CAPUL ISLAND

Location: Northern Samar, Philippines Region: VIII (Eastern Visayas) Total Land Area: 35.56 km2 (13.73 sq mi) No. of Barangay: 12 Congressional District 1st District of Northern Samar Coordinates: 12°25′N 124°11′E Date Established: November 7, 1975 Time Zone PST (UTC+8) Zip Code: 6408 Dialing Code: 55 Descriptive Summary: Capul once served as the capital of Samar from 1848 to 1852 since the Acupolco-Manila galleon trade vessels used to have frequent stop-over at this point of San Bernardo Strait, thus, a watchtower (light house) was built to serve as a guidepost. Currently, it is a fifth class island municipality of the 24 municipalities of the province of Northern Samar. The name Capul came from the word Acapulco, an old trading post in Mexico.

View Municipality of Capul in a larger map

A blend of colors of the sky, far reaching seas and the sprawling landscape of Capul Lighthouse

Capul is the only town in the province of Northern Samar with a distinct language, Inabaknon, instead of Waray-Waray, the native language spoken by the locals of Samar island. Inabaknon is considered to be 8th of the rarest dialects in the Philippines.

The historical Capul lighthouse

This historic Capul Lighthouse has been erected to serve as a sentry or warning system and a refuge for indigents during Moro raids.

Ideally, one can make it to Capul for a day tour. Food can be bought from 2 or 3 eateries at a minimum of P50 per meal. Though, the two food stores in Barangay Dos near the port do not cater for dine-in services.

The refreshing cliff down the Capul Lighthouse

Touring around the island is not a problem as there are habal-habal drivers who are very much willing to drive you around. Going to the lighthouse is just P50 one way. Don’t worry as they will also wait for you if you opt stay much longer in one place. Just be generous enough to give them a tip.

Just one of the white beaches on the way back to the port coming from the lighthouse

The island of Capul is blessed to have a lot of nameless white beaches which will not charge the guests with an entrance fee. Tourists and guests can have a dip and go so that they can be relieved from the exhausting travel.

The 233-year old Saint Ignatius of Loyola Parish Church

St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish Church was built in a concrete structure in 1781 thru the initiative of a Spanish architect-priest, Fr. Mariano Valero and along with it was also built a stonewall fortress similar to that of Intramuros, Manila that would wedge it against the Moro attacks. However, the first two structures of the church was built earlier than 1781 made of hard wood and nipa roofs but were both devastated by the attacking Moro pirates in 1615 and 1768.

The stonewall of the Saint Ignatius of Loyola Church

Other than the lighthouse and the historical church, tourists can also try the popular tourist attraction, Bito Cave or Beto Cave located in Sawang and try to visit the Timon-timon Rock which is a rudder-shaped rock formation located near the southern point of the island. Habal-habal rates for these destinations will vary since it is located opposite to the direction of the lighthouse.

Capul Municipal Hall

HOW TO GET THERE

Assume that the point of origin is Manila, then these alternatives can be considered:

By Air:

Take the nearest airport to Capul, which is either Calbayog or Catarman. Calbayog airport is an hour and a half from Allen, Northern Samar. Catarman driving distance time to Allen is also approximately the same. From Allen Balwharteco Port Terminal, take a boat going to Capul island for an hour sea travel for P150 for one way. There is only one trip in a day at 11:00 A.M. from Allen to Capul Island and from Capul to Allen is at 7:00 A.M. the following day. You can have an option to charter a boat for special trip which can cost at P2,500 and above depending on the size of your group. The bigger your group is, the lower the cost sharing is.

By Land:

Take a bus trip preferably Philtranco from either Pasay or Cubao Terminals to Allen for P1,100 at an approximate travel duration of 14 hours which is inclusive of Ferry boat fare of P120 from Matnog, Sorsogon to Allen but not to include the P30 terminal fee in Matnog Port. The ferry sea travel crossing the San Bernardino Strait is to 2 hours going to Allen. The same routes will be followed if you are already in Allen’s Balwharteco Port Terminal.