Calaguas Islands

Calaguas is a small group of islands off the northern coast of Camarines Norte, and the reason people make the trip is one beach: Mahabang Buhangin on Tinaga Island, a long curve of fine white sand backed by grass hills with almost nothing built on it. The water is clear and shallow far out, the hills behind take twenty minutes to climb for the view down the whole strand, and at night the absence of town lights makes the sky unusually good. Facilities have grown slowly - tent rentals, simple huts, a few basic resorts, generator power in the evening - but this is still closer to camping than to a resort island, and most visitors arrive on organised overnight trips from Daet or Manila. The boat ride is the filter: an hour and a half or more across open water that turns rough easily, which is why trips cluster in the calm months and get cancelled outright in bad weather.

What you actually see

• Mahabang Buhangin - the long white beach on Tinaga.
• The grass hills - the short climb to the overlook.
• The night sky - no town lights for miles.
• The camp scene - tents and huts rather than hotels.

When to go

March to May for the calmest crossings and settled weather. Avoid the typhoon months; Camarines Norte takes storms directly, and trips are cancelled without much notice.

Honest expectations

The crossing is long and can be rough. There is no reliable power, limited fresh water, no ATMs and patchy signal. Bring cash, water and sun cover; carry rubbish back out.

Nearby

Daet's Bagasbas Beach is the surf spot on the mainland; Paracale is the old gold-mining town on the same coast.