Bagasbas Beach, Daet, Camarines Norte

This is one of those less well-known surfing spots in the Philippines — Bagasbas Beach.

Some 350 kilometers south of Manila lies one of the country’s [little known] surf spot.

Approximately 7-8 hours drive south of Manila is Daet, Camarines Norte.

4 kms away from Daet town proper is Bagasbas beach, one of Philippines’ surfing, skimboarding and kiteboarding spot.

We had the chance to drop by Bagasbas beach on our way to Camarines Sur. It was around 10am and it was a low tide, the water was shallow and we had a good time beach walking.

On an ordinary day the waves reach 3-6 feet and on a lucky (surfer’s) day, it can reach up to 8 feet. The wave is good for those who are just starting to learn how to surf and also for the intermediate surfers.

Food and accomodation is cheap, though most inns and restaurants around the area are not fancy.

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CamSur is one great place to check out this summer season. Our recent visit down south of Luzon took us for a 6-hour drive to Pili City where the Water Sports Complex is located. Here are some more pictures we took of the trip.

Lago del Rey is an aquapark situated inside the CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC). It’s a large man-made or artificial lake for a number of fun water sports and activities.

Lago del Rey operates from 8:30am to 6pm. Entrance fee is Php200 for half a day and Php380 for the whole day.

You can also rent a number of boats and the likes:

Boat, Paddle Boat, Kayak Single: Php100 / hour
Boat with Sail, Kayak Double: Php150 / hour
Jet Ski: Php1,250 / 15 mins.

If you’re staying longer, you will need to rent a tent which costs Php200 for half a day or Php350 for the whole day.

The CamSur WaterSports Complex, more commonly referred to as CWC, is probably one of the hottest and most popular destination in the Philippines lately. This is because of the top class cable ski system developed and operated by the local government of Pili City, Camarines Sur.

CamSur is about 6 hours drive by land, 8 hours by bus or just 1 hour by plane. Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have regular flights to Naga City and you can have CWC pick you up at the airport and bring you directly to the complex for free.

Camsur Watersports Complex is a unique watersports park designed for wakeboarding, wakeskating and waterskiing. For beginner riders to the professional wakeboarders and skiiers from all over the world, CWC offers a 6-point cable ski system, coupled with restaurants, sand bars, spas, pro-shops and grand stands to hold guests.

Riders can also enjoy their favorite water sports at night as the park will be equipped with spotlights that allow for it even to be open on evenings. Rates are rental prices are very affordable:

Half Day Rental: Php460
Whole Day Rental: Php750
Night Rental: Php590

Rentals include vest, helmets and wakeboard. There are premium equipments for additional rent though. There’s also a Php500 deposit fee for the equipments.

If you’re interested to stay over the week-end or for several days, the complex also has a variety of accomodations to offer — from small wooden cottages, cabanas, posh villas and even a unique container van rooms.

Our trip to Caramoan involved an initial 8 to 9-hour bus ride to Sabang Port which is about an hour away from Naga City, the capital of the Province of Camarines Sur. From Sabang Port, we then embarked on a 2-hour ferry to Guijalo Port, which is Caramoan’s gateway. Because a weather disturbance had just passed, we encountered huge waves which made our sizable ferry bob up and down in hair-raising heights. At first it was fun and thrilling, the girls were even screaming as if they were in an amusement park thrill ride. Then nausea crept in and quieted them.

Porter

From Guijalo, our group boarded a jeep which transfered us to Bikal Port where we would ride another boat to our final destination.

Toploading

Agriscape

Our timing was off. When we got to Bikal Port, the tide was too low and our group’s boat was in the distance in deeper waters so we had to divide ourselves into groups of 4 or 5 and get into small boats which the fishermen painstakingly pushed against sand and silt.

Bikal Port

And The Sea

Low Tide

Steermaster

In the islands, we are all under the mercy of the sea.