Top Things to do in Camarines Sur Province
Top Restaurants in Camarines Sur Province
10 Things to Do in Camarines Sur Province That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Camarines Sur Province, Philippines including Matukad Island, Basilica of Our Lady of Penafrancia, Lahos Island, Our Lady of Peace Grotto, Panicuason Hot Spring Resort, Malabsay Falls, Cagbalinad Island, St John The Evangelist Metropolitan Cathedral, Mt Isarog National Park, Gota Beach.
Restaurants in Camarines Sur Province
1. Matukad Island
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 169 reviews
Reviewed By jblaza - Marikina, Philippines
Matukad was the second island I visited during my first trip to Caramoan. Its beach has pristine shallow waters and ivory powdery sand. Trees line the shoreline, providing shade.
Matukad island will take your breath away—figuratively and literally. Behind a vast limestone wall hides a lagoon where the two so-called “Enchanted Bangus (milkfish)” are found. To reach the lagoon, visitors have to climb the limestone wall. There are no safety harnesses, ropes, pulleys provided. Once you start climbing, hold on; any misstep will not be pretty. It is about forty feet high.
The rock surface on the usual path taken by tourists are less jagged and less sharp, but will only be passable to one or two people. During my first visit there, there was only a handful of tourists; when I returned two months later, the place was packed and there was a queue of people climbing. More adventurous guests may try the sharper but less crowded parts of the wall to avoid the queue. At the top of the rock ledge is a stunning view of the Islands. At the bottom of the other side of the rock ledge is the lagoon where the two milkfish are. Visitors can get close to the lagoon but rocks at this side of the rock ledge are sharper and looser.
I do not recommend wearing rubber shoes for the climb as the bulky shoes may be difficult to fit in small crevices. Slippers would do fine. When I climbed the rock wall, I used aqua shoes and it worked great; it had good traction and the jagged edges of the rocks were not troublesome. The compactness of the aqua shoes enabled me to anchor my foot inside smaller holes and crevices.
The lake was clear and tranquil; despite numerous trees surrounding the area, the lagoon’s surface was unobstructed by fallen leaves, etc. My guide told me the story of how there were two milkfish that lived in the lake until a local caught one and fed it to his family; the enchanted milkfish allegedly cursed the fisherman causing his son to fall ill and die. Enchanted or not, the lagoon and the entire island deserves our respect. (It is sad to note that I had to pick up rubbish thrown along the rock ledge by previous guests; some of the rocks had vandalism, too.)
2. Basilica of Our Lady of Penafrancia
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 135 reviews
Reviewed By wonderlustMD - Manila, Philippines
If you came here because you are a devotee, or a Catholic, or just for the architecture, the place will offer a beautiful structure perfect for adoration and reflection.
3. Lahos Island
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 64 reviews
Reviewed By jblaza - Marikina, Philippines
The first island that I visited during my first trip to Caramoan was Lahos. When I returned two months after, Lahos was closed to the public for the shooting of a local Television series. The island is uninhabited and does not have commercial establishment nor cottages.
At each end of Lahos Island stands a towering limestone wall. In the middle, as if cutting through the island is a sandy beach, about 50 meters across. The beach itself has no shade. You can have a respite from the sun using the shade cast by the rock formations. The beach has two shores, one at the eastern side (about 25 meters wide) of the island, the other at the west (about 100 meters wide). Its sand is ivory-ish in color and is not very powdery. The waves at the eastern side were calmer than in the west. The water is clear and pristine. There were coral reefs near the west beach but I did not get the chance to snorkel there (largely because I was exhausted from the trip to Caramoan).
While on the island, my guide pointed to a distant island and informed that it was Cantaduanes. He added that Catanduanes is about four hours away from Caramoan by boat.
4. Our Lady of Peace Grotto
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 60 reviews
Reviewed By GoranWembley
It's long but lovely hike to the Virgin Mary shrine some 15km away from Caramoan town (not 9-10km walk but a good 15km hike, my guide book was incorrect with this distance). You're rewarded with some amazing views, both of the coastline and the interior. Back to Caramoan town by flagging down a truck in the absence of decent public transportation.
5. Panicuason Hot Spring Resort
Overall Ratings
4 based on 94 reviews
Reviewed By Shredder1331 - Vancouver, Canada
We were in SM Naga City and decided to visit Kaddlagan outdoor shop to ask the staff there about a day trip to the hot Springs. They had the correct answers. We took a tricycle from Villa Caceres hotel to SM Naga in the morning. We talked to a taxi driver. He wanted P600 pesos or $12 USD to take 4 of us up to the Panicuason Hot Springs resort. We negotiated P1100 for a two-way trip. The driver would return after 4 hours to take us home. The drive up there was spectacular. Local jeeps will drop you off at the gate and then you will have a long hike to the resort. A taxi takes you right to the pools. Take a taxi. We paid for 3 adults and one child...ground down the price to P750...the kid got in for free...haha! Nice lady in a good mood at the gate.
The location is perfect. The greenery and tropical jungle surround by steep cliffs and a fast moving river. The resort was clean and not busy. A family had just ordered breakfast feast while we arrived and we saw the spread put out on 2 tables. Nice feast. We had just finished a breakfast buffet at our hotel. This still looked good. Fresh coffee too? We bought 2 litres of Sprite and ice...glasses...snacks. We threw on our swimming trunks and headed into the pools. I heard a high pitched scream from above and saw an object high above moving at a fast rate of speed. Zip line!! No way!!
The kid's pool was 29c and my 5 year old son loved it. Next pool was 33C and gorgeous! I ventured down to the 39C pool. I mentioned my back has been sore since 1997! Back injury at work lifting boxes. Protruded L4 and L5 discs. I stepped into the 39C pool and "boom"! My back felt better. I moved around and did some back stretching excersizes. My back felt better. I felt good. I was more flexible and the pain was gone. No hoax...I felt better. The mineral content and heat combined with the act of swimming are scientifically proven to heal back injuries. They simulate this in most major hospitals. This is the real thing as God had intended.
We spent 3 hours in the pools swimming and having fun. Not crowded that day. Two gorgeous Swedish fashion models in the pools...poor me. An Italian/Filipino family and a huge family from Batangas who insisted I join them for some Red Horse...and another...and another. Our taxi driver showed up and rescued me from yet another Red Horse. Met some awesome people in a 4 hour period. Our taxi driver was really nice. He dropped us off at our hotel. He refused a tip. He only wanted the P1100 we agreed to. We spent less than $50 USD on this day-trip for 4 people. Highly recommended.
6. Malabsay Falls
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 34 reviews
Reviewed By Tim H - Naga, Philippines
Great natural waterfall,but dangerous if you don't wear something fitted. Buildings are run down and it's sad to see no-one cares for the place. Man at gate happy to take the money then fall asleep in his hammock. There are plenty of plants to see and flowers plus we saw local wildlife lizards. Great pool to swim in at falls. Utility shower building is pointless and filthy walls even fallen down and unsafe. But despite that I had a great time and just hope tourism office spend some of the entrance money on upkeep
7. Cagbalinad Island
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 22 reviews
Reviewed By jblaza - Marikina, Philippines
The third island I visited during my first visit to Caramoan is Cagbanilad. Cagbanilad Island is a short distance from Matukad island and Minilahos island. There are Beaches at the east and south sidses of Cagbanilad—we docked at the southern side. Cagbanilad is uninhabited and there are no stores and facilities on the island—just nature at its finest.
Sitting in the middle of its sandy beach is a gargantuan rock, which can be a good place to pose for a photo. Be careful when climbing the rock as portions of it have been smoothed out by the tides. The beach is quite small, about 30 meters across.
Around the island are towering rock formations. During my second visit to Caramoan, there were people who climbed the rock wall and jumped off. It’s not something that I would try out for myself, though.
In front of the beach a vast snorkeling area, where you can find corals and fish. The depth of the water in the snorkeling area is about ten feet deep. Unfortunately, I was not able to pack my GoPro in my dry bag for the island hopping so I have no underwater shots for this trip. Across Cagbanilad’s snorkeling area is Hunongan Cove.
8. St John The Evangelist Metropolitan Cathedral
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 19 reviews
Reviewed By Anna May V - Pasig, Philippines
What a grand place, with elegant arched ceiling peppered with detailed mosaic work and stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible.
Statues of saints, angels and the Holy Family abound, and outside is a wide, spacious area where a memorial to the tricentennial of the Penafrancia stands.
9. Mt Isarog National Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
Reviewed By Khinvdijk - The Netherlands
Went last August 2015 with my partner. We finalized our trip with the help of Kadlagan Outdoor shop located in SM City Naga. You can look for Jojo Villareal, a very helpful Tour Coordinator.
Mt. Isarog is Located in Camarines Sur. It is considered as Southern Luzon’s highest forested peak. Trail leads to six campsites situated at various elevations. Going for a hike on August are not advisable as it's rainy day season. We really did not expect that there would be storm during our trip but It actually made our trip more adventurous as it is more difficult to go for a climb on slippery trails and plus there's lot of limatik, a kind of blood leeches.
Kadlagan also provided us Tour guide and we're so glad that the tour guide we had was very helpful and easy to talk to, he was the one who provided our food but of course with additional pay but no problem at all as it's even more convenient for us. They brought food and also cooked the food for us. It was really a rainy day and windy too that we hardly sleep. We spent the night at the camp 5 and the next day around 6am we headed to the summit. The view from the top was not that I expected as there's only a small portion where you can see the view and not really a 360 degrees view and we're not able to see the view as it's to foggy during rainy days but we're still so happy that we're able to climb the Southern Luzon’s highest forested peak.
10. Gota Beach
Overall Ratings
4 based on 34 reviews
Reviewed By Larry Chase G
I really recommend everyone going here. It is a place so relaxing and calming. A must see destination.
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