Summer at Funtastic Island in Gibitngil

ADVENTURE. Off to an adventure by visiting Medellin's Funtastic Island!

I’ve heard of Gibitngil from my UP Cebu freshmen friends since they had an NSTP community outreach on that island. It’s in Medellin where the people in the community don’t have their own tap water (only one, at the Mayor’s) and their electricity is solar panel-generated (which was Earth-friendly!). It was my first time to hear of the name of Funtastic Island; I didn’t even know that it was located in Gibitngil.

First off, the spelling of ‘Funtastic’ is incorrect. Well, I had that confusion at first when I tried to Google and spelled it as ‘fantastic,’ only then I realized it’s Funtastic (please don’t let me explain that they’re trying to link fun and fantastic, but there I said it already).

Starting my indefinite summer by travelling to Funtastic Island isn’t a bad idea. It’s actually a stroke of a genius on-the-spot traveler! My friends-of-a-friend are on a weekend vacation and I decided to join the fun. It will be a chance to travel to Medellin for the first time and go to that popular-to-my-friends ‘Funtastic Island’ and let me judge it by myself if how fantastic that island is!

Travel to Medellin

SUNSET. Love and see the sun sets to its haven.

There’s a bus that will take you to Medellin in North Bus Terminal. From SM Cebu, there’s a jeep that will you to the terminal. 01K, 21B, 21D and other jeep going north will actually pass the area. It’s just a few kilometers away from the mall but it’s not advisable to walk between the two locations. The travel from North Bus Terminal to Kawit, Medellin will take about 4 hours perfect either for sighting-seeing or sleeping. There will be a stopover in Carmen to have some food in the middle of the trip or a moment in the toilet.

If you’re travelling daytime, it’s good to see the the beaches along the way but it’s advisable to go there at dawn (earliest will be 4 AM) since there will have only limited cottage on the Funtastic Island. People will start to come to the place at 8 AM and the best spot might either be reserved by other tourists or someone has already occupied on it.

On my case, I travelled at lunch time, about 12:30 PM. I was with a friend on that ride since the rest of the team was already in Medellin. She had some paper works that morning that I didn’t want to travel alone so I went with her. Interestingly, it was a fun ride to chat with her while on the ride and see the awesome coastline going north of Cebu.

We arrived at Kawit, Medellin a few minutes before 5 PM. When we reached our cottage, the rest of the team (about 6 of them) were sleeping, waiting for us to arrive and start the fun.

Spend Time at Kawit Beach

WHITE SAND. Enjoy Kawit's beach before travelling to Funtastic Island.

If you’re like us, it’s best to rent a cottage in Kawit, Medellin beach and spend the night in there. The challenge in going to Funtastic Island is that there isn’t tap water on the island and not so abundant light during night time. So far, there isn’t any resort on the island yet. Most tourists spend only daytime on the island, since it’s known for its crystal clear seawater perfect for cliff diving.

That night, after eating dinner, we had bonfire and some drinks while spending quality time. Tip: don’t get drunk since the real fun will happen the next day. Unless you wanted to experience riding a boat sober and enjoying every wave that hit your ride.

Cliff Jumping at Funtastic Island

JUMP. To experience the water underneath, dare to take the risk.

Early the next day, we had our private boat ride to Gibitngil. There’s a public boat ride with a capacity of about 50 people but we wanted to have our own ride to fully enjoy the 30-minute sea travel from the shores of Kawit, Medellin to the island of Gibitngil.

We had our cottage near the diving cliff and the wind in our place is quite nasty since our paper plates and lightweight materials are already swimming on the sea after a few minutes. We had to start swimming on the sea to get our things and we continued to be married to the pristine waters of Gibitngil until the afternoon arrived when we decided to leave Funtastic Island and start our ride back to the city of Cebu.

The Medellin adventure was a great one. Although I forgot to put sunblock which caused my skin tan line and reddish skin face after a few days, my Funtastic Island travel is worth remembering.

Let’s Talk Money

COLORED. Enjoy the the lively Funtastic.

For those who wanted to visit Funtastic Island and are keen on budgeting, here’s the expenses I’ve made:

Bus Ride Fare – P300 (P150 for one way ticket, aircon Ceres bus)

Boat Fare – P100 (P50/person, private boat)

Funtastic Island Entrance – P10

Food Contribution – P160

Cottage Contribution – P155 (we had a P400 cottage on the Funtastic Island and P800 room/night in Kawit)

I spend about P800 on that adventure and it’s worth it! Consider going there with your friends to minimize the cost.

Meanwhile, here’s the price list on the Funtastic Island amenities:

Entrance Fee - 10 pesos per person

Kayak - 150 pesos per hour

Zipline - 50 pesos per ride

Cottages - from 150 to 500 pesos (as of April 2014)

If you're planning to travel to the north of Cebu, consider going to Funtastic Island!