Taking a Holiday to the Philippines is an exciting experience and for a majority the reason to travel there is to have a beach holiday and one of the places to see is Guimaras.

Located in the south of the Philippines, the island paradise of Guimaras previously known as Himal-us is famous for its great beaches with clear blue waters, clean white sand and magnificent marine life rivalling the other more famous spots in the Philippines. Guimaras was once a province of Iloilo but is now an independent island and short a 15 minute boat ride away.

Getting There

Like pretty much the rest of the Philippines, is an island and getting there is mostly done over the water. The island is accessible by both air and sea from Manila, or otherwise by boat from Bacolod city, with a quick 15 minute boat trip from Iloilo city. On the island moving about is through any of the various forms of public transportation, trucks, tour drivers or motorbikes.

Iloilo being the nearest main city, there are boat options that you would choose from which are offered by the local boat companies including FF Cruz RORO Service, Pump boats from Ortiz Wharf or Parola Wharf which leaves every half hour, and Fel-am Transport Ferry Service. There is also the roll on roll off ferry which plies its route to the island about five times each day. You can perhaps hire a chartered boat and travel there or if you have your own then you are most welcome to do so.

Places to Go

Guimaras island has some of the best beaches in the 7107 islands of Philippines with a variety of accommodations on all of its beautiful white sand beaches. A few of the more famous beaches on the island include Puerto del Mar, Alubihod, and Roca Encantada, with more equally as wonderful beaches also available. From anywhere between $8 to $50 a night, depending on the quantity of guests and the type of room you want, you can check-in to any of the local resorts that offer various amenities but the main draw is of course the alluring beaches that are right on the doorstep.

The beaches are obviously the first place that the tourist would like to see but other spots that are of interest could include seeing one or more of the dozen or so mango plantations. There are more than 50,000 mango trees on Guimaras and a tour to any of these plantations is a wonderful experience on its own. The only reason anyone would want to pass up the chance to see the mango plantations is perhaps a dislike for the mango.

There are three major plantations on the island which are some of the largest in the Philippines, they include Southern Orchard in Jordan, Oro Verde and Guimaras Tree Farm in Buenavista. In general they are open for public visit and you are welcome to visit any of them with open arms even though they don’t often get too many visitors. Should you do decide to visit any of the mango plantations then don’t forget to leave without taking with you a case of Guimaras Super Mangoes as they are called, which to many are perhaps the sweetest mangoes in the world.