Comments on: “Butanding” and Ecotourism

By: takz

takz — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:39:26 +0000

Good Day to everyone!!!
Im a Donsolano. Im a local guide here in Donsol. Our season will be on January to May. The best months to visit Donsol for the Whaleshark is March or April.
The probability of finding the whaleshark varies. During the peak seasons its 95%.
My cp 09217435677.
email takz78@yahoo.com
Hope to see you during the season..
Takz

By: Jackson M. Dieta

Jackson M. Dieta — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:54:53 +0000

I am very proud to all sorsogueños from having this whale shark known as “BUTANDING” in Donsol. Sad to say that I am a sorsogueños but im not been there in Donsol to see this kind of beautiful nature. I’ve been there in some places like tagaytay, hidden valley, baguio city and places here in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia like Aramco and Prince Sultan beach resort but I really like to see butanding. Maybe after I come back home from my second adventure in other country, I will visit there to my root of origin to see what is butanding was.

By: andrea

andrea — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:25:46 +0000

we will be in Bicol next month,and we want to go to Butanding and stay overnight, is there any cottage or hotel , and how much is the rate

By: ronald

ronald — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 05:56:14 +0000

hi all,

if you have an inquiry about domestic package you can call me 410-6279/84 or 721-5141 EMJ travel or my email:rcajapay@yahoo.com

thanks

ronald

By: Paula

Paula — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 05:13:34 +0000

we flew from manila to legaspi (got it cheap through cebu pacific’s go fares. two way cost me P2,300 + terminal fees.

then for the whaleshark interaction, it’s P3,500/boat maximum of 6 but many people will be with you. one BIO (butanding interaction officer) man, one butanding spotter, one lifeguard and 2 boatmen.:)

it’s good for 3 hours. you also need to pay P100/person for the boat/dive pass.

you need to watch a 10 minute video before going to the ocean but i assure you its a very wonderful experience

as for hotels, the one nearest to the DOT office is called vitton beach resort and it costs P1,500/2 per night. the room is decent with aircon. there are other resorts that are much cheaper. amor resort can house 4 people for only about P1,000 but it’s non aircon.

you should also try to firefly watching. it’s P1250/boat maximum of 4 or 6 i think.:)

By: fely

fely — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 19:15:42 +0000

we visited the place twice and we had a great time and a wonderful experience. I’m from Bikol, from Iriga City to be exact and you bet guys how did i know about this “Buntanding Monster fish”??? DISCOVERY CHANNEL!!! when i saw it in TV i told my husband that we will definitely go whale watching in Donsol. Our second time was absolutely an experience to remember, we are about to gave up when i asked the “captain” of the boat to stop the boat so we can enjoy the water in the middle of the sea. all of a sudden we just saw more or less 15 BUTANDING swimming around us, and they are all looked like a MONSTER with a big mouth!! so sometimes it is worth waiting!!

I think we paid more or less 3,500 pesos for the boat with a capacity of 6 persons plus the registration fee they charged in the Tourism office. But i warn you guys the road going to Donsol Tourism Office is pretty bad. But from Legaspi Airport to Sorsogon(some part of donsol), you’ll have a smooth drive.

When you plan to visit the place please go directly to the Tourism Office because they will give you an orientation about the Whale and they have contacts with the boat owners, and “certified” tourist guide.

By: abacuslogic digital solutions

abacuslogic digital solutions — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 12:12:07 +0000

Most philippine travel enthusiasts have discovered why Sorsogon whale watching has created a following of its own. Whale shark tours give travellers a chance to swim with whale sharks (Butanding) in the quiet, idyllic town of Donsol.

Worry not in finding the exact location of Sorsogon - we are at the southernmost tip of Luzon, ensconsced between verdant hills,virgin forests and the wide expanse of the sea.

By: madz

madz — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 10:31:04 +0000

i’ve been to sorsogon last summer and it was a very wonderful experience though i did not have a chance to swim and to look over the butanding because actually i do not know how to swim

and when we went there, there is only 1 butanding, the BIO said that because of the storm few days ago, the butanding went to other place and because it was already the end of may — off season (january to early may is the season of butanding) but we were very lucky that the butanding always pass under our boat =)

we paid, 3,500 for the boat along with the BIOs and the other expenses, i do not know how much did we pay all in all
but people interested to go might check
http://tourism.albay.gov.ph/whale_sharks.html

By: jen

jen — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 14:41:52 +0000

Hi Chris,
The Red Pirates boat belongs to my partner, Joey, and I remember Karina. I’ll ask around my friends on the island and see if I can find an email address for you.
Feel free to get in touch via redpiratesboracay@hotmail.com
A google search also brings up some info on Karina, including this site:

http://www.pcij.org/imag/Environment/sorsogon.html

Good luck,

Jen

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 02:24:08 +0000

Hello,

Can anybody tell me how I can contact Ms Karina Escudero?? I met her in year 2000 while she was in Boracay. We were sailing together on a paraw called “RED PIRATES”. I have been in Thailand for the last 5 years and am moving to the Sipadan area in Sabah, East Malaysia in a few days. I am quite impressed with what has happened to the Tourist Industry in Donsol. Please send her my regards and if possible I would like to get reaquainted to help out her cause.

Cheers,

Chris