Caramoan Shopping

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There are 2 souvenir shops located in the Centro Of Caramoan. It will only take about 10mins to walk from Barangay Ile to Centro.

The 1st store has its name- Island Wonders while the other shop adjacent to it doesn't have a name so I'll just call it "No Name" store.

I really don't have any historical background of Caramoan but when we visited this shop, I was educated a bit. In the entrance, you'll find this wall post about the island and its history.

I got to notice first the Island Wonders shop because of their something kinda look of statue sitting at the side of the shop. I find it very odd and that's why I like it! The figure seems like very bored and looks like to me he's portraying a by-stander of the shop. I believe the VT flag will look good with him.

What to buy: I can say that the Island Wonders shop is really a souvenir shop compared to the other.
It sells more of gift items, souvenir keychains, bags, hats, bracelets, fans, etc.
They also sell souvenir shirts but of limited designs only.
You can also buy here local crafts.
Most of the stuffs are imprinted with the word "Caramoan", some "Bicol" and some "Camarines Sur".

various souvenir keychain designs cost around 35-50Php each, 3 items for 100Php
Refrigerator magnets- 45-60Php each
Bookmarks- 3 for 100Php
hats- 125-300Php

*You can buy any 3 items with the same price offer for the "3 for 100Php".
i.e. you can buy 2 keychains and 1 bookmark

What to pay: only cash

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The 1st store has its name- Island Wonders while the other shop adjacent to it doesn't have a name so I'll just call it "No Name" store.

What to buy: The No Name store is more of a "sari-sari" store (mini store that sells canned goods, coffee sachets, etc.), but unlike the Island Wonders shop they have more souvenir shirts to choose from and they also sell food stuffs like pili nuts, jams, etc.
The pili nuts cost 70-100Php.
They also sell locally made handbags and abaniko (fan) located outside the store.

You should definitely buy the SURVIVOR Souvenir shirt before leaving Caramoan Island! I really like the shirt, imprinted infront is the SURVIVOR CARAMOAN PHILIPPINES with the same font style of the reality show and printed at the back are the Survivor edition logos of each of the countries who chose to film their show in Caramoan. You can choose what shirt color and size you want. You can't ask a bargain though since the vendors really stick to sell their souvenir shirts at only one price- 150php (not bad).

There are also other shirt designs that are very attracting and still costs same price of 150Php.

What to pay: cash only

While walking back to Rex Tourist Inn from the restaurant of Caramoan Bed & Dine, we saw some native souvenir items and abaca slippers being sold at the frontage of a house (not a formal structure of a store).

What to buy: You can buy slippers and decor made of abaca...Please don't patronize souvenir items like bottled Caramoan sands and shells. It will only encourage locals to get sands and shells from the beach.

What to pay: I bought a pair of abaca slippers for P70.

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From the same "store" where I bought my abaca slippers, on display were bottled Caramoan sands. I'm surprised to see the decorative bottles with Caramoan sands because in Boracay, it is prohibited to gather sand for souvenir purposes, more so for sale.

I didn't buy because I believe it deserves no patronage. We must all help to preserve and conserve Caramoan beaches.

We were not able to go around Guijalo town proper so we don't know if there are any souvenir stores there. So we ended up buying shirts in two of the stalls in SM Naga.

What to buy: If you are in a hurry, you can drop by SM Naga, there are two stalls selling Caramoan souvenir shirts. There is also a store selling pili goodies. You can also buy pili and naive bags in the Naga terminal. But if you have enough time, I would suggest you go to the market. You can buy dried fish, more pili delicacies, native bags, and a whole lot of native stuff. If you like siopao, a store in Naga (unfortunately I don't know the name of the store) has fried siopao. You should taste this. It's good! ;)

Vendors are around the Manlawi island selling sea shells from Php 20 to Php 500.

What to buy: Sea shells

What to pay: Php 20 to Php 500

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Lots of local handicrafts around the town proper. From shirts to key chains, etc. They are affordable too so better to take home one. :)