As the tourism industry of the Province of Surigao del Sur boosts, Britania Islands in San Agustin adds up to the list of their must-visits. Britania Islands are group of islands off the cove of San Agustin, Surigao del Sur. Reacheable by land and by air. Tandag Airport is the nearest airport in Britania, however, airports of Butuan City, Surigao City and Davao City also have access to the province.
Several resorts are now open to cater guests, not only local tourists but also international ones. Prices may vary depending on the types of accommodation and services you may avail. If you are on a budget, there are home stays available in the area as well.
As usual, collection of fees upon arrival as part of the Municipal Tax and environmental fees. If you have not pre-booked any tour in Britania, boatmen are available anytime. Prices on island hopping starts at Php 1,500 that is depending on the number of persons in a group.
January 3, 2017
During our visit, we arrive in Britania at 7pm. Upon settling the fees, we immediately look for accommodation. We plan to check at the La Entrada Resort yet their “Barkada Room” is no longer available so we look for an alternative. With the help of our boatman, a bigger room at Villa Rosalina is available at a discounted price.
At the same time, we also booked our boatman for tomorrows island activity. We initially plan for an early island hopping for us to have enough travel time to Hinatuan to catch the fish feeding at the Enchanted River. We ask our boatman to come early for us to start at the earliest possible time. Agreed time is at 5am.
Now, with a tiring 13-hr day trip from Lanao del Norte to Surigao del Sur, we ask the restaurant to cook us sumptuous food. They have yellow fin tuna available so we ask them to grill the half and make a soup out of the head. An enjoyable and delicious dinner is at our table after a while.
After dinner, we regain back our energy and have a drink in front of the karaoke machine. Several songs are played and several glasses are drank and off to our room at 10pm.
January 4, 2017
At 3am, I am awaken by the noise of the heavy rainfall. I’m thinking it will stop after 2 hours for us to push with our original plan. Unfortunately, come 5am, the rain still pouring though not that heavy as that of 3am. All of us are already up at 5am and are ready for the beach but our boatman is not yet around. I also frequently check for some sunrise, just making sure that we can be able to push-through with our island hopping.
At 5:45am our boatman arrives telling me he didn’t bother to come at 5am due to rainfall. He’s also checking for the weather ensuring safety on our activities at sea. Originally, we are set to have our breakfast in the island. Since he arrives late, we ask the restaurant to just serve our food and we’ll just eat while waiting for him. Just in time that we are about to have our breakfast, he arrives so we just continue eating.
Finishing breakfast quickly, we immediately hopped on to the boat and head to Hagonoy Island. The island is at sight but it’s quite far and we will start from there. At first, the ride is calm up to an island near the shore. Yet as we cross the first island, it starts to get bumpy, maybe due to the weather condition. Several minutes of bumpy ride, we arrive at Hagonoy Island.
It is an inhabited island due to its proximity and size. Location is at the open sea, not conducive for building homes since no barrier around it. Only very few plants and coconut trees around. Maybe if it’s not because of the presence of the trees, Hagonoy Island can be called a sandbar.
The island boasts its fine white sands though not as fine as the sands of Boracay. The other side of the island have strong waves coming from the Pacific while on the other side is quite calm. At the tip of the island too is a mix of calm and strong waves. We only have photo ops at the island, have our selfies and groupfies, jump shots and emo-poses before we get back to our boat. We didn’t have the chance to take a dip since our boatman suggested another island for swimming.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to drop at the Naked Island/Sandbar because of the rough seas. We only circled the island to get a good look at it then we proceed to the suggested island for swimming.
Arriving at the island, we took photos first before dipping ourselves at the beach. Our kind boatman offers his photography skills and takes pictures of us while swimming. We have enough time at the beach before finally deciding to proceed to another island.
While on our way to the last island, no docking space for our boat so we just drove back to our accommodation. Still we are in line with the original plan of leaving Britania before lunch. Returning to our accommodation, we had a quick refresh, settled our bills and drove to Hinatuan for our next destination.
Been here: January 3-4, 2017
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