ROMBLON ROMBLON, AN ISLAND SO NICE YOU SAY IT TWICE

Getting to Romblon Island was an experience on its own and if it hasn’t been for Carlos, the owner of Stone Creek House where we’ve stayed, we probably wouldn’t make it there or we would be forced to skip it altogether.

Romblon is a province located south of Luzon near Visayas region. It consists of 3 major islands namely: Romblon, Tablas and Sibuyan

When we were planning this trip before pandemic everything looked pretty straightforward. But then all went down South. The regular plane from Manila to Tablas Island was cancelled, also night ferries from Bantayan to Romblon offered very limited routes.

So, this was our only option: regular daily pump boat from Carabao to Santa Fe on Tablas (a good hour ride), then driving with the van across all of Tablas Island (2 hours on a curvy road) and at the end small outrigger took us to the Romblon Island (another 1,5 h). And oh, did I mentioned that we had “kind of” stormy weather since we’ve left Carabao? So, you can imagine this was a bit scary, especially for Nia, that we had to entertain while the waves were hitting our little boat and splashing in our faces.

Thankfully all went well and while we were coming closer to Romblon the sun came up and when we’ve entered the lagoon area the waves calmed down.

When to go:

The best time to visit Romblon is from November to May. While the temperatures remain fairly consistent year-round, there is quite a high chance of rainfall between June and October. As there isn’t a major dip in temperatures throughout the year, you could visit at any time and diving is still popular in the region year-round.

Where to stay:

Stone Creek House: This is by far the best place to stay on Romblon Island. Since there were five of us, we occupied penthouse apartment and one room. The accommodation had all amenities you need for comfortable and enjoyable stay (AC, TV with Netflix, board games, hot running water, kitchenet, fridge). It’s few steps away from shops and restaurants, although we always ate dinner at SMŌHK.

Where to eat:

Smōhk: Hands down the best food we had in the Philippines (not just Romblon Island). We tried the hibachi prawns, chicken burger, Japanese curry, satays, Philly steak and chocolate brownie with ice-cream for dessert. We highly recommend hibachi prawns served with champignons, spinach and rice. We actually had that twice in the row because they were so delicious:) The owner of the restaurant Carlos was very accommodating and he asked us every day if we had any specific wishes in regards to dinner so he could include it on the daily menu. The only food we craved was curry and it was beyond our expectations, all other evenings we just picked from the menu and even then, it was hard to choose between the choices. We had two kids with us that can be a picky eater and they cleaned the plate every evening so that says a lot. Absolutely a must dinner place to visit while on Romblon, Romblon.

Good to know:

• Rombon is still underdeveloped. Do not expect big malls, fast food restaurants and high-end resorts in this island. But you can still get all the basic needs.
• Transportation
  • Tricycle is the mode of transportation going around the island.

• We had rented two e-scooter for 300 Php/day, with battery charging station available around the island (50 Php per charge). Be sure to have a valid driving license since they won’t rent you the bikes without it.

Things to see/do:

• Fort San Andres – Overlooking the ocean, Fort San Andres towers above Romblon town center. The old fort is from hundreds of years ago when there was a heavy Spanish presence in the area. You can see this influence on the architecture all around Romblon Island and it has made for some beautiful old buildings.

The entrance to the fort is just a short walk or bike ride from town until you reach the bottom  of the steps. From the bottom of the steps, it is a short less than 10-minute climb to reach the fort. Entrance fee to Fort San Andres is by donation, and all money raised goes towards the upkeeping of the structure.

• Tiamban Beach

There is a picnic area when you first arrive but if you walk down the beach to the right-hand side there is nothing but nature. Dense palm trees line the shores and when you are at the far end of the beach it feels like you are totally secluded from the outside world.

• Bonbon Beach

A long stretch of creamy shore with a sandbar that stretches out to the other island. Bonbon beach is the most photographed beach in Romblon.This was our last stop on the Island-hopping tour since currently the beach is closed for public and the entrance from the road is forbidden. This was supposed to change in next month’s so this lovely stretch of fine white sand will be open for public again.

• Talipasak Beach at San Pedros Resort:

It is a spectacular little beach, tucked in between some rocky cliff faces with blue water lapping the shores. The beach is also lined with trees, making it feel so secluded when you are on the beach and also providing lots of shade to relax in during the midday sun. This was our favorite beach here so we came back twice in our 5 days on this Island, especially memorable was our second visit since it was on Saturday and the place was full of local families ranging from little kids to their grandparents just having fun during weekend.

• Sunbird Ridge:

We found this beautiful and tranquil spot on our ride around the island. We were so amazed with this place that we came again and had a great breakfast here. We met the owners Tony & Lyn, who are living in Barangay Lonos with their kids and have quite an interesting bird-friendly garden. Sunbird ridge stood on a hillside overlooking the passage to Romblon Island. A beautiful view of turquoise waters, white sand Bonbon beach and green islands. It was a delight to sit on their porch and watch the sunbirds, mostly olive-backed, come to the feeders and drink up the sugar solutions. Sometimes there were 7 or more birds at a single feeding station! Tony is such an interesting person and you can listen to his adventures for hours without knowing it that the time has passed. He was involved in animal conservation projects in Kenya for years and he was also in charge for bringing some African animal to Calauit Island near Coron in the mid ’70 as a game reserve featuring large African mammals.

Island hopping

Carlos arranged us this great experience and it was really worth a boat ride around the island surrounding Romblon. The fee for the boat rental doesn’t include food, water or snorkels, so you will have to bring all of these yourself. Be sure to pack some food, as it will be almost impossible to find food on your island hopping tour.

We’ve made s stop on three islands, did some snorkeling and cliff jumping (kids, not the adults😊)

• Cobrador Island or more specifically Marakay Marakay cliff jumping spot, just off the coast of Cobrador Island was the place where our kids enjoyed cliff jumping while we opted for taking photos and worrying about them. We have also visited the main beach on Cobrador Island  – it’s a spectacular stretch of long golden sand and the water is an outrageous shade of blue.
• 

• Alad Island: The island has back to back crescent beaches and looked absolutely incredible from the air. There were no resorts or hotels built here, only the homes of the local people built right next to the beach. We did some turtle snorkeling here but unfortunately we didn’t see any.

Carlos Madrona Reyes:

Yes, we are going to do a complete chapter on this man😊 We first made contact in 2019 just months before pandemic chained the whole World. We’ve seen some positive reviews about this place called Stone Creek House on a remote island of Romblon, Romblon as the locals speak about it. We made a reservation for our stay and then all went black for almost two years. Now at the beginning of this year, when the Philippines were still under lockdown, we made the contact again. And it was like two years didn’t pass by. Carlos was more than helpful with the information that we needed about our stay since we couldn’t find anything on the internet. As the date of our arrival from Carabao was approaching his help on transportation was needed more and more. He organized everything to get us to Romblon and when he met us at the pier where our small Bangka boat docked if was like we met someone we knew already. The next five days he was completely committed to us having fun and spending the time of our life on this rustic yet incredible Island. He got us the motorbikes, organized island hopping, showed us the points of interest on the island and at the end he also organized our departure to Boracay via Tablas Island.

We spend every evening in his restaurant called Smōhk, which is the place where you can get THE BEST food and the coldest beer on the island. We were privileged that he set with us every day and we talked like old friends, having fun, speaking about movies and music that we liked, sports and basically about every subject you can imagine. He was great with our two kids who literary adored him and shed many tears on our departure. He also gave them presents and went out to get some marble memorabilia for us – Romblon is not called marble capitol of the Philippines for nothing.

On our last night he took us to karaoke which was our longtime dream to do and we sang our longs out. Of course, we sucked and he didn’t😊 There was only one small problem with “this guy” … he’s a Manchester United fan and our kid is a Citizen all the way so you can imagine the fun they had😊

In conclusion I must say the Romblon is really a beautiful island with lots and lots to offer but meeting Carlos and calling him our friend made the experience here even more memorable. We made a deal that when he’ll be in Europe next time, he will come to Slovenia so we can return just a fragment of his hospitality.

The Overall Experience:

A trip to Romblon Island will probably be the most adventurous part of your trip to the Philippines. It’s totally off the beaten path, has so many spectacular places to visit, and there is almost nobody else here – we didn’t meet any other tourists. This all adds up to an epic few days.

Whether you spend a few days or a week here, we hope our Romblon itinerary can help you get the most out of your time. A trip out here is already made worth it by the beaches alone, but when you add in all the other amazing spots and friendliness of the people you are guaranteed to have an incredible experience.