Anawan Island
BURDEOS: WILD RAW AND BEAUTIFUL
Burdeos is an undiscovered nature-lover’s paradise. It has many fine white-sand beaches, spectacular caves, undeveloped waterfalls, mangrove forests, fish and bird sanctuaries, pearl farms, reefs, and rich aquatic resources. It has notable snorkeling and diving areas that are waiting to be explored and spectacular caves and rock formations. This quaint town is composed of 14 barangays, 13 of which are still considered rural and about 25 islands which are potential tourist destinations. Being remote and difficult to reach is both a blessing and a curse for this coastal town. Mainstream tourists haven’t discovered Burdeos yet which is such a shame because it has more to offer than many towns in Quezon Province combined. On the other hand, it has been able to maintain the beauty of its natural attractions and is now undergoing biodiversity conservation.
Anilon Island
Visiting Burdeos is like stepping back in time. Like the other towns in Polillo Island, there is no regular public transport that connects Burdeos to the other towns. There is only one jeepney trip that goes between Polillo Town and Burdeos each day. Locals prefer to travel by motorboats while visitors rent either a tricycle or motorbike to get around the town. Out of 14 barangays only 6 have electricity and the water supply is still from deep well/spring. If you are the type of traveler who prefers the off-the-beaten path in the Philippines, Burdeos will not disappoint and might even surpass your expectations.
Anilon Cave
Researching places to visit in this area, however, was as difficult as getting to the town itself. We arrived at Burdeos with only a list of places to go – we had no idea where to stay, where to eat or what to expect. Aside from a brief description of the natural tourist attractions found in the area, the only thing we found online was the news about a soldier who got shot a day before we left for Polillo Island so the area was on red alert the whole time we were there. We were a little worried about the situation but it didn’t cross our mind to cancel the trip – it wasn’t our first time visiting the more remote areas of the Philippines, so we knew what to expect.
One of the caves in Puting Bato Island.
Our adventure started when we left the comfort of Isla Polillo Beach Resort and traveled for about an hour to Barangay Poblacion in Burdeos. Unfortunately, I forgot that all the stores would be closed on Holy Friday so we weren’t able to buy water, food and other supplies. Saying that the people of Burdeos are hospitable and friendly would be an understatement. They were extremely generous in sharing the little things they have and were exceedingly helpful throughout our stay on the island.
Anawan Island
Our four-day stay on the island was a great learning experience for me in facing my fears, on survival, on trust and on appreciating nature in all its simplicity and rawness. Burdeos is simply beautiful and I hope it will stay that way for a long time to come.
Buguitay Island - behind this island is the vast Pacific Ocean already.
NATURAL TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN BURDOES (Places we visited)
- Anilon Island and Anilon Cave
- Anawan Island
- Buguitay Island
- Ikulong Island (Peal Farm)
- Puting Bato Island (Pearl Farm and Caves)
- Malaguinuan Island (Malaki and Maliit)
- Minasawa Island (Bird Sanctuary)
- Binumbunan Island
- Bakaw-Bakaw Island (Mangrove Forest)
OTHER NATURAL WONDERS
- Sitio Bayabas Waterfalls (5km from Poblacion)
- Sitio Bulalon Waterfalls (7km from Poblacion)
- Barangay Auyon Waterfalls (10km from Poblacion)
- Sitio Bulaon Cave (a cave in Barangay Poblacion with a stream of clear and cold water inside. It also serves as a shelter of “Layang-Layang”. The droppings of this bird are used as fertiliser.
Ungos Port, Real, Quezon
BURDEOS GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
The municipality of Burdeos is geographically located in on the Northeastern part of Polillo Island in the first congressional district of the province of Quezon, a town that is trapezoidal in shape, facing the vast Pacific Ocean. It is bounded on the north by the Pacific Ocean; on the Northwest by Panukulan Quezon, on the South by Polillo, Quezon; on the Southeast by Lamon Bay and Jomalig, Quezon, on the Northeast by Patnanungan, Quezon and on the West by Panukulan.
Approximate distance from Burdoes to Barangay Anawan, Polillo by land is around 17km, then from Anawan to Real Port, by sea, is about 42km, then from Real Port to Lucena City is approximately 105km
HOW TO GET TO BURDEOS
Burdeos can be reached either via Mauban, Quezon or via Infanta/ Real, Quezon. Raymond Bus Terminal in Legarda under the Nagtahan Bridge is the only bus company that goes straight to Real and Infanta via Ortigas Avenue passing through Rizal and Laguna. Fare is around 200 pesos. First trip starts as early as 2am just in time to catch the 5a.m. trip of the motorized banca in Real Ungos Port going to Polillo Port.
1. Mauban Port to Burdeos – about 5-6 hours in good weather conditions
2. Infanta/ Real Port to Polillo Port– 2-3 hours by a motorized banca.
Fare: Php120
3. Polillo to Burdeos proper – upon reaching Polillo Town, there is one jeepney that goes to Burdeos at 10a.m. Tricycle or motorbikes can also be rented. It takes an hour and 15 minutes to reach Burdeos Town proper along Burdeos-Polillo Road.
Fare: starts at 200 per head (motorbike and tricycle)
4. Real Port to Barangay Anawan Port – this is the recommended route if you want to go directly to Burdeos. It takes about 3 hours to reach Barangay Anawan by ferry and another 30 minutes overland to reach the town proper of Burdeos
Fare: (Real) Ungos Port to Barangay Anawan (motorized banca) – Php120
Barangay Anawan to Burdeos (by jeepney) – Php100
5. Lucena City to Burdeos – 45 minutes via chopper.
Polillo Town Pier
ACCOMMODATION
There is only one existing hotel located at Poblacion, Burdeos, Quezon- Kuya Von Lodging House. We would have stayed here on our last night in Burdeos but Mayor Gil and his wife were very hospitable and allowed us stay at their place when we dropped by for a courtesy visit.
OUR ITINERARY
Day 1: We checked-in at Isla Polillo Beach Resort on the first day and visited Agta Beach in the afternoon.
Day 2: We rented a van together with the other guests of the resort and went to the quaint town of Burdeos. We went Island-hopping at Anilon Island and had a short walk to Anilon Cave at the end of the beach. We then had lunch and went swimming at Anawan Island before heading to Buguitay Island. Unfortunately the waves were too big so we weren’t able to dock near the shore so we asked the boatman to drop us at Ikulong Island where we camped for the night ala survivor.
Day 3: Our boatman fetched us the next day from Ikulong Island and took us to Puting Bato Island where we explored two of its caves. After that, we headed to the beautiful Island of Malaguinoan, which was my favorite among the beaches we had visited. We finally braved the big waves from the Pacific Ocean to get to the Minasawa Bird Sanctuary. On our way back to Burdeos Pier, we had a short stop at Binombonan Island and the Bakaw-Bakaw Island where hundreds of mangroves abound.
Day 4: We took the first and only jeepney trip early in the morning to the pier and had a few hours of boat ride back to Real, Quezon Pier.
wow!! even though I cant travel nowadays, i feel like i am there too every time i look at the places you conquered. keep up the good work. you show the real Philippines, tru a traveler’s point of view and not the commercial way
Ganda naman dito.
grabe ang ganda po mam, baka po pwede mahingi ung contact nyo rito sa place and copy of your IT. pasend nlng po sa email ko. more power po…thanks…
Hi xplorer, sorry we didn’t really have any iti, the ones I listed on my blog are already the places we visited in chronological order. I have contact numbers of Island Polillo Beach Resort but it’s also in their website. We camped in one of the islands when we were in Burdeos.
Hi Claire, I’ve been longing to go to Burdeos, Quezon. Thank you so much for sharing these valuable information. I’ve been trying to call the CP number of the lodging house of Kuya Bonn but I think, it’s not in use anymore. Could you please provide me more information about the lodging house and the estiamted cost per night of stay. Thank you and you’re helping more filipinos and our economy with what you’re doing.
Hi Richard, sorry I don’t have info about that lodging house right now but I will send a text message to one our friends there and ask about it.
hi richard, i wonder if ur already successful in visiting this town. I was born in Burdeos and have most of my relatives still living there. we can schedule a visit there in the summer….
hi claire how much yung boat for island hopping, tnx…
1500 yung day 1 tapos 8 kami, 1700 yung day 2 island-hopping kasi pumunta pa kami Patnanungan for the Minasawa Bird Sanctuary, malayo na yun.
HI!
I appreciate your effort in guiding your friends how to get the island ( Burdeos & Polillo). I wander if you could also suggest some names who attended the 1973 Golden Jubilee World jamboree held in mount Makiling. I was part of the delegation then. I wish to visit burdeos again by summer 2012 and hope we can make connection with some classmates and friends.
Regards,
RGM
ok tnx a lot…
last one claire
, mg camp lang kmi, almost lahat ba ng island may drinkable water, i bet wla pang cr sa mga islands 
… tnx tnx tnx
hehehe, no CR, no drinkable water in most islands, but there is a deep well in Ikulong Island and also CR, you can just boil it if you want, that’s my next article, Camping in Ikulong Island.
hmm…tnx
any1, May 8-10 Polillo, max 3k yung budget,.beach camping, 2 pa lang kmi, tnx
thanks for giving a positive feedback about our town. i, a burdeosin and i’m proud na natuwa kayo sa aming bayan. sana ay makatulong ang mga blog na ganito upang lalo pang madiscover ang ganda ng burdeos!
Thank you too, you have a beautiful place there you can be really proud of. Go Burdeos!
Hi ms Claire,
Thank You for posting some beautiful nature scenery in our town. Our house is just in Puting bato near that limestone cliff,where i grew up and I’m pretty sure that my tatay is one of ur guide,he is one of the Bantay kalikasan.
hi claire,
thank you for visiting our paradise…!!!
atleast there’s one person who will appreciate our paradise,xe kahit pa2nu la ng magsa2bi
n kita p ba sya LORD…..now i’m very proud to be a burdeusan!!!!!
hi…thank you so much sa pag visit nyo sa aking hometown The beautiful paradise of Burdeos,Quezon sana marami pang katulad nyo na maappreciate ang mga ganitong places “the beauty of mother nature in my island” !!!! thank you & God bless…
Thanks Jerelyn. I had so much fun in Burdeos. Invite your friends to see your hometown for a one of a kind adventure.
Hi Claire! Thank you for all the information you have provided. I was in Burdeos last May 2010, spent 3 days & 2 nights. I stayed at Kuya Bonns Lodging House, very simple yet you will surely love the hospitality of Ate Edith, the owner and her simple cookings. Hindi ako marunong mag camp and its impossible because I was there by myself. I rented a boat for only PHP 1,500 mag hapon na yon and I can say that it is already very affordable. Really the Islands are magnificent. For every Island na dinaanan namin, nag snorkle ako, it was great! I am still planning to go back by July. Sana maging concrete na yung kalsada para mas marami ang makarating at sana manatiling malinis at walang basura ang mga islands. With my short interactions with the owners of the Islands who happned to be there, I encourage them to put up simple native cottages and decent comfort/ changing rooms lalo na kung malapit na ang summer vacation. Meron deep well water in most of these Island. Amazing! Tourism will be a major acitivity in Burdeos in the next 5 to 10 years. Sana suportahan ng local government & tourism! Thank you!!!
Wow, I’m glad you had fun there. It’s really undeveloped so I don’t expect many people to really enjoy the place. But that’s why I like it too because it’s one of those few places here that aren’t tourist-y and yet have so much to offer for eco-tourism adventure. Do you have contact details of the lodging where you stayed at?
Again thanks for exploring and featuring our town for the world to see how beautiful it is.
Hi Claire,
Can u share this blog to my email, I’m the Municipal Civil Registrar of Burdeos, Quezon.
Sure Benjie
Hi Claire, Tita Edith’s CP – 09071657346, owner of Kuya Bonn’s Lodging House in Burdeos, Quezon.
Thanks for sharing Richard.
hai…ang ganda naman poh ng mga pics nyo sa isla, nakakatuwa… kahit na don ako lumaki, ilang isala lang napuntahan ko, pakiramdam ko po malapit lang ako sa isla kahit na andito ko sa manila…more power po and goodluck….
Thanks Korien
hi…ma’am,every time po na mag o online ako, palagi ko binisita ‘ung site nyo, hai…subrang nakakaaliw po kc eh…hindi poh aq nagsasawatingnan ‘ung mga pics nyo don…natutuwa rin aq magbasa hehehe…ang swerte nyo poh kc nagagawa nyo lahat ng ‘un…kahit nakakapagod ang work pero kapag po nakita ko na ung mga pics don, parang owkie na q…tanks din poh kc my natutunan din po ako sa mga un…
God bless po, good luck and keep safe po…
thanks for featuring burdeos
I like your site, so i bookmarked it. ngayon naisip ko, na ilagay sa ‘Delicious bookmark’ so mas marami ang makinabang. Nice that we have connections on facebook, pero dito na lang ako nag send ng message. nice to explore all the avenues of communication.
Nuon pa eh naisip ko na i-share din sa iyo yung site ko kaya lang hindi updated, but if you’re interested i posted them above.
Till next time… Great places, salamat sa pag share, sana balang araw marating ko itong mga lugar na nandito. for the meantime, enjoy muna yung mga places by imagination.
Thank you Sir Rick, I had just checked out your site, very interesting. thank you for sharing it too
Claire- we plan to visit Bora but we changed our mind when we saw these however need your advise if my 8 yr old son and 1 yr old kid will enjoy staying here for 5 days..Thanks!
Hello Darwin, personally I don’t think your kids will enjoy this much because this is basically roughing it out there. There is only one good resort there and it is more for the adventurous ones who are willing to camp on the island.
Claire,
I like the place so tranquil and natural. A paradise, a unstressful way of living. I like your blog when you add some unexpected experience of yours… it has a personal touch that encourage the readers to spend more time reading. Specially if you discribe your feeling on it… I as a reader imagine the place and feel the way you feel it. A vicarious thrill thats how I describe it. Keep up the good work clair, and hopefully more to come. I have a request, can you also post something about our hometown. I’m looking forward on it. mwahh mwahh
Yep, I sure will, that’s my next project when I come back. Everything will be about our region. You tend to procrastinate when you know that it is just there. But now I have the sense of urgency because I might not see it for quite sometime.
excellent Job T. Claire so proud of you :>) Its so nice :>)
Thank you mamita!
A fine job Claire , fantastic pics as always . This place has moved to the top of my list , alongside Batad, lol.
Oh I have to warn you though, there aren’t much tourist’s facilities there but I guess that’s what you really like, roughing it out and mingling with the locals
Nice find and awesome pictures. Anlayo pala nito from Mauban.Waah!
Tamaa, epic and travel papuntang Burdeos pero parte na yung ng adventure
Hi Ms. Claire! My husbands father originally from Burdeos, pero di pa rin nila na explore ng ang mga islands dyan….and i’m so thankful kasi you give me an idea kung anu anung mga island na dapat mapuntahan…anywayz..ask ko lang do you think a children below 10 yrs. old is ok to accompany during the island hoping???? so excited to visit the islands…
On good weather, i think it’s fairly safe to bring kids. Just make sure to take life jackets with you to give you peace of mind.
hi claire..
thank you for sharing this.. it will be really helpful as we are planning our trip this may..
anyways.. just have one question.. if you have a car.. where can we park it? is it safe?
thanks
If you’re going to Burdeos, it will be a good idea to give a courtesy call to the mayor. I’m sure they will be more than willing to assist you during your visit.
malayo ho ba kung,mangagaling kang puting buhangin then dideritso sa burdeos?thanks
Depende sa alon at laki ng bangka, Siguro bigyan mo ngdalawang oras.
paki post naman sa akin please
Hi, Claire,
Pwede ba magdala ng car sa burdeos? Kung may ferry man, ano kaya ang sked?
Ang hirap kumuha ng infos thru web. We’re planning to visit burdeos this 17-18 this December. Any tips?
Thank you in advance,
igan
Pwede naman siguro di ko lang alam kung saan pwede magpark. Try mo siguro malapit sa pier.
bayan po namin yan…thanks po s pag-publish ng kagandahan ng burdeos, quezon… the hidden paradise…. marami pa po maga2ndang puntahan d2 at tlagang natural ung nature na makikita nyo….tnx ms. lakwtsera de primera… God bless
hi ms. claire!
i have a few questions lang po, i hope you can help me:
1.do you have an estimate of how much the boat rentals would cost for the island hopping? dalawa lang po kami magttravel eh.
2. do you have any contact person para sa boat rentals?
3. we are planning to do a beach camp on our 1st day, and stay at a hotel on our 2nd night, are there hotels that you can refer?
aalsi na po kmi this sunday =)
Hi Martina, the boat rental depends on how far and how many islands you wanted to visit. Kindly read the travelogue I wrote about my Burdeos trip because some of the details are there. Just go to the port if you want to rent a boat. The boatmen usually approach the tourists and offer their services.There was no accommodation available in Burdeos during our visit except for the one I listed on the travel guide but you may pay a visit to the Mayor’s house and they will gladly assit you.
Hi Claire,
Your blog has always been helpful to me.. I have additional questions though:
1. Do you have an idea of how much the boat rental would be?
2. Are there any contact person you can refer me to?
3. If in case we decide to do a beach camp, can you confirm if there’s fresh water in any of the islands?
4. Are there any hotels in burdeos where we can stay on or last day?
Thanks a lot.. Hope you can help me..
-Tin
wow thanks for the reply! =) i was just wondering, do the islands have fresh water as well that we can use for taking a bath or washing?
Hi Claire!
Dampalitan beach looks good for a beach camp, but I think it’s out of the way if we’ll be visiting Polillo Islands. My itinerary’s almost done for Burdeos except for the beach camp part. Of all the islands in Burdeos, I think i liked the Malaguinoan Island better for the beach camp. What do you think? But still, my main concern is the availability of fresh water. Do you think they have in this island? thanks a lot claire!
Opps sorry hahaha, i thought this was a query about Padre Burgos. I replied to 6 queries a while ago from different readers. Anyway, I think Malaguinoan Island has a pump well. You may also ask the caretaker where he gets fresh water for general purpose but I suggest you bring all your drinking water.
Thanks again! If that’s the case..then we’d probably camp at malaguinoan island..i think this is the perfect place for beach camp..
a litte more polishing and we’re good to go! This is my birthday surprise for my love by the way 
so thanks for all help claire..really appreciate your quick responses.. now i’m really excited..<3<3<3
sana madiscover itong lugar na ito napakaganda talaga///
how much po kya budget for ten person on this resort tnx po we try to spend on tuesday ..asp
Anong resort yung tinutukoy mo Clara?
maganda pla tlga ang burdeos island,,tama ang kwento ng lolo ko,,dapat dw mahanap ko mga kamag anak nmen jn,, SERRANO family,.sayang wla na ang lolo ko,,
Hi Samuel,
Taga Anibawan ang mga Serrano, they are our family friend.. try to visit Burdeos so you can meet your counsins ther…
God Bless!!!
Hi! I want to go there in Bordeos.! Nice place…..
Hi Maritess, you will surely love Burdeos especially if you like exploring undeveloped and pristine attractions.
I’m really not a traveller as most of the time I’m busy at work. I read all the thread and finally thought of going somewhere like beaches. Nasurprise ako, may malapit lang pala, I don’t need to book a flight elsewhere, just my back pack and lay-off! If may aalis next month pasali naman kami ng friend ko. He’s a beach lover kaya I think it would be fun if he joins me and other group para mas tipid. Thanks! Here’s my number 09178073279.
thank you for showing the world how beautiful burdeos is.
I like the way you wrote this entry. Very detailed! I would love to visit all of these places in Burdeos as well.
miss my hometown…