I Survived Puerto Galera 2004-2008

Going to Puerto Galera

The easiest mode of transportation to Puerto Galera is via the land-and-sea route that begins in Pasay City in Manila or in Cuba, Quezon City. Trips are frequent and buses arrive at Batangas Pier in about 2-3 hours depending on the time of the day. However, one needs to ensure that bus is headed for the Batangas Pier. The cheapest form of transportation is via the commercial buses of Tritran, BLTB, and Jam. Although the schedules are quite erratic, the earliest trip leaves at 6 am with one hour interval. It costs around Php200 per head on a one way travel.

Batangas City Pier

From Batangas, reaching Puerto Galera is possible by sea. Passengers can have a choice between basic outriggers to state-of-the-art air conditioned fast ferries. The RORO (roll-on/roll-off) trip is another viable option. The basic outriggers costs Php450 per head on a two-way ticket. Additional charges would be the environmental fee of Php50 and the terminal fee of Php20 each on per head.

the boat ride going to White Beach Puerto Galera

Puerto Galera is definitely one of the most popular and enticing tourist attractions in the Philippines today. To accommodate the increasing number of tourists and guests who continuously flock the place year after year, numerous outstanding hotels and resorts are available to offer the best facilities, outstanding services, and super affordable rates for the enjoyment and pleasure of everyone. Among the most popular are as follows:

• Portofino Beach Resort situated in Sabang Beach area
• Atlantis Dive Resort in Sabang area
• Mermaid Resort in Sabang area
• Coco Beach Island Resort
• Puerto Nirvana Beach Resort
• Marco Vincent Beach Resort, a luxurious beach resort
• Apartelle de Francesca
• Coral Cove Resort
• Summer Connection Beach Resort
• La Laguna Beach Club and Dive Center
• Buri Resort and Spa
• Mabuhay Dive Resort
• Dreamwave Hotel
• Bluewater Lodge
• Lagundian Hills
• Encenada Beach Resort
• Capt’n Gregg’s Accommodation
• Sea View Dive Resort
• Tamaraw Beach Resort
• Bellevue Cottages, one of the original resorts in Puerto Galera
• AAA Apartelle
• Queen Mary’s Inn
• White Beach Resort

our rooms in White Beach Resort

Whenever I would plan to go to White Beach Puerto Galera, I have always trusted Ate Maricel to do the booking for me. I met her in one of my trips to Puerto Galera sometime in 2004. Since then, she would always be able to personally book me in one of the cheap but decent accommodations. Among our favorites would be White Beach Resort. Initially, the resort had 2 floors all with air conditioned rooms, with rooms that could accommodate a maximum of 6 persons.  I have always requested to be booked at the top floor because one would be able to view the entire White Beach front view from the west coast. You would also have the mountain view on the other side or the east coast. The room rates are very cheap indeed. It ranges anywhere from Php 700 during the off season or regular months. But the rates could go up to as much as Php 3000 to 5000 during the summer months or peak seasons. I stronly suggest you get Ate Maricel’s services. You’d be met by her at White Beach with placards and all. She can even recommend you to the cheapest tours around Puerto Galera. Or just let her arrange everything for you and have a truly wonderful and affordable vacation in Puerto Galera. Just tell her that Divine highly recommends her for Galera trips. You may reach Ate Maricel through +639176998646 or +639266463332 or +639159502071.

one of the rooms that we stayed at

In terms of food, you can’t really go wrong in White Beach. The fare is not fussy, and almost all restaurants offer a sumptuous treat of grilled seafood and meat with a number of traditional Filipino dishes. There isn’t much difference from one restaurant to another, and a good advice would be to follow your nose and go with your instinct. However for those looking for something more western, there is a quaint family-owned restaurant called Italian Corner which serves, well, you guessed it—Italian food. The joint, located on the corner of the main road and the main alley leading to White Beach, serves a mean array of pizza and pasta. The restaurant is owned by an Italian and his Filipina wife, just ask around and locals are sure to know where it is.

You wouldn’t run out of things to do in Puerto Galera White Beach is a good jumping point to all of these—water sports, food tripping, massage, dancing, or just plain sunbathing. All you have to do is hang out at the beach and the activities will be sure to come to you: ladies selling trinkets or offering a relaxing massage by the sand, or boatmen offering snorkeling experience for under 500 pesos per person. So sit back, relax, enjoy your mango shake, and let Puerto Galera take care of the rest.Aside from the usual beach activities that you can very well enjoy in White Beach Puerto Galera the souvenir items, massages, henna tattoos, and braided hairs are some of the unique things that you could try while you are on the island. As with anything, try to haggle for the prices that you are asked to pay. That is the best way to get the most value for your money in the island Mindoro. Take a trip to all the souvenir shops built around the area to find the cheapest prices. Sometimes, vendors price their items differently to attract more customers. They are after the quantity of customers and not the quality of their revenues. You must scout for the former kind because they can give you lower prices for the same items. In case of having a massage, approach the locals who can offer it for a lower price than going to a spa parlor. Massages by locals are equally relaxing and soothing and cost-efficient at that. Henna tattoos and hair braiding can be done in sleek style parlors that are also within the vicinity. Henna tattoos are usually priced according to the size of your chosen skin art while hair braids are priced according to hair length.

We did tried snorkelling and banana boat ride though in Puerto Galera. For the snorkelling, you can rent the boat at the cheapest Php1700, depending actually on the number of people. It does include the snorkelling gear. You have to trust though the boatman’s decisions as far as the snorkelling sites. As for the banana boat ride, it costs Php200 per person and would take you for a ride around 15-20 minutes. We also tried the hiking experience, very tiring though! I thought I would be able to make it to our destination and when I did, I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it home. But I did survived Puerto Galera!

True enough, there are many things about the White Beach that makes it an amazing destination for Puerto Galera Philippines visitors. Make sure that you have cold cash to pay for your place to stay. There are no ATMs yet within walking distance. If you get short of cash and all that you have on hand is your ATM card, you will have to go to the town proper to withdraw some cash. Don’t forget to bring your own drinking water as bottled water sold at White Beach is very expensive!