Summer Escape to Puerto Galera

Joyce
Sep 13, 2016
4 min read

Updated: Oct 21, 2022

Away from all the stress and chaos of Manila, here we are escaping to the beautiful White Beach of Puerto Galera.

It is very rare for my friends and I to meet nowadays. With everyone just starting their own careers it's a miracle we even had this trip. This is a long overdue get together which makes it even more special to me. I love having the company of my friends, they make me laugh so easily without even trying. I remember back in college, we used to have sleepovers for all sorts of occasions. Some people might think that we had those party mood kind of sleepovers where we drink all night until everyone knocks off. On the contrary, we are very laid back kind of people. What really happens on our sleepovers, well we literally sleep-over. We just slack all day, watch a bunch of movies, order in food, tell the most random stories we had, we even occasionally had open forums, it was so random but I think it made our bond even more open and stronger. Okay so what did we learn from that commercial? That we are actually grandma's and grandpa's. Anyway, back to our Puerto Galera trip details.

It was pretty easy to get there, we met at Jam Liner (Kamuning, Cubao) and boarded the bus going to Batangas Pier. At Batangas Pier there are different lines of ferries that would take you to White Beach and other beaches of Puerto Galera. The ride lasted for just one and a half hours and ta-da, we're at the White Beach. Upon being dropped off by the ferry we walked quite a distance to reach the Villa Bienvenida Resort where we had a reservation. I will put below the ilk of their website if you are curious about their rates. We had a peaceful stay at the resort. Their rooms were clean and spacious enough for four persons to share. It was also air conditioned and located at the beach front. I think it is good that they are located quite far from the entertainment section of the beach. That section was very much alive at night is pretty loud. Being far away, we were not bothered by any noise or whatsoever. However, if you are looking for a quiet spot to just chill, we found a nice little bar just beside the resort we stayed in, unfortunately I forgot the name but it is literally just a beside the Villa Binevenida Resort, I think it was only a net that was between them. There were just a few couples hanging their and some singers who performs very chill mood kind of songs. It was a perfect place to relax and hangout before heading to bed.

On our first full day at the beach I was overwhelmed by how much activities you could do in one beach. First on the list is snorkeling, then there's fish feeding, island hopping, banana boat rides, jet ski rentals, parasailing, henna tattoos, hair braiding, massages, and so much more. The people there are very nice and accommodating. The only thing that made me cringe was how expensive things like shampoo, soap, those kind of stuff are sold there. Although it is very understandable considering that they have to travel quite a distance for those products, so it was fine you just have to shake it off.

The first activity we did was of course was to go for a swim, take pictures all that stuff, you know the drill. There were a lot of "agents" that were on stand-by. They would offer you different packages for different activities. The package we got, we were able to explore on two beaches, experience fish feeding, and snorkeling. I can't remember the names of the two beaches but they were both so pretty and had very white sand. The time we went there was perfect because we were able to witness the beautiful sunset on our way back to the White Beach.

The next day, we got up early. Ate breakfast, rested, went for a swim, and finally went on a banana boat ride. We were dragged around the entire island before we were tipped over. It was kind of a being on a tour but with a twist. The banana boat ride was so much fun regardless the fact that we all bumped our heads into one another every time we were dropped. Again, one of those things that you just have to shake off.

After the banana boat ride we just stayed for a little while at the beach and later on started to get ready to go home. We checked out the resort at twelve noon and boarded the same ferry that took us to the beach. Same course of travel and then we all parted ways to head home.

I love this trip, I love everything about it minus the sun burn but meh it was worth it. It was refreshing to get out of Manila and forget about everything just to have fun, at least for a weekend. It was enough to recharge to me even though it felt so "bitin".

Well time to get back to reality.

By the way, I encourage you to take trips like this. If you're worried about budget, save up at least 3,000 pesos and you are set to go. That's all I had for this trip. It includes all the fares, the accommodation, the food, even the budget for the fun activities we did. Go ahead and grab your friends now and make your own adventures. Go now for some vitamin Sea and get recharged.