It was January 4 when I decided to go to Puerto Galera, I invited my travel buddies Tin and Roxy to come with me. Our plan was to catch the early morning trip to Batangas City Pier via Alps The Bus Inc, they have a terminal in Alimall Cubao. The bus departed the terminal at 5:30am, fare was 160-170.00. It took us only 2 hrs to reach the port.
We arrived at around 7:30 and went straight to the ticketing booth of Minolo Shipping Lines (recommended by our hotel personnel in Puerto Galera), fare was 500 for a two way ticket.
The boat docked at Muelle Port in Puerto Galera (10-15 mins ride from White Beach. Since Minolo Shipping Lines has its own free shuttle to the White Beach, transportation getting there was never a problem.
After minutes of zigzag and bumpy ride, we alighted in front of Sea Jewel Lodge located at the White Beach. Since Rem's Virgin Hotel, where we stayed was not beachfront, we had to walk for few minutes.
The Hotel is simple, it has a small pool that adds to attract guests.
After we checked in, we rested for a while and changed our clothes and started our first day with the inland tour. The tour composed of five destinations; Tamaraw and Tukuran Falls, Hanging Bridge, Mangrove Forest and Virgin Beach.
I highly recommend that travelers should avail a package tour using a tricycle for safety and convenience since the said destinations are far from each other.
Tamaraw Falls (45mins away from White Beach) was our first destination, where we had our lunch of grilled liempo and sinigang na isda, and fresh buko juice for our drinks.
Second stop was Tukuran Falls (another 30-40mins away from Tamaraw Falls). In order to reach Tukuran, one should either trek for 30 mins or ride a carabao taxi.
We chose the latter, since trying different things excite us.
The journey to the falls was not that easy, though still enjoyable and thrilling. We had to cross 6 rocky rivers using the carabao taxi (goodluck to our asses lol). The falls itself is not really exceptional, but the trip going there is undeniably exhilarating, it's really a must try.
Our third stop was the Hanging Bridge (a nearly 10 min away from Tukuran falls).
We had to stop at one point on our way to our fourth destination to take a picture of a beautiful top view of the sea.
Next was the Mangrove Forest, our fourth destination, it has a bridgeway for the people to freely walk through (always watch your steps, some parts of the bridge has large gaps).
Our last stop was the Virgin Beach, it is a pebbled shore beach which has a rock formation with a grotto on top.
We went back to the White Beach around 4pm and took a dip in our hotel's swimming pool till dinner, which we had Pork Sinigang and Pork Adobo.
Our second day started with tapsilog, coffee for Roxy and orange juice for Tin and I. Around 9 am, we headed straight to the port to start our island hopping. Since lunch was not included in our tour package that day, we asked the hotel staff to cook our all pork meals lol.
Our first stop (Underwater Cave)
Only small boats sail to this area, so we rented a smaller boat after series of haggling situations. haha
This is not really an underwater cave since its not fully submerged in water, but still worth a visit.
To be able to reach the opening of the cave, we had to climb a small limestone formation (just watch your steps).
GOING UP
GOING DOWN
INSIDE THE CAVE
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VIEW FROM TOP
GOING OUT
SECOND STOP (Giant Clam)
We had not seen plenty of giant clams while being dragged by our small boat (yes we were dragged by our small boat while snorkeling) only rope to grab on to.
Third Stop (Fish Feeding)
Fourth Stop (Islands and Beaches)
Most of the beaches in Puerto Galera are non- swimmer friendly, the water is deep even only few feet from the shore.
Our lunch by the beach (ordered from the hotel)
We headed back straight to the hotel after a whole tiring day of island hopping. We again took a dip in their pool before we went to our room that lasted for an hour.
We waited til night and decided to eat at Food Trip, it's by the beach so we had to walk by the beach. Tin and I had baby back ribs, Roxy had Sisig, egg and rice and we ordered a pair of beers after.
We waited for 30 mins to watch the firedancing shows at the beach and went back to our room after.
We went to bed early to get enough rest and prepare to travel back to Manila the next day. We woke up around 8 am, had our breakfast, packed our things, checked out at 10 and waited for the free shuttle of Minolo Shipping Lines, luckily we did not miss the last morning trip of the boat back to Batangas.
Expenses:
Bus MNL-BATANGAS PORT---- 170.00
Boat to Batangas Port To Puerto Galera (Muelle Port)---- 500.00 (back and forth)
Rem's Virgin Hotel (1,400/night x 2nights/3 persons)---- 934.00
Inland Tricycle Tour (1,500/3persons)---- 500.00
Dinner---- 135.00
Entrance fee (Tamaraw Falls)---- 35.00
Lunch at Tamaraw falls (738/3persons)---- 246.00
Carabao Taxi (400/3persons)---- 234.00
Entrance fee (Tukuran Falls)---- 50.00
Boat for Island Hopping (1,500/3persons)---- 500.00
Small Boat (Underwater Cave, Coral Garden, Giant Clam 1,000/3persons)---- 334.00
Lunch (475/3persons)---- 159.00
Dinner---- 285.00
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GRAND TOTAL: 4,082.00
