Palaui Island: Travel Guide, Expenses and more

Palaui Island lies on the northeastern tip of mainland Luzon under the jurisdiction of the town of Sta. Ana, a special economic zone bustling with modern industrial establishments and blessed with a beautiful coastline. What makes Sta. Ana more beautiful is Palaui, the island off its shore that offers so much – white sandy beaches and panoramic coves, a century-old lighthouse, hidden waterfalls, and lovely people, all in a scenic rugged terrain surrounded with huge waves and echoing wind.

Where is it located

How to Get to Palaui Island

Option 1:

Florida bus station in Sampaloc Manila offers a trip to Aparri Cagayan (Deluxe ₱1,080 ) last time I went there, they are open for reservation a week before the planned date. From Aparri Cagayan ride a cab going to Sta. Ana (Fare ₱100 to ₱200).

Option 2:

If those schedules going to Aparri doesn’t fit you as they only have limited schedules, you can ride a bus going to Tuguegarao because they have plenty of options to choose from. Make your way to Tuguegarao, the capital city of Cagayan Province. From there, ride a bus or van (₱250 to ₱300) going to Sta. Ana

In Santa Ana, proceed to San Vicente port for registration and to charter a boat to the island. There are multiple offices who offer tour packages but I think they just got the same prices. San Vicente port is a short trike ride from Sta. Ana town proper (P15.00 per passenger).

Palaui Island Boat Rate for 2019

 

Destination	Travel Time	Passengers	Boat Rate
Cape Engaño	45 minutes	8	P1,800.00
Anguib	25 minutes	8	P1,500.00
Siwangag	30 minutes	8	P1,500.00
Puzurubo	1 hour	8	P1,800.00
Crocodile Island	5 minutes	8	P500.00
Punta Verde	15 minutes	8	P750.00
Pugo Moro	5 minutes	8	P500.00
Special Trip: Cape Engaño, Anguib, Crocodile, Punta Verde	7 Hours use of boat	8	P3,500.00

We’re a group of 8 adults and 3 children. We took advantage of their 3,500 tour package because we wanted to make the most out of the place since this will happen once in a while. The package would let you go around the entire island of Palaui for 7 hours, which means you can stay to those said place whenever you want as long as you won’t consume more than 7 hours. We haven’t been able to explore some of the places because we have children and they also forgot to bring food because they thought it wouldn’t take that long to get to those places.

Getting to those best spots in Palaui island will take you that long because tides and waves get high that prevents the boat to move faster. Better to be safe so please wear your life vest. The pictures below are just the places we were able to visit.

Places to Visit in Palaui Island

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Cape Engaño Lighthouse

Cape Engaño Lighthouse, also known as Faro de Cabo Engaño, (Filipino: Parola ng Cape Engaño) is a historic lighthouse located at the Palaui Island in the town of Santa Ana, the province of Cagayan, Philippines. Faro de Cabo Engaño is one of the four lighthouses built during the Spanish Colonial period, which served as a gateway lighthouse for incoming ships. (Source: Wikipedia)

Crocodile Island

The name sounds interesting but scary because we think there are crocodiles on the said place. And to answer your unvoiced questions, nope, there are no crocodiles on the island. It was named as such because it’s shaped like a crocodile. For me, there’s nothing really special at this place but its shape is what makes it interesting. From afar, you can see the shape of Crocodile Island. There are no trees on the island, so if you’re planning on going there, be sure to use a lot of sunblocks because this was the place that makes my color darker.

Nangaramoan Beach

Nangaramoan Beach, which boasts of a 500-meter strip of white sand and located 13 kilometers from the town center of Sta. Ana, is part of an array of coral beaches on the northeastern coastline of Cagayan province facing the Pacific Ocean. It was a popular destination for picnics, swimming, snorkeling, and other outdoor activities. Please advised that this is not included in the Palaui tour package. Instead of staying in Anguib Beach, we decided to just go to this place. Once you get in here, don’t be disappointed during low tide because you can not literally swim as it requires you to go far and rough rocks on the shore.

Where to stay?

There’s a limited Inn to stay and some of them aren’t available online. You can use the search box below to look for the nearest hotels around the place.