Travel to Matnog, Sorsogon

Last Updated on: 6th January 2021, 04:41 pm

Our Sorsogon travel was a tiring, unexpected but enjoyable experience. Our 7 day stay was full of ups and downs which made the travel more exciting. I will share first here our overnight adventure at Matnog, Sorsogon.

Before i start, let me tell you that our travel time from Cavite to Matnog is 16 HOURS. 16 freaking hours by car, and we faced a lot of road constructions, some vehicles who got into accident and traffic.  While on our way, we are imagining how Matnog looks like and we are hoping that the 16 hour travel time is worth it. Is it really worth it?

Matnog is known for their pink beach which is located in an island called Subic Bay. It is called pink beach because the sand gives a light pinkish color due to the reflection of the sunlight and the red corals in the sea.

How we got there: 

As soon as we arrived in Matnog port, we decided to have an overnight stay first at RGT hotel. Trust me, its the best accommodation out there in Matnog port if you are tight on a budget because of their clean and air-conditioned rooms and also a hot and cold shower.

The next day, we hired a boat that will take us to Subic Bay and the travel time is about 40-45 minutes. Before leaving, my parents went to the market first to buy fresh seafoods and meat for our stay in Subic Bay, because we learned that there are some locals in the island who offer paluto, which they can cook the food for you for an affordable price.

The moment we got there, it was so far from what I had expected. My expectations: a, quiet, remote island life which has a resemblance to Dipaculao, Aurora.

And the reality? we are welcomed with a huge crowd of people + booming speakers from loud karaokes. As a family who prefers a quiet and relaxing ambiance, we are bummed the moment we stepped on the island. However, I was in awe of their beach- it was clear, clean and a lot better than Boracay.

Our stay: 

To make things worse, the place that we would be staying overnight was a small room with creaking floorboards and a busted aircon. Our comfort room is also a common CR, and the place is quite…dirty. Just as I was about to lie in my bed, a bug and a cockroach appeared! I’m no high-maintenance girl and I’ve survived in worst accommodations, but I know I can’t take this. We had traveled 16 hours all the way from Cavite just for this?

We asked some locals if there are other accommodations that we could stay, however, the other rooms are already taken and we are lucky that we found one. So, we had no choice but to accept and enjoy what we’ve got. Apparently, there is also a small island called Subic Maliit (the one we are staying on is called Subic Malaki) and its a lot more peaceful and relaxing there, however they don’t provide accommodations but only small huts.

And then, a lucky thing happened 🙂 while me and my siblings stayed in our room after lunch, our parents decided to walk around the island. They found a nice and quite relaxing group of  villas just near from our room. At first, the owner told them that the villas are no longer available, however a reservation from a villa got cancelled and yaay! we hurriedly moved to the villa and although its a bit pricey (5,000 + php), it was worth it! Thank heavens.

The villa has its own cottage, a spacious bedroom with 1 queen size double deck + 1 extra bed, a mini fridge and sink, and last but not the least, the CR is ours.  The area is also less crowded compared to the previous one we stayed at, although we haven’t escaped from the noisy videoke. It’s like, almost every area of the island has 1 or 2 videokes. The tourists seem to enjoy singing too much.

Anyways, it’s not much of a problem anymore since we got a nice room and the beach is really something! We rent 2 kayaks which are 200 php each and our stress from the previous mishaps went away 🙂

The next day, we woke up early for a morning swim and did some picture taking. Despite all the of hassle we went through, the beautiful beach of Subic Bay makes up for it.

By noon, we left Subic Bay and proceeded to our Island hopping. We went to Calintaan Cave, which has a hidden lagoon once you passed through the cave.

The lagoon is just small but it didn’t lessen the magic of the place. Swimming inside the cave is what I really want the most- I don’t know but I love entering caves. Maybe because it’s like stepping into an another world or some portal that will lead you to something enchanting.

After our stay at Calintaan cave, we proceeded to go snorkeling. Honestly, I didn’t see much beautiful corals because majority of them had been destroyed- it’s obvious in the broken corals below. It’s also quite difficult to swim because of the huge current and our boatman even laughed at me and my mom because we can’t climb up into the boat! LOL.

Conclusion: 

As what I’ve mentioned before, is going here really worth it? For the beach, it is definitely yes, but for their accommodation, the 16-hour car travel is not worth it, especially if you are a high-maintenance type of person.  I suggest that you reserve their villa( our accommodation) prior to going there because there are only 2 or 3 villas available and the island can get really full.

Thanks for the crazy and unforgettable memories, Matnog!