Puerto Galera’s pristine and breathtaking view surely soothes your innermost desire to relax and pause from the demands of the world. With its accommodating and hospitable locals, this makes your vacation truly worthwhile.
How our day went
3 days and 2 nights stay makes it already possible to travel Puerto Galera and enjoy water-related activities. Our itinerary is filled with staycation and is meant for full rest and a little adventure. Here’s what we did.
At 7:00am, we rode a bus going to Batangas pier. It cost us 175 pesos only. Take note that we left at November 3, 2016. Hence, it’s not peak season. There’s no need to reserve for a ride. Since this time was kinda late, we arrived at Batangas Pier at 10:00am.
Upon taking off the bus, there’s ton of people who will offer you rides going to White Beach, Puerto Galera. I strongly suggest to leave them and go straight to the payment office in Batangas Pier. These people even asked for ‘tip’ even if all they did was to lead us straight to the payment center. Aside from that, they would try to sell Mineral Water for PHP 180.00, because in Puerto Galera it cost 320 (which is true). This would be discussed further later.
We highly recommend Manolo Shipping Lanes. They offer 500php round trip ride going to White Beach. This includes the shuttle from the port to White Beach.
The ride was roughly 1 – 1 1/2 hours. It was raining when we left. Good thing this was still fine enough for us to leave. Upon arriving at the port, we rode in the shuttle provided by Manolo Shipping Lines. This would send you straight to White beach.
At the White Beach, you would definitely meet a lot of hotel offers from the locals. This was overwhelming because they would insist and pursue your ‘yes.’
In our case, we bought a promo voucher from Metro Deal. We stayed in Blue Water Lodge. For three days and two nights, we only paid PHP 500.00/head. We’re four so that’s PHP 2,000. However, do not expect from them that much. The room contained two queen-sized beds, TV with cable, air-conditioner, shower with heater, and WIFI connection in a certain area of the lodge. There were times that blackouts happen, be ready by charging your devices and power banks.
We ate our lunch there at 12:00nn. There’s no need to pay any entrance in White Beach. You could just enter without paying. However, you would deal with overpriced food offered there. A typical lunch would cost you a hundred pesos. In our case, we searched for the cheapest small carinderia which offered PHP 60.00 viand and PHP 10.00 rice. This was the cheapest meal we ever had. We bought 2 viands and 4 rice, total of PHP 160.00. (I swear, this was the cheapest!)
Upon checking in the hotel, we decided to rest for a while and watch TV. It was raining back then. Therefore, we waited for the rain to stop. We enjoyed this rest. Then, we changed our clothes and headed straight to the beach.
Since we went in PG on a typical day, there’s quite few tourists. Thus, this was a perfect time for us to travel and and have fun! 🙂
After enjoying the beach, we got hungry and ate our early dinner at 5:00pm. The meal that we ate cost us PHP110.00 + PHP 10.00 for the coffee. This was in Food Trip sa Puerto Galera. This was their version of expensive Tapsilog and other silog meals.
We tried to sneak out of our comfort zones by watching people to stay up late by the beach. The common scenario was the usual drinks, dancers, singers, stand up comedians, and the PDA of some couples. We just watched them. We had our three cups of coffee that day so drinking ‘other’ drinks was not feasible and was never an option.
So that’s how our first day went.
For the second say, we woke up late. At 8:00am, we were just eating our breakfast. Then, at 9:00am, we decided to experience island hopping. This was totally different compared to the other island hopping that we had because it was raining. The weather was unpredictable so, at first, we were hesitant to have this one. Good thing the ate whom we talked to was generous of her time to wait for us and to explain how things work.
We got in the boat at 9:30am. Kuya Johnny, Ate’s husband, was the sailor and there was our boatman, Kuya Jayson.
After our trip, we immediately went to our lodge and stayed there. It was raining so we hardly had enough chance to enjoy outside.
We tried their Mami which cost us PHP 45 each. Then, we went back to our hotel and slept early. We prepared earlier because we have to leave at six in the morning.
So basically, this was our trip. We haven’t tried the Tamaraw Falls because of the weather. Sadness. But, we enjoyed our trip.
Recommendations:
1. Bring water. ALWAYS. SERIOUSLY. Bottled water is gold here. 1 liter of mineral water is 50 pesos.
2. Book your hotel earlier. Don’t search for one once you arrive in White Beach. It’s quite costly and hassle for you, too.
3. Everything here is sold. It’s costly, too. Drinking water, coffee, and meals are expensive. Controlled price applies here. Thus, if you’re thinking about buying pasalubong, shirt is 90php, keychains are 5 for 100. Candies and pastillas are 4 for 100.
4. Pay two-way trip for the ‘tawid’ trip in your ferry. Basically, this is cheaper.
Final Words
✔️ Generally, locals accommodate well.
✔️ Never go there on a rainy season. You won’t experience PG fully.
✔️ Bring your own food, and water if you want to explore Puerto Galera budget-friendly.
Puerto Galera Itinerary for Three Days and Two Nights Plus Estimated Budget
Budget
Cubao (JAM Bus) – Batangas Pier – 175php x 2
Ferry (Manolo Shipping Lines ) – White Beach – 500 (round trip)
Blue Water Lodge 3D 2N Accomodation – 500/head
Island Hopping – 1500 (4-6 pax) (400 each for group of four)
Total: Php 1,752.00
This does not include your meals. It’s all up to you how to manage your meals. I suggest you can just bring your own food for lesser and cheaper expenses. In our case, you can survive in Puerto Galera for Php 2,500 plus all the meals in White Beach. Add more if in case you need to buy pasalubong.
Have fun on your next trip!
Kim