I
love familiarity and that’s why I’ve always go back to
the places I’ve been to like Puerto Galera. Puerto Galera is one nearest place
one can go to if you want to see a white sand beach. I’ve been here twice LAST YEAR but it was always a quick one. I promised myself to go back here for
longer vacation this year.
We booked our trip last June
18-20, 2018 and I love going to the beach during June since I always avoid
travelling during peak seasons. It’s always easier to travel during lean season
and there’s less crowded during these times.
The
Trip. And Some Changes.
Same as always. We rode a Batangas Pier route bus at the Araneta
Bus Port in Cubao and personally chose the Goldstar Bus (the other one is the
Alps) since it has a CR inside. The ticket price is Php175 and an additional of
Php10 for the Busport Facility Fee. This is new since I didn’t pay for a
busport fee during my 2 trips last year. Though what I like about riding here
is that they always start their trip on time whether it is full or not. It was a
Monday morning and I was expecting heavy traffic during that time. But luckily,
the trip was faster than expected. It’s 2 hours travel time and we arrived at
the Batangas Pier at around 10am.
Fearing that we might be too early to ride a banca, good thing that the next trip was at 11am. Haha We bought our tickets at the Minolo Shipping Lines going to Muelle Port. As far as I know, there are 3 ports in Puerto Galera: White Beach Port, Muelle Port and Sabang. Contact your resort to know the port you’re going to.
Fearing that we might be too early to ride a banca, good thing that the next trip was at 11am. Haha We bought our tickets at the Minolo Shipping Lines going to Muelle Port. As far as I know, there are 3 ports in Puerto Galera: White Beach Port, Muelle Port and Sabang. Contact your resort to know the port you’re going to.
Currently, they have a new policy which you can only buy the One-way ticket unlike before that you can already buy the Two-way ticket. According to them, it was something related to their shuttle and the schedules of the banca. Also, this time, you need to pay the Terminal Fee at a separate lane unlike before that you can already pay the terminal fee at Minolo Shipping Lines. The One-way ticket is Php250 plus Php30 Terminal Fee.
This time, they gave a specific time of arrival of the banca unlike before that they just told us to wait without giving any time. We waited at Gate 3 and good thing that they have TV on the terminals now. They also have Wi-Fi now though it’s only good for 20 minutes.
Travel time from Batangas Port to Muelle is around 45 minutes. There are parts of the trip which are bumpy though most of the time I was just asleep. Haha I remembered being so scared during my first ride at the banca but then got used to it eventually.
The Muelle Port is a little bit different now compared to last
year. Once you dock at the port, all passengers must walk to the left side
until you reach a tent where you will need to pay for the Environmental Fee
(Php50). Before, you can already see the shuttle and tricycles waiting but now,
all the shuttle and tricycles are parked on the left side/near the market.
Since our resort/apartment is located at the other side of Puerto Galera,
there’s no free shuttle going there. Though usually, MSL provides free shuttle
like what I experienced last year. No worries since our resort/apartment is
near the Muelle Port. Since I’m already too tired, I agreed to the tricycle fee
of Php50/person going to our resort. That’s overpriced I know since the usual tricycle
fee is Php20-30 per trip only!! The resort was
only 5-10 minutes from Muelle Port.
Squares
Beachfront Apartments.
Looking for a new and affordable accommodation in Puerto Galera,
I came across the Squares Beachfront Apartments in Booking.com. I was kind of
hesitant to book here at first since it is located at the other side of Puerto
Galera, exactly at Small Tabinay Poblacion. Meaning, it’s a little bit far from
the famous White Beach plus the view here is different as well. (Already went
to Amihan Del Sol during my first trip here and Casa Mia on my 2nd
one). Good thing, I booked here since the place is serene and I felt like I was
transported to the Greek days. The place is huge with garden and of course,
beach front!
Our room was perfect as it has everything on it! The bed,
kitchen, dining rea, sala and veranda. Won’t discuss the room that much here
since I’ll be making a separate blog post on the room/accommodation on my next
post.
Lunch at Badladz Beach Resort.
By the way, we arrived here at exactly 1pm and rested until 3pm.
Since they don’t serve meals except breakfast, we had our late lunch at Badladz
Beach Resort which is the resort beside them.
After our late lunch, we immediately went to the market to buy
stuff. It’s 5-10 minutes away from Squares going to the market. We rode a
tricycle for Php 20/trip. The find it amusing that their grocery is filled with imported
ones since there are a lot of foreigners already living in Puerto Galera. Yay!
After going to the market, I had a chance to chill at the
veranda and just watch the sunset while listening to my current favorite song. I
slept early since I haven’t slept yet. Though I suddenly woke up at around 12md
and surprised to see a sky full of stars. I’m always fascinated with stars and
had a great time relaxing by just looking at the midnight sky. Stargazing by
the veranda.
2nd Day.
During our 2nd day, we decided to try their
American Breakfast. Servings were just okay though.
We also rented a motor bike since we saw one near Squares. It’s along the neighborhood and you can immediately see the only house who has a lot of motorbikes on their garage. The name of the place/house is Iron Cross Scooter Rentals. I just submitted my ID to them and paid Php400/overnight. Since I'm a bit familiar with the place, we opted to rent a motor bike to easily access the place without worrying about the time and budget. We also went back to the market to buy again since it’s cheaper to cook meals instead.
Of course, took some photos during my spare time.
We also rented a motor bike since we saw one near Squares. It’s along the neighborhood and you can immediately see the only house who has a lot of motorbikes on their garage. The name of the place/house is Iron Cross Scooter Rentals. I just submitted my ID to them and paid Php400/overnight. Since I'm a bit familiar with the place, we opted to rent a motor bike to easily access the place without worrying about the time and budget. We also went back to the market to buy again since it’s cheaper to cook meals instead.
Of course, took some photos during my spare time.
At around 3pm, we rode a motor bike going to Aninuan Beach. It’s
a little bit far from Squares and took us 15-20 minutes. I’m proud to say that
I can easily remember places so I relied on my guts going to Aninuan Beach. If
unfamiliar, you can ride a tricycle instead or use Waze.
Aninuan
Beach.
Aninuan Beach in Puerto Galera will always be my favorite beach
here ever! Been here twice and based on my experience, there’s always less
people here or sometimes even no one is here. This time, there is 1 group of
foreigner and Filipino tour guide on the place. But no worries since I didn’t
mind them.
So far, this is the best view I ever had at Aninuan!! It was
sunny and I perfectly see the majestic blue sea of Aninuan Beach. Though
honestly, I didn’t swim here due to the HUGE waves which is throwing me back to the
shore.
White
Beach.
Then we went at the famous White Beach since I want to
experience the sunset viewing here. What we did here was to walk from one side
going to the end side of the shore just to experience it. The waves near the
end of the shore is huge and it’s not swimmable. As much as I want to swim at
the White Beach, I didn’t swim again because the wind was making me cold. So I
decided to just watch the sunset by the beach instead.
Casa
Mia
We ate our dinner at Casa Mia Ristorante Italiano White Beach.
I’ve been here last year and I really love Italian foods. Please the view here
is so nice! Imagine having dinner with the sound of the waves and Italian music
as your background. Yaaas!
Going back at our resort from White Beach is a little scary for
me since it’s my first time riding a motorbike on the highway! I was praying
the entire time! haha At the resort, I had the time watch the TV (since I
haven’t watched the TV for a long time) plus just chill again by the veranda. Also,
I tried using the washing machine on our apartment!
Last Day.
I was planning to wake up early the next day but of course,
didn’t happen. In the morning, I decided to wash my clothes to lessen my
laundry back at home. Haha Yes, I did ¾ of my laundry at Puerto Galera! 😊
The check-out time at Squares Beachfront Apartments was at 12nn
and they were kind enough to call a tricycle to fetch us. We paid Php20 only
going to Muelle Port. Paid for another Php250 for the ticket going to Batangas
Pier and Php10 Exit Terminal Fee. There was a boat already waiting for
passengers. Travel time back to Batangas Pier is 45 minutes.
From Batangas Pier, we rode a Goldstar Bus again going to
Cubao/Kamias (I prefer to ride this bus though there’s a lot of different bus
like Alps, Jam Liner, DLTB, etc.). We waited for an hour before it took off. Travel
time was from 3pm – 7:30pm since it’s really traffic in Edsa during these
times.
The
Experience.
Booked a 3d2n at Puerto Galera but didn’t expect that still, it
wasn’t enough. We were planning to go to different places in Puerto plus a day
to just really relax but we didn’t have that much time. Going to the market and
cooking took most of the time during this trip though it’s okay since it’s much
cheaper to cook than to buy. Maybe next time I should have book 4 days
instead! Haha
Puerto Galera is my quick getaway place if I want to go to a
decent beach near Manila plus I think it’s affordable and worth it to go here.
I personally, LOVE the Squares Beachfront Apartments since it’s a home away from
home. The accommodation they provided is perfect since everything is there.
It’s huge and the place itself is good for a staycation.
As I always say, there’s still a lot of things I want to do here
so hopefully I can come back again this year or maybe next year. 😊
You can watch for my Youtube video below:
Expenses:
Bus from Cubao (Araneta Bus Port) to Batangas Pier via Goldstar
Bus – Php175
Araneta Bus Port Facility Fee – Php10
From Batangas Pier going to Muelle Port via MSL – Php250
Batangas Port Terminal Fee – Php30
Tricycle going to Squares – Php50/person (though it should be
around Php20-30/trip only!!)
From Squares tricycle going to the market – Php20
Rented a motorbike from Iron Cross/overnight – Php400
Gas – Php50 or 100?
From Muelle Port to Batangas Pier (MSL) – Php250
Exit Terminal Fee – Php10
Bus from Batangas Pier to Cubao/Kamias via Goldstar – Php175
OTHER LINKS:
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/puerto-galera-2018.html
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/where-to-stay-in-puerto-galera-squares.html
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/where-to-eat-in-puerto-galera-badladz.html
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/where-to-go-in-puerto-galera-aninuan.html
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/where-to-go-in-puerto-galera-white.html
OTHER LINKS:
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/puerto-galera-2018.html
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/where-to-stay-in-puerto-galera-squares.html
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/where-to-eat-in-puerto-galera-badladz.html
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/where-to-go-in-puerto-galera-aninuan.html
http://pinkislovebynix.blogspot.com/2018/07/where-to-go-in-puerto-galera-white.html
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