Buluan Island Ipil Zamboanga Sibugay
This is probably one of the best islands I've been that is near my hometown. Buluan Island in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay is just 4 hours away from Zamboanga City, my hometown. It boasts a white sand beach, intact and pristine coral reefs, and a tropical paradise that is Instagram-worthy.
Buluan Island is a marine sanctuary. Meaning, it is a protected area. Fishing and other activities that are harmful for the marine environment are strictly prohibited. That just gives us an idea of how beautiful the corals are in this paradise, all preserved well. You'll see small fishes, corals of different designs and color, giant clams, and if you're lucky enough, you might see a sea turtle wandering around the reef. That's how preserve this island is!
Check out this vlog I made for this trip:
Getting to Buluan Island was surprisingly easy. From Zamboanga city, we just took an Ipil bound bus in Zamboanga terminal then disembarked at Brgy. Buluan (that's about 4km before Ipil town porper). Then, we took an habal-habal ride from the highway to the residence to Ma'am Rosalie, the owner of the boat that took us to the Island. Finally, we took a pump boat ride to the island. It'll only take 15 to 20 minutes.
If you're not sure where to disembark off the bus, don't you worry because the bus driver or kondoktor knows where to drop you off. Just tell them you're heading to Buluan Island. But if your still hesitant, then the best option is to disembark at the Ipil bus terminal where there are many habal-habal drivers that are more than happy to take you to Brgy Buluan Island.
Our contact person for this trip was Ma'am Rosalie. She is the owner of the boat that took us to the island. She prepared for our habal-habal ride and snorkeling activities. We already contacted her 2 days before the trip for the boat reservation. Everything went smoothly because of her. We took her number from another Buluan blog post here: http://ujalmocera.com.
Here's Ma'am Rosalie's phone number: +63936528192
So here the break down of our expenses:
Fare from Ipil to Buluan: Php 500 round trip (rough estimate)
Habal habal to the boat's docking station: Php 60 round trip
Boat ride: Php 500 round trip
Snorkeling gear: Php 100
Boat ride to the best snorkeling sites: 500 php
Buluan island is so beautiful that it needs to be preserved well. So if you're visiting this place, please do me a favor. Let's leave nothing and take nothing in/from this island.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. :)
