1st Getaway at Puerto Galera

     Hooray! This is my first time writing on a blog entry with my second time at a certain place. Yes! It’s my 2^nd time at White Beach, Puerto Galera but this time, it’s special for some reasons: first, I am with my childhood best friends – my beloved cousins; second, this is the birthday celebration of the twins: Allysa & Allyson and Sarah May; third, our first getaway (without the supervision of parents and first time after our graduation from college, yuhoo) and lastly, I called this a DIY Budget Friendly tour in which we spent less amount of money and really affordable.

            To start, I will share to you how we came up to this escapade. Way back then, we always loved to go to different beaches with our family. It became a tradition that every summer we went to beach to relax and bond; this maybe the reason why we really loved the ambience of the beach. Aside from it, we planned going to Baguio City but ended up going nothing because of work. Last February, Allyson & I together with my former workmates went to Puerto Galera in which I clearly said to myself that I want to go back with my family or friends that’s why I invited them.

            The plan was made 1 week before our departure. We decided to book for a room with 8-10 pax and since I was a little bit busy that moment, I called for help and Abby was the one who made for the reservation details. We planned to have our Puerto Galera on weekends (May 26-27) so my cousins left Manila to Batangas afternoon of 25 and early morning of 26. We arrived at Terminal 2 of Batangas Port around 9:30 in the morning and go straight to the ticketing office of Starlite Ferries, Inc for the vessel tickets and terminal 2 for the boarding and terminal fee. 

Just a simple background for the transportation of going to Puerto Galera…

            I was a former ticketing clerk at Starlite Ferries, Inc and I know how to go to White Beach by riding a ferry going Puerto Galera. You all know how bancas/boats are famous for Puerto Galera yet Starlite Ferries also offers a ride going on the same destination. Starlite Ferries, Inc is a roro (roll-on, roll off) passenger ship that offer Batangas to Calapan and vice versa, Roxas to Odiongan, Roxas to Caticlan, Matnog to Allen and Batangas to Balatero/ vice versa. For those who didn’t know yet… Yes, Starlite Feries has a trip going to Balatero, Puerto Galera. This ferry is perfect for those who have a car that wants to travel beyond the beautiful Heart of Asia. Starlite Polaris (name of the vessel) has two trips going to Balatero: 10 am & 6pm here in Batangas then 5 am & 3 pm at Balatero. This is a two hour travel from Batangas to Puerto. If you are afraid of big waves of the banca, this is perfect because you can relax while travelling. 

            If you want to ride on a banca, vessel tickets and boarding are located at Terminal 3 of Batangas Port. However, if you want to ride on a ferry, tickets are available at Terminal 3 but boarding and terminal fee is at Terminal 2.

            We left Batangas around 10:20 am and arrived at Balatero, 12:30 pm in the afternoon. Arriving at Balatero, we need to ride on a tricycle going to White Beach. It is a 5-10 mins away from Balatero, fare is P100 per tricycle and then you need to buy P10 terminal fee and P50 for environmental fee at Balatero Port. We reached Villa Mhar Resort (the one whom Abby reserved for our house in Puerto) at around 1:00 pm in the afternoon. It was so tiring and hot but it is a bright day anyway. We rest for awhile, watched tv, eat some food and update our social media accounts.

Just simple words about our stay at Villa Mhar…

            Villa Mhar Residences is located 5-10 mins away from White Beach. It offers transcient house with large rooms good for 6-8 pax/8-10 pax. It has also 3 queen size bed with tv and aircondition unit plus bathroom and a balcony. Some room has kitchen. In this transcient house, you can ask for towels and other kitchen utensils. Just call Ms. Vivian Mosquera if you need something; they are very friendly and helpful at the same time. Most of our needs binigay nila. Thank you for the good service, anyway!

            Approximately 3:00 pm, we leave our house for water activities. We decided to try water activities first and enjoy the beautiful White Beach. We roam around the White Beach for picture taking and flaunt our bodies. 

            Aside from it, we tried Dragon Boat! Omg dragon boat with the word, Balance!! We were instructed to balance the boat for us not to fell off the water. Susmaryosep! The current is really intense and I am really scared to fell off. I always shout, “Balance! Hoy balance!” I want to greet Sarah, a happy birthday but ended up saying, “Happy Birthday, Balance!” It was so fun! It was so fun to shout, to scream to make our dragon boat extra memorable. Sobrang saya bes! We were all thrilled and happy that moment. My scream was the one who make it unforgettable. Anyway, we spend less amount of it since we were beyond the number of pax required. After dragon boat, we swim and swim and swim. “Happiness comes from the beach” This pictures below will tell you how happy we are and we saw the beautiful sunset at Puerto Galera.

            We spend our night at house for most of us were tired and we only want chit-chat and a simple drink to spice up the night! One of the most unforgettable on that night is the sharing of stories on #HowToDealWithCrush. I will not talk more about it since it is very personal and confidential. (Talaga ba? Hahaha)

            Anyway before going to the next adventure, I will share the highlight of May 26. This is kinda memorable because of the “kunwareng surprise” sa mga my birthday. Sobrang laughtrip at parang bagong taon ang peg ng lamesa. HAHAHAHA! 

More photos:

              

DAY 2

            Good morning, Puerto Galera! We ate our simple breakfast and leave our house at 8:00 am for our Roadtrip to Tamaraw Falls. It is a 45 minute travel from White Beach to Tamaraw Falls. On my first experience, we rode on a tricycle but this time we ride on a jeepney. We had different group pictures in Tamaraw Falls, Virgin Beach Resort, Overlooking and Puerto Galera Mangrove Conservation and Ecotourism Area.

            We’ve a quick swim at Tamaraw Falls and Virgin Beach and then we have a 10-15 minute walk inside the Mangrove Forest. It was very beautiful and very relaxing. I can really feel the ambience of the beautiful nature. It is so calm and warmth; the pathway is made of kawayan and you can see different coral reefs and mangroves. You can see the picture below. We didn’t finish the whole area because we’re running out of time but we enjoyed it well. There were lots of pictures, videos and selfies.

            After the roadtrip, we went straight to the house and prepared our lunch. Haaaay. It’s so heartbreaking to leave Puerto Galera again. It is really so bitin yet fun! We enjoyed every single time we had in Puerto. I guess our DIY Budget Friendly Tour is successful and I’m looking forward to more adventures like this. Anyway, we left Puerto Galera at around 3:15 pm in the afternoon by riding (again) on a ferry boat of Starlite Ferries.

            This escape reminds me of how life is so precious. This is the very first time I experienced having an overnight stay with my cousin. I really can’t imagine how time really flies that at this moment, we were already an adult. What we did in Puerto Galera is somewhat like separating our younger self to adult. Being into this stage or experience is the start of entering the new chapter of our lives, this is the reason why we need to enjoy being single. You can do everything you want; you can go to different places anytime, anywhere with your friends or family.

            In addition to, things like this are somewhat like very hard to find since most of us had already work. It is very difficult to find a good time. Things may be that hard but if you think have time to spend, spend it to the fullest! They were a saying that, “Kapag pinaplano hindi tinutuloy,” this is true but on the opposite way it is not true because if you want something to happen, do your own way to make it happen. Sabi nga nila, kung gusto may paraan, kung ayaw maraming dahilan. This is just an overnight stay and I’m glad that this is the one of the best overnight stay I’ve had for this year.

            To my cousins who were with me, thank you for spending your time and money in Puerto Galera. I hope you enjoy our trip this time. I’m looking forward to more adventures with you soon! Happy Birthday… Balance! Hoy, balance! Balance! BAL-AANN-CEE-EEE!! God bless us all!!

Starlite Ferries Fare and Trips:

You may visit their facebook page and website for more information

Fb page: Starlite Ferries, Inc

Website: Starlite Ferries, Inc

You may contact also their numbers for bookings and reservation.

Parentahan sa Puerto Galera

    You may visit their facebook page or contact Ms. Vivian Mosquera for more information.

Fb Page: Parentahan sa Puerto Galera

Contact Person: Ms. Vivian Mosquera

Contact Number: 09279360969

Or, if you want more information about this, I can help you find affordable houses in Puerto Galera… All you need to do is comment on this post or message me on my social media accounts.

            There are also other websites or blogs who offered Puerto Galera tour packages, visit them or browse on google for more!

Below is our expense:

P.S. I used to edit videos but this time, this is just a quick edit that sums up our Puerto Galera Experience! Hope you enjoy watching!

Photo Credits:

Viviene Doce (@vivieneedoce)