#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Philippine Forum >  >  Travelling in Mindoro

## TizMe

We've spent a couple of weeks travelling in Mindoro.

From Wikipedia:
Mindoro is the seventh largest island in the Philippines by land area with a total of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and with a total population of 1,331,473 as of 2015. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luzon and northeast of Palawan. Mindoro is divided into two provinces Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. San Jose is the largest settlement on the island with a total population of 143,430 inhabitants as of 2015. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea. Mount Halcon is the highest point on the island, standing at 8,484 feet (2,586 m) above sea level located in Oriental Mindoro. Mount Baco is the island's second highest mountain with an elevation of 8,163 feet (2,488 m), located in the province of Occidental Mindoro.

I've been there quite a few times as my lady comes from Victoria, in Oriental Mindoro.

This trip we started out by going to Bulalacao in the south of Oriental Mindoro.

I was pleasantly surprised that there were very few other tourists around. We only saw one other white face in the south.

Most of the beaches we visited, we were the only ones there. 
Suguicay Island was the most crowded, but as you'll see in the video, it definitely wasn't like Boracay or Puerto Galera.

I'm no Stephen Spielberg, but anyway, I hope that you enjoy my video.

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## Luigi

Now that's an opening song.  :Smile: 


Looks lovely. Very adventurous, cheers. 

Have you plans to retire around there?

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## naptownmike

Cool video. Looks like it was nice and quiet at those beaches.

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## misskit

Well done, TizMe. Really nice chill places there. You and MizMe look mighty happy.

Good music too. I loves Chris Isaak.

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## katie23

Great vid, Tizme! I assume you used a drone for the aerial vids? If yes, what brand & model, for the techies here? 

Thanks for sharing. Tell Ms.T. not to upload the pics & vids on FB if you guys want to keep it hidden, else it will be the new "it" destination.  :Wink:   You might want to try Borawan island (off Pagbilao, Quezon) for your next getaway.  Saw it on FB of a friend, lol. It's 3-4h drive from Manila, then boat to the island, so no need for plane. It's not yet popular, but with impending Boracay closure, ppl are searching for alternatives. Cheers!

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## Loy Toy

Fantastic mate. Well done.

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## TizMe

Thanks.

Maybe retiring at the end of this year, no firm plans yet.

We'll definitely spend a lot of time in Mindoro when/if I do. 
My partner is planning on building a small house on her family's land for when we visit.
I don't think I could live there full time though.

Sure was nice and quiet at those beaches. Much quieter than I expected.

Thanks. I'll look into Borawan island.
The drone is a DJI Mavic Pro.
Here's a sneek preview of more drone video that I took in Occidental Mindoro that will be included in a later video.  :Smile:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU_s_bhzHzo

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## reinvented

looks great and thanks for posting, like the drone work too

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## Maanaam

Nice vid, and good on ya for not hiding your face like some people inexplicably do...they must have something to hide, I guess.

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## katie23

^some of us like to hide our fugly faces and don't want to be associated with Sophia and Smoochi IRL.  :Wink: 

@tizme - Borawan island is available to visit as packages only. Stations 1 & 2 are more for backpackers (tents, common toilets) while Station 3 is for more upscale tastes - there are beach house and hotel room packages. A guy friend stayed at Station 1 (tents), while a female friend (elder) stayed at Station 3 - they rented a cottage since it was a family outing. She said the aircon & electricity in the island are in the evening only. Limited elect supply - it's still relatively undeveloped. During the day, you are on island hopping tours, so you just stay in the rooms during nights. I got these info from my friends, as I'm also considering it. 

For more info - www theborawanislandresort dot com.  

Cheers!

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## Neverna

Nice video.

 :tumbs:

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## GracelessFawn

Nice.......  Looks like you both had a great time.  

#happy days.  #great times.

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## TizMe

This is part 2 of our Mindoro trip.
Leaving Bulalacao and heading up to Victoria to spend a few days with TizShe's family and then taking 27 of the family for a day at the beach at Pinamalayan.
The sand isn't white like it is at Bulalacao or Puerto Galera, but everyone had a great day.

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## misskit

Good vid! 

I'm missing the part where you put all those people in a jeepney. They filled up a beach!

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## katie23

Thanks for the vid - happy times.  :Smile:

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## TizMe

> Good vid! 
> 
> I'm missing the part where you put all those people in a jeepney. They filled up a beach!


Yeah. I realised there's no film of the jeepney.

Trip going there was way too early for me, and the trip home I had packed my camera into a bag and so didn't have it on the way back.

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## TizMe

From Victoria we travelled north again.

We just had an overnight in Puerto Galera, before catching a bangka to Tuko Beach. 

It might be a while until I get that film up....

So in the mean time, heres the same trip I did last year when my daughter & her husband came to visit me in PH.

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## Thailandbound

^Looks like a great time, thanks for the videos. Well done vids as well.

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## TizMe

Final part.
Puerto Galera & Tuko Beach

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## fishlocker

Nice video,  if you don't mind my asking what editing software do you use. Reason being I'm a bit of a novice and would like to up my game in the future. Any info would be appreciated. 
Cheers 





The fishes.

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## TizMe

I'm using DaVinci Resolve 14 from Black Magic Design.

Its extremely powerful, and best of all its free.
I know that there's still a lot for me to learn about it.

The only main difference between the free version and the paid version is that the paid version caters to multiple people working on the same project at the same time.

DaVinci Resolve 15 Beta has also been released, that adds even more functions with full Fusion visual effects and motion graphics built in.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/pro...avinciresolve/

It is quite resource hungry though if you want to edit video in 4K. (I'm editing on an old 2011 iMac that only has limited GPU memory)

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## katie23

Thanks again for the vid, Tizme. Very nice. 

Puerto Galera still looks the same, or at least that view from White Beach. When I saw WB in PG, I thought of it as a mini Boracay, with all the shops and restos near the beachfront. There were fire dancers too, just like Boracay. But I think with the impending Boracay closure, more people will go to PG because of its proximity to Manila and similar activities - island hopping, bars/clubs (for those who like that scene), etc. 

Questions re: Tuko island resort - did you hire a boat to get there or did the resort send a boat for you? And if you don't mind, how much per night at that resort? Did you pre-book or not? Was it a package (inclusive of food & drinks) or not? Website?  

I know I can Google, but am too lazy now, and my net is $&%. Have some pics from a recent day trip with friends (Taytay falls) but am too busy at the moment, being a corporate slave. Lol. 

Cheers and happy Sunday!

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## TizMe

Yes, I'm sure PG will benefit financially from the closure of Boracay. Hopefully not to its detriment otherwise.

The resort owner will organise the bangka for pickup from PG or from Abra de Ilog. its about 40 minutes from PG or 20 minutes from AdI.
He charged two of us PHP1,500 each way from PG.

Accomodation was PHP3,700 per night for the 2 of us, which includes a set breakfast & 3 course dinner. (we also had cocktails with dinner, about PHP120 each)
The cottages are all quite spacious and comfortable. I could easily live in one permanently.
The meals served are absolutely fantastic, and really sets this resort apart from any other that I've ever stayed at.
I'm sure any restaurant in NCR serving the same quality meals would exhaust most, if not all the PHP3,700 accommodation cost.

Tuko Beach Resort - Munting Buhangin Beach, Occidental[at] Mindoro

It looks like all the reviews at trip advisor also agree with me..
https://www.tripadvisor.com.ph/Hotel...e_Mindoro.html

The only thing that some people might see as a downside is that there is no internet coverage there.
You need to walk about 1 klm along the beach to find a connection.

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## katie23

^thanks for the link and info. I'll keep the place in mind, whether for myself or to recommend to friends. The beaches looked gloriously isolated! Re: the price, yeah PHP 3,700 is a good deal for the room & food. In some hotels in NCR, it wouldn't even cover the cost of the room! Even in Boracay, there were some hotels at the 5k mark, excluding food. Again, thanks for the info. Cheers!

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## TizMe

Here's a couple of older videos.

The first is on Pandan Island.
Pandan Island is a 20 minute boat ride from Sablayan on the west of Occidental Mindoro.
its the gateway to Apo Reef and approx 100klm NE of Coron, in Palawan.

Accommodation here is very basic, but its also a nice place to chill-out and relax.

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## TizMe

This one is taken in Victoria, TizShe's home town.

The Peryahan is a travelling Fair that comes to town each year during the town's Fiesta.
So its grab a bunch of cousins, neices & nephews and head off to the peryahan.

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## Hugh Cow

Great Vid TM would green ya if the powers that B let me.

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## TizMe

I was back in Victoria on the weekend.

They had a Flores de Mayo procession around the town. The kids (girls at least) all enjoyed getting dressed up for it.

Flores de Mayo (Spanish for "flowers of May") is a festival held in the Philippines in the month of May. It is one of the May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary and lasts for the entire month.


The Santacruzan (from the Spanish santa cruz, "holy cross") is the ritual pageant held on the last day of the Flores de Mayo. It honors the finding of the True Cross by Helena of Constantinople (known as Reyna Elena) and Constantine the Great.

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## happynz

Cute lil' kids and what looks like proud mamas.

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