Date: May 12th 2014

I got up early and took a taxi to the Cultural Center of Philippines building. Today I was going to go to Corregidor island, used by US forces as a defense base and a key island in the Philippine battles against the Japanese in World War II.

If you want to do a tour of Corregidor island, you really don’t have much choice besides going via Sun Cruises. They have a monopoly over the ferry service to Corregidor island and tours conducted there. I paid ₱2200 (Rs.3000/$48/€38) for the day tour. I couldn’t find anything less from any other tour provider. You can get the fact sheet about the island here.

During WW2, Corregidor island was seized by Japanese forces and used it to house American and Filipino POWs.

From Malinta Tunnel, we moved down to the bottomside shore.

You know what, usually on such day tour packages, the food most often sucks. But this was not the case here. It was pretty good! The buffet options weren’t vast but whatever was on offer was really well done. Sure I was hungry, but I can vouch for the taste.

Every stop on the tour lasted 15 to 30 minutes.

The tranvia then took us from Battery Way to a higher point facing the open seas.

I went back down, hopped into my tranvia and we were driven back to our boats. The Corregidor island tour was over. We landed back in Manila just past 4pm and I soon got a jeepney going towards Vito Cruz station.

The Corregidor island tour is one of the more pricier tours I’ve down in South East Asia, and to be honest, it wasn’t the greatest for the price. Then again, the island and its history isn’t the most pleasant one. The guide told us a lot about the atrocities that took place on Corregidor island — under the Americans, the Japanese and even under the Philippines government post independence — none of which I mentioned because I suggest you hear it from the guides themselves. So if you like a bit of history, a visit to Corregidor is worth it. If not, save your money if all you are looking for is fun and excitement.

When in Manila, you really don’t have much to do in terms of tourist activities. So I guess that’s what really motivated me to go for this tour. Here’s hoping my reader enjoyed it.

Next post(s) in this series:

Philippines 2014: Manila Chinese Cemetery

Philippines 2014: Pahiyas Festival in Lucban; Kamay Ni Hesus

Previous post(s) in this series:

Philippines 2014: Bargain shopping in Manila; Paseo de Santa Rosa & Solenad

Philippines 2014: Japanese tunnel; leaving Davao for Manila

Philippines 2014: Scuba diving for the first time, at Samal Island (Davao)

Philippines 2014: Philippine Eagle Center, Davao

Philippines 2014: Attractions at Eden Nature Park… and getting lost

Philippines 2014: Sky Cycle at Eden Nature Park, Davao

Philippines 2014: Leaving Cebu for Davao; Davao City sights

Philippines 2014: Tumalog Falls; Oslob church, Cuartel

Philippines 2014: Oslob – Swimming with whale sharks

Philippines 2014: Trek to Mount Pinatubo crater lake

Philippines 2014: The itinerary this time around; UP Diliman and Maginhawa

My Philippines journeys: 2011 series | 2013 series