It was my first time hearing Fortune Island (which is sad because I live in Batangas and I have never heard of it before) when my office mates decided we need to escape, even for a while, from our nine to six lives. It's a much needed break for me as well due to the stress piling up at work.
We decided to use 8Clouds Travel and Tours for our day tour.
Although they only offer a day trip, I heard that you could go for an overnight trip here. We had 3 options but among them, this one is the cheapest one. And hey, free food is included already so why not?
We were all excited for the trip since we have moved several times the date for this one. And when we have finally settled on a date, it so happens that it fell on the week when super typhoon Lawin arrived in the Philippines. Great. Not that we could have predicted it but still. Way to totally rain on our parade. Luckily though, it exited PAR the day before our scheduled trip so hooray!
On the day of our trip, October 22, 2016, we were told by 8Clouds that our meet up place will be in Mall of Asia at 2:30 am and will drive out to Batangas by 3:00 am. I arrived at our pick up point way earlier since I'll be coming from Quezon city and I thought it'll be hard to get an Uber service at that time.
We were a bit behind of schedule since we have to wait for one of my office mates who was one hour late. We were able to arrive at our destination at around 6:30 am. We used the Tagaytay route going to Nasugbu. For those who will go to Fortune Island at around four in the morning and bring their own car and take the Tagaytay route, please be careful on driving since you will encounter a thick fog on the road.
Fortune Island has a designated parking lot so you don't have to worry where you're going to park your car if you bring one. I was sleeping for the whole road trip so I won't be able to tell how we got there. Please use good 'ole google maps for this or you could ask the locals.
Fortune Island's designated parking lot has its own beach
After leaving our belongings in the van and just taking with us our gadgets and some stuffs, we rode a tricycle that brought us to where we are going to ride the boat.
The estimate boat ride to Fortune island is maximum of 1 hour. For a person like me who gets bored easily, this is a piece of torture since there is nothing to do when you're in a boat. The first half was tolerable especially when the sea looks so calm. It's a good thing though that I do enjoy appreciating the sea.
Contrary to its moniker, unfortunately, we weren't welcomed with open arms by the time we reach Fortune Island.
Despite the calm sea we were blessed with during the boat ride, there were huge waves near the shore line that boats couldn't go near the beach. Our boat had to turn around and go to another side of the island that has less wave. Well that is what we get for going here just a day after a super typhoon hits our country. So a piece of advice - schedule your trip around summer or on months not likely to have a storm or typhoon visiting the Philippines.
One thing you need to know about this island is that there are lots of huge coral reefs and rocks surrounding the island, even on the shore line. They are all under water so you really won't see them right away. There were less waves on the part where the boat stopped however, they still couldn't fully go near the beach since there are lots of coral reefs that could damage the boats.
So we went down the boat, and went to the beach using a salbabida (lifebuoy). The boatman didn't tell us that there were some large coral reefs under water. We couldn't properly see as well because of the waves that's why we earned some scratches on our legs and knees. To get to the land you have to walk over the reefs and rocks so I'm telling you now not to wear slippers and shorts. Well that is if your boatman takes you to the right most part of the island. If not, then lucky you.
Fortune Island is known long before for being an abandoned island and you could see it right away on the run down establishments around the main area of the beach. There are no means of electricity here and you have to bring gallons of water to survive. Funny thing though is your mobile phone will have a good reception. The only shelter you'll have are the shadows of the trees so it is advisable that you bring your own tent here.
We settled on one of the trees and rested for a while. One of my favorite part of this trip is when we ate boodle-fight style.
However, an abandoned island limits you on doing other water activities. Aside from swimming all day in the beach (in our case, since there were large waves we just stayed and played on the shore line), there are still some other things you can do in the island.
1. Tour around the island
The island is not that big and there's only the front side of the island that you can explore around. Just make sure to bring a cap or a hat to cover you from the blaring heat of the sun.
2. Do your own photo op
One of the reasons why this island is popular is due to it's Greek-like structures that stand on the left side of the island. One of the structures is patterned on Greece's Acropolis of Athens.
3. Cliff Diving
At the back side of the island, you will have to go down through the limestone stairs to find the diving site. I will tell you that the cerulean color of the sea took my breath away. It was such a nice view you'd really want to jump over the cliff. Our tour guide mentioned that you could jump from the 2 storey high or 3 storey high cliff above water.
Sadly, there were waves crashing to the walls of the island that didn't let us do the cliff diving.
4. Snorkeling
Again, one fun thing that I wasn't able to experience because of the waves. If you have snorkeling gears bring it. As I mentioned already, there are surrounding coral reefs around the island.
Despite not being able to fully experience all the things Fortune Island could offer, I must say that I had lots of fun. It's refreshing to be surrounded by nature again and to see the vastness of the sea.
At around 2:30 am we all packed our things already since the tides are getting already and we don't want to be in the middle of huge waves.
We were supposed to hit Tagaytay for some snacks but opted to just have a taste of Batangas Lomi. And well that was pretty much the best way to end our trip in Nasugbu.
We got back to Manila at around past 8 pm already, and wow, the sun burn was definitely worth it.
