Colorful boats from The Philippines

Posted on / 26 Comments by David Ways in » Photography | - Updated on September 6th, 2017.
Colorful boats of an island in The Philippines
Colorful boats known as Banka’s of a sandbar island in The Philippines

Colorful boats from The Philippines are also known as Bankas

If you ever go to The Philippines make sure you get time for some island hopping. You’ll be treated to a ride on one of these colorful boats in The Philippines also known as “Bankas”.

Facts about Bankas:

  • Bankas come in different sizes and can transport anywhere between 1 and 20 people
  • The boats can be both motorized, or simply have a man with a paddle
  • They are not just for tourists, they are genuinely used for local activities such as fishing, and transporting people between islands
  • Bankas are traditionally painted in bright colors
  • These colorful boats are relatively safe, mainly due to the fact they never venture that far into the sea.
  • Caution should be taken when taking one in choppy waters. An example of this is the popular Sabang to El Nido trip which is about 8 hours. Take care on this particular boat trip as it’s run mainly for the tourists and profit often comes before safety.

The story behind this photograph

I took this photograph on a small sand bar island off the volcanic island of Camigiun. Nicknamed the island born of fire.

Surrounding Camigin island are several sandbar “islands”. These are simply small raised strips of sand that come and go with the tide. Many locals take advantage of short day trips out to these islands to picnic and enjoy the isolation of it all.

If you stay on Camigiun island, make sure you take a ride on one of the many Banka’s that offer these trips to both the sand bars and the sunken cemetery.

I took quite a few of photographs of these boats that morning. And then, much later, chose to use one for my Philippines guide page. Little did I know but I chose the one photo with a rather rude pose going on!

See if you can spot it and let me know in the comments?

Discover more great travel photographs

Colorful boats known as Bankas from in the Philippines
Colorful boats known as Bankas from the Philippines

This is an additional photograph feature from my world travel photography gallery, detailing the story behind the picture 

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26 Replies to “Colorful boats from The Philippines”

  1. I love this picture! It brings back memories of my childhood when I was growing up in the Philippines back in the late 70’s. I love your blog because it does bring back such wonderful memories.

    Thank you!

  2. The colors are great. It would be a joy to paddle around in one of these.

  6. Beautiful. Though I noticed what you consider rude and didn’t think it read at all. I think I must be losing my cheeky sense of humour (no pun intended).

    A stunning photograph!

    Bird x

  8. Isn’t my country beautiful? Too bad years of plundering (and even from its own politicians who should be the caretakers of a country) has kept it poor and underdeveloped. I like your blog a lot. I think this is what is called real travel blogging? Not dictated by any tourism board or commercial considerations. ;-) (There I said it.) Keep it up.

    1. Thanks Marlys,

      Yep, no sponsored posts on here, just me ;)

      Shame about the Philippines alright. I can’t help but see a parallel in other countries political ways these days too though. I’m not saying it’s right, the opposite. It’s just sad to see the world be ruled by the people we trusted to do right by it.

  9. Very beautiful pic Dave. It is great to know you take time out for replying.

    Thank you
    Sunil

  10. What a Lovely shot… inspires me to go out and explore more of the great world out there =) x

  11. Very colorful indeed! Note the sea water was almost transparent. The rude part being the boatman’s rear end facing you and me? LOL!!!

  12. Some people really have a big stick up their butt, huh? ha ha… might not have noticed if you didn’t point it out.

    Can’t believe the seats are over the water vs in the boat. Not sure how smooth a ride that is if you’ve got a lot of heavy people on one side.

  13. My favorite picture! The one that made me stay on and follow your blog! Great, really :)

  15. It looks like for me your life goal is to experience the world! I envy you for that! Best of Luck all the time!

  16. What a great image and I bet it was a great experience to be on that crystalline water in the colorful Banka. I really like the composition and the depth of field. I bet it would really pop if you could get the hills to be a bit more saturated.

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