White Beach Puerto Galera Philippines

Being on the Midwest and having no sea water here made me missed the beach so much. Glad that we were granted to take two week vacation we could spend for family getaway. We already planned before that we are going back to the Philippines for a short vacation. While planning our itinerary, I wanted to take my husband to a resort offering different activities to explore but should not be too far from Manila. I didn’t want long travel since we were traveling with a two year old toddler.

The most popular beach resort close to Manila is Puerto Galera. They have two big beach area open for travelers. One is Sabang Beach which is commonly visited by Scuba Divers and the other one is White Beach which is visited for its entertainment and other fun activities. Since we are not divers, we chose to go and explore White Beach.

We scheduled our trip on Wednesday and stayed there for four days. We took public transportation from Manila. At Buendia station, we get on the bus going to Batangas Pier. It took around two hours bus ride going to the pier. Then at Batangas Pier, take a boat ride going to White Puerto Galera which takes around 1 hour and 30 excluding the waiting time. Before our boat headed to White Beach, it stopped by at Puerto Galera Bay. We did not really pay attention how long we’ve been traveling since we are enjoying the breathtaking view.

When we docked at White Beach, we had to walk for few minutes going to our resort. We stayed at Dreamwave resort for 4 nights, a beach front resort and is very near to all fun activities on the beach. We booked in advance so there’s no hassle checking in. The resort is really nice. I have not checked other resorts but in Dreamwave you can view the beach line when you stay at 2^nd floor.

Activities you can do in Puerto Galera

While enjoying our time at the White Beach, we are able to explore a lot of things it offers. These are the main activities we did that attracts the travelers:

1. Sunset by the Beach - Enjoyed the majestic sunset view by the beach. Just sit on the beach or stay at Dreamwave resorts 2^nd floor to watch the incredible sunset.

  

2. Snorkeling and Island Hopping - We hired a boat to take us to the different nearby islands and then take us to snorkeling area. Boatman fetched us early and headed to their office to register. Along the way, we stopped by at a local bakery and bought bread which we used to feed the fish. At the snorkeling area, we had to hire a smaller boat since bigger boats are not allowed as it could damaged the corals reefs. It’s was not that far but not that close to swim so hiring a smaller boat is necessary. At the area, the fish are so friendly. Our boatman caught a fish using his hands only. The underwater view is stunning. Colorful coral reefs and fish are seen.

3. Jetski– There are 2 agents renting out Jetsi, One on the east and one on the west side which costs 4000/hr rent. At first, we only rented for 30 minutes to see how it feels. Anybody on our group can ride either single or double and take turns. 3 of us had a change to operate and play around on the ocean. Since we enjoyed it, we paid for another 30 minutes.

4. Parasailing – This was a very exciting activity to do in Puerto Galera which costs Php1000 per head. At first I was not sure getting on the parachute pulled by a boat was a good idea until I tried it. When we reached the top and seen the magnificent view of the beach, I was stunned. It was very beautiful seeing the area 360 degrees. Good thing we took the last batch and we had the perfect timing seeing the sunset while we are above.

5. Fire dancers – On Friday and Saturday nights along the shore of Puerto Galera, Fire Dancing is common attraction. It does not cost you to watch it but tipping would be nice. They normally perform in front of the bars along the beach. Just walk around after dinner and you will surely find them.

I'm sure there's a lot of other things you can do but those I shared were the ones we we explored.

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Alona Beach at night

Resorts along Alona Beach are recommended place to stay for Bohol travelers who like night entertainment. There are other beach places in Bohol but not as lively as what Alona Beach has. Several entertainment shows are displayed along the stretch of Alona Beach, from soft music, rock band, fire dancing and disco which sometimes are up until 12 midnight only. Alona Beach is not the place for crazy night life. If you are looking for exciting night life, there are other places that Philippines has to offer.

Fire Dancing along Alona Beach

Beach Bar

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Anawangin Cove

From Capones Island, next in our itinerary was Anawangin Cove which is popular destination for beach goers and campers. With mesmerizing powdery sand and refreshing pine trees growing on the sand, you will find this place like a paradise, not crowded and very peaceful. You can't see any resort  here so those who are planning to stay overnight are advised to bring camping gears. The place is undeveloped but properly maintained with rest room and water pump as only facility you could see here.

Before we came to Anawangin, I was very curious and wanted to see the pine trees growing in the sand. I could hardly believe about  this but when I saw it  I was amazed and surprised. They are really growing in the sand near the shore. I thought pine trees grow only in cold places. Its really interesting to see them in a tropical place like Anawangin.

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Lighthouse at Capones Island

Summer fun, here we come. After graduating college and having employed by different employers, planning a getaway adventure is a challenge. Everybody has different day offs. Some of us employed in a company that operates 24/7 in which Saturday and Sunday day off is not always the case. We need to plan in advance and put the date into vacation leaves. There are times that when we are approaching the planned date, some important things will break the way so we had to cancel. Luckily we were able to push this one.

For our own comfort, we took pre-arranged travel package since we all came from a busy day working with different companies. I know it’s more fun if we are going to personally handle our trip planning but we did not want to, instead we want to sit and enjoy. Relax our mind from thinking where are we staying, where are we going to eat, which way are we going, some things like that is what we were trying to avoid since we had so much going-on on our day to day life. We availed the package trip which includes private transportation from Manila to Zambales and vise versa, 1 night accommodation, boat rides to Anawangin Cove and Capones Island, entrance fees and 3 meals.

On day 1 of our trip, we headed to Mc Donalds which was our meet up place. Our travel coordinator will wait us there also. We actually haven’t meet her before but she gained our trusts as she sounds very professional. We arrived little earlier so we had time for coffee and eat some breakfast. When she showed up, she guided us to where the car was parked and we all hopped in. We fall asleep along the way. We did not really pay attention with the scenic views since we are all tired from work. Some of us actually came in straight from night shift work. Good thing we were riding a private car, we just sit comfortably and took some rest.

We arrived at the resort full of energy as each of us was very excited to have fun. Had our breakfast served at the resort, left our luggage and prepared for a whole day adventure. Our first destination was Lighthouse at Capones Island. In order to get there, we had to ride a boat from Pundaquit. It was already taken-cared off by our travel guide so we just need to hop on the boat. Pundaquit is a nice sandy beach but there are boats parked along the shore. On our way to Capones Island, we were busy sight-seeing. We don’t want to miss the beautiful scenic view surrounding us while heading to Capones Island.

What to see at Capones Island

At Capones, white beautiful rocks greeted us from the shore.  This was amazing experience as it was the first time I see white rocks in the beach. We just look around and enjoy the view since we were here not for swimming. We were at Capones for the Lighthouse which is located at the top of the hill and we had to go trekking.

Heading to Capones Island

White rocks at Capones Island

Going up the hill was not as hard as we thought, in fact there are some set of stairs and some part of forest trail to walk on. When we reached the foot of the light house, we were surprised with what we have discovered. The structure still stands but it looks in urgent need of repair. Spiral steel stairs was shaking. It can’t accommodate more than 1 person as we need to wait until the first one was completely done. Then need to take a ladder going up and pass the small hole opening at the top. Going to the top was very exciting, and once you were there, you would want to stay there longer and enjoy the scenery. The 360 degree view of open sea is breath taking. What a wonderful adventure we had....

Heading to the Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Spiral Steel Stairs inside the lighthouse

Hole heading to the top

Breath taking view at the top

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Summer in Quezon Province

Hondagua is a small village in Lopez located in southern part of Quezon Province commonly known by nearby towns for its small beach. Near the bay is a Philippine National Railway connecting Lopez and Calauag.

To get here, from Buendia take a bus bound to Lucena, then transfer to bus bound to Calauag or Tagkawayan. Get off at Lopez and take a tricycle going to Hondagua, then a short walk about 10 mins going to the beach area. If you don't want to take bus, an alternative is available. Take a train ride from PNR Buendia Station going to Bicol and get off at Hondagua Station. From there, its only few minutes walk going to the beach proper.

This place is usually visited by local and nearby town traveler during months of March to May and is always crowded during holy week which you'll find it difficult to get a place to stay as cottages were already booked and reserved in advance. If you're not able to avail a cottage, find a vacant place near the shore and just lay down a blanket.

There's a lot to do here to have fun. Other than swimming, you can also enjoy the view and watch the sunset. During the peak season, its very common to see travelers renting floating cottage with karaoke on board.

Sunset at Hondagua Beach

Floating Cottage

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