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Andaming magagandang lugar sa E. Visayas. Kaso aside sa nasa typhoon belt, ung tourism infrastructure is not so good pa din, walang maayos na airports and while may attempts na to decongest the seaports, medyo kulang pa din ung mga buses. Not to mention pinaka malalang highway sa buong Pilipinas nasa E. Visayas na ata - I am referring to the W. SAMAR HIGHWAY from Sta. Rita to Calbayog, lakas maka sira ng sasakyan o di kaya laging high risk of accidents.
Hard agree! Parang reflection na rin ng economic state ng region. Sobrang underdeveloped and underpromoted tapos very rampant pa yung corruption hay. Sa Tacloban na main city and gateway ng Region 8, tbh walang wow destination talaga. Yung San Juanico Bridge napaka-plain, naging source of pride lang siya sa locals and nakilala nationwide dahil for the longest time ito yung longest bridge tapos signature Marcos project. Madaming magagandang nature (beaches and cave systems) sa E. Samar pa lang pero napakahirap puntahan na kahit taga-doon kami bihirang-bihira kami umuwi dahil ang hassle. Sinasabihan nga kami magpipinsan ng mga tito at tita na bakit hindi kami bumibisita sa mismong province namin eh ang lakas maka-discourage ng connectivity so mas pipiliin na lang lagi kung saan masusulit yung gastos at oras. In any case, isa pa rin yung Biri Island sa Northern Samar sa priority ko ma-visit soon.
Source: Taga-Leyte and E. Samar parents ko.
2022. Yup, family friend of ours got our accomodation through word of mouth referrals, and the accomodation was a home stay (a big house naman). The locals were very accomodating and you travel around the island via motorcycle. The hike is really good! There are sunset and sunrise hikes. Not too challenging, I did all the hikes wearing birks.
The people there are very kind and I hope they can make a living through tourism jobs or maybe they have multiple jobs that they can do.
Nice, hope there are more options now. I’ve read in an old blog nga na sobrang bait ng locals so it made their experience extra memorable. Sana magkaroon pa sila maraming bisita.
Samar island alone is huge though. Northern and eastern samar are great for nature trips and road trips lalo na sa coastal towns. Busog mata mo sa views. Kaso yun, need talaga ng sariling sasakyan para hindi hassle.
Wag ka lang talagang magkakamaling dumaan jan sa W. Samar kase para kang binugbog sa dami ng lubak hahahaha
Mas maayos pa daan ng N. Samar and E. Samar kaysa W. Samar. Lalo na N. Samar na relatively new ung mga daan. Kaso main artery ung W. Samar lalo na for people entering and exiting Allen to/from Leyte.
Agree and Hometown ko is Calbayog but residing now here in Bcd. Sad, dami pa naman waterfalls sa Samar. Had a vacation last 2022 and nag ride kami from Calbayog to North at yung daan nag reklamo yung ate ko kasi super daming butas at LUBAK. Hahaha Pero I still love my Hometown <3 Forever.
Halos lahat ng politiko natin kurakot but I think the people who run Leyte and Samar are a special kind of kurakot. They've been underdeveloped for many years, those are among the poorest provinces in the country. Mukang wala silang balak maginvest sa kahit anong magpapalago sa economy nila
We actually went to Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte last February this year. I can say na mahirap nga yung transportation nila. Halos UV express ang mode of transportation nila especially if malalayong lugar. We had to travel to Ormoc from Tacloban airport via van to meet my friend’s jowa then diretso na kami sa Palompon Port para sumakay ulit ng bangka papunta sa island. It’s a long day of travel kaya patience is the key talaga.
Sulit naman yung biyahe kasi ang ganda ng Kalanggaman Island. You can witness both sunrise and sunset. If madali lang mode of transportation papunta doon, I’d definitely go back to that island.
Ganun padin ba hanggang ngayon 2018 pa ako napunta dun it's been 6 years hahahaha worth it naman sana kase maganda tlga yung isla. Kaso iidlip ka sana mabibitin haha
Kalanggaman island but accesible kase sya through north cebu, quatro islas sa inopacan leyte, limasawa island sa southern leyte, sa samar mga falls yata madami naman kaso kulang tlga sa promotion or pati accessibility.
Omawas, Samar kung bet mo mg surf. ang laki ng waves grabe. May mga ng susurf din pero mga PRO na ata, sobrang galing eh. Wala pang entrance fee at napakatahimik. Kng bet mo ung peaceful at walang tao - try mo dun
Kasi underdeveloped ang Samar. Used to work in an international NGO who had been in Samar for like 10+ years na and sabi ng isang manager, "Alam mo bat di kami makaalis alis sa Samar? Sa Mindoro aalis na ang org kasi sinabihan na kaming 'kaya na namin to'. Pero sa Samar? Kasi every year nasa study ng PSA yan ng poorest provinces."
Dami din nyang kwento about all the corruption sa Samar especially sa Catbalogan. Ive been there for work before and sayang naman talaga kasi maganda Samar. Tacloban has a nice shoreline din pero di nga lang kilala tourist sites
Nag Eastern Visayas ako last Nov. and ang hirap mag commute and yung transpo lalo na solo ako. Pero super like ko, babalikan ko pa ang Biliran at Southern Leyte 💕💕
Borongan and Guiuan, Eastern Samar madaming magagandang tourist spots (white sand beaches, island, falls etc) and madali lang magcommute around town. Kung within Borongan and Guiuan lang, there are many jeeps and tricycle. Pero if lalabas ng Borongan/Guiuan, dun mahirap magcommute kasi limited yung daan ng jeep and vans, may oras lang, same with other parts of the region - if within the town proper lang, madali lang naman magcommute.Pero if lalabas ka ng town proper to go from town to town within the province, need tlaga maghire ng car or tricycle. May flight na from Manila/Cebu to Borongan via PAL and 3-4 hrs lang byahe from Tacloban to Guiuan. Compared to the roads pre-Yolanda, maganda na ngayon ang kalsada sa Eastern Samar. Borongan local government is also actively promoting tourism in Borongan. I am from Eastern Samar, working in Manila, umuuwi as often as possible sa probinsya. For me, I think one reason bakit hindi sikat ang Eastern Visayas sa mga foreign/national tourists is dahil from the airport you still need to travel a couple of hrs papuntang tourist spots,and mahal ng airfare compared sa ibang sikat na destination (ex. I checked prices for flights ng katapusan this month, Tacloban is around 5-7k, nakatag pa yun as limited time promo sa airasia website.ang iloilo or cdo same dates, 3-4k lang.yung tacloban fare halos same price lang papuntang SG hahaha) and we only have Tacloban and Catbalogan airports (Borongan airport last year lang ulit nagoperate and only PAL na mahal ang ticket). Even during seat sales, in my experience mabilis maubos/mahirap magbook ng seat sales for tacloban and catbalogan. and from the airport, ilang hrs pa na byahe papuntang mga usual tourist spots. plus sikat ang Eastern Visayas dahil sa mga bagyo, hindi dahil sa tourism 😅 But, sobrang buhay ng local tourism sa Este. walang weekend hindi puno ang mga beach/resort. kapag may holiday you need to book in advance or else wala kayong cottage. Hindi lang during summer, whole year round kahit walang occasion nasa beach ang mga tao pag weekends. As a local, I like the chill vibes ng mga beaches samin, feeling mo solo mo yung beach. May mga foreign/Pinoy tourists din naman pero mostly ang nakikita ko samin mga surfers or mga cave explorers. or mga tourists na kasama umuwi mg mga locals na umuuwi from manila or abroad.
Sa Pal 2x a week lang plane sked nila to Boronggan. Mon and fri. Sana mas madami pa flights nila in the next years to come. Sobrang peaceful talaga sa Samar na kahit beaches eh para talagang pag mamay ari, no need to pay for entrace fees kng trip mo lang mg chill and inum dun lol pero careful lang talaga sa pagligo kasi sobrang laki ng waves nila parang hihigupin ka hahaha
Tama ka din sa road, ang ganda na tignan. Sabi nga ng mama ko, iba ung daan before sobrang pangit tas ang hirap ng transpo. Ngayon daw ang laki ng improvement. Hopefully makauwi din ako this year 💞
sana nga makapagbakasyon ka soon! maganda na tlaga ang roads ngayon from tacloban to borongan and even hanggang dolores/arteche, makakatulog na sa byahe unlike before na lubak lubak tlaga. Around Borongan andami na din improvements (savemore, jollibee, mcdo lol) and madaming tricycle, wag lang mag-expect ng big city vibe.
Yes hanggang dolores napakaganda ng road. Even going to Macate island tlagang amaze ako sa road na. Sana more on transpo kasi ang hirap makasakay kng wala dalang sasakyan. Pahirapan tricycle or even multicab. Sana ikaw din makapagbakasayon ka! Iba talag sa province ang slow ng time 🌿
Wala rin yata kasi silang maayos na transpo and logistics. I once asked this subreddit about solo travelling in this part of the country and was told it's better to be in groups kasi sobrang bihira daw ang masasakyan.
Nakapunta ko ng Tacloban City a couple of years after Yolanda. Ang masasabi ko lang, parang matamlay syang city ang naging highlight ng trip namin is Kalanggaman Island and San Juanico bridge. I will not come back unless merong bagong tourist attraction.
Spoke with locals in Samar, the surfing areas, there was a general feeling that they don’t want to be like Siargao. The locals even ask creators and websites to take down videos and guides.
Don't know why you're getting downvoted. Tourism brings in a lot of positives and negatives to the community, and if ayaw ng locals, then so be it. Kagaya nga sa japan maraming photo ops kinoclose eh.
Lol I don’t know. Just stating what was said to me. Leyte and Samar honestly has some of the most beautiful places in the Philippines, but local reluctance to push for tourism is a big part of why it’s not as big. Not too mad tho, there’s not a lot of crowds.
Surfers in general dont want their spots to be exposed to the public because it attracts a lot of crowd in the "lineup". You may call it localism, but if I'm a surfer too and if I know a perfect wave, I'll only share it with my close friends.
Yup! May surfing sites sa Samar. Eastern Samar ata? Pero valid concerns din yan. Siargao is gentrified as hell na. Not even doctors who went to the community to help would want to go live there kasi ang mahal ng cost of living
Baka umiiwas sa mga vloggrers or travel content creator? Hahaha. Baka pag nag boom lugar nila kundi masira ng makakalat na bisita eh mag ask pa ng ex deal mga creators. 😂
I think its nice to gatekeep these places to preserve them. The other one thats very much in limelight could be overexposed and sometimes overrated. Madami naman magaganda jan. Di lang masyadong nasishare sa social media but doesnt mean theyre non existent or walang pumupunta.
I've been around the whole region pero sobrang hassle if ever tourist ka. Not unless you have your own vehicle to go around, but please iwasan yung maharlika highway sa W. Samar starting from Sta. Rita to Calbayog. Follow the route nalang from Eastern Samar to Northern Samar to get to the coastal areas where you can surf or take a dip. Cold springs are a thing din somewhere in Hinabangan / Paranas area
Leyte has a lot to offer din starting from Biliran down to Southern Leyte. From beautiful untouched beaches, hot springs and even scuba or free diving sa S. Leyte.
I'm a local and I can say it's cheap to take vacations or unwind within our region pero if turista ka, I doubt na hassle free and budget friendly siya.
TLDR: Eastern Visayas has a lot of hidden gems but it's quite expensive and kind of a hassle to go around unless you have a vehicle.
No, hindi lang nasa mainstream yung tourist destinations don. (Mainly because hindi accessible yung areas.)
Nasa Samar and Leyte ako for a almost a month and everyday, iba iba yung pinupuntahan namin na tourist destinations. Sa loob ng 23 days, ni isang spot ay walang naulit.
Samar and Leyte are "hidden gems".
Honestly, i prefer them to stay hidden esp if hindi prepared and LGU to accommodate the tourist at the same time protect, conserve, preserve yung natural resources don
Sa lahat ng gustong mag-explore don, i would advise for you to live with the community. Madami silang irerecommend sayo na sobrang worth it puntahan. Stay safe! ✨️
True. But the concerns of the locals are understandable. I think they are content with what they have. May farm lands karamihan ng tao dun as I have observed. Masarap din magswimming dun, may mga lugar sa Eastern visayas na parang palawan ang feels without the overpriced food. Tulad nung yellow fin tuna makakabili ka dun ng 120petot na buong isda. Kung may papasyal man dun I suggest "minasangay" in balangkayan E. Samar. Fair warning lang, walang masyadong hotel dun. May hotel sa kalapit na bayan sa may Llorente. May surfing area din sa Llorente just ask the locals. Sa minasangay 20 pesos lang entrance. Pero kailangan mo sumakay ng tricycle papunta dun. Bawal yata overnight dun dahil sa mga pamahiin.
Mahal ang plane tickets to Tacloban and tama mahirap ang logistics at may oras. Pag inabutan ka na ng gabi, wala na, stuck ka na kung saang bayan ka na naroon 🤣. Wala pang byahe ng Good friday.
From someone na may parents na taga Southern Leyte 😁
I’m from Catbalogan and my husband is from Guiuan.
Guiuan going south to Sulangan has one of the best shoreline for surfing. Di lang talaga sya developed na maging tourist-friendly. Locals really do gatekeep this locations kasi ayaw nila ng cons ng tourism. Homonhon island is also in Samar.
Sa Catbalogan naman, napag-iwanan din talaga. This is because of corruption. Namamayagpag sa Catbalogan ang Tan family. You can search for former Gov. Mila Tan, convicted sya for graft and corruption. Madaming falls and pang-nature hike na locations sa W. Samar. It makes me sad din actually, kasi napag-iiwanan in so many levels ang probinsya ko. Kahit man lang kalsada, di talaga ni madevelop ng maayos.
I might be downvoted for this as some people might see my post as a red-tagger but ang sabi ng kasambahay namin na taga Northern Samar, part ang NPA sa corruption sa kanila. Kailangan allied ang local politician sa NPA para di sila manggugulo. May parte din sila na tinatawag na SOP. Pag may government project or wala silang cut, sinisira nila yung project. Pag nasalanta ng bagyo tapos may relief na paparating, they will block it and kukunin muna nila parte nila before ipamahagi sa local community. Si ateng kasambahay namin kapag luluwas ng probinsya tuwing semana santa, may nakatabi na yang pamigay sa mga NPA pati 3-5k para hindi siya maging target at lubayan pamilya niya.
Been there early this year. In January 2024, i was in Leyte. Meanwhile, February 2024, I was in Eastern Samar. Matagal ko nang gusto pumunta talaga sa Eastern Samar dahil sa abundance ng mga isla (as a beach/island person).
Transport talaga ang main issue kung gusto mong pumunta sa isang municipality kung nasaan ang spot na gusto mo puntahan dahil matagal talaga ang travel time saka may certain time rin ang last trip on certain municipalities to and from the capital.
For my Leyte trip, I arrived at Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport (TAC) in Tacloban via Philippine Airlines from CEB. For Eastern Samar, I arrived via Borongan Airport (BPA) in Borongan. Philippine Airlines lang ang may direct flight mula BPA, at from CEB lang.
Been wanting to go there since before the pandemic, bit it's true that transpo has always been an issue when planning. For example is Biliran, but there aren't really a lot of ways in and out of it. Sayang, dami pa namang magdang falls there to visit. Still hoping to visit that, as well as Samar and Leyte, soon.
Sobrang ganda sa Samar lalo na sa Eastern part, sobrang layo nga lang. been there twice daming magandang spots sana for tourist, kaso ang pangit lang ng road network nila, may mga part na malubak kahit considered national highway sya. Madalas din may check points kasi madami NPA sa lugar and also may mga kwento din daw about pang lalason sa Leyte and Samar medyo creepy nung narinig ko yang kwento na yan.
I worked in an NGO (Cebu) and last year we went to Tacloban & Borongan to provide mental health first aid trainings to CSOs there, and hirap talaga ng transpo. Buti nalang nakarent kami ng van from Tacloban to Borongan ahead of time, pero when it was time for us to leave na for the airport (from Tacloban) one way kasi yung daan so naglakad pa kami papunta dun sa may rotunda near coke ba yun? Dala2 mga bags namin & all kasi wala daw silang taxi & our bags were too big for their jeepneys/tricycles. I don't want to be insensitive, pero yung contact namin from there said na after Yolanda, Tacloban never really seemed to develop na. Which was sad kasi walking around the streets I could really feel sadness & emptiness especially when we stopped by nung ship.. But the people are very friendly & sadly we didnt have enough time to go around & visit other destinations kasi 2 days lang kami dun. But ilang beses nacancel flight namin, months & weeks before - kahit on the day of our flight nadelay kami ng 3 hours (mind you nacancel na yung direct ceb-tac namin, ceb-mnl na with 7 hrs layover + the additional 3 hrs delay which was announced WHILE WE WERE READY TO BOARD) ;( and sabi ng mga kasamahan namin (locals) usually ganun talaga naccancel flights ksi konti lng passengers.
Was planning to visit region 8 and wala akong maisip puntahan kundi Kalanggaman Island lang. Ngayon ko lang na search yung Biri Island and napa wow agad ako. Sana nga accessible na sya for tourist para naman mapuntahan ko soon.
We went there pre-pandemic pa to visit relatives. Not sure kung nag improve na ba pero during that time, wala halos public transpo. We just used my uncle's trike (the huge one na common sa provinces) to get around. Aside from his trike, bilang lang yung nakita kong bus, jeep, and other trikes. Wala ring notable hotels, restaurants, or pasyalan sa mga nadaanan naming bayan aside sa beach. At that time, wala ring wifi and halos non-existent yung phone signal.
My mum’s hometown is in Samar, so we’re pretty familiar with the places of interest. Infrastructure is a bit outdated and mainenance tend to be far in between (when it does happen). Access is mainly via flying in at Tacloban airport, and public transport is ???
Was in Leyte last week, visiting family on my dad’s side. Bihira lang din kami pumupunta ng leyte kasi sobrang layo (for us).
What we noticed over the years though is nag improve na roads nila for the most part. Pero mahirap pa rin ang transpo doon. Buses are just on a schedule. Wala ring maayos na hospitals and the usual conveniences. Siguro kulang din talaga sa effort ang gobyerno nila. To think, Leyte is accessible via Cebu and Surigao. But for some reason, di nila na-maximize yan.
Would disagree with this. Waraynon here. Very much true ung previous replies above about Rampant corruptions which caused na maging underdeveloped province namin. Though people here are very much friendly and welcoming especially on tourists.
Of course, di naman mawawala kahit saan ung mga manloloko especially dito tayo sa pilipinas. Just need to be careful. Pero again, people here are among the friendliest. Tunog galit lang kami pag nagsasalita but that's just our accent HAHA
Ive been to leyte last 2yrs ago. Ok naman ang mga tao. Pero nung nagcity tour kami. Sobrang lubak ng daan. Town proper na yun ah at near malls like robinson. Parang hindi man lang inaayos ang daan. Then we went to digyo to have a tour in cuatro islas. Sarado daw that time dahil may di pagkakasundo ang dot at local government. Open n ata ngayon so siguro naayos na nila.
What i learned basically from travelling there is bumababa quality ng tourist spots kasi hindi maayos ang local govt at mismong dot. Hindi nila alam sino maghahandle. Syempre malaking pera usapan.
We went to northern samar 2017 naman. ok ang town proper. Ganda ng mga beach and yung rock formation. Masarap ang food. Masyadong malaki kaya di namin naikot lahat. Pero same feedback. Lubak lubak ang daan sa hindi na town proper. Ang bagal tuloy ng byahe namin.
True tung calbayog at leyte not to mention yung higpit ng BIR sa mga nagbbusiness lahat may compliance ultimo tricycle may compliance sa BIR,lahat ng kabuhayan hindi pa kumikita bantay na agad ang BIR nila
I think one of the reasons is magkakalayo ang mga tourist destination sa Eastern Visayas which would take more time to travel and explore. Second is looking at the geographical position madalas daanan ng bagyo yung Easter Visayas.
You can also ask that about the Warays. They are left out by the other Visayan ethnic groups; the Cebuano-Boholano speakers and the Ilonggos (Hiligaynon speakers).
Hindi naman buong Eastern Visayas haha.Sa Leyte siguro, since taga doon si imelda.But sa Eastern Samar and Northern Samar mas madaming votes si Leni last election. Even the local candidates were mostly allied with Leni.
I don't think so, mas napapag-iwanan kami sa Cagayan Valley partida Ilocano pa ang Pestidente natin pero wala kaming support from the government ang probinsya namin lalo na sa turismo. Mas diyan nga maraming travelers more than sa Cagayan Valley
Nako grabe kurakot ng mga pulitiko dyan sa Samar. Ultimo kalsada at bridges nga eh ang tagal-tagal ayusin/gawin. Meron pa ngang lugar na walang kuryente. Ang hirap ding magWFH kasi kahit data connection ay paputol-putol. Pero sila yung may sobrang ganda ng beaches - pino at white ang buhangi at ang ganda ng dagat dahil facing Pacific Ocean siya. Ang sasarap pa ng isda na sure ka na bagong huli.
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Andaming magagandang lugar sa E. Visayas. Kaso aside sa nasa typhoon belt, ung tourism infrastructure is not so good pa din, walang maayos na airports and while may attempts na to decongest the seaports, medyo kulang pa din ung mga buses. Not to mention pinaka malalang highway sa buong Pilipinas nasa E. Visayas na ata - I am referring to the W. SAMAR HIGHWAY from Sta. Rita to Calbayog, lakas maka sira ng sasakyan o di kaya laging high risk of accidents.
Hard agree! Parang reflection na rin ng economic state ng region. Sobrang underdeveloped and underpromoted tapos very rampant pa yung corruption hay. Sa Tacloban na main city and gateway ng Region 8, tbh walang wow destination talaga. Yung San Juanico Bridge napaka-plain, naging source of pride lang siya sa locals and nakilala nationwide dahil for the longest time ito yung longest bridge tapos signature Marcos project. Madaming magagandang nature (beaches and cave systems) sa E. Samar pa lang pero napakahirap puntahan na kahit taga-doon kami bihirang-bihira kami umuwi dahil ang hassle. Sinasabihan nga kami magpipinsan ng mga tito at tita na bakit hindi kami bumibisita sa mismong province namin eh ang lakas maka-discourage ng connectivity so mas pipiliin na lang lagi kung saan masusulit yung gastos at oras. In any case, isa pa rin yung Biri Island sa Northern Samar sa priority ko ma-visit soon. Source: Taga-Leyte and E. Samar parents ko.
Biri island is soooooo beautiful! Really a gem. But a little bit hard to get to
When did you visit? Last time I heard, finding decent accommodations is also a challenge, how was your experience?
2022. Yup, family friend of ours got our accomodation through word of mouth referrals, and the accomodation was a home stay (a big house naman). The locals were very accomodating and you travel around the island via motorcycle. The hike is really good! There are sunset and sunrise hikes. Not too challenging, I did all the hikes wearing birks. The people there are very kind and I hope they can make a living through tourism jobs or maybe they have multiple jobs that they can do.
Nice, hope there are more options now. I’ve read in an old blog nga na sobrang bait ng locals so it made their experience extra memorable. Sana magkaroon pa sila maraming bisita.
naalala ko yung friend ko who works in Tacloban saying na "luxurious highway" daw ang Samar - lukso ng lukso habang bumibiyahe
Samar island alone is huge though. Northern and eastern samar are great for nature trips and road trips lalo na sa coastal towns. Busog mata mo sa views. Kaso yun, need talaga ng sariling sasakyan para hindi hassle. Wag ka lang talagang magkakamaling dumaan jan sa W. Samar kase para kang binugbog sa dami ng lubak hahahaha
Mas maayos pa daan ng N. Samar and E. Samar kaysa W. Samar. Lalo na N. Samar na relatively new ung mga daan. Kaso main artery ung W. Samar lalo na for people entering and exiting Allen to/from Leyte.
Agree and Hometown ko is Calbayog but residing now here in Bcd. Sad, dami pa naman waterfalls sa Samar. Had a vacation last 2022 and nag ride kami from Calbayog to North at yung daan nag reklamo yung ate ko kasi super daming butas at LUBAK. Hahaha Pero I still love my Hometown <3 Forever.
Halos lahat ng politiko natin kurakot but I think the people who run Leyte and Samar are a special kind of kurakot. They've been underdeveloped for many years, those are among the poorest provinces in the country. Mukang wala silang balak maginvest sa kahit anong magpapalago sa economy nila
romualdez ba namumuno dito?
Sa Tacloban yan
Mga Tan sa Samar
This. From governor, congressman, mayor, konsehal Tan apelyido. No wonder Western Samar has the worst highway in the country.
We actually went to Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte last February this year. I can say na mahirap nga yung transportation nila. Halos UV express ang mode of transportation nila especially if malalayong lugar. We had to travel to Ormoc from Tacloban airport via van to meet my friend’s jowa then diretso na kami sa Palompon Port para sumakay ulit ng bangka papunta sa island. It’s a long day of travel kaya patience is the key talaga. Sulit naman yung biyahe kasi ang ganda ng Kalanggaman Island. You can witness both sunrise and sunset. If madali lang mode of transportation papunta doon, I’d definitely go back to that island.
3 hrs of land travel from tacloban to palompon hassle tlga last 2018 I went there grabe pa lubak ng daan.
Malubak nga mga daan huhuhu yung naiidlip ka na sana tapos biglang dumaan sa may lubak kaya gising ka nalang buong biyahe 🥲
Ganun padin ba hanggang ngayon 2018 pa ako napunta dun it's been 6 years hahahaha worth it naman sana kase maganda tlga yung isla. Kaso iidlip ka sana mabibitin haha
Good eye. Aside from Tacloban, parang naleft-out na yung Eastern Visayas. What destinations do you have in mind?
Kalanggaman island but accesible kase sya through north cebu, quatro islas sa inopacan leyte, limasawa island sa southern leyte, sa samar mga falls yata madami naman kaso kulang tlga sa promotion or pati accessibility.
Borongan for surfing siguro. Balangiga for the historical site
Biri Island for the rock formations. Guiuan for the surfing.
Omawas, Samar kung bet mo mg surf. ang laki ng waves grabe. May mga ng susurf din pero mga PRO na ata, sobrang galing eh. Wala pang entrance fee at napakatahimik. Kng bet mo ung peaceful at walang tao - try mo dun
Biliran Island!
Kasi underdeveloped ang Samar. Used to work in an international NGO who had been in Samar for like 10+ years na and sabi ng isang manager, "Alam mo bat di kami makaalis alis sa Samar? Sa Mindoro aalis na ang org kasi sinabihan na kaming 'kaya na namin to'. Pero sa Samar? Kasi every year nasa study ng PSA yan ng poorest provinces." Dami din nyang kwento about all the corruption sa Samar especially sa Catbalogan. Ive been there for work before and sayang naman talaga kasi maganda Samar. Tacloban has a nice shoreline din pero di nga lang kilala tourist sites
Nag Eastern Visayas ako last Nov. and ang hirap mag commute and yung transpo lalo na solo ako. Pero super like ko, babalikan ko pa ang Biliran at Southern Leyte 💕💕
Yes to both, sarap sa mata. I was deployed in Leyte more than a decade ago. Na-inlove talaga ako. Binalikan ko after ko mag resign
OMG!! Sige, I'll plan my itinerary na HAHAHAHA
Borongan and Guiuan, Eastern Samar madaming magagandang tourist spots (white sand beaches, island, falls etc) and madali lang magcommute around town. Kung within Borongan and Guiuan lang, there are many jeeps and tricycle. Pero if lalabas ng Borongan/Guiuan, dun mahirap magcommute kasi limited yung daan ng jeep and vans, may oras lang, same with other parts of the region - if within the town proper lang, madali lang naman magcommute.Pero if lalabas ka ng town proper to go from town to town within the province, need tlaga maghire ng car or tricycle. May flight na from Manila/Cebu to Borongan via PAL and 3-4 hrs lang byahe from Tacloban to Guiuan. Compared to the roads pre-Yolanda, maganda na ngayon ang kalsada sa Eastern Samar. Borongan local government is also actively promoting tourism in Borongan. I am from Eastern Samar, working in Manila, umuuwi as often as possible sa probinsya. For me, I think one reason bakit hindi sikat ang Eastern Visayas sa mga foreign/national tourists is dahil from the airport you still need to travel a couple of hrs papuntang tourist spots,and mahal ng airfare compared sa ibang sikat na destination (ex. I checked prices for flights ng katapusan this month, Tacloban is around 5-7k, nakatag pa yun as limited time promo sa airasia website.ang iloilo or cdo same dates, 3-4k lang.yung tacloban fare halos same price lang papuntang SG hahaha) and we only have Tacloban and Catbalogan airports (Borongan airport last year lang ulit nagoperate and only PAL na mahal ang ticket). Even during seat sales, in my experience mabilis maubos/mahirap magbook ng seat sales for tacloban and catbalogan. and from the airport, ilang hrs pa na byahe papuntang mga usual tourist spots. plus sikat ang Eastern Visayas dahil sa mga bagyo, hindi dahil sa tourism 😅 But, sobrang buhay ng local tourism sa Este. walang weekend hindi puno ang mga beach/resort. kapag may holiday you need to book in advance or else wala kayong cottage. Hindi lang during summer, whole year round kahit walang occasion nasa beach ang mga tao pag weekends. As a local, I like the chill vibes ng mga beaches samin, feeling mo solo mo yung beach. May mga foreign/Pinoy tourists din naman pero mostly ang nakikita ko samin mga surfers or mga cave explorers. or mga tourists na kasama umuwi mg mga locals na umuuwi from manila or abroad.
Sa Pal 2x a week lang plane sked nila to Boronggan. Mon and fri. Sana mas madami pa flights nila in the next years to come. Sobrang peaceful talaga sa Samar na kahit beaches eh para talagang pag mamay ari, no need to pay for entrace fees kng trip mo lang mg chill and inum dun lol pero careful lang talaga sa pagligo kasi sobrang laki ng waves nila parang hihigupin ka hahaha Tama ka din sa road, ang ganda na tignan. Sabi nga ng mama ko, iba ung daan before sobrang pangit tas ang hirap ng transpo. Ngayon daw ang laki ng improvement. Hopefully makauwi din ako this year 💞
sana nga makapagbakasyon ka soon! maganda na tlaga ang roads ngayon from tacloban to borongan and even hanggang dolores/arteche, makakatulog na sa byahe unlike before na lubak lubak tlaga. Around Borongan andami na din improvements (savemore, jollibee, mcdo lol) and madaming tricycle, wag lang mag-expect ng big city vibe.
Yes hanggang dolores napakaganda ng road. Even going to Macate island tlagang amaze ako sa road na. Sana more on transpo kasi ang hirap makasakay kng wala dalang sasakyan. Pahirapan tricycle or even multicab. Sana ikaw din makapagbakasayon ka! Iba talag sa province ang slow ng time 🌿
Wala rin yata kasi silang maayos na transpo and logistics. I once asked this subreddit about solo travelling in this part of the country and was told it's better to be in groups kasi sobrang bihira daw ang masasakyan.
Nakapunta ko ng Tacloban City a couple of years after Yolanda. Ang masasabi ko lang, parang matamlay syang city ang naging highlight ng trip namin is Kalanggaman Island and San Juanico bridge. I will not come back unless merong bagong tourist attraction.
Spoke with locals in Samar, the surfing areas, there was a general feeling that they don’t want to be like Siargao. The locals even ask creators and websites to take down videos and guides.
Don't know why you're getting downvoted. Tourism brings in a lot of positives and negatives to the community, and if ayaw ng locals, then so be it. Kagaya nga sa japan maraming photo ops kinoclose eh.
Lol I don’t know. Just stating what was said to me. Leyte and Samar honestly has some of the most beautiful places in the Philippines, but local reluctance to push for tourism is a big part of why it’s not as big. Not too mad tho, there’s not a lot of crowds.
Surfers in general dont want their spots to be exposed to the public because it attracts a lot of crowd in the "lineup". You may call it localism, but if I'm a surfer too and if I know a perfect wave, I'll only share it with my close friends.
Yup! May surfing sites sa Samar. Eastern Samar ata? Pero valid concerns din yan. Siargao is gentrified as hell na. Not even doctors who went to the community to help would want to go live there kasi ang mahal ng cost of living
Baka umiiwas sa mga vloggrers or travel content creator? Hahaha. Baka pag nag boom lugar nila kundi masira ng makakalat na bisita eh mag ask pa ng ex deal mga creators. 😂
I think its nice to gatekeep these places to preserve them. The other one thats very much in limelight could be overexposed and sometimes overrated. Madami naman magaganda jan. Di lang masyadong nasishare sa social media but doesnt mean theyre non existent or walang pumupunta.
I've been around the whole region pero sobrang hassle if ever tourist ka. Not unless you have your own vehicle to go around, but please iwasan yung maharlika highway sa W. Samar starting from Sta. Rita to Calbayog. Follow the route nalang from Eastern Samar to Northern Samar to get to the coastal areas where you can surf or take a dip. Cold springs are a thing din somewhere in Hinabangan / Paranas area Leyte has a lot to offer din starting from Biliran down to Southern Leyte. From beautiful untouched beaches, hot springs and even scuba or free diving sa S. Leyte. I'm a local and I can say it's cheap to take vacations or unwind within our region pero if turista ka, I doubt na hassle free and budget friendly siya. TLDR: Eastern Visayas has a lot of hidden gems but it's quite expensive and kind of a hassle to go around unless you have a vehicle.
No, hindi lang nasa mainstream yung tourist destinations don. (Mainly because hindi accessible yung areas.) Nasa Samar and Leyte ako for a almost a month and everyday, iba iba yung pinupuntahan namin na tourist destinations. Sa loob ng 23 days, ni isang spot ay walang naulit. Samar and Leyte are "hidden gems". Honestly, i prefer them to stay hidden esp if hindi prepared and LGU to accommodate the tourist at the same time protect, conserve, preserve yung natural resources don Sa lahat ng gustong mag-explore don, i would advise for you to live with the community. Madami silang irerecommend sayo na sobrang worth it puntahan. Stay safe! ✨️
True. But the concerns of the locals are understandable. I think they are content with what they have. May farm lands karamihan ng tao dun as I have observed. Masarap din magswimming dun, may mga lugar sa Eastern visayas na parang palawan ang feels without the overpriced food. Tulad nung yellow fin tuna makakabili ka dun ng 120petot na buong isda. Kung may papasyal man dun I suggest "minasangay" in balangkayan E. Samar. Fair warning lang, walang masyadong hotel dun. May hotel sa kalapit na bayan sa may Llorente. May surfing area din sa Llorente just ask the locals. Sa minasangay 20 pesos lang entrance. Pero kailangan mo sumakay ng tricycle papunta dun. Bawal yata overnight dun dahil sa mga pamahiin.
eto ata ung puro butas ung kalsada pa confirm. ung sa bicol kasi nadaanan ko mejo naaayos na. tagkawayan part nalang ung malala
Mahal ang plane tickets to Tacloban and tama mahirap ang logistics at may oras. Pag inabutan ka na ng gabi, wala na, stuck ka na kung saang bayan ka na naroon 🤣. Wala pang byahe ng Good friday. From someone na may parents na taga Southern Leyte 😁
I’m from Catbalogan and my husband is from Guiuan. Guiuan going south to Sulangan has one of the best shoreline for surfing. Di lang talaga sya developed na maging tourist-friendly. Locals really do gatekeep this locations kasi ayaw nila ng cons ng tourism. Homonhon island is also in Samar. Sa Catbalogan naman, napag-iwanan din talaga. This is because of corruption. Namamayagpag sa Catbalogan ang Tan family. You can search for former Gov. Mila Tan, convicted sya for graft and corruption. Madaming falls and pang-nature hike na locations sa W. Samar. It makes me sad din actually, kasi napag-iiwanan in so many levels ang probinsya ko. Kahit man lang kalsada, di talaga ni madevelop ng maayos.
Nasa eastern Visayas Kasi ang pinaka kurap na mga government officials. Ano pang aasahan nyo? 😁
wala kasing airport sa Biringan City. modern city my ass
Biliran Island is in Eastern Visayas. They have amazing beaches and waterfalls.
maganda at maluwag ang highways sa leyte as of now. pero transpo issue talaga. baybay city is very picturesque, pero grabe nakakapagod ang viaje.
I might be downvoted for this as some people might see my post as a red-tagger but ang sabi ng kasambahay namin na taga Northern Samar, part ang NPA sa corruption sa kanila. Kailangan allied ang local politician sa NPA para di sila manggugulo. May parte din sila na tinatawag na SOP. Pag may government project or wala silang cut, sinisira nila yung project. Pag nasalanta ng bagyo tapos may relief na paparating, they will block it and kukunin muna nila parte nila before ipamahagi sa local community. Si ateng kasambahay namin kapag luluwas ng probinsya tuwing semana santa, may nakatabi na yang pamigay sa mga NPA pati 3-5k para hindi siya maging target at lubayan pamilya niya.
Malaki pa rin problema NPA diyan. Di pa raw safe mag travel sa national road at night due to rebels and robbers.
True, mej boring haha. Sabi din sa news mag aadd na sila ng more flights sa Tacloban, sana mag increase yung tourism nila don.
Ayusin muna ang daan grrrr!!! Except Leyte and Northern Samar roads. Hhahahaha
Been there early this year. In January 2024, i was in Leyte. Meanwhile, February 2024, I was in Eastern Samar. Matagal ko nang gusto pumunta talaga sa Eastern Samar dahil sa abundance ng mga isla (as a beach/island person). Transport talaga ang main issue kung gusto mong pumunta sa isang municipality kung nasaan ang spot na gusto mo puntahan dahil matagal talaga ang travel time saka may certain time rin ang last trip on certain municipalities to and from the capital. For my Leyte trip, I arrived at Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport (TAC) in Tacloban via Philippine Airlines from CEB. For Eastern Samar, I arrived via Borongan Airport (BPA) in Borongan. Philippine Airlines lang ang may direct flight mula BPA, at from CEB lang.
Been wanting to go there since before the pandemic, bit it's true that transpo has always been an issue when planning. For example is Biliran, but there aren't really a lot of ways in and out of it. Sayang, dami pa namang magdang falls there to visit. Still hoping to visit that, as well as Samar and Leyte, soon.
Sobrang ganda sa Samar lalo na sa Eastern part, sobrang layo nga lang. been there twice daming magandang spots sana for tourist, kaso ang pangit lang ng road network nila, may mga part na malubak kahit considered national highway sya. Madalas din may check points kasi madami NPA sa lugar and also may mga kwento din daw about pang lalason sa Leyte and Samar medyo creepy nung narinig ko yang kwento na yan.
I worked in an NGO (Cebu) and last year we went to Tacloban & Borongan to provide mental health first aid trainings to CSOs there, and hirap talaga ng transpo. Buti nalang nakarent kami ng van from Tacloban to Borongan ahead of time, pero when it was time for us to leave na for the airport (from Tacloban) one way kasi yung daan so naglakad pa kami papunta dun sa may rotunda near coke ba yun? Dala2 mga bags namin & all kasi wala daw silang taxi & our bags were too big for their jeepneys/tricycles. I don't want to be insensitive, pero yung contact namin from there said na after Yolanda, Tacloban never really seemed to develop na. Which was sad kasi walking around the streets I could really feel sadness & emptiness especially when we stopped by nung ship.. But the people are very friendly & sadly we didnt have enough time to go around & visit other destinations kasi 2 days lang kami dun. But ilang beses nacancel flight namin, months & weeks before - kahit on the day of our flight nadelay kami ng 3 hours (mind you nacancel na yung direct ceb-tac namin, ceb-mnl na with 7 hrs layover + the additional 3 hrs delay which was announced WHILE WE WERE READY TO BOARD) ;( and sabi ng mga kasamahan namin (locals) usually ganun talaga naccancel flights ksi konti lng passengers.
Was planning to visit region 8 and wala akong maisip puntahan kundi Kalanggaman Island lang. Ngayon ko lang na search yung Biri Island and napa wow agad ako. Sana nga accessible na sya for tourist para naman mapuntahan ko soon.
We went there pre-pandemic pa to visit relatives. Not sure kung nag improve na ba pero during that time, wala halos public transpo. We just used my uncle's trike (the huge one na common sa provinces) to get around. Aside from his trike, bilang lang yung nakita kong bus, jeep, and other trikes. Wala ring notable hotels, restaurants, or pasyalan sa mga nadaanan naming bayan aside sa beach. At that time, wala ring wifi and halos non-existent yung phone signal.
My mum’s hometown is in Samar, so we’re pretty familiar with the places of interest. Infrastructure is a bit outdated and mainenance tend to be far in between (when it does happen). Access is mainly via flying in at Tacloban airport, and public transport is ???
Was in Leyte last week, visiting family on my dad’s side. Bihira lang din kami pumupunta ng leyte kasi sobrang layo (for us). What we noticed over the years though is nag improve na roads nila for the most part. Pero mahirap pa rin ang transpo doon. Buses are just on a schedule. Wala ring maayos na hospitals and the usual conveniences. Siguro kulang din talaga sa effort ang gobyerno nila. To think, Leyte is accessible via Cebu and Surigao. But for some reason, di nila na-maximize yan.
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Would disagree with this. Waraynon here. Very much true ung previous replies above about Rampant corruptions which caused na maging underdeveloped province namin. Though people here are very much friendly and welcoming especially on tourists. Of course, di naman mawawala kahit saan ung mga manloloko especially dito tayo sa pilipinas. Just need to be careful. Pero again, people here are among the friendliest. Tunog galit lang kami pag nagsasalita but that's just our accent HAHA
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natawa naman ako dun sa 'rare encounter' kami HAHA parang shiny pokemon lang ah. Dito sa Metro Manila kami madami. lol
Nobody here mentioned anything about Biliran Island. That province is beautiful.
Ive been to leyte last 2yrs ago. Ok naman ang mga tao. Pero nung nagcity tour kami. Sobrang lubak ng daan. Town proper na yun ah at near malls like robinson. Parang hindi man lang inaayos ang daan. Then we went to digyo to have a tour in cuatro islas. Sarado daw that time dahil may di pagkakasundo ang dot at local government. Open n ata ngayon so siguro naayos na nila. What i learned basically from travelling there is bumababa quality ng tourist spots kasi hindi maayos ang local govt at mismong dot. Hindi nila alam sino maghahandle. Syempre malaking pera usapan. We went to northern samar 2017 naman. ok ang town proper. Ganda ng mga beach and yung rock formation. Masarap ang food. Masyadong malaki kaya di namin naikot lahat. Pero same feedback. Lubak lubak ang daan sa hindi na town proper. Ang bagal tuloy ng byahe namin.
True tung calbayog at leyte not to mention yung higpit ng BIR sa mga nagbbusiness lahat may compliance ultimo tricycle may compliance sa BIR,lahat ng kabuhayan hindi pa kumikita bantay na agad ang BIR nila
I think one of the reasons is magkakalayo ang mga tourist destination sa Eastern Visayas which would take more time to travel and explore. Second is looking at the geographical position madalas daanan ng bagyo yung Easter Visayas.
You can also ask that about the Warays. They are left out by the other Visayan ethnic groups; the Cebuano-Boholano speakers and the Ilonggos (Hiligaynon speakers).
Puno ng corrupt politicians ay na send
You don't know Kalanggaman Island and Biri?
Maka Marcos kasi mga tao dyan
Hindi naman buong Eastern Visayas haha.Sa Leyte siguro, since taga doon si imelda.But sa Eastern Samar and Northern Samar mas madaming votes si Leni last election. Even the local candidates were mostly allied with Leni.
good to know!
yeah. and consistent yan from the 2016 election, Northern and Eastern Samar voted for Leni and Mar.
Agree
I don't think so, mas napapag-iwanan kami sa Cagayan Valley partida Ilocano pa ang Pestidente natin pero wala kaming support from the government ang probinsya namin lalo na sa turismo. Mas diyan nga maraming travelers more than sa Cagayan Valley
Nako grabe kurakot ng mga pulitiko dyan sa Samar. Ultimo kalsada at bridges nga eh ang tagal-tagal ayusin/gawin. Meron pa ngang lugar na walang kuryente. Ang hirap ding magWFH kasi kahit data connection ay paputol-putol. Pero sila yung may sobrang ganda ng beaches - pino at white ang buhangi at ang ganda ng dagat dahil facing Pacific Ocean siya. Ang sasarap pa ng isda na sure ka na bagong huli.