Much has been said about packing for travel. Pack light, pack smart. Roll your clothes, put the heavy stuff at the bottom area of your luggage, bring basic, transitional clothes, and so on. Travel packing is a science. Packing for Batanes? Now that’s an entirely different story.
The thing is, the weather in Batanes can be best described as “moody”, even in summer. It’s treacherous, especially if you visit during lean season, which was what I did. I planned for a 5 days/4 nights stay in October and it ended up becoming 8 days/7 nights because of Typhoon Lando. Although the typhoon didn’t directly hit Batanes, the skies were too cloudy, the winds were too strong, and the waves were too big. For almost a week, flights were cancelled, as well as boat tours.
Taking my experiences into account, I put up together a list of things you should bring when you visit Batanes, some I did bring, some I wish I did.
Jacket and socks
Most of us bring these anyway but it’s a must when you go to Batanes. During our visit, it was rainy, windy, and cold and I most of the time, I wore my waterproof jacket. At night, it can get even colder and once I even wore socks to bed. In summertime, the winds can still be strong and the night breeze can be cold so an extra cover up can be handy.
Extra clothes
I’m a fan of packing light but I always manage to squeeze in a pair or two of extra clothes and boy am I glad I did that for my Batanes trip. The key is bringing light, cotton shirts, shorts, leggings – clothes that don’t weight a lot but are super useful if you’re extending your stay.
Waterproof camera
Thanks to my SJCam, I was still able to get decent photos even under the rain, which was hard to do with an SLR, digicam or cell phone. If you don’t have a waterproof camera or a camera with a waterproof case, bring at least a zip lock case for your gadget so you can still capture Batanes’ charm even when it’s raining.
Rain gear
You probably wouldn’t think of bringing a rain coat when travelling, unless you’re climbing a mountain. But in rainy Batanes, it makes sense. It’s easier to enjoy the view when you’re not worried that you’re getting soaked. Bring a waterproof jacket so it can double as your cold weather gear. Stores in the town center also sell rain coats.
Power bank
Typhoons can cause power outages so power banks and extra batteries are a must for your cell phone. Believe me, your cell phone is a precious weapon when you’re stranded in Batanes. I brought my ever-reliable Xiaomi powerbank with me. Fortunately, we only experienced a short outage once.
2 Sim Cards (or 2 phones with different network coverage) with load
Prior to my trip, I researched which network has better signal in Batanes and most blogs says it’s Smart. But when I arrived, my Globe line had better signal than Smart. Fortunately, I had both sims. I still don’t get why that happened (the nearest cell site was Smart’s) but typhoons mess up a lot of things so it’s just good to be prepared.
Extra cash, ATM cards
Credit cards are useless in Batanes and the only ATM in town are PNB and Landbank. Best thing to do is to bring extra cash for emergencies, and then your ATM card as a last resort. The cash I brought turned out to be just enough to cover all my planned expenses plus extra days.
Entertainment
I wouldn’t normally advise someone to bring a laptop while traveling because I believe in not working during vacations. But it totally proved useful for one of my housemates who brought his laptop. Since we were away from the office for almost a week, work was piling up and he was able to do some work on his laptop. Plus, if you have movies on your laptop, it can take some of the boredom away. And believe me when I say that you can get bored in Batanes. Some of my friends thought I was having the time of my life while I was stranded in Basco but that’s not true. Sure, Batanes is wonderful, but I wasn’t frolicking in the hills during my 8-day stay. At least half of that trip was spent inside our room and at times, it can get so frustrating. What kept me sane were prayers, the new friends I met at Marfel’s, the book I brought with me, the TV, and the games on my phone. One of my new friends also brought his hard drive and we watched a few movies during our stay. So yeah, bring whatever can entertain you – cards, books, a sketch pad – but keep it light.
Don’t let the rains discourage you from visiting Batanes. This paradise is beautiful all year-round and if you dare visit during lean season, that’s still okay. Just be prepared as you can and Batanes will do the rest. 🙂
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