What to do in Puerto Galera: 3 DAY SUGGESTED ITINERARY (for families)

DAY 1:

• Depart Manila 6AM for Batangas Port in time for the 10AM ferry ride to Puerto Galera.
• Arrive Puerto Galera or Muelle, Sabang and White Beach after lunch.
• Check in at resort/hotel. Take the afternoon at leisure.
  
• Canvas boat transportation or banca for snorkeling, scuba diving or beach hopping

DAY 2:

• After breakfast, go beach hopping, snorkeling at Coral Reef or scuba dive at dive areas.
• Back at resort late in the afternoon.

DAY 3:

• Spend the morning at the resort. Check out at noon. Take the ferry back to Batangas Pier, arrive Manila late pm.

WHERE TO STAY:

1. Sabang- mostly dive resorts, there are nice resorts in Sabang that is good for families and couples in La Laguna Beach. It is more peaceful and relaxing there.
2. Muelle -town proper of Puerto Galera. It is generally as small town. Not touristy, only few place to eat. Very quiet at night.
3. White Beach - Long stretch of white sand beach. Noisy and crowded with young travelers who wants to have fun. Ideal for young people. Do not expect fancy resorts or hotels though. They have a variety of apartment type resorts in the area. if you are running on a tight budget, they have camp tents for rent at 300 a day. Take note, it is a 1x1 tent. So do not expect anything else --not even a comfort room and privacy.

Last minute holy week trip: PUERTO GALERA-Lovely breakfast at El Galleon DAY 3

DAY 3

Since it was our last day, we decided to spend the morning near our resort. We booked the last ferry at 1:55PM to Batangas Port.
Had breakfast buffet at El Galleon for P295 plus tax.(not a huge selection, but cheap since a plated meal almost costs the same) They have assorted

breads, ham, bacon hot dogs, congee, fruits and egg station where you can request how you want your eggs done. Just as i always say, quality is better than quantity for the food was delicious--all of them. The omelet has melting cheese inside. They also had the best hot dog Ive ever tasted. To those who know me knows I am not a fan of processed meats like hot dogs and I've never liked the taste. But this one is really good!


I asked the waiter where they got them and he said somewhere in Pampanga. He doesn't know the brand though.. Oh well..

The pools were inviting at El Galleon and we were allowed to swim there at no charge. The staff are so friendly wished we stayed there. But they were fully booked. Rates at the resort are less than $100 for a standard room.

The kids swam till 10:30AM. We went back to the resort so my son can have his morning nap while my daughter opted to stay at the beach to play sandcastles.
We checked out at 12noon. Elmer the boatman was already waiting outside the resort to bring us to the Sabang port. This guy really excels in service.
Had some snack at the restaurant beside the port where the ferry was docked. We decided to take the 1Pm ferry ride instead since it was still early and we have nothing to do.

We arrived Batangas Port at 230PM and soon departed for Manila.
Traffic was smooth and easy that we even had time to do a side trip to Tagaytay and buy some corn along the way. We were back home at 5PM.

Last minute holy week trip: PUERTO GALERA - A day of fun filled activities, DAY 2

DAY 2

I woke up very early in a quest to find a hotel that has an available room for the night. We were not able to sleep well last night. It was horrible. The kids had mosquito bites. My eldest daughter woke up with insect bites on her eye and face. She looked like she had a boxing match and lost. Her face was red and swollen. The aircon was not working so we were transferred to a room that was so smelly, all 5 of us were squeezed in one small room.
Tip: If travelling with kids & toddlers, it is best to bring Lysol disposable wipes. Clean the doorknobs, telephone receivers, shower knobs, all switches, tables and anything your toddler might try to eat. You will be surprised that no matter how 'clean" the room looks, your wipes ends up with amazing colors from dirt. I always bring them with me to wipe airplane armrests, tables, etc.
All the resorts in Small La Laguna were fully booked (as it was holy week) except for one - RED SUN RESORT. God answered our prayers as they have one room available only for one night. Checked out the resort, the rooms were clean with balcony facing the sea. Room rates are at P2000 or $44 per night plus $11 for extra bed to which they provided 2 extra mattress.
I went back to Portofino to cancel my 2nd night with the resort, the lady-in-charge (Abigail) tried to persuade us to stay (She agreed with my request to have the room charged at $50 a night.) As I was about to reconsider, we heard some commotion in the ceiling above us, so my husband, Abigail & I looked up to see what it was. Lo and behold, a white mice jumped in front of us! Abigail was speechless. That confirmed our decision to really move out--fast! Sorry Abigail, she is a nice girl and really friendly but the resort is lousy. She could work in another resort though. No offense to the owner--who I believe is just there in the resort but didn't even try to talk to us.

Photo of Red Sun Resort
Checked out at Portofino and checked-in at Red Sun resort--Which my daughter calls the White Castle (having just watched Alice in Wonderland) and believes the white queen resides there. That helped us a lot because she was in her best behaviour the remainder of our stay. Hoping the white queen would come and visit her if she was a good girl.
We were ready for our boat ride at 9AM.
Tip: Canvas around the area first before getting a banca (boat ride). Out of 5 offers of Php1500 or $33 for a whole day of banca ride, we were able to find Elmer the boatman 0063928-2652897 who agreed to use his boat the whole day and come back the next day to bring all of us to Sabang Port for same Price of P1500. Normally a boat ride from the hotel to Sabang port costs P300. So it was a good deal. Saved us P300.
We asked Elmer-our boatman to buy fish and pork liempo, rice and salted eggs so we can have a picnic lunch at a secluded beach. He happily obliged and said he will be the one to cook for us.
So off we went to Coral Reef for snorkeling. The current was strong so we rented a small banca for p500. The banca has abaca ropes we can hang on too while we snorkel. You don't have to paddle or swim. You just hang on to the Abaca ropes and the banca will bring you around the water.

After snorkeling, we headed to White beach where my daughter
& I had our hair braided (insisted by my husband) for P100/person.

Ate some banana Q (a popular street food, deep fried banana with caramelized sugar coating) and toron banana rolled in lumpia or egg roll and fried with sugar) for P10each and went back to our banca.

Boat ride: P1500 rental for the whole day. Includes: White beach, Coral reef, and stop at a secluded beach for lunch) Added bonus fro our boatman Elmer: He cooked BBQ lunch for us, and went back to our resort the next day (on Day 3) to bring us to Sabang port for our ferry ride back to Batangas.
We reached our Banca past 12 noon. Elmer brought us to a secluded beach where he cooked us



Barbequed Tilapia, Tanigue, Liempo and salted eggs with tomato and onions.

lunch while we frolicked in the clear waters.
Our lunch was even best we have eaten so far. Good food and the fish was really fresh.
After lunch we decided to head back to the resort as the kids were tired. Finished our beach hopping at 4PM.
After our nap, we headed to Sabang beach again to look for restaurants in the area. All were overpriced! P400-600 for meat dishes and the waiters not so friendly so we decided to return to Hemingways. Place was full of people. We decided to wait.
Tip: El Galleon at La Laguna Beach have Indian Buffet every fridays at P495 per person. Not Bad.. But we don't like Indian food so we settled for Hemingways.
My daughter had the same Carbonara, while we ordered their Fried Chicken for less than P300. And their Roast Beef at P500+. All our meals came with soup, rice/potaoes & coffee and an orange brandy shot. Servings were huge. We skipped the Orange Brandy as it was too strong. Only my husband had it.
We finished our heavy meal and happily went back to the resort.
A perfect way to end our day.

Last minute holy week trip: PUERTO GALERA How to get to Puerto Galera, Philippines, DAY 1

Where: Puerto Galera, Mindoro, Philippines
When: April 1-3, 2010, Holy WeekWho: Family of 4 with one nanny Total = 5 pax (3 adults, 2 kids)
Hotel: Portofino in Small Lalaguna, Sabang, Mindoro, Red Sun hotel
Budget: P15,000
Total money spent: 13,300

We left Manila at 7AM for our long trip to Puerto Galera. Traffic was heavy in South Super Highway, Our kids were getting a little bored (ages 2 & 4) so we stopped by Petron Gas Station and had breakfast at Mcdonalds. After which we continued with our journey to Batangas.
Here are some tips for stopovers: Along South Super Highway after Susana Heights Exit, there is a Shell Gas station where you can have your toilet stop and have a quick snack. They have Jollibee, KFC and a few other fastfoods. One kilometer away is a Petron Gas Station, the have McDonalds, KFC...
We Arrived at Batangas Pier at 1030AM. Without the traffic in South Super Highway, our trip may have been less than 2 hours.
How to get to Batangas Pier:
From Manila, take the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). Turn right at the Sto. Tomas & Batangas Exit (the second to the last exit). As you ascend to the National Highway, just go straight. Watch out for the STAR Tollway signs along the road. As you continue on towards Sto. Tomas, you will see a large overpass. A few meters on your right you will see the STAR Tollway entrance. Follow the signs to Batangas Port Exit. With no traffic (normally its a fast and easy ride along the Star Tollway) you will reach the Port in approximately 30 minutes.
Upon arrival at Batangas Port, we parked our car at the the parking lot for overnight parking--It is 150/day. and waited inside the terminal for our 12PM ferry ride to Sabang.
NOTE: It is hot & humid inside the terminal (in spite of having split type aircons in the room), so I strongly advise to wear light clothing, especially the kids.
We tried to look for a place to eat while waiting for our ferry ride, but only found food carts (donuts, pizza..) in the departure area. (So if you're really hungry, be sure to eat before heading to Batangas Port. There are many places to eat before entering the Star Tollway) We boarded the ferry at 1230PM but for unknown reasons, the ferry left the port at 2PM. Arrived Sabang at 330PM.
Our hotel picked us up at the docking area along Sabang Beach and we walked the long route to
OUR HOTEL: Portofino in Small La Laguna in Sabang. The hotel's structure was nice.It has a homey and had a Spanish feel into it. The staff were friendly... But.. As soon as we entered and checked out the room, we discovered that the air con wasn't working, the shower area was so dirty, The room had a bad odor.. There is a spooky feeling.. We told the front desk about our concerns and they said they will have the problem fixed later in the day. For $104 a day, It was not worth it. We left the resort hoping they will have the problems fixed.
Since we are all famished, we left the resort hotel and went back to Sabang beach. Had late lunch at Hemingway's Bistro. The food was a little bit pricey but all restaurants in Sabang are expensive. Staff are friendly and nice, so is the owner, who is German. Approx. 250-395 per meal which comes with soup, salad and coffee.. Not bad. Servings are huge by Philippine standards. Good for sharing.
One thing I noticed: No kiddie meals in all restaurants we've been to. And quite expensive to shell out P395 a meal (drinks not yet included) for nannies.




After our meal, we enjoyed walking along the corals by the hotel. It was really amazing what we saw just one meter away from the beach.
Kids stayed in the hotel for dinner while my husband & I left for White Beach. Tricyle ride was P300-round trip. (the ride took 30 minutes from Sabang to White Beach) Our driver waited for us while we explored White Beach. White beach is jam-packed with party goers! the area was so noisy and I was really glad we are staying in Sabang. My kids would be shocked if we had stayed in White Beach. It is definitely not a place for conservatives. We had BBQ dinner by the beach. But quickly left after our meal and went back to Sabang to rest.
Arrived at the hotel past 11PM.

Fresh start

Hi Everyone!
Every time friends or families are traveling, they would always ask me to make their itinerary, recommend places to go,where to eat and where to stay.
Of course, every time, i get thrilled and excited to share and give tips--even to the point of making their day to day itinerary--that my husband would complain and say, "you should make money out of it." Well, making a business out of it is out of the question.. and then i thought, why not write my thoughts in a blog? so everyone can read and maybe it can help them with their travels.
I'm totally new to blogging so please bear with me if I make mistakes along the way..
This blog is about my travel experiences and everything in between.
My family and I love to travel so I thought it would be nice to share to everyone who also loves to visit new places and experience new things.
Till my next blog! :-)