Puerto Galera is one of the closest beaches in Metro Manila and also dubbed as the "poor man's boracay". This is because it is nearer and definitely cheaper to go here for you only need a boat ride from Batangas Pier to reach this wonderful tourist spot of Oriental Mindoro. During one long weekend last April, I was able to plan a trip to beach bum together with my two friends, Mae and kookay.
On the day of our departure, we all agreed to meet up at Cubao area early morning, where we will be riding a bus to Batangas Pier. The travel took about 2 hours and a half. Upon arrival at the Pier, we immediately looked for the booths selling ferry tickets to Puerto Galera. Given that it was a long weekend, there were so many people buying tickets as well though most are going to the white beach instead of our destination, Talipanan. If you are the type who loves the crowd, noise and night life, the white beach area is for you but it you wanted a more quiet and relaxed vibe, highly consider booking your accommodation in Talipanan beach.
The ferry ride was a bit rocky due to the high waves but we got there safe. We were able to dock in Talipanan at about 3 in the afternoon and walked a bit towards the Puerto Galera beach club where we booked an overnight stay. We checked in, rested for awhile then went for a quick afternoon swim. The water of the beach is actually cold. We took pictures and also checked out the rocky end of the beach and decided that we will have an italian dinner at Luca's cucina italiana.
I have always wanted to try the pizza of Luca's Cucina Italiana ever since I have searched about Puerto Galera and fortunately, the 3 of us are all foodies. After taking a shower, we all walked out to the cold, windy night of Talipanan and headed to the said restaurant. Most of the food there are for sharing portions so we decided to order one pasta (red sauce) and one pizza.
We weren't able to take a photo of the pasta but it has lots of Mussels in it, we even joked that it is actually a mussel dish pretending to be a pasta dish. I hope you got what I mean :). Anyway it tasted good though we loved the pizza more. We turned in early for the night for we plan to take an early morning swim the next day before we leave Talipanan. Breakfast is included in our accommodation and the resort serves it at their in house restaurant, The baby elephant. It is just nice to dine there having a good view of the beach.
Puerto Galera beach club actually have these two cabanas outside their resort, just beside the restaurant which looks very pretty and inviting for those who just want to lie down for a nap or even to read a book.
After breakfast, we then proceeded to the beach again for a morning swim, the sun was already up and the sunlight rays feels a bit hot but still, the sea water is cold and refreshing. We also took more photos on the beach.
Come 12 noon, it was then time to leave Talipanan for we all have work the next day. We really enjoyed this quick summer getaway that turned out to be affordable as well. Puerto Galera beach club is also a good resort to consider when you plan a trip to Talipanan.
