This five-day Antique itinerary moves from the rivers of Pandan to the island ridges of Culasi, the open waters of Seco, the adventure trails of Tibiao and the mountain communities of San Remigio. It draws on places I've visited and written about over the years, with a route that favors local experiences and landscapes over ticking off as many attractions as possible.

Antique rewards travelers who don't mind a little uncertainty. Boat crossings depend on the sea, mountain trails change with the weather, and some of the best moments happen between the destinations listed on the itinerary.

Philippines / Antique / Travel Guides

Antique Travel Guide: 5-Day Itinerary, Things to Do & Travel Tips

By Marky Ramone Go • Updated August 2026

In This Story

• Day One: Pandan & Bugang River
• Day Two: Culasi Coast & Sebaste Falls
• Day Three: The Seco Island Odyssey
• Day Four: Tibiao Eco-Adventures
• Day Five: San Remigio Highlands

Antique 5-Day Itinerary at a Glance

Day	Area	Transport	Overnight
1	Pandan	Bus / Van from Caticlan or Iloilo	Pandan
2	Culasi & Sebaste	Outrigger boat / Tricycle	Culasi or Tibiao
3	Seco Island	Chartered boat crossing	Culasi or Tibiao
4	Tibiao	Local tricycle / River tubing	Tibiao
5	San Remigio Highlands	Jeepney / Hired van / Trekking	San Jose or Departure

Day One

Pandan, Bugang River & Malumpati Cold Spring

Seco Island

Morning & Afternoon 

Pandan makes a good first base for exploring northern Antique, particularly if you're coming from the Caticlan side of Panay. The coastal road gradually gives way to a greener landscape as the province begins to appear more rural.

I usually prefer keeping the first day of a trip relatively loose, and Antique is a particularly good place to do that. Settle into Pandan, get your bearings and leave enough time for the afternoon around Bugang River rather than trying to squeeze another attraction into the schedule.

Take a dip at Malumpati Cold Spring in Bugang River

Late Afternoon 

The first proper encounter with Antique's waterways comes at Bugang River, where the cool water has long been part of everyday life for the surrounding communities. Malumpati Cold Spring is an easy place to settle in for an afternoon swim, while the river itself offers opportunities for paddling and floating.

What I remember most from Bugang was watching locals swim and bond with whole families while other visitors simply find a shaded spot to sit.

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Day Two

Culasi Coast & Sebaste Falls

Panoramic ridges and paths over Lantawan Peak on Mararison Island

Morning 

Culasi is the gateway to Mararison Island, and the short boat ride across the water quickly changes the character of the trip. The island's rolling ridges appear almost immediately, with the sea stretching around them in every direction.

One of my favorite memories from Mararison came before the hike even began. The Mararison Children's Choir welcomed visitors with traditional Kinaray-a songs, turning what could have been an ordinary island stop into something much more personal. Encounters like this are why I prefer community-based experiences than luxurious getaways.

The trail toward Lantawan Peak climbs across the island's grassy ridges, with wide views of the coastline along the way. Keep an eye out for pitcher plants growing beside the trail, particularly if you're accompanied by someone familiar with the island's flora.

Afternoon Back on the mainland, Sebaste provides a completely different landscape. A roughly 45-minute to one-hour trek leads into the hills toward Igpasungaw Falls, where several cascades drop through the forest.

The walk is not particularly long on paper, but wet conditions can make the trail considerably more demanding. I would resist the temptation to treat the “nine levels” as something to conquer. The forest, the changing trail and the pools along the way are as much a part of the experience as the final cascade.

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Day Three

The Seco Island Day Trip

The striking, untouched layout of Seco Island's sandbar

Full Day 

Seco Island is the day that tests whether you're really comfortable with the word “remote.” The crossing can take roughly five to six hours by boat, depending on sea conditions, so this isn't a casual island excursion that you squeeze between breakfast and lunch.

The first time you see the sandbar after hours of open water, the long crossing suddenly makes sense. Seco rises as a narrow strip of pale sand surrounded by an enormous expanse of sea, with very little development to distract from the landscape.

There isn't much to do here—and that's precisely the point. Walk the sandbar, swim, find whatever shade is available and spend a few hours doing nothing particularly productive. After spending years traveling around the Philippines, I've learned that some of the places I remember the most are the ones where you stop wondering of what to do next.

Keep this day flexible. Seco depends heavily on sea conditions, and I would never build a tightly timed itinerary around a boat crossing this long. If the weather isn't cooperating, postpone the trip rather than forcing it simply because it happens to be Day Three.

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Day Four

Tibiao River, Bugtong Bato Falls & Kawa Hot Bath

Ride the current of the Tibiao River

Morning Tibiao shifts the mood from island exploration to mountain adventure. The town has become one of Antique's best-known bases for outdoor activities, but its appeal isn't limited to the adrenaline-heavy experiences.

A stop at the Tibiao Museum offers a glimpse into the area's history, including the collection known as the “Pearls of Tibiao.” From there, the trail toward Bugtong Bato Falls disappears into the forest. The walk takes roughly 20 minutes under normal conditions, although rain can make the terrain considerably slower.

The three-tiered waterfall is impressive, but I remember the approach almost as clearly as the falls themselves—the sound of water getting louder through the trees, the trail becoming wetter underfoot and the sudden opening where the cascade comes into view.

Afternoon By afternoon, the pace changes completely. River tubing on the Tibiao River puts you directly into the current, with sections of rapids that make this considerably more exciting than a leisurely float downstream. Local guides should be taken seriously here; the river may look manageable from the bank, but the current has its own ideas once you're in it.

End your day with a relaxing kawa hot bath

Afterward, the Kawa Hot Bath is almost comically well-timed. One moment you're being swept through the river on an inner tube; the next you're sitting inside a giant heated cauldron trying to convince your muscles that the day's work is finished. It's one of those distinctly Filipino travel experiences that sounds strange until you've actually done it.

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Day Five

San Remigio Highlands

Morning & Afternoon 

The final day heads inland toward San Remigio, where Antique's coastal scenery gives way to mountain communities and agricultural landscapes. Barangay Fullon is home to the San Remigio Rice Terraces, reached by a roughly four-hour trek depending on the route and conditions.

The rice terraces of Antique

The terraces aren't just scenery. Farmers still work the landscape, and walking through the area with a local guide gives the place a context that a photograph can't provide. That's something I've come to appreciate more with every trip: the landscape becomes more interesting once you understand who actually lives and works there.

Give yourself plenty of time for the trek rather than treating it as another box to tick before sunset. The mountain setting, changing light and conversations along the trail are worth slowing down for.

Late Afternoon 

If the rice-terrace trek is the priority here. Aningalan works better as an optional stop if you have enough daylight and transportation arranged. Aningalan offers one final possibility: finding a Rafflesia in bloom. The flower's rarity is part of the experience. It doesn't bloom on demand for tourists, and even when flowering season arrives, sightings aren't guaranteed.

We were fortunate to see this rare Rafflesia flower

A local guide may know where a bloom has recently appeared, but there is still an element of luck involved. That's exactly how I prefer encounters with wildlife and unusual plants to happen. You go looking, knowing you might come back empty-handed—and if you do find one, great for you.

Travel Notes & Logistics

Budget: Antique can be inexpensive to explore on the ground, particularly when using local transport and community-run activities. The exception is getting to remote islands. A Seco Island boat charter can quickly become the biggest expense of the trip, which is why sharing the cost with other travelers makes sense.

I wouldn't arrive with an overly precise daily budget. Keep extra cash available for guides, tricycles, boat arrangements and the inevitable small expenses that appear once you're away from the main towns.

Getting Around: Public buses, vans and tricycles cover the larger towns, but the more remote sections of this itinerary require a little more improvisation. Mountain trails, river activities and island crossings are best arranged with people who actually live in the area.

This isn't the province where I'd recommend planning every transfer down to the last fifteen minutes. Leave some breathing room. A delayed boat or a conversation that runs longer than expected can easily change the shape of a day.

How to Get to Antique: Antique is accessible from both the Iloilo and Caticlan sides of Panay, which makes it easy to incorporate into a wider Western Visayas trip. Your best entry point depends on where you're coming from and which part of the province you plan to explore first.

For this itinerary, think of Antique as a journey along the western side of Panay rather than a destination with one convenient central base. The geography is part of the experience—and also the reason you shouldn't underestimate travel time.

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Antique Panay Philippines Travel Guides