Ticao island is nestled in between Masbate and the southernmost end of Luzon. I had previously heard of a dive site there called “Manta Bowl” where giant mantas come in with the seasonal plankton blooms.
So I finally decided to see what the story was, especially considering not much was heard in years past of Ticao island and diving there.
Ticao island is accessed either via flying into Masbate City, and ferrying across, or flying into Legazpi at the southern end of Luzon, so I chose the latter. Ticao island resort and its name was getting bandied about as of late, so I checked out their website, and the individual rooms looked cozy, and their reputation in the extremely active Philippines Dive Community was very good.
Upon arrival at the small yet modern and nice Legazpi airport, Donsol Eco Tours drive was there with a sign and off we went to spend the afternoon and overnight there. Donsol Eco tours and Ticao island Resort are owned and managed by the same family, and they are really tied in well with the entire community. Donsol Eco Tours is the go-to outfit for whale shark interactions in the Donsol region when the plankton blooms are rich, so in season, a split between the two entities makes for quite a trip.
After lunch, then going over all my gadgets, an in-room massage, then dinner, it was early to bed and early to rise and off we were with Ticao Island Resorts dive bangka, some new resort guests and a few transiting staffers. 45 minutes later, one arrives at the shores of Ticao island resort to the staffers who always get together to welcome new guest arrivals. Nice touch!
Ticao island resort is set on a huge beachfront property and large placid cove. Protected from any seas, the entire bay is just as calm as your tub. By this writing, all the individual beachfront rooms have been newly remodeled. Each aircon room has it’s own veranda with tables and chairs, and the room is nice sized and the bathroom is large too complete with hot showers. The native palm frond thatched roof made me feel a bit like selling in the Enchanted Tiki Hut at Disneyland. Cool! Eco types will appreciate that after 5-10 years, the natural roofs are removed, buried as fertilizer, and done anew. No environmental issues, done just as nature intended, and very rain and insect-proof.
The the far south of the resort strip is their very large dive shop and seating area for dive training, gear staging, etc. And I did spy the required karaoke system hidden in the back.
They have a full compliment of rental gear, rinse tanks and drying racks. Being more or less on their own cove, don’t even bother locking up your gear….it’s all fully safe. And a word about gear….diving hear, I decided I was going to try being the absolutely laziest diver ever, we’re talking sinfully lazy….so I just walked off the dive bangka at the end of diving each day, and yet they always took everyone’s dive gear off, rinsed it, dried everything out for you, handled all tank refilling, and upon scheduling the next day, it was either ready for your dive gear basket inspection at the dive shop, or on the dive bangka, whichever you preferred. Fuss over your gear or ignore it, either way. Ticao Island Resort staffers have you covered!
The “office” is an open air affair with one to three staffers there who always know exactly what is going on and what to do and accomplish things. Next to that is the open air, very large dining area that easily can accommodate 50 guests.
Sometimes when I needed something to eat in between main dining times, and when most of the guests were off doing their thing, I would walk up to the wooden bar in the restaurant and with them working just in the back, I would sing-song a pleasant: Hello!? 10 seconds later I would always hear the pitter-patter of one of the restaurant waitstaff girls coming quite quickly, and without fails they were always giggling over how they were rushing to not keep me waiting. I found that so adorable! I always felt a bit guilty and would say-“Oh, no rush, it’s ok! and return their giant Filipina smile with a big American one. The people of the Philippines are so warm and happy, it’s really special and heart warming.
Ticao Island Resort’s beachfront is a walk in paradise, as they keep it and the entire grounds REALLY clean. To the south about 15 minutes away is a local village where many of the staff live, and the LAMAVE, Large Marine Invertebrate researchers stay. LAMAVE researchers are well embedded in Ticao island Resort as it seems to be the best place to study the abundant giant mantas in the region.
So the first full dive day I elected to go diving at a northernmost detached island chain called San Miguel island, about 45 minutes north from the Ticao Island Resort Shores. The coral reef eco system was really alive here and in excellent shape, with good water visibility too.
After 1-2 dives at the guest itinerary’s discretion, your dive bangka pulls ashore to one of the uninhabited islands white sandy beach, replete with wooden nipa huts, seating benches and tables for your catered lunch. There is a small landing fee that goes to the caretaker who cleans up on case any pasaway (naughty) type leaves any trash, so the fine white sandy beaches areas are really nice. Here at the bay you can go snorkeling or diving and whether swimming, snorkeling or standing at the shore, you normally will catch a glimpse of the juvenile black tip reef shark “nursery” in the shallows. They sure are skittish!
Guest can elect to dive the day in the region, or split it with diving at “Manta Bowl”. The latter is much closer to the resort. here, the visibility in the water is reduced by the massive plankton blooms, most of which cannot be seen, plenty of it which can be. Here, visibility is during blooms is about 7-10 meters. And the blooms are precisely why the giant mantas and whale sharks cruise the area.
During our day excursion diving at San Miguel island chain, the other guests elected to dive Manta Bowl. Not joining them was quite the mistake! So that evening, one of the guests was at the dining table area with everyone crowded around. He was retelling how on the first dive there, within 5 minutes, he encountered a whale shark swarm. He said 8 of them all showed up in a row. So those of us who were not diving with that group, we asked, how close were they? The furthest away was 8 meters, the closest, harmlessly pushed him aside with its tail fin when he got a bit in the way of apparently some particularly tasty plankton. Then his GoPro footage of it all finally finished downloading to his laptop, and the entire guest group seemed to be occupying his table.
Ok, I was hooked, so the next day, it was 2 dives at Manta Bowl. While we saw no whale sharks, halfway through one of the dives, while I am fixated on the tiny critters on the reef bottom, I felt something yanking on my fin, the dive guide trying to get my attention. I looked up, and there was a giant manta with a 2 meter wingspan about 3 meters away from me, eyeballing me. He or she swam in a perfect full circle, looking at me the entire time. So cool! I got the impression that they were very intelligent and curious. In talking with the lead dive guide an the LAMAVE divers, I learned that the mantas eventually come to recognize repeat divers. Sometimes they get fishing string and hooks snagged on their bodies, and they have repeatedly approached the familiar divers and allowed the small hooks and fishing string to be removed from their bodies. How cool is that!?
Ticao Island Resort has plenty of activities to enjoy when not diving, or for non-divers. Island hopping is really popular, and at night after dinner, you must go on a 2-3 person guided kayak paddle firefly tour. You can either help paddle, or don’t even bother, the Ticao island Resort guide will do all the paddling for you if you wish to just enjoy the cool evening breeze. The nighttime hour-long paddle tour takes guests to the north inside the shallow brackish bay, and along side giant waterside trees with a jeepney-load full of fireflies. You can start before sunset if you want, and you can stop and see how the locals catch crabs and mud in the brackish water mudflats surrounded by mangroves and the teeming life they enable.
Ticao island Resort has resident domesticate horses that you can ride on guided tours. And they are spirited and not “barn-sour”, so the horses really enjoy their outings. The horses seem to really get a kick out of walking into meter deep beach water and pawing the daylights out of the ocean like a kid in a candy-store. The horses are kept on the grounds in the back, so go say hello to them even if not riding them, they enjoy the attention and its relaxing.
Guests can rent a motorscooter and go exploring the area. Go far enough by yourself and you will get lost, but the people there will always direct you the right way back, Ticao Island Resort is known by all. Be sure to ask about guided inland tours to waterfalls, rice fields, villages, a natural cold spring, etc.
Guests can also elect to do absolutely nothing, like a European couple I saw who were always hanging out in the hammocks, reading books or napping on the reclining beach lounge chairs. They were masters at relaxation! Anytime you stop and relax off your elevated bungalow porch, or especially in the dining area, expect to be occasionally visited by one or more of the happy house dogs there. This girl took two days before she came to know I was the reliable back rubbing, head scratching, food scraps provider. By day three, when she saw me from afar, after making sure who I was, would put her ears back, wag her tail, and it was on! Such beautiful moments and memories at Ticao island Resort.
Sadly, departure day came, and after the staff loaded up all the bags, the entire staff gathered at the beach and waived us off as we motored away. What a lovely send-off that gave me a lump in my throat.
If you head back to the Legazpi airport area for your eventual departure flight, spend a day or three exploring the entire Bicol region, and Ticoa Island Resort via their Donsol Eco tours will handle it all, but….MAKE SURE, your evening base is the fully restored heritage home turned hotel of Casa Simeon. It is the most spectacular hand crafted native artisan woodwork building I have ever seen. It is like being taken back 150 years and staying in a museum quality heritage home with your own private aircon room with a modern bathroom.
Click here to see Casa Simeon for yourself, and explore all that the exciting Bicol Region has to offer.