Sabitan Laiya

Sabitan Laiya stretch of Beach

Sabitan Laiya stretch of beach at Balibagan Island

Caramoan Peninsula has numerous stretches of beaches that would satisfy even the most discerning beach bum. With a number of islands each with unique features, you could just point to any stretch of beach you see and just enjoy the solitude with your friends. And to start it off, one of my favorite beaches in the peninsula located at the island of Balibagan, called Sabitan Laiya.

Oroc Osoc Port

Houses among mangroves in Oroc-Osoc Port

It was a very scenic ride towards the island from the port which I forgot the name. It was somewhere in Oroc-Osoc if I’m not mistaken. Traveling from places from the Centro of Caramoan can be tricky since the place isn’t mapped out. And they don’t have any tourist map to go along with this so you have to rely on the knowledge of tricycle drivers. Anyways I remember the port since it was one of the most scenic I’ve seen with mangroves, colorful boats and houses along the mangroves.

A stretch of beach in Balibagan

A stretch of beach in Balibagan where we docked our boat.

The weather was just perfect and the sea was so picture perfect calm you could see the seabed in its clarity. It was also disappointing to see that there are a lot of damaged corals from where we passed. We asked our Manong Boatman if they aren’t protecting the seas. He said that there used to be a Bantay Dagat here a year ago, but somehow they were still not able to control dynamite fishing. I hope the local government could do something about this.

Limestone at the Beach

Framed scene of some of my companions enjoying the waters by the shade and the scenic limestone by the beach.

After about a 30 minutes ride, we were just impressed by the long stretch of fine white beach we found. At first though, we were dismayed seeing a number people there, since we hate crowds and would like to have the place on out own. Still we checked it out. Turns out we saw only one side of the island. Walking past some limestone formations took us to one of the most scenic beaches we’ve seen.

Picture perfect Sabitan Laiya

Postcard perfect Sabitan Laiya Beach

Sabitan Laiya has a very friendly family-beach feel since it has nice fine sands and clear turquoise water. And the addition of impressive rock formations at the tail of the island makes this place more impressive. And it was also fun to see a group of Anemone fish (Nemo) just a few meters from the shore!

Ok there was a little crowd here, but most of the people here are from Caramoan itself and the nearby regions of Naga. I think we were the only one who came all the way from Manila. Despite, this was a really fun beach to share with those who know and the locals.