Private flights to Camiguin

Camiguin is the small volcanic island off the north coast of Mindanao, south of Bohol: White Island's sandbar, the sunken cemetery marked by a cross in the sea, hot and cold springs, waterfalls, and a ring road you can drive in a couple of hours. It is famously unhurried, and part of the reason is how awkward it is to reach.

Its airport at Mambajao has a thin scheduled link to Cebu that operates some days and not others. The surface routes are a full day: a fast ferry from Cebu to Bohol and a slow one from Jagna, or a flight to Cagayan de Oro, a bus to Balingoan and the ferry across. A chartered Cessna 172 flies Mactan to Mambajao in about 45 minutes, south over Bohol and across the strait.

The Cebu leg is priced in both directions for the whole aircraft, three seats, live in pesos and dollars. Direct hops to Siquijor, Panglao or Siargao are quoted on request. A booking is a request the operator confirms, usually within hours, and nothing is charged until they do.

Why fly to Camiguin

The case for flying is that Camiguin is the island the schedules forgot. When the scheduled flight is not running, the charter is the difference between arriving by lunch and arriving after dark, and on a short trip that is a whole day of the island. It is also the natural last stop on a circuit south from Cebu through Panglao and Siquijor, where every other way round is a chain of ferries.

The case for the ferry is time to spare. Travellers already in Bohol or Cagayan de Oro are one crossing away, and the slow approach suits the island. A solo traveller on a budget will usually take it, and anyone should check the empty legs page, since aircraft repositioning back to Cebu sell empty seats at a steep discount.