Camotes

One of the islands worth visiting in Cebu is Camotes Island. This is located at the northeast part of Cebu and is a great place to take a vacation due to its remote location.

According to the locals, Camotes got its name from the time the Spaniards first came to the island. The natives were then digging potatoes. The Spaniards asked the name of the island and the natives replied "camotes" thinking that they were asked what they were digging. Indeed, you could see these sweet potatoes on the field aside from the corns, which were just planted in time for the rainy season.

Camotes consists of 4 islands:Pacijan (San Francisco town), (Poro and Tudela towns), Ponson (Pilar town) and Tulang (an island barangay of San Francisco). The most common means of transportation is the habal habal or motorcycle. This is because only two wheeled vehicles could access the narrow roads in the island.

Camotes is famously known for its beaches. One should also not miss a tour on the famous lakes, the Greenlake park and Danao lake, where serenity awaits you for every visit.

There are two resorts, which are very well known in Camotes, San Francisco. The Santiago Bay Garden & Resort  and Mangodlong Rock Resort. For any inquiries and reservation, you may click here.

We stayed at the Santiago Bay Garden & Resort, overlooking the beach. It surprised me on how affordable the foods were. You could order a meal for two for a total of Php 100 or less. The prices are not only reasonable but the foods tasted very good as well.

Sizzling gambas (shrimp) in sweet chili sauce. Although the sauce was not that spicy as I would have liked it to be, the sweetness of the sauce compensated for this.

Sizzling beef. This have the same sweetness as the sizzling gambas and yes somehow it tasted the same but I still liked the way it was cooked since the beef was tender.

Sizzling sisig. I wasn't thrilled with this dish as I prefer it to be crispy but instead most of what I ate were fats. Also, I would have preferred less oil on the food.

Garlic rice.

Fried egg.

Onion rings. This is better than those served in fast foods.

Anyone could go to Camotes from Cebu City port (pier 2) and arrive at the Poro port. From there, you could take a habal habal or motorcyle going to the resort. From the port, you would have a chance to get a view of the sea while on your way to the resort.