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A Side Trip to Sumbrero Island

“We don’t want to shower!” said my friend.

“Actually, I do,” is what I wanted to say, but I let the words die on my lips. We were on a boat waiting to be taken to Sumbrero Island. We just trekked down from Mt. Gulugud Baboy, where we camped for a night. Nobody was able to sleep because the wind lashed our tents the entire time. We have a saying that goes something like, “Magbiro ka na sa lasing wag lang sa bagong gising” (You can mess with a drunkard but not with a person who just roused from sleep). In this case, the more appropriate statement is, “You can mess around with a drunkard but not to a person who didn’t get any sleep.” None of us was well rested to take some bullshit, and bullshit is what Philpan Dive Resort was trying to give us that morning.

We weren’t informed that when you pass through Philpan to get to the boats, you would be required to shower in this resort. Again, I was willing to take a shower, but I wasn’t about to shell out ₱60 ($1.06) unless I’d emerge from the bathroom looking like Kristine Hermosa. But the staff of Philpan didn’t take it too kindly. When our boatman told them that none of us were willing to shower in their resort, they shut the gate to us. What is the world coming to that some resort is now forcing people to use their shower facility?

Read: Why it’s hard to Climb Mt. Gulugud Baboy

So if you don’t want to be forced to pay a ridiculous amount of money just to shower and if you don’t want some weird woman throwing profanities at you, tell your boatman to NEVER LEAD YOU THROUGH PHILPAN. If you want to shower, don’t worry, there are people within the area who are offering their homes for this purpose and it wouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg.

After the morning drama, we sailed out to the sea for 20 minutes. Sumbrero Island got its name from its shape; from afar, it looks like a hat.

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It’s just a small island, its white sand bedecked by crushed corals. It’s amazing that only a few hours away from Manila, there is a beach as beautiful as this, and this is coming from a person who has already seen some of the best beaches in the Philippines.

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The island is privately owned by a man named Ed Mendoza, according to the boatman. There are some people manning the island including this old dog who seems to be enjoying the island vibe. I would too, I mean just look at how beautiful it is.

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The water is clear and teeming with jellyfish, yes, that little cute pinkish creature that stings. They are everywhere so be careful when you take a swim here. My friends got sting a bit but they said it was bearable. Nah… I didn’t want to risk it. So I was out of the water the moment I heard one of my friends said that she saw a jellyfish.

There is an entrance fee of ₱200 ($3.52) per person and you can rent a cottage for ₱800 (USD 17). Yes, that’s a lot of money so if you are on a budget, it’s best to come with friends.

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The boat ride is ₱2,500 ($44.02) for eight pax, additional of ₱100 ($1.76) per head. There were 11 of us so we paid ₱2,800 ($45.79) all in all.

We were there for two hours, taking pictures or swimming. I almost didn’t get to see Sumbrero Island because of the thing with the Philpan staff, good thing my friends decided that we go as planned. Going back, the boatman docked elsewhere. We had to walk a long way back to the registration point but it was okay. I was able to get that much-desired shower in the house of Ate Lisa for only ₱25 ($)0.44. She’s one of the people manning the registration area for the mountain climbers.

If you’re going to Mt. Gulugud Baboy, I suggest that you take a side trip to this small island. Just remember where not to go if you don’t want the stress of being forced to shower.


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47 Comments

  1. I don’t even know what to say! I can’t believe you would be forced to shower just so you can fork over some money. Outrageous. Glad you still made the most of the rest of your day. The island looks like it is a worthwhile side trip.

  2. Firstly I love the layout of your blog! What an amazing little place – I would love to visit. It looks beautiful! Certainly an interesting story to tell about the shower.

  3. It sounds like a quite island to spend some time chilling out, happy that the bad experience with the resort staff and the lack of sleep did not dampen your spirits. And yes, a person deprived of sleep is like a lion deprived of meat 🙂

  4. shower seriously? WTH?
    why bother with that, I mean, why would you need to pay something like that for entrance. Totally weird.

    I wouldn’t bother with them if that’s the way they treat tourists.

  5. This trip sure has its ups and downs. I can’t imagine that showering is a must- what a foolish way to extort money. Oh well, this is all part of the adventure. I am not sure if I have the guts to swim along stinging jellyfishes….

  6. It’s so beautiful! I really want to travel and visit this beautiful places that you guys post about. I can’t see a shape of a hat – what’s wrong with me?? hehehe

  7. OMG , what an amazing place ! Look at that sea water , how clear !!! I live on an holiday island myself , but that beach and that sea …. woooowwww . Thanks for this excellent post !

  8. Oh wow! P60 for a shower?! that’s ridiculous! I’ve heard of Sumbrero islands but have never visited.Will make sure not to pass through the resort you mentioned.

  9. That is so crazy that the people wanted you to shower at their resort. I have never heard of anything like that before. Good thing you didn’t allow it to ruin the day and that you made it to the beach! It looked beautiful there but all of the jellyfish would have scared me completely! I really liked how you put the itinerary and how much everything was!

  10. What’s with Philpan that they’ll force you to shower? Are they taking secret pictures or videos?

    Thanks for sharing your story kahit nakakagalit, BTW, I heard that the beaches on that part of Batangas either have jelly fish or sea urchins. Is that true?

  11. I laughed so hard at this “not unless I’d emerge from the bathroom looking like Kristine Hermosa”, hahahahaha!!!!! Why do they have to force people like that??? Anyway, getting a dip from a climb looks like a very great idea to me! It sounds so refreshing. I’ll take note of this Sumbrero Island.

  12. Whoa! Philpan resort has some rude staff. How long does it take if you don’t pass through Philpan resort? The beach looks rough on the feet and, as you said, there are jellyfishes, so I think this island is only good for side trips. Thank you for sharing.

  13. I am baffled by the resort staff forcing you guys to take a shower. Anyway, I’d heard of Sumbrero Island before and similarly was told it’s a good side trip after hiking in the nearby mountain. 🙂 Though I think there are times the sea water gets infiltrated with moss. Best to ask the locals what season is best to visit the island I guess.

  14. That is so weird to be required to shower to rent a boat. What does that have to do with boating? Glad you got to visit the island. I certainly wouldn’t have gotten in the water with jellyfish. No thanks. But still looks beautiful!

    1. Hi Michelle. The boat has nothing to do with it, it’s separated from the resort. But if you want to get to the shore where the boats are docked and you pass through Philpan’s backyard that’s when you will be required to shower in their place. In short, you can’t pass through their vicinity if you don’t intend to shower there. Ridiculous eh?!

  15. My last memories of Sombrero Island was around year 2000-2001. The island was empty, there weren’t cottages yet. We took small private boats during a meditation retreat around 4:00 am and we meditated on the island for an hour while watching the sunrise. I remember lots of sea urchins, It was a beautiful island.

  16. Marjorie it must have been super interesting although annoying to be pushed into taking a bath, by someone who is not your mom. Lol. I can truly understand your irritation though.
    The island looks lovely and good u stayed away from Jelly fish. We faced the same dilemma in Hua Hin Thailand it decided to stay clear. Especially with kids

  17. So that’s what those ladies were yelling? they wanted us to shower there? lol WTH… I never understood what it was they were saying. I knew you guys said they wanted to rip us off, but by forcing us to shower? haha thats ridiculous!

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