Looc Marine Sanctuary on Tablas Island, Romblon, is one of the longest-standing tourism attractions on the island. It was established in 1999 and is home to more than 100 different species of fish and sea creatures. Tourism is still pretty low-key on Tablas Island today so it’s pretty amazing that the sanctuary was started in 1999.
How to get to Looc Marine Sanctuary
We drove down to the sanctuary from Escape Eco Resort at Binucot Beach, where we had been staying for our first two nights on Tablas. The drive took about 30 minutes on the bikes we rented for $10 USD per day. Once we arrived at Looc Town we headed down to the port.
The Looc Marine Sanctuary office is easy to find. It is right next to the pier and there was a small table with young girls taking the names and the money of the visitors. We parked our bikes right out front and left our helmets with the girls at the desk.
Looc Marine Sanctuary snorkeling on Tablas Island
Tickets for the Marine Sanctuary are 100 pesos and snorkel and mask hire is 60 pesos as of 2018 but may have risen by the time you read this. That is an extremely fair price for this type of attraction when considering the boat transit as well. From the tour office, you need to walk down the pier and wait for your transit boat. A small wooden boat will pick you up and shuttle you out to the pontoon on the sanctuary.
The boats run every 30 minutes or so bringing people in and out constantly. The day we went wasn’t busy and the boatmen were waiting for us and off we went. The trip is only five or so minutes and you will arrive.
TOP 3 PLACES TO STAY IN TABLAS
- Best View: Tablas Seaview Resort – Pool, Hot tub, Gym & incredible view.
- Best Value: Footprints Beach Resort – Beachfront, Breakfast included, Palm trees, Tropical Vibes.
- Island Hideaway: Turtle Cove – Natural luxury, exclusive resort.
The Looc Marine Sanctuary sits within a protected 48-hectare coral reef area. At the sanctuary, there is a wooden pontoon with a roof, tables, and even a kitchen. There’s even a big rectangular hole in the floor where you can observe the fish as they fight over the breadcrumbs the staff drop into the hole. We threw our gear down and jumped into the water to explore.
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The underwater world at Looc Marine Sanctuary surprised me. It was incredibly clear and there were clams, and reef fish everywhere. Under the pontoon, huge fish waited for crumbs to be dropped from above and we swam through big schools.
We snorkeled over to the WWII lighthouse and continued to discover more marine life below the surface. I wasn’t expecting so many fish in this area but it was really quite a great snorkeling spot. There was a great variety of fish species and lots of different types of coral.
After the snorkel, we swam over to another pontoon that was being built. It was much fancier and looked like it was getting ready to be used for functions. We hung out here in the sun for a while before heading back to the pontoon and catching our transit ferry back.
For 100 pesos, the Looc Marine Sanctuary is a must-do activity on Tablas and one of the most popular tourist attractions on the island.
MORE ROMBLON TRAVEL GUIDES:
- Tablas Island: 20 AWESOME THINGS TO DO ON TABLAS ISLAND
- Sibuyan Island: 9 AWESOME THINGS TO DO ON SIBUYAN ISLAND
- Carabao Island: 5 THINGS TO DO ON CARABAO ISLAND
- Romblon Island: 17 THINGS TO DO ON ROMBLON ISLAND
- Cresta de Gallo Island: CRESTA DE GALLO ISLAND, ROMBLON – EPIC DAY TRIP
- Hiking G2 (Guiting Guiting): TREKKING MT GUITING GUITING (G2)
Looc Fish Sanctuary Unbelievable Experience with Nature | Travel to the Philippines
Tuesday 21st of January 2020
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Alfred Manzano
Friday 4th of May 2018
Thank you for visiting our province sir Jackson. Its nice reading all your blog. Hope you could see our hidden falls also. Anyway have a good day and more blogs to share! God Bless!