From our Airbnb in Puerto Princess to our next destination, we had to go through Manila, and this was just days after the volcano near there erupted, spewing ash and soot about 20km in every direction. So we were quite hesitant and a bit scared to risk being too close to an actively erupting volcano. But in the end, we were standing in the airport asking everyone who worked there what kind of risk it was and if flights were cancelled. It seemed like nobody considered it a worrisome event at all and so we decided to just fly over and check it out. We only changed plans slightly due to the volcano.
From beginning to end, this is all the different modes of transportation we took on this day of travel.
Tuktuk (1) to the airport in PP, then the flight (2) to Manila. Then a taxi (3) from the airport to the bus station, and then a bus (4) from Manila to the port in Batangas where we got on a ferry boat (5) to Puerto Galera and then we took a mini bus (6) to the city center and then walked (7?) up a very steep hill about 1.5km (with all of our bags) all the way to where the road ends (literally) and there was our hotel. We didn’t take these steps the first time up, but after that, this is how we got down to the waterfront every day.
Originally the plan was to stay 4 nights in Manila after Sabang, but we scratched that for the 3 extra nights in Sabang. Not only because of this long and trecherous journey to finally get there, but also because we really liked the place and the vibes here, we decided to stay an extra 3 days for a total of 6 nights.
There were enough beaches nearby that we could find something (or rather, nothing) to do for all the days. And also, this dorky fluffy cloud was there to greet us every time we returned to our place. Her name is Princess.
The nearest beach was called Small Lalaguna and the one after that is Big Lalaguna. We went first to Big Lalaguna where there were about 4 other people to be seen. The sand is a beautiful fluffy soft white and there are tons of pieces of coral washed up. You have to step over shells and coral bits to get out into the water, but once you got out far enough, it was so beautiful and clear and refreshing. You could see all the way to your toes and all the little fishes swimming by.
We had a scooter for the day, so from this beach we drove another 20 minutes along roller coaster roads to the next beach, which we heard lots of good things about, but all hotels and Airbnbs were too expensive. It’s called White Beach.
White Beach
Again, somehow we are almost completely alone at a huge beautiful beach! Unbelievable! We assume it’s either because of the volcano or maybe being off-season? All the way down the beachside there was a kind of promenade with beach souvenirs and drinks and food and diving gear. We grabbed something delicious to eat here (Tuna Sisig) and then sat on the sand under a palm tree for a while. We did not get massages on the beach, but if we wanted to, it would have been about 8€ for an hour massage.
Also, at our beach at the bottom of those steps, we could enjoy some lovely sunsets. Basically we were just always chilling like this.
We were recommended to go down to the waterside in Sabang to eat at a place called Big Apple, which is where we ate for 4 of the nights. They also had happy hour beers for 1€ until 8pm. They had a good mix of local specialties and western stuff like pizza and burgers. We ate it all and it was all good.
Here are some more pictures from our rooftop view at our hotel/airbnb place. 😍
So that’s a whole lot of stuff already, so I’m gonna keep the last half of our Sabang days for a second post!
Stories of Exploration and Travel 