Agutayan Island is one of those places I’ve always wanted to explore here in Misamis Oriental. They say it is pretty much like Camiguin’s white island, only smaller, and nearer if you’re coming from Cagayan de Oro City. So after being so cold at the farm (our farm is on top of a mountain where fog reigns in the afternoon and the cold air is much much colder than our air conditioner at home — I wear 3 layers of clothes when I’m there), it is expected that I will be missing the beach soon and craving for the heat of the scorching sun. And the perfect place to get that? Agutayan Island!

But before that, let me tell you that I’m now on the 29th day of my very own self-imposed 30-day blog post challenge which also propelled me to restart doing other things I love and one of them is blogging about my travels! It’s actually the primary reason why I started blogging in 2000 in Geocities so I could document all of the travels I was doing. Then eventually, most of my travel posts went to my Sexy Nomad blog. And now, little by little, here in Momtraneur.

Anyway, back to Agutayan Island. It is a naked island (meaning it has no trees, shade, or structures where you can rest from the harmful rays of the sun); it is crescent-shaped; and it is an uninhabited island in Barangay Jampason, Jasaan, Misamis Oriental. It takes about 30 minutes of boat ride from the mainland of Jampason to Agutayan Island.

 

After spending so much time in the mountains, it really nice to see the beach once again! I was so excited about it that I told Mahal that we head to Agutayan Island at 5 in the morning which was why at about 6am, we were already on a boat ride heading to paradise! It is, after all, open from 6am to 5pm and we wanted to make the most of this island day trip!

 

HOW TO GET TO AGUTAYAN ISLAND

BY AIR:

If you’re coming from Manila or anywhere else, fly to Laguindingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro. Outside the airport, there are vans you can take for about P120.

For a more detailed info on how to commute from Laguindingan Airport to Cagayan de Oro City, please go here: http://www.cdodev.com/travel-guide/

BY LAND:

* Public Transportation from Cagayan de Oro City 


Usually, from Cagayan de Oro City, you take a jeep going to Agora first. The fare is about P8.00. Then in Agora, take a bus heading to Jasaan or one that’s heading northbound. The fare is about P50 for a bus and about P25 for a jeep. The ride takes about 1 hour to Jampason, Jasaan. Watch out for Jampason’s Barangay Hall on your left. It has a basketball court and a sign that says “This way to Agutayan Island”. You get down there, go inside the basketball court, all the way to the building that says “Welcome to Agutayan White Island”.

If in case you get off after or before Jampason, there is always a ‘habal–habal‘ motorcycle you can take for P20/head. Just tell them where you are going and they’ll bring you there.

* Private Transportation from Cagayan de Oro City

If you’re like us who are driving a car to Jasaan, and you happen to have WAZE app on your phone too, just Waze Jampason Barangay Hall. It is about 35 kms. from Agora, Cagayan de Oro City.

 

HOW MUCH IS THE ADMISSION FEE TO AGUTAYAN ISLAND?

After we registered our names (me, Mahal and baby Tuz), we paid a total of P1,700 which inlcudes:

• P1500 – boat fee
• P100 each environmental fee for me and Mahal

 

WHAT TO EXPECT OF AGUTAYAN ISLAND

1. Agutayan island is a naked white island.

2. You can go to the watchtower if you want but if you want to stay at the beach, and avoid the scorching rays of the sun come midday, either stay only a few hours in the morning (6-9am). Otherwise, bring your own tent. We did… we brought with us baby Tuz’s tent that is. Hahaha!

3. The waters are so crystal clear perfect for snorkeling.

4. The waters are shallow perfect for swimming.

5. The sand is not as white nor as fine as that of Camiguin’s white island, but it’s clean and still perfect for sunbathing. Get toasted as my toasted butt! Hahaha!

6. There are a lot of starfishes by the beach.

7. There are black sea cucumbers too!

8. You might see some jellyfish… we did… but it’s a dead one. Baby Tuz got so scared!

9. You can see nice corals and fishes underwater. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring our underwater cam so you just have to trust us with this. Agutayan Island is, after all, a marine sanctuary. Just snorkel away and enjoy the underwater view!

10. The boatman might keep asking you every hour if you’re ready to go since most tourists who go there prefer to not stay long because of the scorching heat of the sun, which is good for them, they can make more business. As for us, we stayed on the island until afternoon because we really wanted to make the most of the P1,700 we paid. I also want to get toasted. It came to a point that our boatman told us that he will just come back for us because he wanted to get other passengers coming from the mainland. That’s no problem for us as long as he gets us at our designated time. So, more beach time for us! And as the day wore on, the number of tourists lessened as if we had the island all to ourselves. Yey for us!

 

WHAT TO BRING TO AGUTAYAN ISLAND

1. Bring your own food and drinking water as there are no establishments or stores on the island. Make sure you take with you all the waste you produce during your stay.
2. Bring lots of SPF lotion to protect you from the harmful rays of the sun.
3. Wear a hat and pair of sunglasses for added protection from the scorching heat of the sun.
4. Bring your own tent if you intend to stay for more than an hour.
5. Bring all your swimming gear if you plan to stay long so you can really make the most of your stay (snorkels, fins, life vests, etc.)
6. Bring your happy self and your happy companions and don’t forget to enjoy!

 

That’s all, folks! So if you happen to visit Misamis Oriental and you’re on a budget, Agutayan Island will be perfect for you.

Til my next post!