TAWI-TAWI: 3-Day DIY Budget Travel Guide + Itinerary

Do you know that you can fly directly from the city of Manila to the island of Tawi Tawi? If you prefer the easy and affordable way then your best bet is to look for cheap flights online promo. But there are also many ways to go to Tawi Tawi from different parts of the country. Allow me to list some options.

Zamboanga – Ride a ferry to Bongao, Tawi Tawi (12Hrs ; P1100/head). Trips are on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6PM.

Cebu – There are no direct trips to Bongao from Cebu and one must travel to Zamboanga first. You can fly via a local carrier airline or you can ride a RORO to Dapitan City then a van to Zamboanga.

Palawan – From Puerto Princesa, head to Brooke’s Point via a van. There you can find passenger boats to Bongao, Tawi Tawi or to one of the island villages nearby.

For travelers from outside The Philippines, you will need to fly to any of our international airports first preferably Manila, Cebu and Palawan. I have used Jetstar online booking at Traveloka for several trips and it sure helped me score quite a fair deal on some of my flights. You might find it useful too.

Our trip to Tawi Tawi was part of our yearly Holy Week Vacation. This year is ZamBasiTaw which stands for Zamboanga, Basilan & Tawi Tawi.. The original plan was to include Sulu but the ongoing conflict at the time made it impossible. And because we were traveling on a holiday, some major roadblocks were encountered and changed of plans was necessary. So this was how it all went down.

Our journey to Tawi Tawi began with a voyage from Zamboanga at 6PM of Holy Wednesday. We had just finished exploring the pink sand paradise of Sta. Cruz Island that all we did during the trip was sleep. We arrived in Bongao at 10AM the next day. Here, we were ushered by a friend’s relative to our hotel. They were also gracious to treat us to lunch. After that, we went back to the hotel and waited for the rain to stop. At 3PM, we went out to check the town starting from the public market down to the port then to the plaza while sampling some street foods and snapping photos. We would have loved to check the night scene but opted to go to bed early as we had a big day the next morning.

Good To Know:

• If you will be riding the ferry from Zamboanga to Tawi Tawi,, make sure to bring enough food and water. There are far too many passengers than what the lone cafe inside the ferry could handle.
• Ferry trips from Zamboanga to Tawi Tawi is during Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6PM while Tawi Tawi to Zamboanga is during Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6PM. Fare is P1100/head/way.
• Local commercial airlines also serve the Zamboanga-Tawi Tawi route.

Early morning the following day, we were up before sunrise. Our host came to pick us up at 5AM. We loaded ourselves at the back of his pickup truck and headed for Bud Bongao. The ride allowed us to admire the spectacular views while the sun slowly rose up the horizon. At 7AM, we started trekking to the summit of this holy mountain. We encountered a lot of wild monkeys along the way which was a bit scary but fascinating. Two hours later, we were already admiring the stunning view atop Bud Bongao. After descending Bud Bongao, we had lunch at a local eatery inside the public market. An hour later, we found ourselves enjoying a dip under the drizzle in a secluded beach surrounded by beautiful rocks. At 4PM, we decided to head back to town. We were soaking wet when we drove back that our host took us to their local version of Starbucks called Sameera and boy, was I smitten by their coffee! It was so delicious it could easily give your favorite coffee shop a run for its money.

Good To Know:

• Bud Bongao is a sacred place to the people of Tawi Tawi.. Make sure to pay your respects should you decide to climb up there.
• Bud Bongao is also an ecological sanctuary which is home to thousands of wild monkeys and other species. Avoid littering and causing any disruption while you’re there.
• Bud Bongao is only open to visitors from 6AM to 3PM. Visitors are required to register and declare any disposable item for better waste management.

On our third day, the beach gods in us were so ecstatic as we were out to see a beautiful island called Panampangan. The plan was to set sail at 6AM but our host didn’t make it on time. They had to prepare the scuba gears as we were to go diving as well. The journey to Panampangan Island took over two hours. It was butt-numbing but the beautiful scenery was more than enough to compensate. We reached Panampangan Island at 11AM. We immediately explored the island despite the scorching sun. At lunch, we feasted over some seafood and steamed rice. And at 2PM, we left Panampangan Island to go to our diving spot. The rough seas made the voyage longer than expected that by the time we reached the dive site, it was only a few minutes before sundown. It was a bummer to not be able to dive but we still had fun witnessing a magnificent sunset.

Good To Know:

• Panampangan Island arguably has the longest sandbar in the country. I wonder what Kalanggaman Island has to say about that.
• Island hopping boat to visit Panampangan Island and other islands surrounding Bongao can be rented for P8000 for one whole day of tour. It can fit up to 12-15 people.