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.
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