About Camotes Island

Camotes map

Camotes Island is situated in Central Visayas, in the Philippines. It is a part of the province of

Cebu in Region VII. Camotes Islands is located east of Cebu and west of Leyte . Camotes Island is made up of three main sub-islands and divided into four municipalities. This four capital towns are Pilar, Poro, San Francisco and Tudela. Camotes Island's photography is hilly. The highest point of the island is 386 meters above sea level. It's climate is characterized by distinct dry season. The island is approximately 562 kilometers south east of Manila, 62 kilometers north east of Cebu and 25 kilometers west of Ormoc. Camotes Island has a total size of 20,964 hectares.
Camotes Island's Climate

Camotes as a whole enjoys tropical weather the whole year round. We only have 2 seasons. The

dry and the rainy season. The dry season is from March to June while the rainy season is from July to February. The nippy air of "Amihan" or the north easterly wind blows from September to March. From June to August, the south westerly wind or the "Habagat" turns up. 

 Habagat wind

Angry waves... the "Habagat" wind strikes in.

The "Habagat" wind normally goes through an eight days cycle, which means, eight days of storm and rain. After 8 wet days, the weather abruptly changes to sunny and dry, consecutively. During this season, Camotes Island is frequently visited by typhoons and low depression, wherein it floods the whole island, and blows the native houses' rooftops away.
Camotes Island Transportation

Access to the island is by boat. There are daily boats from mainland Cebu to Camotes Island.

E.B. Aznar Shipping:

The travel time is a leisurely 4 hours on a clean and comfortable large boat. The boat docks at Poro Island port. You can board on this boat at Pier 2 in Cebu.

The Aznar boat leaves daily at 9:00pm from Cebu and arrives in Camotes Island at 1:00am. From Camotes Island, the boat leaves at 11:00am and arrives in Cebu City at 3:00pm.
Fares from Cebu to Camotes Island and vice versa:
Tourist: P280.00 pesos

Economy: P220.00

However, if you miss this boat, you will have to travel north of Cebu to Danao City, which is about an hours' drive north of Cebu. There are other smaller outrigger boats, which takes you to the island, in 2.5 or 3 hours depending on the sea's temperament. This is not the most comfortable ride, but i can sure you, a very interesting one. You will have an opportunity to sit next to chickens, cows, and pigs,, and people retching out of nausea, and motionsickness !

Pumpboats to Camotes Island:

From Ouano Wharf, Mandaue City daily at 1:00pm/
Fare: P200.00
From Danao City to Camotes Island/
Fare: P 180.00

From Ormoc, Leyte to Tudela, Camotes Island:
Pumpboats departs at 09:00AM and 01:00PM
Travel Time  -  3 hrs.

Light and Water

The two major sources of lighting is power and kerosene which are utilized by 43.9% and 55.5% of the sample house holds, respectively. Common source of water on the island is the community water system consisting of public faucets and individual (private faucets), at 40.6% and 23.8% respectively. Around 16.1% indicate tube/pipe well as a source of water; a 0.3% dug wells; and 5.2% spring. A 220V. The power depends on Camotes Electric Cooperative (CELCO) that energizes the mainland Camotes spring water by gravity. Jetmatic and deepwell pumps are great source of water. Some parts of the island, don't have water supply. They keep big water container jars and collect rain water during the rainy season.
camotes rain
Saving rain water in a barrel.

Communication

A postal service office and telecommunication offices provide communication services. Otherwise, a cellular phone is accessible in all parts of the island. Landlines are also available for business and residential purposes which is powered by Globelines communication.

Since  there are landlines like globelines, a  dial  up service is available. Smart  offers WIFI in Camotes, but  they  need  to  come  up   with more   customers  before  they can offer the service to the island. Not many people in  camotes owns  a  computer so it may take a while  for SMART to offer this service.PLDT(Philippines Long Distance Telephone) offers  a  wireless internet  connection  that  would  be applicable to  all the   islands  all  over the Philippines.

Health Services

The municipal health center is provided with an ambulance. A private community clinic at southern poblacion also provides medical services.
Food and Entertainment

COOLTRAX is  a bar & restaurant  with vedioke located in Libertad, Poro.

Not like your ordinary KTV Bar, HORIZON installed a performing stage for you to sing and jam, while showing and competing with other customers.They are still open despite the website's claims they have closed.

Green Lake, Santiago Bay, Mangodlong Beach Resort and SeaBreeze restrobar in San Francisco, Camotes offers a variety of delicious food.
Accommodations

In Esperanza, Poro, there's a hotel called My Little Island Hotel. They offer a lot of services with a variety of good food.
The islanders are group of warm, caring, and hospitable people. Numerous families are more than glad to play host to tourist and visitors through thier "Home-stay" program.

Granada Pension House rent airconditioned rooms.Please inquire the local Tourism Council through PLDT 109 for reservations and for furthur details.

A simple cozy beachhouse by the sea with all the amenities is avaialable at "Das Leichthaus".

Financial Matters

Camotes Island Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CIMPC) caters to the lending needs of its members. CIMPC is also engaged in trading and in the production of feeds.
Economy
Agriculture predominates with copra as top grosser as well as rice, corn, vegetables, fruits, root crops and some varieties of fish. Other small enterprises are livestock, poultry, pottery, hollow blocks-making, furniture, and soap-making.




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You should visit Camotes Island, it's beautiful and it has a perfect weather to walk around the island and explore different things.

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Loboc River

The Loboc River is now one of the major destinations of tourists, local and foreigners alike. Located in the Municipality of Loboc, a mere 24 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City, the winding river plays host to cruisers on board small bancas or floating restaurants. Visitors are treated to a vista of lush tropical vegetation such as nipa palms, coconut trees, banana groves, and bushes.

A cruise along the river starts either from the Loay Bridge (a neighboring town) or at the town’s Poblacion. The Loay Bridge is 20 kilometers from Tagbilaran City while the Poblacion is about 25 kilometers away. Small motorized bancas can be availed of for a minimal fee yet for those who want to eat while cruising, floating restaurants are available offering Filipino cuisine buffet that costs P400 per head or more and local delicacies.

With the tourism fever, the floating restaurants were envisioned providing tourists with a 1st class dining experience on board floating restaurants. The floating vessels are made up of a covered platform on top of two large outrigger boats which are joined together. The boats can accommodate up to 50 people.

Most of the floating restaurants treat their guests with Boholano songs played by in-boat bands during the cruise. The trip winds up the river and ends at the Busay Falls which is only one and a half meter at most. Here, the guests are treated to rondalla music by a local rondalla group housed under a floating cottage.

Local folks usually take a dip in the waters and enjoy bathing under the falls. Guests who have brought with them extra clothes are welcome to swim and bathe and experience the heady feeling of a refreshing swim in the river’s unpolluted waters.

Going to and from the Busay falls, visitors are treated to a spectacle of children diving from a large coconut tree that is leaning out towards the river. One will feel a bit tense seeing the children climbing up the tree and then plunging towards the deep waters. From the looks of it, the part of the tree where the children usually dive from is more than 10 feet from the river.

Along the way, one can see children swimming and people passing by in small bancas or canoes. Upstream, and located on the eastern bank of the river, the Nuts Huts Resort is seen. This resort is a favorite hang-out for bikers and hikers who prefer the peaceful and scenic surroundings of the river bank rather than the majestic allure of the sea.

Another area worth visiting is where wild chickens, turtles, and pythons are kept in captivity. On this trips, visitors are given the time to marvel at the surrounding landscape. After a while, the return trip starts. Since the trip is going downstream, it takes a shorter time for the boats to arrive at the starting point.
How to Get There

Many buses, jeepneys, and multicabs ply the interior route to and from Tagbilaran City. It is a lot cheaper if you avail of this local transport. However, vans and taxis are also available but usually charges 50% more if traveling outside Tagbilaran City. It is not hard to locate the Municipality of Loboc for it lies along the river banks. The old and massive stone church of Loboc is your landmark. The church is right beside the road, and at the opposite side of the road, you will see the Loboc River.




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Loboc river in Bohol is beautiful you should visit it. There's a floating restaurant there where you can explore the beauty of Loboc river. It's very affordable and the dishes are very authentic and delicious.

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