back to your hotel. Lastly, as we were leaving the island, another accommodation messaged us where they rent them for 500 pesos per day, which is much more reasonable. If you want us to share all the info we have about contacts to rent motorbikes on Carabao, tell us in the comments and we’ll gladly send it to you.
- Tour to Carabao from Boracay: Finally, many travelers want to explore this little-known island without needing to stay there and do a tour from Boracay. The tour takes you to the main beaches and cliffs and is, in fact, a very convenient option if you plan to spend a few days on Carabao. You can book the excursion here.
Now that you know how to get around the island—and before diving into what to do in Carabao—we want to tell you what kind of island and adventures await you here. Just as Coron is popular for island hopping and Boracay is for its beaches, here you’ll find a couple of pretty beaches (one of them totally stole our hearts!) and lots of cliff jumping. So if you’re the kind who loves releasing adrenaline by jumping from heights into the sea, Carabao Island might be for you.
How much time to give it? If you want, you can see its main attractions in a single day, so one full day would be enough—arrive, spend the night, explore the island, spend another night, and leave. But since you’re there, you might want to add an extra day to disconnect and enjoy the tranquility it offers. That’s exactly what we did, and it did us a world of good!
What to see and do in Carabao Island
Now let’s get into it and tell you about all the places of interest to visit on Carabao, Romblon.
Cathedral Cave
Visiting Cathedral Cave is one of the top things to do on Carabao Island and it’s really worth it. Located on the western tip, it’s the most famous spot to enjoy cliff jumping—leaping from the top of a cliff into the water.
Once you pay the 100 pesos entrance fee, a guide will take you to the first jump point. Here you’ve got 2 springboards about 8 and 10 meters high, respectively, from which to plunge into Carabao’s crystal-clear waters. Once in the water, if you’ve brought your snorkel mask (you can also rent them there but, as we recommend in What to pack for the Philippines, it’s always better to have your own), you can poke around the area in search of marine life. It’s not the most interesting snorkeling spot in the Philippines, but just enjoying Cathedral Cave’s clear waters already makes it worthwhile.
Launch yourself into the sea as many times as you like, with whatever flips you fancy, and before heading to the next jump area, drop by the cave that gives the place its name, Cathedral Cave. We wanted to make the most of our time on the springboards and just approached the cave entrance, but other travelers told us they really enjoyed the experience and that, although the entrance is tiny, it widens inside and is worth the look.
The next jumping point at Cathedral Cave has the highest springboard, 14 meters, and a super-cool chill-out area to grab a drink. Given the location, a great idea is to leave Cathedral Cave for the end of your day and enjoy a beautiful sunset, after a few sea jumps, sipping something leisurely.
When we were there, besides the guide, his brother joined us—a super fun guy (Cris Daisog) who acted as DJ and, with his dances, laughs, and bangers, made our time on Carabao even more memorable. If you spot him with his phallic necklace, say hi from us!
Bugtong-Bato Cliff Diving
The land right next to Cathedral Cave is another cliff jumping spot known as Bugtong-Bato, another classic place to see on Carabao. Since the entrance costs another 100 pesos, many travelers choose to visit only one of these two places.
As you can see in the photos, the place is really very similar. On the karst rocks they’ve built different structures from which to jump into the sea and then do a bit of snorkeling. They’re so similar that here you can also explore a small grotto included in the ticket price.
If you want to include both places on a Carabao route, great! If you pick just one of the two, we might lean toward Cathedral Cave as they have super friendly, fun staff and a sea‑view bar that’s well worth it.
Kuding – Kuding Point
The third place to do cliff jumping on Carabao is Kuding – Kuding. It follows the pattern of the two above: a couple of places to jump and a small cave, but instead of costing 100 pesos, they only ask for 50 per person.
Of its two springboards, one is quite a bit higher than those at Cathedral Cave and Bugtong‑Bato, but there’s another just 4 meters high that’s ideal if you’re traveling with kids or simply don’t feel like making an Olympic leap.
The various structures built over the rocks connect the two jump points with a couple of shelters for relaxing and also lead to a small cave where sea water and sunlight come in from outside, creating a lovely effect. We asked the owner if it was safe to dive through the cave to the outside and, judging by the look of panic on her face, we understood it probably wasn’t the safest option.
They also have a sari-sari and a small restaurant that, when we went, was closed since we were practically the only tourists on the island.
We already usually stress the huge importance of having travel insurance, and considering you’ll be jumping off cliffs and riding the roads of an island where motorbike helmets don’t seem to exist, we have to insist on it. Here, in Best travel insurance for the Philippines, we explain which one we’ve been using for years and how it covers you not only for health but also in cases such as theft or issues with your baggage. It also covers repatriation or if something happens to you while, for example, diving or snorkeling—things most policies don’t cover.
Plus, if you get it through any of our links, you’ll get a 5% discount for being a Travel Around the Philippines reader. Don’t think twice and grab it here:
Hambil Beach (or Said Beach)
You’ll find it on Google Maps as Said Beach and locals call it Hambil Beach. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you call it—you could easily dub it Relax Beach or Pool Beach. We went planning to take a dip and continue our route, but time stood still and we ended up soaking for hours.
Visiting this beach is a must on Carabao, and you’ll be convinced when you meet its crystal-clear waters and switch off from the world under the shade of its iconic palm trees. This long beach has different sections that also change a lot with the tides (we highly recommend visiting at high tide), as the shoreline disappears completely at high tide. Our favorite spot is the one shown in the photos, in front of the little restaurant (Ed’s Resto Bar) just a couple of meters from the water, surrounded by palms and with a big jetty to climb in and out of the water.
This part of Carabao is the only area where you’ll find places to eat, beyond the restaurants inside the various hotels. So we recommend that you time your visit here to when you usually get hungry. Bear in mind that with a full belly and maybe a beer, you’ll find it very hard to move on from such an idyllic spot.
Tagaytay view point
The southern area of Carabao currently doesn’t connect with the rest of the ring road circling the island, so you’ll have to take the central road that links the east and west coasts. In addition to passing through small villages and seeing a different landscape from the rest of the island, you’ll go by the entrance to the Tagaytay view point, Carabao’s main lookout.
After following the path (sometimes a bit of a “goat track”) from the road to the entrance and paying the 50‑peso access fee, you’ll find a nicely decorated area with huts to relax in, a spot to buy soft drinks, and a huge Treehouse you can climb to admire panoramic views of Boracay.
We’ve read in a couple of English‑language blogs that they recommend Tagaytay View Point for sunset, but if you don’t have a drone this doesn’t make much sense, as the sun doesn’t set on that side. Keep reading and we’ll tell you our favorite spots to enjoy the sunset.
Lanas Beach
Being a rugged island where cliffs predominate, there are only two main beaches to see on Carabao: our beloved Hambil Beach and, on the opposite side, Lanas Beach.
This area of the island gathers a handful of resorts and hotels with beach access, so if you’re looking to sleep somewhere where you can step out of your room and find the sea, this is a very good option. We recommend Lana’s Beach Resort.
Lanas Beach has huge potential—long, with plenty of sand at low tide, not too busy yet with places to stay. Even so, it didn’t win us over as much as Said Beach, probably because the lack of tourism after the pandemic meant the beach was a bit neglected and no one was cleaning the trash washed up from the sea, beyond the resort area which was spotless.
Even so, Lanas Beach is well worth including on your list of things to see on Carabao Island.
Spend a day of downtime with stunning views
If you’re going to visit Carabao for a couple of days and cover its main sights in a single day, the perfect plan is to use your second day to relax and disconnect. That’s what we did and, after a first day of adventure, a second day of relaxation was just perfect.
In our case we stayed at Oceans Edge Resort and, thanks to that, we enjoyed a day of beach, an infinity pool, and delicious mango shakes. If you stay here, you can obviously do the same as us included in your room rate, but if you choose another accommodation, there’s also a way to do it.
By paying 300 pesos per person you’ll get access to spend the whole day at Oceans Edge Resort, and the best part is that they’ll deduct that amount from whatever you consume there. So if you spend the day at the resort eating and drinking, your entry will be free. What a plan, right?
Sunset in Carabao
Have you already decided which places you want to see on Carabao and are wondering where to enjoy the sunset? Here are our 3 favorite spots to end the day on a high note:
- Drinks at Cathedral Cave: as we mentioned earlier, Cathedral Cave is on the west side of the island and has a small bar from which to bid the day farewell. If you leave your cliff jumps for the end of the day, it’s a great option.
- Lanas Beach: another ideal place to end the day on Carabao is Lana’s beach, the only one of the two main beaches with sunset views. From here you can also grab a soft drink at the different hotels, like Lana’s Beach Resort, to put the cherry on top.
- Ocean Edge Resort: We’ll never forget the epic views, from the top of the cliff, that our room had straight to the sunset. Reds, oranges, blues, and purples flooded the sky, creating an unforgettable postcard.
Caves to visit
In addition to all this, it’s possible to visit a couple of caves on the island: Ngiriton Cave and Dingle Cave. When we were on the island they were closed to the public. We still had a look on Google and they didn’t seem very attractive. Had they been open, we probably wouldn’t have gone anyway.
If you hear about them while on the island, check online first because it might not be worth the trip just to see a small cave that “smells like bats.” On the other hand, if you visit and like them, we’d love you to tell us about your experience.
Where to stay in Carabao Island
Although it doesn’t have a huge range of options, you’ll find accommodation on Carabao for all tastes. Our advice is to stay on the west side of the list to make sure you get sunset views every evening. Here are some ideas:
– Oceans Edge Resort: The top accommodation on Carabao. Even though it’s the most upscale, deals and promotions often pop up on both Booking and Agoda. It has an infinity pool at the top of the cliff with ocean views, a private beach, a varied restaurant, breakfast and transfer from the port included, and modern rooms with air conditioning, TV, and a fridge. You can check prices and availability by clicking here: Agoda or Booking—check both, as one of them always has deals.
– Lana’s beach Resort: A more budget‑friendly option than the one above, without so many frills. It has rooms right on the seafront with air conditioning and also shared dorms. The staff are super nice and they have a very varied restaurant. You can see prices here via Booking and here via Agoda.
– The Beach House Carabao Island: A middle ground between the first resort and Lanas Beach, located very close to the latter. The owner is super friendly and the rooms are well kept and have air conditioning. Around 20 meters from the shore you’ll find interesting snorkeling. You can check more here on Booking and on Agoda.
Our room at Ocean’s Edge Resort
Tips for your visit to Carabao Island
We don’t want to wrap up this guide to what to do and see on Carabao without giving you some final tips so you can make the most of this still very under‑the‑radar destination:
– If you want to get around the island by motorbike, we recommend not waiting until you arrive to reserve yours. There are few and they’re expensive. Plus, there isn’t much coverage in certain parts of the island, so you can’t even send SMS. If you leave us a comment asking for it, we’ll send you the information we have about motorbike rentals on Carabao.
– When planning your Carabao route, we suggest doing a loop around the island that starts and ends on the west side. This way lunchtime will catch you near San José (Hambil Beach), where you’ll find the island’s main restaurants and carenderias. Plus, when the sun sets you’ll already be on the west side to enjoy the show.
– As we explain in “What to pack for the Philippines”, it’s very advisable here (though we wouldn’t say 100% necessary) to have comfy footwear like reef shoes for getting in and out of the jump spots, as well as for beaches like the one at Ocean Edge Resort. Plus, in many places to see on Carabao there isn’t much shade, so eco sunscreen or even a typical sun‑protection shirt are more than welcome.
– The best time to visit Carabao is roughly from November to May, when the dry season reigns. Even so, we went in early June and you can see the days we got—epic! Traveling to the Philippines is a good idea at any time of year. Bear in mind that if you visit the island in March, beaches—especially Lanas—may be affected by green algae, same as Boracay. It’s due to high temperatures.
– You’re going to be riding roads by motorbike (we didn’t find anyone renting them with helmets) and jumping into the sea from more than 10 meters high. Yes, absolutely get travel insurance to guarantee you’re protected if something happens. Here we tell you which one we’ve been using for years and why: Best travel insurance for the Philippines. Plus, by clicking any of our links you have a 5% discount on your insurance.
Map of Carabao Island
To give you an idea of where everything is, we’ve prepared this map of Carabao Island where you can see its main points of interest:
How to get to Carabao
Odd as it may seem, you currently can’t go directly from Borcay to Carabao on public transport, despite how close they are. If you ask on beaches like Puka Beach, they’ll offer to take you there for between 4.000 and 7.000 pesos, which is a lot of money for such a short trip.
So, you can get to Carabao Island from Caticlán port, the same one from which boats depart to Boracay. Depending on who you ask, you’ll be told a different schedule. They told us 9:00, 14:00, and 15:00, but we actually ended up leaving at 13:20. Therefore, it’s best to ask the day before at the hotel where you’ll be staying and get to the port early in case they fill the bangka and decide to leave sooner. The ticket costs 150 pesos per person.
If you want to go to Carabao from Tablas (you can read more the other way round in How to get to Tablas) to the north, it’s quite similar. We were told 6:00, 9:00, and 12:00, but we recommend checking with your hotel as well so they can contact nearby sources and give you up‑to‑date information. The ticket is 100 pesos per person.
Bear in mind that on days like Saturday and Sunday there may be Mass, meaning the bangka captains go to church and this limits the number of trips they make.
What do you think of Carabao? Are you going to include it in your Philippines itinerary? If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave them below in the comments and we’ll try to help. And we almost forgot… on Carabao island, we didn’t see a single carabao!
