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A Private Island in the Philippines
What does a private island cost? £1000 a night?
How about £150.
£150 per night for a 5 bedroom villa with a cave shower and its own private beach with incredible views.
That’s what you get if you book the Lambignan Villa at the Sangat Island Dive Resort in Coron in the Philippines.
The resort itself is the only occupant of tiny Sangat Island, but the Lambignan Villa is in its own part of the island, separated from the rest so that in effect you have your own private island.
None of the guests in the ten or so cabins in the main part of the resort are allowed to your part of the island, and your private beach and villa can’t even be seen from the main resort.
You get to your private beach and villa along a wooden walkway bolted to the cliff face at the far end of the resort, and once you get there you have complete privacy.
There are cliffs behind you on 3 sides and open water in front. Nobody will ever come to bother you, and the only people you can see or hear are those passing by on boats.
The beach is beautiful, the views are spectacular, especially at sunrise and sunset, and the rustic cabin has you feeling like Robinson Crusoe.
Once you pass through that gate at the resort end of the walkway, as far as you will be able to tell you are for all practical purposes on your own private island. Here’s a video.
Castaway
Spend a day there with just the crabs, the monitor lizards, and the monkeys for company and you will feel a sense of tranquility, relaxation, and incredible privilege.
You will feel like a castaway. Not in a “fight for survival’ reality TV kind of way, but in a “romantically lost on a tropical island paradise without a care in the world” Disney movie kind of way.
After watching the sunset, pretend you’re still a shipwrecked castaway as you walk back along your private walkway to the main resort for a delicious dinner followed by cocktails at the bar on the little outcrop at the end of the pier.
The next day, you’ll have sunrise all to yourself on your private beach, go swimming from your private beach, shower in your cave, sunbathe on your private beach, and maybe consider engaging in some watersports but to be honest you’re far too relaxed to make that sort of effort. Maybe we’ll do that tomorrow.
Getting to Sangat Island
Take a short flight from Manila to Busuanga airport on Coron Island. A quick ride in a 4×4 will get you across to the other side of the island where there is a tiny boat dock. Jump onto a speedboat for a quick blast across to Sangat Island.
Sangat Island Dive Resort
You’re going to have your own private beach and your own private villa, so you don’t really care, but the rest of the resort is really rather nice too.
The private part of the island
Now comes the fun part. Make your way through the resort to the cliffs at the far end. Hugging the cliffs around the headland is a wooden walkway. Go through the gate that says it’s just for you, no plebs allowed. It’s further than you think. At the far end you get your first view of your perfect little beach.
Turn right through the natural cave in the rocks and emerge onto the final walkway that leads down to your own private sandy beach, your own private stretch of turquoise ocean, and your own private villa.
Your private villa on Sangat Island
The villa is on four levels. At the top is the master bedroom. Below that, another bedroom and the main bathroom. There’s a little stairway up to a natural rock platform which is a great place to watch the stars at night. The front door leads out to the dining terrace, or the back door leads out past the second bathroom and down under the building.
On this level you’ll find a couple of hammocks and some beanbags, perfect to escape the midday sun. Head past the dining table and down the steps into the cave shower. Creepers grow over the trellis roof above a natural rock formation that has been transformed into a unique and atmospheric shower. It looks great lit up at night.
Sunrise on your private island
The sun appears around the headland and bathes your personal slice of paradise in golden sunlight. The sea is calm at this time on the morning, before the heat of the day causes a breeze that brings ripples then waves. Right now the water is so still that it’s perfectly clear and you can have a paddle and look for fish.
With such peace and tranquility it’s easy to just stand with your first coffee of the day in hand and simply gaze out across the water.
Daytime on your private island
Heaven. Paradise. All yours. Do what you want. Swim. Lie in the sun. Blast your music as loud as you want, it’s your island and there’s nobody else there. There’s beer in the fridge in the villa, and you can always wander back to the resort to resupply with cocktails.
The only people you’ll see are out at sea on passing boats, far enough that even a paparazzi’s zoom lens won’t be an intrusion. You really do start to feel like Robinson Crusoe. Or Tom Hanks. But without any need to make signal fires.
The only thing that exists is you and the sea and the sun and your own tiny planet.
Daytime in the resort
If you want to be more active there are plenty of watersport options. Or take a kayak around the island to the hot spring and the secret beach, but it’s not as nice as your beach. Grab a cocktail and head along the pier to the outcrop that serves as the evening bar, and enjoy the view.
From here you can only see the walkway leading around the cliffs, but your secret paradise is still a secret.
The secret viewpoint on Sangat Island
One day you’ll notice a some steps at the back of the resort and a sign that says ” Cave”. Climb the steps past the bats and emerge onto a platform just big enough for a table and a couple of chairs.
The view on a sunny day is spectacular. You brought a beer up all those steps, didn’t you?
Sunset on your private island
The monkeys will come out to you, but otherwise the sunset is all yours. Not just nobody to get in the way of your camera, but nobody else seeing the view you’re seeing. As the sun disappears and the darkness sets in, your little world seems a bit smaller, cosier, more atmospheric. It gives you a little shiver.
Dining at Sangat Island
At sundown, it’s time to head back along the walkway for dinner and more cocktails at the resort. When you walk around the first corner of the walkway you’ll jump out of your skin when you suddenly come face to face with 16 monkeys you hadn’t expected.
Night on your private island
At night, the villa becomes your refuge. Pray for clear skies and you’ll see the kind of vivid starscape you only get this far from urban light pollution.
Sangat Island
After you’ve had your fill of Pina Coladas, Tom Yum soup, Pumpkin in Coconut milk, Thai squid salad, fresh mussels and stir-fried chicken noodles, the only matter that remains is deciding in what way you plan to relax on your private island tomorrow.
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