Weekend trip in Puerto Galera

Summer in the Philippines isn't complete without swimming at the beach or pool. If given with enough time, resources, and preparation, I would want to spend much time taking a dip in some clear waters. Especially in summer time when it can get extremely hot and humid, who would not enjoy a trip to the beach?

Last April 29, we arranged a trip to White Beach, Puerto Galera (PG) with the TPWNs (read as Tapawan: my husband's family). Unfortunately, Tatie, my father-in-law did not come with us because it was far. Travel from Naic to PG could take at least five hours so we opted to leave early. There were a lot of tourists waiting for their scheduled trip, both locals and Koreans! We would have chosen to go to PG on weekdays to avoid the crowd but unfortunately, Michael's siblings could go during weekends only.

An hour and a half boat ride - Father & Sons Shipping Line

Upon arrival in White Beach and after paying the environmental fee, we started looking for an affordable accommodation for two days and two nights. We did not book in advance because we were quite confident that we could find one when we were there already. After half an hour of search, we chose a non-beachfront AC cottage with a kitchen for Php 2 500/night. It wasn't a bad deal at all but it was surprisingly more pricey than our accommodation in El Nido, Palawan! Anyway, it was nice that they didn't charge us with a per-head fee.

Welcome to White Beach!

We put our bags in the cottage and took a rest for a while before we went out for a late lunch. We ate at Foodtrip sa Galera and strolled at the shore after. We decided to buy at the talipapa and cook for dinner instead. Late that afternoon, we had a swim and there were a lot of people! I could say that the water was not as clear as before. When I went there for the first time, I was actually amazed at the blue waters!

Lunch at Foodtrp sa Galera. Ryan and Ruth weren't here yet.

The next day, we woke up early and headed to the town church to listen to the mass. The ride from our accommodation to the church took 20 minutes; it was far! Only a few people were waiting for the mass to start. After the mass, we asked around to find the market and buy food for our meals. We wanted to save as much and the kitchen in our cottage was a big help. I think we spent around Php 1 500, good for three meals for seven persons.

Around ten in the morning, Ryan and Ruth (Michael's siblings) arrived in PG. We called Ate Jenny to set an island hopping tour for us. We got to know her when we were looking for a cottage. Island hopping tour costs Php 1 500 for our whole group. Snorkeling gears were also included, but we had to go to another port where the boats were docked and were waiting for the tourists. We listed our names in the logbook, paid some fees (which I already forgot how much), and waited for the boat.

At the port, waiting for the boat.

The first activity in the tour was snorkeling. The water was clear and blue and we saw corals and some fish. The tour guide told us that we could rent small boats to get us to prettier snorkeling sites where we could do other activities such as fish feeding. We did not take the offer and we went off to another place with a lot of sea stars.

Snorkeling and looking for schools of fish!

There were no other boats where we snorkeled hence, the sea creatures underwater were not disturbed that much. We enjoyed seeing the sea stars and colorful fish!

Holding on the katig because the current are quite strong

For the last stop, we sailed to a beach and spent an hour relaxing there. We ate some snacks that we brought and took pictures there. We left when it was almost five in the afternoon.

Beachin'

Michael and I, with our toasted skin.

Underwater shot attempt - failed

This was such a good shot - thanks to our tour guide slash photographer.

TPWN (L-R: Michael, Ruth, me, Nanie, Theresa, Maan, Ryan)

Last shot before going to the boat

Going back to the port

Happy, sunny, faces!

Bright sun!

The tour was quite tiring but fun! We took a shower back in the cottage and prepared dinner. That night, we checked out the beach to see what's there to do. It was loud and crowded because all the bars and resto had different shows. There were fire dancers and people drinking alcohol almost everywhere. It was like a town fiesta at the beach. After checking out the strip of bars, we walked back to our cottage and slept.

The morning after, we looked for souvenir shirts and items. Our trip back to Batangas port was at ten o'clock AM so we had an early lunch. We reached Naic after five hours of travel.

PG is a relatively cheaper destination with a lot of beach and inland activities to offer. For people who are on a budget and want a nice beach with a night life, PG is the answer. If ever my feet takes me again to PG, I'll definitely try the inland tours! :)