Tara na sa Marbuena!

Jul 17, 2017 by bobby

Marbuena Island Resort is located off the shores of Ajuy, Iloilo, just 2 hours North of the capital city. This trip is our annual getaway with my athlete friends Transition Multisports Iloilo. This bunch of amazing people are just the best travel companions — easy, funny, and crazy. Add the beautiful backdrop of Marbuena Island Resort and you get a vacation that is truly one for keeps.

A few things about Marbuena:

This is a semi-private resort owned by a family. It has relatively conservative available amenities, but just the same, it does its job in providing a rustic and quiet escapade. The island runs on generator electricity, so aircon rooms only work at night in time for bed and it gets shut off at 7 in the morning. The aircon room is for P3,600 (for 4 pax each room) and the fan room is for P1,700 (for 4 pax). You may opt to bring your own food and use their kitchen to prepare them (just pay a minimal corkage fee) or you may also pre-order food from the resort itself (but just make sure you order ahead via phone call so the staff can market for the ingredients).

Swimming in Marbuena is really best for basking purposes. Like soaking in water with friends, staying under the sun and getting a tan, doing a few lapses from end-to-end of the beachfront is also possible, but only when it’s high tide. There’s also an enclosed natural pool that you can swim in if you have kids with you.

If you feel like exploring the rest of this island (it’s really quite small, I’d rather call it an islet hahaha!), you make take a hike trail so you can see the jungle hidden behind the more arranged part of the resort. Huge heron birds flock among the trees and it’s a wonderful nature experience in a not-so-extreme way. My favorite part would be the rockside end of the islet where waves hit and strong winds sculpt the water wall.

Marbuena is best for those who wish to momentarily escape the noise and the chaos of the city. What’s great is it isn’t too far away from Iloilo and the island staff are the best. They’re the friendliest and the most polite bunch there are. The island is so quiet you’d be ashamed to burp too loud from the goodness of fresh seafood that this place has to offer.

Just a footnote:

Bring your mosquito repellants especially when you plan to go on a hike trail.

Bring your own towel.

Tap water for shower is a bit hard (maybe due to its weak filtration system of saltwater), so don’t go crazy if your soap and shampoo don’t make a lot of bubble. Haha!

For reservations and inquiry, call +639074983351 and look for Manong Nolan. If you drive your own car from Iloilo, do let the staff know so they can arrange for safe parking in the mainland before heading off to the island. And oh, the boat ride is just for about 10-15 minutes, weather permitting.