Roaming around Jomabo

Tourism is considered as one of the backbones of our economy. In fact, according to the DOT the number of tourists in the country's top destinations posted a 6.64% growth in the first quarter of 2010. Manila, Cebu and Camarines Sur, are the top three respective destinations according to the stats. 

I also wanted to do my share to the local tourism of the country. So last week, my wife told me that i was tagging along with her office mates to their summer outing to the "island paradise" of Jomabo. 

 

The first time I heard about Jomabo was when I was still in college. Back in those days, I only got a 50 peso allowance a day. Together with the long  hours of studying, only made vacation time just a figment of my imagination. 

So here was a chance of a lifetime that I could not miss out on.

The island is located in Old Poblacion, Escalante, Negros Occidental, Philippines.

View map from google maps.

View Larger Map

It took us around 2 hours to get there from Bacolod City,  this was due to some road construction along the way that held us back a bit from our destination. Finally we arrived around a quarter passed 8 am.  We parked our car at the Barcelona port, which is just a 20 minute boat ride to the island.

  

@ the port

 

                                                            the boat ride to the island...

You can also reach the port through vehicles provided by the resort reservation office back in Bacolod. We paid around 500 pesos per head just for the whole day stay and transportation. When we docked by the sandbar, we were greeted by a stunning view of the clear waters and the breeze of clean air. 

After unpacking our bags, we hurriedly changed to our swimming gear and plunged to the cool waters of Jomabo. During that time the tide was low so we were able to bask around the sandbar, which during high tide is engulfed by the waters. At night, according to the locals, the water settle at the edge of the cottages, that you could easily  just jump in the water from your room for a night dip.

Although some of the amenities were not available due to maintenance issues, there are a lot of activities that you can do when you're here such as Kayaking, Aqua Cycling, and snorkeling.  They also cater for overnight stays and serve sumptuous sea food. 


For more details and reservations please visit their site :http://islandjomabo.com/ 

We really had a great time communing with nature, surely we will come back.