Gakut Island - Banton, Romblon

A four-day stay on Gakut Island — a virgin island in the Banton with no tourists, no resort, and a father who has been in the island for a year.

Getting There — The Full Route

• 10:00 AM — Depart Jac Liner Terminal, Buendia (Manila)
  Bus to Dalahican Port · ~4–5 hours depending on traffic
• 3:00 PM — Arrive Dalahican Port, Lucena
• 5:00 PM — Depart Dalahican · approximately 8 hours
• 1:00 AM — Arrive Banton Port — motorized bangka to Gakut Island
  20–30 minutes

The Journey

We met at the Jac Liner Terminal in Buendia at 10 in the morning — the agreed meetup point before anything else. From there, the bus south to Dalahican Port in Lucena takes roughly four to five hours, depending on how Manila decides to cooperate. It is not a scenic ride, but it is easy: you sit, you eat whatever you packed, and you watch the city gradually give way to rice fields and provincial roads.

Dalahican Port is a working port, not a tourist one. You buy your Montenegro Lines ticket, pay the ₱30 terminal fee, and wait. The ship departs at 5 PM and the crossing to Banton takes about eight hours — an overnight ferry that drops you off well past midnight. The ship is functional and familiar if you grew up taking it; for first-timers, it is an adventure in itself. Bring a mat or a light blanket and find a spot on deck if the weather allows.

Once we arrived at Banton Port, we tried to drop by our cousin's house in town — but there was no answer when we knocked. Understandable. It was the middle of the night and no one expects visitors at that hour. My father didn't hesitate: we go straight to Gakut. We loaded onto his motorized bangka and made our way across the calm sea, the moonlight the only thing lighting the water ahead of us.

Arrival

You can't really describe the feeling of arriving at a family island at one in the morning. The bangka's engine cuts through still water, and there's no dock waiting — just a beach, the sound of palms, and your father holding a flashlight. We pitched our tents and let exhaustion do the rest.

At first light came the reward: a spread of freshly caught seafood that my father had prepared the day before we arrived. We ate on the shore, still half-asleep, hot coffee, tasting the sea in everything while the sun crept over the horizon.

The island is owned by my late grandfather, Pedro Festin, and is now being managed by his children — my father has been living here alone for a year.

For my friends, this was a first. A first island, a first tent, a first time being somewhere with no convenience store and no Wi-Fi to fall back on. My father knew this, and his tour of Gakut was patient and practical: where to find the one spot with a mobile signal, where the comfort room is, how to move around without disturbing anything.

He walked us through everything he had been doing since he arrived — planting, clearing, building a shape into what was mostly wilderness. And then he showed us the places we should stay away from: where Tabon birds burrow to lay their eggs, and where Pawikan — sea turtles — come up the beach. We were guests on their schedule, not ours. We understood.

We were spending four days here. Knowing the island's rules before its pleasures felt right.

Into the water, Around the island

The second day belonged to the sea. We snorkeled the waters around Gakut, where the visibility is the kind that makes you stop and hover. We paddled boards, paddled small bangka out to the small islet nearby, walked the island's main beaches, caught fish for lunch, and helped clear more of the habitable area — earning our keep a little.

In the afternoon, we crossed to Banton island proper. Tabunan Beach was the first stop — a fishing sanctuary with rich coral formations and a preserved marine ecosystem that reminded you what those look like when left alone. Then Balogo and Macat-ang Beach, both white sand, both quiet.

Tabunan Beach is a fishing sanctuary. The coral formations there have been left undisturbed long enough that they look like somewhere no one has ever been.

We needed Macat-ang for practical reasons too: Gakut has no fresh water supply on its own, and our power banks were running low. We filled containers, charged our phones, and felt a new appreciation for infrastructure we usually take for granted.

The Peak No One had Reached — Until Now

There are 2 main peaks of Gakut Island. The lower one gives you a great view of the main white beach and at the back, it gives you a full view of the island of Banton. The higher one is still unexplored. It's not really that high. The path is mostly swallowed by cogon grass at the lower stretches and then by dense tree cover and rock formations as you climb. There is no trail, exactly — just a direction.

We made it. At the top, one long face of the island stretches out below you — the arc of the coast, the green interior, the water catching light in every direction. It is the kind of view that makes the scratched arms and wet boots feel like a fair trade.

One last afternoon in the town where we grew up

We left Gakut at 8 in the morning, bangka loaded, heading for the town of Banton. The Montenegro ship would pass through in the evening before continuing to Dalahican, and we had hours to spend. My siblings and I were born in Banton — we migrated to Mindoro when we were young, but the town still knows us.

We found some of our childhood friends and had a drinking session that ran until the ship arrived. In between, we swam in front of the seawall — the exact stretch of water where we used to play as kids — and walked our friends through the town: the elementary school, the old church, the house where we grew up.

Travel Costs

What to Bring

• Drinking and cooking water — The island has no fresh water supply; bring enough for your stay.
• Mosquito and heat protection — Repellent, sunscreen, and a hat are non-negotiable.
• Power bank — No electricity on the island. Charge everything before you leave.
• Tent
• Garbage bags — All waste goes back home with you. No exceptions.

Reminders

• No littering — Pack out everything you pack in.
• No bonfires in cogon grass areas — Fire spreads fast in dry cogon; keep flames well away.
• Do not use stocked private supplies — Water and provisions stored on the island are not for guests to use freely.
• Respect the wildlife — Tabon bird nesting sites and Pawikan egg-laying areas are off-limits. Observe from a distance.
• Respect the underwater environment — Do not step on or touch corals. Maintain distance from sea creatures and avoid disturbing the marine ecosystem.