Bicolandia Adventure: Journeying to the End of Luzon

In the last of the Bicol series, we went further down south and traveled to Matnog, Sorsogon. This is the jump off point for most boats that ferry people, cars and even trucks to and from Luzon and various Visayas Islands. But instead of getting onto the big ferries, we rented a large bangka and took a 30-minute ride to Subic Beach.

The boat we rented cost a measly 1,800 pesos. It may seem like a high price but if you factor in the fact that there was 30 of us on one boat, then the boat was a steal at 60 pesos per person. In fact, our bangkero said you could fit 50 people in one boat but I think that is stretching it a bit since the 30 of us were already packed like sardines.

Nonetheless, we continued on our journey. The ride wasn't as rough as I thought it would be. There were a number of islands nearby but we passed by most of them until eventually, we could only see open water ahead of us. Then the boat turned slightly, going around one of the last islands and heading towards the wide expanse of sand of Subic Beach.

The night before, I had googled Subic Beach and found a bunch of articles saying that it is a 'pink' sand beach because of corals that had washed ashore. Looking at the sand closely, there were, in fact, bits of red corals mixed in with the sand. But if you look at it from afar, it is mostly white sand which is fine by me.

The consistency of the sand is a mix of everything though. There are rocky parts where you can snorkel and see various sea life, including some clown fish (NEMOOOOOO!). There are also areas that have smaller rocks/corals and then there are areas with really, really fine Boracay-like white sand. What's surprising is that even if it was really hot that day, the sand didn't feel like they were burning my feet at all. I could walk on the sand barefoot and not feel the need to go running to the shade or towards the water to get rid of the burning sensation.

The water is absolutely fantastic. It's clear blue and it's cold which is a great way to cool off in this hot summer weather. You have to be careful when you bring kids along or if you don't know how to swim since the water gets pretty deep even when you're still near the shore but otherwise, you can frolic in the sand and water even with the sun high in the sky (don't forget the sunblock!).

Because the area is so remote, the area isn't commercialized so there were only a few nipa huts that you can rent for 200 pesos so you have a place to put your things and where you can eat if you brought lunch with you. They also don't have any showering areas so we had to wait until we got back to the hotel to wash off all the salt on our skin.

I can actually compare going to Subic Beach a lot like going to Anawangin in Zambales but it is a lot better since the water is cooler, the sand is whiter and there aren't as many people in Subic Beach. All in all, it was a great experience and a wonderful discovery all the way south of Luzon.

Related Posts:

Bicolandia Adventure: Lignon Hill Trek

Bicolandia Adventure: Swimming with the (Whale) Sharks

Until my next adventure,

Trina