There is something new and trendy happening in Southern Leyte.

Going to the beaches is a common practice of a typical Filipino family when celebrating special occasions like graduation, family anniversaries, reunions, and birthdays. We all love to swim, feast on delicious food, laugh with the fam, belt our favorite karaoke songs, and scamper along the wide stretch of the beaches in the country.

Photo by Teresita Sarvida
Photo from Paraw Floating Cottage Facebook Page
Photo from Paraw Floating Cottage Facebook Page

But families in Southern Leyte have a new way of spending quality time with their loved ones.

Paraw Floating Cottage is a unique and innovative way of bringing family members closer together and letting them spend quality time with one another on a floating cottage. If the usual family weekend getaways are already exciting when it’s done by the beach side, how much more when you’re making these memories few meters away from the shorelines? You’re literally floating – in fun.

The floating cottage is made of wooden materials, primarily bamboos, that are hinged on empty huge plastic containers on its side of the cottage. These plastic containers help the structure float even with several people onboard. To ensure that your floating cottage won’t go far from the shoreline, the entire structure is tied with a rope that is attached to a sturdy post in the bay.  

Photo from Paraw Floating Cottage Facebook Page
Photo by Trisha Galdo
Photo by Trisha Galdo
Photo by Teresita Sarvida

The place is also furnished with a table in the middle where you can place your bountiful meal. The wooden seats on each side are enough to cater all family members. If you wish to grill fish and other meat, there’s also a grilling station on the cottage so you can cook whenever you want without needing to go to the shorelines.

Paraw Floating Cottage has become popular for the people in San Juan since its establishment. Many families have already spent the day here swimming and bonding with one another. On the frontal part of the cottage is a structure that serves as the area where you can take a leap if you wish to dive. A hollow part is also purposely made for those who want to take a dip in the waters but want to still be inside the cottage.

Photo by Trisha Galdo
Photo by Teresita Sarvida

Aside from the good food and the waters, you will also bask yourself in the view of the panoramic horizons – too beautiful that some have even proposed to their loved ones while onboard Paraw Floating Cottage.

Floating cottages have become a trend in the recent months and there are significant indications that it will continue to be a spotlight in the coming years with more and more local governments and private businesses venturing into the idea of floating cottages and other floating infrastructures.

Aside from the refreshing feels that it provides to the its guests, floating cottages like Paraw Floating Cottage gives every family the isolation and intimacy they need, away from the usual crowd in the beaches.

Photo from Paraw Floating Cottage Facebook Page
Photo by Trisha Galdo

San Juan in Southern Leyte was originally named as Cabalian. The change of the names from Cabalian to San Juan was made in honor of the town’s patron saint, Saint John the Baptist. Legend has it that Ferdinand Magellan tried to anchor in the place due to a broken mast. The shouts from the natives “kabalian”, meaning “broken”, were eventually taken by the Spaniards to be the name of the place.

RATES & OTHER INFORMATION

DAY USE:

  • Opening hours: 8AM – 5PM

COTTAGE RATES:

  • Weekdays: P600 (good for 20-30 persons)
  • Weekends: P700 (good for 20-30 persons)

OTHER INFORMATION:

HOW TO GET THERE?

Exact location: Brgy. Timba, San Juan, Southern Leyte

BY COMMUTE: From Tacloban City, you can ride a van/bus going to Sogod Bus Terminal. Once there, ride a jeepney going to San Juan. You can then ride a tricycle once you’re in San Juan going to Brgy. Timba and let the driver know you’re heading to Paraw Floating Cottage.

BY CAR: Navigate with Waze or Google Maps and set your destination to “Timba” in San Juan, Southern Leyte. You may ask locals then where the Paraw Floating Cottage is.


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