Our tour, hotel, and flights were very ably and excellently arranged by Pio Luistro of Pacific Bound Travel and Tours. It cost P4,333 per person for six persons sharing a nice airconditioned van inclusive of three-day tour guide, lunches, boat ride and driver and keep on Sabtang Island, pickup and return from airport for arrival and departure and hotel daily. There was an available itinerary but we had some leeway to customize it to what we wanted if we wanted to stay shorter or longer at a certain place or look for a certain kind of souvenir.
Our wonderful tour guide, Kuya Art Castillejos of Chanpan Tours was a perfect match for us volunteering to take souvenir photos and short videos for our trip. He knew a lot of photo tricks and really took time to take care of us until we were happy.
Arrival at Basco Airport
Arrival and check-in at Fundacion Pacita, our home for the next three nights.
Our adventure begins.
Lunch at Ji Pandan Restaurant.
I thought Batanes would be rather basic but we came across an ISO certified facility on our way.
Visit to the World War II Japanese Hideout Tunnel:
Mt. Carmel Chapel Church
We stopped by the PAG-ASA station Radar in Tukon.
At our request, we passed by their main street to stop at the Chanpan office to settle our bill.
Boulder Beach at Chanpan Valugan
Vayang Rolling Hills. I thought I would never be able to cross the mountain because I’m not a fan of heights. As I do when I am afraid, I sing God’s truth. I was looking at Little Cow but I was singing to myself. He listened before he ate more grass.
Breathtaking mountains tended by the trusty rains and sunshine.
Feeling talaga…
This feels like the book cover of The Little Prince:
Dinner at Harbour Cafe. The wifi code I bought only worked for two minutes with no replacement. We had grilled vegetables, grilled fish, and Carbonara pasta. Malu quickly shared a short version of her life story and how God uses everything we go through for good. Thank you, Malu.
Though we have been here for only an afternoon, it felt like we had done so much and have been here for days. Thank You, Lord, for the blessing of this trip and for new friends!
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Pio Luistro, Pacific Bound Travel and Tours (pacificboundtravel@gmail.com; (632) 525-28-91 / 525-28-93)
Chanpan Tours (www.chanpantours.com) with guide, Kuya Art Castillejos.
*Photos pooled with Emy, Gigi, Joanne, Malu, Patsy. Thank you, Ladies!
BUTTERFLY IN THE SPRING 
So beautiful and this is so helpful. Thanks for generously sharing every bit of your experiences in Batanes.
Looking forward and feeling so excited now!!!
God bless you beautiful soul❤
Hi Grace! Oh so glad you find it helpful! Hope that you will have a richly blessed time when you go! The “Preparing for Batanes Trip” post before this has more “before you go” travel tips! 😍
Hey…. how was the food in harbour cafe? Was it good?
Hi Dorothy! Thanks for dropping by! It was one of the highly recommended restaurants by locals. It was not bad but not spectacular. What my friends and I do is family sharing style wherein we submit our food for the group to share. That way, if one dish is not to your liking, you have other backup dishes to eat. My pre-trip expectation for Batanes food was like foreign tribal. Measuring against this expectation, I was more open. If you are looking for Manila quality of food, I would recommend Cafe Tukon at Fundacion Pacita for food that you might like to try again and again. (Did you see my post on it?) Though I think we get to take in more of a new place by trying what the locals eat. Hope that helps!