72 Hours in Puerto Galera

In 2009, my college friends and I went to a three day vacation in Puerto Galera. Read our story below.

We took a bus ride from Pasay. After almost three hours, we arrived at the Batangas Port.

Tip: Once you arrived there, be patient. Every ticket seller will ask you to buy tickets from them. They will flock you. They’re quite annoying but they’re helpful.

Batangas going to Puerto Galera

Buying ticket Batangas Pier

Entering Batangas Terminal

After buying our tickets we looked for bottled water. When we found one, we were dumbfounded by the price of a five liter bottled water. Each bottle costs one hundred eighty pesos (P180.00). That’s roughly more than thrice from the normal price! We needed it so we bought two bottles anyway. After that, we lined up in the queue to enter the waiting area of terminal three. And while at the line, my friends noticed that there are other Mapuans at the line, too.

After several minutes we’re at the front of the queue already and then we’re able to enter the waiting area of the terminal.

Inside Batangas terminal

As you can see, there’s a lot of people inside waiting for their ride.

Batangas terminal

Waiting for ferry to Puerto Galera

When our ferry arrived, we immediately lined up to take the ride. We took some shots while at it.

Ferry Puerto Galera

Several minutes later, we aboard the ferry. It’s my first time to ride one!

Inside Ferry to Puerto Galera

This is how it looks like inside the ferry. Too crowded, isn’t it? I read at the side of the ferry that its capacity is only 65. Do we look like 65 there? If you guessed no, you’re correct. We’re way more than 100 there!

The trip was fun. I enjoyed looking at the clear water around me but as the time pass by, it gets to the point that it kind of makes me bored already.

The first stop was White Beach,

White Beach

Next was Tamaraw.

Tamaraw Beach

After it was Zobel.

Zobel Beach

And then the one after that was Talipanan, where we jumped off of the ferry.

Talipanan Beach

According to my friend, Carla, we’re going to stay at El Cañonero.

El Canonero

If I remember it right, El Cañonero is the second farthest establishment in Talipanan so we had to do a short walk. It is beside the popular Italian restaurant, Luca’s.

Soon as we arrived there, we were greeted by the staff with the question “Kay ma’am Carla po kayo?” We had a short talk with them before we headed to our room and unpacked our things.

Room El Canonero Puerto Galera

Inside the room, we talked about what we’re going to do for the day then headed downstairs for our brunch.

We ate our brunch at the El Cañonero’s canteen. Jazz brought sausages so we didn’t have to buy viand anymore. We just bought ourselves a cup of rice. A cup of  rice costs 25 pesos.

We relaxed for several minutes after eating then we looked for a boat to explore the clear waters of Puerto Galera.

Boating around Puerto Galera

After several minutes of boat riding we arrived at the snorkeling area. Bangkeros at the area offered us a tour around the snorkel site for a hundred pesos each but we insisted we can tour it on our own.

We had fun snorkeling around, watching different marine species as we swim with them. The water was cold but it’s nice. I was scared because of a sea snake, though. Haha!

Snorkeling Puerto Galera

After the snorkel, we headed to White Beach to see more “beaches” (see what I did there?) and to eat dinner. We had our dinner at Julieth’s BBQ Plaza. Their kebab costs Php 100, a red egg costs Php 25, and a cup of rice also costs Php 25.

Mindoro Sling

Someone approached us and asked us to try the Mindoro Sling. Curious about it, we did.

Dinner White Beach Puerto Galera

After the dinner, we bought some alcoholic beverages and then we took a tricycle to take us back to Talipanan. The ride from White Beach to Talipanan Beach for four people is 150 pesos. Back at El Cañonero, they had a round of drinks while I enjoyed the bed.

Day 2

When we all woke up the next morning we decided to have a breakfast at Lorem Ispum. A ToSiLog or TapSiLog costs eighty (80) pesos there and if you want to have it with a coffee, Milo, or a bottled water, that will be a hundred pesos. Worst is, the TapSiLog is almost impossible to be chunked by your teeth. Good thing Manang offered to replace Jazz’s and Gio’s TapSiLog. Although Doms and Argel had the TapSiLog too, Manang did not offer them a replacement. Maybe because both of them are almost finished with their plates.

Wondering what’s the line for, are we going to get a henna tattoo? We’re not.  We’re waiting for our lunch. A glass of halo-halo! For twenty-five peso, I think it’s the cheapest that we bought there.

Ask why it’s cheap? There’s no Leche Flan at the top and the halo-halo is more of a gulaman and sago treat.

Wil, Mhike, and Tonio went to White Beach.  While waiting for them, we decided to eat at Luca’s. Their pizza costs  Php 300 to 450. Pasta costs around Php 140. If you ask me, it’s a good deal because both pizza and pasta has generous servings. The Pizza is good for four people and the pasta is good for two.

The rest of the day was spent on swimming, taking photos, playing patintero, beach volleyball, and agawang base.

Since we shelled out some money at Luca’s, we settled for a dinner of canned sardines and tuna.

On our last day, our breakfast was Maling with egg. We ate our lunch at a carinderia at White Beach.

We arrived back at the Batangas Port just in time for sunset.

I would like to go back to Puerto Galera. Since we only stayed at Talipanan Beach and White Beach. I want to see Sabang and other parts, too.

It was my first time to go there and it was a good experience. Besides the fact that it’s a relatively cheap destination, Puerto Galera has so much to offer other than the beautiful beaches.

What do you think of Puerto Galera?

Have you been to Puerto Galera? Did you have a great time or were you disappointed? What did you like and what could have made your experience better? Would you visit again?

Share your story, picture, or a tip by telling it to us below!

Add Comment