JOANE PANGILINAN: Pong Travels: Talipanan, Puerto Galera 🌊

Hiiii! 😙😍😚

Finally, a trip to the beach after 5 months! I told myself that I will never go back to Puerto Galera because of the long boat ride and deep waters of Mindoro. But who am I to say no to beautiful beaches, yes? Initially, the plan was to go to Calaguas but because of the weather, we opted to go to Puerto Galera.

Puerto Galera is located in Oriental Mindoro and is accessible via Batangas City Port. My first glance of Puerto Galera was way back 2008. We stayed at the White Beach. This time, we chose the tranquil part of Galera - Talipanan. But since, it's my friend, Star's first time, we headed to the White Beach to have lunch and to do some pasalubong shopping before heading home.

As usual, White Beach is busy. It's like mini-Boracay. Everyone is swimming, doing water sports and activities and party-ing at night; on the other hand, Talipanan is tranquil and serene. So, you choose your beach. Both White Beach and Talipanan Beach is a long stretch of white sand with different resorts to choose from.

It was my first time in Talipanan. Did some research the same day-down to the last minute booking for a place to stay there. Thankfully, we're able to find one. We stayed at Veronica's Inn. It's like Manila in an island. Condo-type with Infinity pool. 🏊💙

The stay was fine. It's just that during our stay, not all food in the Menu was available. Knowing that the next resort is a bit far, they should have prepared for their guests - they were fully booked at that time. Room's a bit small for 3K/night. Good for 2. And here's the catch, I was taking a shower when the water ran out. It took a while to have it back. I already fell asleep in the bathroom as I was experiencing a terrible hangover. 😓 Water was back after 15 minutes or so with conditioner in my hair and soap all over my body - too bad. 😢 The staff were very accommodating though. Hands-up! 👐 Kayak use is free and you can go kayak-ing to White Beach. Flex 'em muscles! 😎

HOW TO GET THERE:
1. Ride a Bus (JAM Liner) in Buendia with signage Batangas Pier or Batangas Port. (PHP167)
2. Upon arriving at the port, there will be a lot of fixers, they offer the same price but of course, they have "convenience fee" or yes, tip. You can always go straight to the ticketing booth and buy your tickets. We chose Minolo Shipping Lines . Buy roundtrip tix (RT) and they offer vans to take you to White Beach or Talipanan. (PHP310 - RT Talipanan Fee + 10PHP terminal fee)
3. Upon arriving, there's Environmental Fee of PHP50.
4. Before heading home, another terminal fee of PHP10 shall be paid before hopping into the boat. (just like # 2)

TRICYCLES can bring you to White Beach (ranges from 100PHP - 150PHP)

Resorts in Talipanan:

Lucas Miramare - 09164175125; 09177925263
Mountain Beach Resort - 0917-5620842
Rates: Fan Room 800PHP-1500PHP; AC 2500PHP
Mengie's White San Beach Resort - 0920-4032173
Rates: Fan Room 700PHP; AC 1500PHP
Bamboo House
Rates: Fan Room 800PHP; AC 1500PHP
Veronica's Inn - 0936-9491228 (Veronica)/0977-7272014 (Ced)
Rates: AC 3K (2 pax)

Minolo Shipping Lines: (043) 287-3614

Have some snaps to share! Enjoy! Hope this helps! 👌

Always remember to speak from the 💙.
- pong 🐢

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