CamSur

Like many parts of the Philippines, Camarines Sur also boasts of stretches of beautiful and largely unexplored coastlines which mean miles and miles of beaches, coves and staggering rock formations, the most famous of which is the Caramoan Peninsula National Park. Caramoan Peninsula captured international attention when several editions of the reality series Survivor were filmed in the area- Survivor France, Bulgaria, Israel and Serbia filmed in the islands of Caramoan Peninsula. The peninsula is famous for its dramatic limestone karst formations, white sand beaches, coves, as well as sandbars which is pretty reminiscent of Coron in the Calamianes Islands in Northern Palawan – heavily promoted by the local government – Caramoan is still to recover from the initial shock of the growing influx of tourists in the past two years when the peninsula was suddenly plucked out of relative obscurity and thrust into the Philippine tourism limelight. Kayaking around the islets is a favorite pastime amongst visitors as well as the requisite island hop and while most islands are open, some of these are closed off to the public once there is an ongoing filming of Survivor. The local government apparently franchised the area for Survivor filming for 4 years. The more popular islands are Lahuy, Matukad, Cotivas, Lajos and Sabitang Laiya, the last one famous for its triangular shape whose two sides offer a long stretch of cream-colored sandy beach and relatively shallow waters. In Paniman, the two coves Little Gota and Big Gota are some of the main attractions, as well as the limestone islands of the Malarad Island Group. Excerpts from tourism-philippines.com.