MapPhilippinesDaet, Camarines NortePhilippines

Daet, Camarines Norte

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When to comeNov to MarWindiest modelled monthDecember · 15.1 kt · Bagasbas BeachThe short answers

On this page

The feel of the place

A workaday Bicol provincial town whose grey-sand beach, Bagasbas, has become a genuine regional surf-and-kite hub. It suits budget travelers happy with authentic small-town Filipino life over resort polish - not those wanting nightlife, luxury, or fast onward connections.

The short answers

The essentials before the detail

When to come

Nov to Mar

The spot here is in season then

January, 1 spot in season.
February, 1 spot in season.
March, 1 spot in season.
April, 0 spots in season.
May, 0 spots in season.
June, 0 spots in season.
July, 0 spots in season.
August, 0 spots in season.
September, 0 spots in season.
October, 0 spots in season.
November, 1 spot in season.
December, 1 spot in season.

Filled months: the season the spot here names.

Windiest modelled month

December · 15.1 kt · Bagasbas Beach

The month the wind model rates highest; the season above is when riders and schools go.

modelled

the month's average wind in December at Bagasbas Beach, the strongest month any spot here models

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. What it holds here is the month's average wind, month by month; it does not count how many days carry a three-hour window at 12 kt.

What it costs

budget

Schools

in the directory

Getting there

3 airports

car effectively required

Getting there & around

Permits & rules

1 spot

with a rule of its own for permits, zoning or the bathing season, on the conditions below

The rule at each spot

Where to ride

1 spot

mixed water

Levels this spot suits

beginnerintermediateadvanced

The conditions in full

Good to know before you go 2

Bicol's typhoon exposure is real - check storm tracking before locking in dates
Daet's own airport has very limited service; most travelers actually route via Naga or a long Manila bus

Conditions

1 spot · Bagasbas Beach

Getting on the water Rules & access Wind Water

Bagasbas is a Pacific-facing beach at Daet, Camarines Norte, and it works on the Amihan: roughly November to mid-March, when NE to ENE wind commonly runs 18-25 kt and lines up side-onshore over a sandy bottom.

Riding and launch

The riding is mixed rather than flat, with shallow sections, chop and small to medium waves, and on a bigger day the shallow water is where the beach break lands. The sand is long and launch room is never the constraint, but weekends put swimmers, surfers and onlookers on the same stretch, and fishermen work drag nets off the beach.

Safety

Currents are the warning that comes up most often, and this is open ocean with nothing to break the drift.

Facilities and schools

There is food, accommodation and basic beach-town infrastructure along Bagasbas. What there may not be is a kite school: Mike's Kites is reportedly no longer operating, so check school and rescue status before you count on either.

When to go

Take December or January if you only get one week; skip it if you want somebody watching the water.

Getting on the water

The launchAbout 2 km of open sandy beach with grass behind it, wide enough that launch and landing space is never the constraint. Daet town is a short ride away, Bagasbas itself a short walk. Weekends put swimmers, surfers and onlookers on the same sand, and fishermen work drag nets off the beach, so pick your corridor before you pump.

If it goes wrongNo public lifeguard and no organised kite rescue. Rescue turns up once among the beach's listed facilities and is absent everywhere else, and nothing names an operator or a boat.With the local kite school reportedly closed, assume nobody is coming for you. The Bagasbas Surfers Club and the other surf operators on the beach are the practical first contact.

Room to righuge

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no kitesurf permit, fee, zoning or seasonal restriction is documented. The beach is free to access and nothing is posted for it; the only stated local caution is that fishermen use drag nets offshore and those stretches should be avoided.

The standing caveat holds: local rules change, and some Philippine spots require a special permit or membership of a local kite organisation, so ask on the beach before the first session. No beach ordinance from the Municipality of Daet or barangay Bagasbas is on record.

Wind

Charactermixed wind

Average18-25 knots November to March. Measured monthly averages for Daet are lower, about 15 knots in December, the windiest month, down to about 9 knots in May, because they include nights and calm spells.

Typical18-25 knots through the northeast monsoon, with the full spread running 10-30 knots. Lulls to 10-12 knots happen inside the season. June to August brings a lighter 10-15 knot southwesterly that is usually ridden off nearby islands by boat rather than at the main beach.

Dominant directionNE to ENE in the main season; SW is reported as a lighter summer direction around nearby islands.

Angle to shore: cross-onshore
Local name: Amihan / northeast monsoon

Fills inThe Amihan is a monsoon flow, not a thermal, so there is no daily switch-on. In the December-February core it can blow steadily through the day and overnight, and a bad day is a lull rather than a late start. Overcast, rainy Amihan spells make it gusty and patchy at any hour. No local hour-by-hour pattern is documented.

Kite sizes9-12 m covers the season for a 75-85 kg rider: a 9 m for the normal 18-25 knot Amihan days, a 12 m for the 10-15 knot edges, and a 7 m in reserve for the 30 knot days. What local riders actually reach for most in December-February is not documented.

QualityGenerally consistent in the Amihan season, but cool, overcast, rainy Amihan weather can make the wind gusty and inconsistent at times.

Best monthsJan · Feb · Mar · Nov · Dec

SeasonNovember to mid-March, with December, January and February the reliable core. December is the windiest month by measured average and the month with the most days of wind, January next. Easterly wind dominates from September through May and swings southerly in the summer months.Around 208 days of wind a year are counted here. Amihan weather is cool, overcast and often rainy, which can leave the wind gusty and inconsistent even in the good months.

Water

Typemixed water

Standing depthSandy bottom that shelves gently, so shallow water runs a long way out and the spot is rideable at low tide.It is not a lagoon: the shallow zone is also where the beach break lands, so on a 3-6 ft day the standing-depth water is shorebreak.Which section is used for lessons, and at which tide it is really waist-deep, is not documented.

TidesTwo highs and two lows a day, read off the Daet station 4 km away, in Philippine time (UTC+8). Low tide is the water commonly named as best for kiting; for surfing, all tides work. The bottom is sand throughout, so the tide changes the shape of the wave rather than exposing anything hard.

Summer, °C: 30
Winter, °C: 27

WetsuitBoardshorts or rash vest; water temperature was 29.3 °C on 27 Aug 2026, and Daet's coolest monthly average water temperature is near 80 F/27 °C in January.

CurrentsCurrents are the hazard most consistently listed here, and they are described as strong. This is an open Pacific beach with no headland or reef to break the drift, and no rescue boat sits on it, so know where you would come ashore before you go out.

NotesPacific-facing sandy beach with chop, small to medium waves, and shallow sections. Strong wind and waves break over sand rather than reef during Amihan. Regular surf runs 3-6 ft, with bigger days up to about 8 ft.

Schools

1 in the directory

Mikes Kites

Doeslessons · rental · accommodation

RidesBagasbas Beach

SpeaksEnglish

Getting there & around

Nearest airports

Bagasbas/Daet has a small feeder airport but with very limited domestic connections
Naga Airport (WNP), the main Bicol regional hub, roughly 2 hours' drive away, is the more reliable option
Manila (NAIA) with an 8-10 hour bus or 6-7 hour private-car ride down the Maharlika Highway

Car

Car neededNot essential in town (tricycles cover it), but useful for reaching the Calaguas Islands jump-off point and beach-hopping the coast.

Transfers

Bus or private car from Manila via the Maharlika Highway (N621); shorter transfer from Naga if flying into Bicol directly.

Road quirksThe Maharlika Highway is the main national road and can be slow with mixed local traffic.

Kite bag rules for your airline

Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.

Your airline

Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →

Practical

LanguageBikol and Tagalog locally; English understood, especially around tourism.

VisaPhilippines is visa-free for most nationalities for up to 30 days.

Costsbudget

Seasons beyond windBicol is one of the Philippines' most typhoon-exposed regions - wet/storm season runs roughly June-November; dry season (December-May) is easier for travel logistics and the Calaguas trip.

Cash & cards

MoneyPHP cash - ATMs cluster around town centre and the SM mall.

Internet & working

SIM & internetDecent Smart/Globe coverage in town.

Health & safety

SafetyGenerally safe small-town Philippines; ordinary road-safety caution applies on the highway.

HealthA provincial hospital in Daet handles routine needs; anything serious means Naga or Manila.

What riders say

9 recurring claims

The trade-off Wind micro-knowledge Tips from riders

The tag says how far the riders who mention it agree; the figure is how many mention it.

Bagasbas is more of a rough, real beach than a resort lagoon: riders talk about waves, chop, current and a big open shoreline.
consensus5 riders
The main weakness is freshness of evidence: much of the detailed kite chatter is old, while recent public pages are mostly directories and travel summaries.
consensus5 riders
Much less crowded than Boracay; a wilder, quieter alternative
strong3 riders
Bagasbas has both a waist-deep flat-water lagoon and a wave zone in one spot, which many nearby Asian destinations don't combine
strong2 riders
Overland travel from Manila is long (about 10hr by bus, 7.5hr by car with potholed sections); flying Manila-Naga (~1hr) then transferring is the practical alternative
strong1 rider

Show all 9 claims

It is repeatedly framed as less crowded than the famous island hubs, though the beach can still attract curious locals around gear.
majority4 riders
There is some beginner infrastructure, but the beginner story is probably the nearby shallow lagoon or supervised lessons, not just walking into the surf on Bagasbas itself.
majority4 riders
The best public wind notes point to northeast monsoon season, roughly November to mid-March, with December to February the safer bet.
majority3 riders
High season (peak wind, Nov-Mar) is often cloudy/less sunny than other PH spots
mixed2 riders

The trade-off

Pros

combines flat water and waves at one beach
far less crowded than Boracay
cheap accommodation, short walk to stays
described as 'more wild, more wind' than typical PH tourist beaches

Cons

long, rough overland trip from Manila if not flying
often cloudy during the windy high season
little written rider content post-2012 found, so current state is uncertain

Wind micro-knowledge

Through the season

Through the seasonMain season reported as November to March (Amihan/NE monsoon window); no wind data found for the rest of the year

Tips from riders

fly Manila-Naga (~1hr) and transfer overland rather than taking the 10hr bus
stays are a short walk from the lagoon

Scene & life

VibeLaid-back small-town surf/kite scene, popular with local Filipino riders and a growing weekend crowd from Manila.

Must try

pili nut specialties (pili tarts, pili ice cream, candied pili) - Camarines Norte's signature product
Bicolano dishes built on spicy coconut milk (Bicol Express and similar)

Rider hangoutsbeachfront carinderias (small eateries) along Bagasbas

Activitiessurfing at Bagasbas itself · hiking Mt. Labo (1,544m)

Day trips

Calaguas Islands - undeveloped island beaches by boat
the first Rizal Monument (erected 1898) and other Bantayog historical sites

Pairs withA wider Bicol loop - Naga, Mayon Volcano in Albay, and Caramoan Peninsula.

Solo-friendlyyes

Après-kitebeachfront eateries and sari-sari stores along Bagasbas rather than a bar scene

Kite + workno

Events

2 items

Pineapple Festival (22-26 June)

Bantayog Festival (March/April)

History & trivia

2 items

Daet was founded in 1583 by the Franciscan Order
It holds the first monument ever erected to national hero Jose Rizal, built in 1898 - predating the more famous Luneta monument in Manila

Itinerary idea

Combine with Naga, Mayon Volcano, and the Caramoan Peninsula for a fuller Bicol loop.

FAQ

When is the best time to kite Bagasbas?

Amihan season, roughly November to mid-March, brings NE to ENE wind commonly running 18-25 knots, side-onshore with sandy beach-break waves.

Do you need a car?

Not essential in town, since tricycles cover it, but useful for reaching the Calaguas Islands jump-off point and beach-hopping the coast.

How do you get there?

Naga Airport, about 2 hours' drive away, is the more reliable regional option, since Daet's own small airport has very limited domestic connections. From Manila it is an 8-10 hour bus or 6-7 hour private-car ride down the Maharlika Highway.

Where should you base yourself?

The Bagasbas Beach frontage has surf/kite guesthouses with walk-out access. Daet town centre, near SM City Daet, has more shops and everyday services, and Naga City, about 2 hours away, offers a bigger-city base.

What hazards should you know about?

Bicol is one of the Philippines' most typhoon-exposed regions, with the wet/storm season running roughly June to November, so check storm tracking before locking in dates.

How this place scores

Scores out of 10, compared with other places. The data figure under each label is how much of this record that score had to work from, so a high score on thin data is a thin score.

Wavesdata 100%8.2
Affordabilitydata 55%8.0
Room on the waterdata 100%7.2
Wind reliabilitydata 10%6.5
Flat waterdata 100%6.1
Beginner friendlydata 100%5.7
Safetydata 100%5.1
Off the waterdata 100%4.6
Ease of accessdata 27%4.0
Long staydata 19%3.9
Familydata 89%3.9
Kite communitydata 87%3.5

A paler bar was scored from less than half of the record.

Scores by trip type

Wavesdata 100%7.0
Freestyle and flat waterdata 100%6.7
Learning to ridedata 80%5.9
Kite and workdata 100%5.3
Family tripdata 100%4.6

Nothing here carries a figure for school quality, so every line above is built without it.

Still open

Things we could not verify. If you have ridden here, you can help.

Show the 3 open questions

Follow-up: Bagasbas is primarily known as a surf hub - check r/Philippines, r/surfing, and local Bicol surf-school/kite-school social pages (e.g. Bagasbas Surf Resort community posts) for any kite-specific chatter distinct from the surf coverage.
Almost all located rider commentary is from 2011-2012; no recent (2020s) trip reports found to confirm current crowd levels, infrastructure, or wind consistency
No detail found on wind direction, gust character, or tide interplay specific to Bagasbas

When to go and nearby places

Last updated: 4 September 2026