Puerto Galera

The Philippines has around 7000 islands, one of them is located near Manila and is a popular spot for filipino from the capital who want to escape the heat, stress and pollution of the capital. This island is called Mindoro (translated : Gold mine ..) and the destination of my journey is Puerto Galera.

On the island, there is a lot of possible activities such as : snorkeling, diving, hiking in the forest, or just simply enjoy doing nothing !

TRANSPORT INFORMATION

Transportation from Manila to Batangas Port:

1. MANILA TO BATANGAS PORT BY PRIVATE TRANSPORT

One Van which can accommodate up to 12pax = Php6000 including tollfees oneway

One Van which can accommodate up to 9pax = Php3700 including tollfees oneway

2. PUBLIC BUS TRANSPORTATION

There are frequent bus services from bus terminals in Buendia, Taft or Cubao going to Batangas Port (JAM, DELAROSA LINERS, BATANGAS EXPRESS). A ticket costs about php200 each.

From Batangas port to Puerto Galera:

1. Montenegro Lines, Roll on Roll off ferry service (RORO) which

Departs from Batangas Port at Terminal 2 daily at 12.00noon (it can be changed, so you should check in advance). Ferry ticket costs around php135 plus a terminal fee of php30. Travelling time is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Arrival Port is Balatero Pier. The ferry departs from Puerto Galera to Batangas daily at 4.00pm.

Another option is :

2. Minolo Shipping Lines,

Small outrigger boats which departs from Batangas Port at Terminal 1. Schedule departures are every hour but time are never fixed, boat will leave when full. Traveling time is 1 hour.

Tourists arriving to Puerto Galera are momentarily subject to an EUF fee of php50 which can be paid at Batangas Port in Terminal 1 or in Balatero Port upon arrival. This is a local environmental user fee.

So as you can see, reaching Puerto Galera from Manila is not very complicated. I had the unique chance to travel with some friends in their own jeepney, it was very relaxing and fun.
It took us around 5 hours from the moment we left Manila until we reach our “home sweet villa”.

After much consideration, we decided to stay at Villa Amihan, because we love contemporary house, the location was perfect (on top of a hill with a view of Aninuan beach and the horizon ..) and simply because we wanted a touch of luxury for our 3 days in the island. We paid 15.000 php per night, and we were a group of 12persons (7 adults and 5 kids). Included in the price a continental breakfast (see below)

We rent the entire villa, there are large bedrooms with bathrooms attached, living room and dining room are connected and has a high ceiling. The villa was built a year or so ago. In one word very charming ! During your stay, you have permanent staff in charge of the attendance and also can offer you meals (to pay of course …)

But I know you are all waiting the downside 🙂

Let’s put this way :

Good points :

Beautiful villa
Perfectly well located with a fantastic scenery
Welcoming staff and helpful
Walking distance from the beach

Bad points

Poor maintenance of the villa (bathroom, wall….).
Food purchased outside of the villa can not be brought inside (you need to buy at the villa …)
During our stay, our room were not dusted (group of 12 with 5 kids, you can imagine it can be messy very fast ..)
Breakfast was very poor (one slice of bread with butter and a coffee..), I strongly believe with the price given for the rental of the villa, a decent breakfast should be provided.
Poor management and didn’t show any initiatives
Wrong information provided by management (they told us the boat for Batangas was leaving at 10Am and actually the boat was leaving at 4pm…)

Don’t get me wrong, we had a fantastic time in Puerto Galera, and enjoyed the villa, but we have also a slight bitter taste.

Going down from Villa Amihan to the beach (5 min walk) and we can see the transparent and blue turquoise sea …can’t wait to go for a swim !

As you can notice, the beach is empty, it’s because we went there in the middle of the week, just before the week-end 🙂 Not bad at all, as we were leaving on the Friday, we saw lots of boats bringing tourists …