How to get to Looc Fish Sanctuary (Travel Guide)

Last updated on August 7th, 2022 at 04:41 pm

Looc Fish Sanctuary is located in Looc, Tablas Island. The main activity to do in Looc is visiting Looc Fish Sanctuary and it’s something we really recommend to everyone. We will tell you how to get to Looc Fish Sanctuary and things to do in Looc and around the area. Looc Fish Sanctuary is only 5 minutes walking distance from the center of the town. There are tricycles and jeepneys available from and to different destinations in Tablas Island. And boats from different points of the Philippines like Caticlan, Carabao island and Batangas also stop by here.

Read here how to get to Tablas Island and  how to get to Carabao Island!

Read here our Boracay Island Travel Guide!

Read here how to get to Binucot beach!

Looc Fish Sanctuary Travel Guide

How to get to Looc Fish Sanctuary

How to get to Looc Fish Sanctuary by boat

If you are planning to go from Looc to Caticlan, there are daily boats going to Looc from Caticlan arriving at around 1 pm and leaving in the morning.

There are boats going to Santa Fe port in South Tablas Island from Carabao Island at 7 am. To get to Looc Fish Sanctuary from Santa Fe port, you have to ride a jeepney to Looc which lasts around 30 minutes. It costs 100 PHP per person. The jeepney will be full (like, overloaded) and maybe you have to ride on the top with the luggages since it’s how jeepney rides happen there.

There are also ferries going to Odiogan in Tablas Island from Batangas. Ferries get to Odiogan around 11 am from Batangas. If you are going from Odiogan to Batangas, ferries leave around 12 pm and it will take 7 hours to reach Batangas port.  Price of the ferry ride is around 800 PHP per person and it includes one meal and bed to rest on during your trip in the economy class. From Odiogan port, a jeepney to Looc will take around 40 minutes and it will cost 150 PHP per person.

Click here to get a pretty sweet discount on your first booking with AirBnB! 

You can also book your accommodations in Looc through Agoda or Booking.

Click here if you want to get your discount booking activities in Boracay Island, the Philippines with Klook!

Travel Tip: Click here to know prices and schedule to book your bus/boat tickets online with 12Go Asia.

How to get to Looc Fish Sanctuary by plane

There is an airport with weekly flights in Tugdan Airport in Tablas Island from Manila just in case you are planning to get by plane. Tugdan Airport is located 20 kilometers away from Looc. The flights last 1 hour and 30 minutes and the departure from Manila to Tablas Island is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 1 pm to 2 30 pm. Coming back to Manila is scheduled in the same days- Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 3 pm and arriving at Manila International Airport at 4 30 pm. Prices of the flight ticket can be around 3000-5000 PHP.

Best Time to visit Looc

There are 2 seasons- wet and dry season. The wet season starts from June to November. And the rainy season can start as early from June to October. The best time to visit Looc would be in the months of January and February. You can click here for updates on accurate weather in Looc.

Entrance Fees in Looc Fish Sanctuary

There is an entrance fee of 100 PHP per person and 50 PHP for children. You have to register first before the activity and they will provide life jackets. You can also rent snorkeling masks for 60 PHP, just in case you did not bring yours, like we always recommend so you will save money instead of renting them. You’ll also be sure that’s yours is your personal and more hygienic. There is also food that they are selling like cookies to feed the fishes.

Once you register and make the payment, a boat will drive you from the port to the sanctuary. It’s a 10-minute boat ride and you can stay in the sanctuary for two hours. We consider that 2 hours is enough time for this activity. If you don’t need that much time, you can go back anytime to the port. Just tell the staff in the sanctuary and they will arrange the boat ride for you.

The entrance fees in Looc Sanctuary are spent this way: half of the payment goes to the government and half is for the Fish Sanctuary. They will give you a receipt for this. In our opinion, the organization is great and visiting Looc Fish Sanctuary is totally worth it.

Looc Fish Sanctuary

Once you get to Looc Sanctuary, you will fall in love with the views. It’s great and you’ll also love the clear, blue waters in Tablas Island.

The snorkeling experience is awesome and you will be satisfied with all the fishes that you will see. There are corals and clams if you go farther from the main point, which is just a few meters away. The water in the sanctuary is so calm and not that deep. If you aren’t confident in swimming, they’ll provide life jackets so you will not miss the fishes and the corals.

We took a few shots and videos around and our little one enjoyed the activity a lot. We spent 2 hours around noon and we stayed alone swimming, snorkeling and flying the drone. It was little bit windy and we had a few problems landing the drone but everything went fine in the end..

There is a trash bin in the Sanctuary so you can keep the surrounding clean. It was well-conserved! After the activity, you can go to the town to have lunch. There are a few carinderias around. If you want to continue around Tablas Island, there are jeepneys going to Odiogan and Alcantara from Looc. There are also tricycles for renting if you want to explore around the area by yourselves. If you already rented your own motorbike, you can continue exploring the area to Binucot Beach for sunset or Aglicay Beach Resort to relax in the beach.

Check more pictures of Looc Fish Sanctuary below:

Things to do in Looc

There aren’t many things to do in Looc town since it’s so quiet. But we will tell you our favorite things to do in Looc and places to visit around.

Catch the Sunset in Looc

Looc is a quiet place and the most popular sunset is in Binucot Beach. But we were lucky and had amazing sunsets and sunrises in Looc just in front of the Fish Sanctuary.

Sunset Binucot Beach

If you have time, we recommend you to spend the day at Binucot Beach. There is a couple of places to eat at: a pirate boat and a local restaurant. For sure you have to wait until the sunset since it’s too magical and beautiful in Binucot Beach to miss! There’s a couple of beaches which are almost a kilometer of white sand and blue water. You can bring your snorkeling gear since the water is so clean and transparent and you’ll enjoy the experience. To get here, you can go on your own with a motorbike. or you can also rent a tricycle which costs around 400 PHP for one way and 600-800 PHP return. They will wait for you in Binucot Beach.

Sunrise at Looc

The colors of the sunrise in Looc were so beautiful, especially with the low tide. It was worth it to wake up early to catch the sunrise just in front of Looc Fish Sanctuary. The views were insane!

Spend the day at Aglicay Beach Resort

This is also a great day plan if you would spend a few days like we did in Looc. Getting to Aglicay Beach Resort will take you 20-30 minutes by motorbike or tricycle. Prices for the tricycle are 400 PHP one way and 600-800 PHP return, and they will wait for you. There is an entrance fee in Aglicay Beach Resort, 50 PHP per person. The beach is clean, has white sand and beautiful. It’s good to spend your day here or a few hours for swimming.

Visit Odiogan Town

If you go to Odiogan, it will cost you around 100-150 PHP by jeepney and it will take around 40 minutes. There are shops and markets where you can shop from and try local food. It’s quite busy compared to Looc. Also, you can get information about schedule and prices if you are planning to leave from Odiogan port. There’s also an accommodation around Odiogan if you decide to spend the night there.

Where to eat in Looc

We tried a few local carinderias where you can get meals for 50-70 PHP per order, already comes with rice! Our favorite place was Melberto’s, a kind of Chicken Inasal franchise. You can get shakes as cheap as 40 PHP for mango and buko (coconut) shakes and everything was so delicious! For food, you can order chicken with unlimited rice for 110 PHP. It’s already a big portion of chicken and it’s really tasty with sauce. There are also topping rice meals with lumpiang for 85 PHP. They also serve great portions of this for one person.

Where to stay in Looc

Our choice was staying at Gishelles Beach Haus where the views were great in the beach. You can see the Fish Sanctuary from the beach! The place is a little bit far from the town, around 3 kilometers so you can either go walking around for 30-40 minutes or ride a tricycle for around 100-150 PHP. You can rent a motorbike as well for 500 PHP per day and you will be able to move around the area freely. We got a room for 700 PHP, breakfast included. We loved the place so much and we recommend for you guys to stay there if you are visiting Looc Fish sanctuary. The sunset and sunrise are amazing from the beach at Gishelles!

You can try AirBnB around Looc. Click here to get a pretty sweet discount on your first booking with AirBnB! 

You can also book your accommodations in Looc through Agoda or Booking.

Travel Tip: Click here to know prices and schedule to book your bus/boat tickets online with 12Go Asia.

Have you ever been to Looc, Tablas Island? Let us know in the comments below. We would love to hear your experience in Looc Fish Sanctuary!

Feel free to share the post with your friends or family if they are heading to Looc Fish Sanctuary soon.

Happy Travels!