Not so distant from the crowded place of Manila you can enjoy this serene place called Masasa beach. Concealed in the Island of Tingloy comes a great destination for beach goers.
I find this place very relaxing though the sand is not that sparkly and white. A great place to visit for a bugetarian traveler like me. :)
How to get there:
About 4 hours away from Manila, you will be able to enjoy this mesmerizing laid back beach. It would be best to leave early in the morning specially during weekends as it can get crowded in Anilao port. You'll also have enough time to buy food and supplies in the market before heading to Masasa (I'm not sure if there's a market near Masasa though we found a sari sari store, so its still best to bring your own supplies).
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| You will pass through this to get to the beach. |
>From Manila, take a bus to Batangas City Grand Terminal (travel time is 2-3 hours), we took ALPS bus and paid Php 165.
>Take a jeepney to Anilao Port, fare: Php 37
>Board a passenger boat to Tingloy, fare: Php 80.
Take note of the boat trip schedules:
Anilao Port to Tingloy Isand: 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, 02:30 pm, 04:30 pm
Tingloy Isand to Anilao Port: 06:00 am, 07:00 am, 08:00 am, 09:00 am
**During weekends there are more boats coming to and from Tingloy, the boat leaves as soon as it is full that's why we were able to depart around 7:45AM.
Alternatively, you may rent a private boat from Anilao port at around Php 2500.
(On our way back, they said that there is a boat going straight from Masasa beach to Talaga port at 3PM instead of catching the 9AM boat from Tingloy, so we grabbed that one and enjoyed the extended time we had in the beach. Fare is Php 100)
>Upon Reaching Tingloy Port, ride a tricycle, fare is Php 15/person
>Walk through the snake path across a residential area and rice fields to reach the beach.
Where to Stay and Eat:
There are no resorts or any hotel in sight. For some, camping is the best option. You may bring your own tent or there are also available ones for rent. There are some transient rooms available, some locals opened their homes where you can occupy their spare rooms or bed, this is where some of us stayed and paid Php 250/night while others spent the night in their own tents.
There is a market in Anilao port where you can buy food and supplies. In our case, we bought fish, meat and all ingredients needed in Anilao and have it cooked in the place where we stayed.
Things To Do:
There's not much to do in Masasa compared to other known beaches in the country. Aside from swimming and beach bumming, you can choose to go on an island hopping trip. For this activity, we paid Php 1800 per boat/6 person that already includes snorkel and goggles. We visited, Sepoc beach, Sombrero Island and some snorkeling sites. Tip: Please ask the boatman if there are jelly fish in the snorkeling site where they will bring you as in our case, the first site he brought us have small jellyfishes/plankton and all of us got itchy skin.
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| Sepoc Beach |
There are rock formations on the other side of the island where the lagoon is located. Though a lot of visitors swim here, I wouldn't recommend it as there are sharp rocks/dead corals that might hurt your feet. The best site for swimming is still at the main beach.
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| Lagoon |
You may also want to go hiking at Mt. Magasawang Bato to see the panoramic view of the island, you will need to pay Php 100 for guide fee. It is best to go hiking just before sunrise so it won't be too hot. They said it would take 1 to 2 hours to reach the summit. Since we woke up late and its already hot outside, we didn't push to this activity but some from our group did and they said that the view was amazing.
Travel Tips and Things To Bring:
Bring your own tent so you won't need to pay for accommodation, however I didn't see any public CR. You may ask the locals if you can use their bathroom, locals here are very friendly.
Electricity in the island is unpredictable, during our stay, it shut down at around midnight till the next day, good thing the place where we stayed have generator. So make sure you have your power banks ready for use.
Bring Insect repellent, there are mosquitoes around, keep them off!
Don't forget the sunscreen to protect your skin.
Itinerary:
Expenses:
We spent around Php 1300 for this trip. You can cut the cost to less than Php 1000 by bringing your own tent and choose not to go on island hopping or hiking.
At first, I hesitated to come here as they said the place is full of trash but then I saw some clean up drives posted in social media and I though it might not be the situation now, though we still see trash specially in the camp site. Just a reminder for the travelers, "Please observe leave no trace etiquette."
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| look at our back, there are trashes in the camp site :( |
More pictures :)
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