Wonder VacaTion

This beach in San Miguel is about 3 km from San Antonio. The entire stretch of the Zambales province in the West is rimmed by the crystal-clear waters of the South China Sea. San Miguel is a fishing village overlooking two islands, named Camera and Capones Islands. A favorite among surfers for it's consistent waves and safe sandy bottom.



San Miguel Beach Garden Resort is a friendly place with good rooms and a beautiful garden. Has a nice restaurant, a real value for your money. Inexpensive boat trips can also be provided upon request.



Cellphone: +(63)(0919) 3337134

Pundaquit, or Pandakit, in San Antonio, is a small fishing village on an attractive bay with a long white sand beach. The nearby islands of Capones and Camera have white, rocky beaches. There is a lighthouse on the western end of Capones. A few tourists go there to scuba dive.



Capones Beach Resort is a quiet little place right on the beach. Offers adequate, practically furnished rooms and a seafood restaurant. It's facilities include a bar, scuba diving, surfing, windsurfing, and an extensive library.



Cellphone: +(63)(0918) 9027845

Telephone: +(63)(047) 9134694



Photo courtesy of

David "Coconuter" Poarch

Grande Island Resort is located at the entrance to Subic Bay, about 20 minutes by boat from Olongapo. Aside from hotel rooms, the resort also offers chalet rooms with private verandas. There is also a Honeymoon Suite, exclusive for couples only. It comes with a private pool, Jacuzzi, steam and sauna rooms. Other facilities include a restaurant, function rooms for weddings and private parties, a yacht, and sports activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, banana boat riding and parasailing. One can enjoy driving an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) or a dune buggy around the island to see the remnants of World War II. Also available is free WiFi access around the island.



Grande Island Resort

Telephone: +(63)(047) 2522883

Manila Telephone: +(63)(02) 6887390 to 98

Website: http://www.grandeislandresort.com

Email:

sales@grandeislandresort.com

reservation@grandeislandresort.com

Also known as Miracle Beach, at Camayan Wharf, West Ilanin Forest Area in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. This beautiful, clean and sandy beach, with it's drinks kiosks and picnic tables is only busy during weekends. The shore was man-made (Pinatubo sand was dumped into it until a beach was created).



The Camayan Beach Resort offers 12 beach front rooms and 12 ocean view rooms. Among it's features are air-conditioning, two Queen size beds, colored TV with satellite channels, telephone with NDD/IDD service, ceiling fan, centralized hot/cold water, built-in closets, sitting area, and 24-hour stand-by power generator.



Guests can relax in a comfortable cabana, enjoy good food and drinks at the bar and restaurant, learn how to dive, get a relaxing massage and swim or snorkel under the watchful eyes of the resort's life guard.



The Camayan Beach Resort

Subic Telephone:

+(63)(047) 2528000

Manila Telephone:

+(63)(02) 6382281 - 82

+(63)(02) 6334185

Website:

http://www.camayanbeachresort.com

Email:

reservation@camayanbeachresort.com

hotel@oceanadventure.com.ph

info@camayanbeachresort.com

In Sinapsapan, off the western coast of Guimaras, on the island of the same name lies this small rustic establishment. The resort has no electricity, no electric generators, but just kerosene lamps at night. The cottages were made from wood recycled from old, demolished houses. Aside from swimming it's crystal clear waters and walking the island’s pathways, there's really not much to do. But almost everyone that's been there always return time and time again, bringing a friend or two along, even an entire family. Why? It's the food. It's great, they’d all say.

Pictures by: Jo-Ann Pastrano
When: March 01, 2010

Pictures by: Jo-ann Pastrano
When: January 2009

They say that Cebu has some of the best beaches here in the Philippines. These pictures prove that. Just look at the perfect white beach and the clear blue waters, another perfect getaway this summer.

Pictures by:Mike Portes
When: December 2009


Just want to share this hide away that’s near Manila. ADVENTURE CAMP, it’s at Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. The place is owned by the Babia’s and is perfect for some quiet time. These photos were taken last Christmas.

Pictures by: Magalawa Armada
When: January 2010



Magalawa Island another perfect getaway this summer. With its creamy white sand, pristine waters and abundant water resources, Magalawa is ideally perfect for swimming, water/sand sports, jetskiing, scuba diving, snorkelling and some more activities one can imagine in an island

Guimaras tourism to revive its economy

Nueva Valencia, Guimaras - An Italian couple on a two-month holiday in the Philippines chose to include this paradise in their itinerary and stayed at the Raymen Beach Resort in December 2006, unperturbed by news about the oil spill that brought the island province to world attention in August of the same year.

"We are just here to see good beaches," said the Boldo couple, who are just among the hundreds of foreign guests who kept coming to Guimaras even in the aftermath of the infamous oil spill. Guimaras has 238.3-kilometer coastline, with long stretches of white, powdery sand considered among the finest in the world.

Lucia Cachuela, managing director of the El Retiro Beach Park, noted that international visitor arrivals to Guimaras began to pick up in November. "Tourists are coming back," Cachuela told journalists who visited the province as a part of the Guimaras Tourism Recovery Program spearheaded by the Department of Tourism.

Despite the accident and the negative publicity it generated for the province since August, data show that the number of foreign tourists, or those who spent at least a night in Guimaras, went up to 293 in November from 98 in October, 75 in September, and 237 in August - the month of the accident. In November 2005, there were only 143 foreign tourists in Guimaras.

Foreign excursionists, or day-in visitors, also went up to 525 in November from 453 a year ago. It was also up from 257 in October, and 297 in September. In August, the number of foreign excursionists reached 566.

Guimaras targets to attract more foreign tourists, because they spend the highest amount while in the island. The DOT Guests Assistance Centers in the port towns of Buenavista and Jordan estimated the average daily expenditure of foreign tourist at P2,000; foreign excursionist, P1,500; local tourist, P1,500; and local excursionist, P500.

"Guimaras is very alive and kicking," said Helen Camarista, the officer-in-charge of the Department of Tourism in Western Visayas. "Business has never been stronger."

"Out of 24 accredited resorts, only seven have been hardest hit. So 17 resorts are okay," Camarista, herself a resident of Guimaras, said.

Nueva Valencia Vice Mayor Juan Gaitan agreed, saying many beach resorts remain unspoiled. "We are telling people that not all areas have been affected. We encourage them to come to Guimaras," Gaitan said.

For example, Jose Garomita, president of the Guisi Community-based Heritage Tourism, said that they were able to protect the white-sand beach in Guisi, a sitio in Barangay Dolores, Nueva Valencia town from the oil slick.

Guimaras, a 60,465-hectare island the size of Singapore with five towns and 98 barangays and home to more than 140,000 residents, hogged the headlines when oil tanker MT Solar I carrying 2 million liters of bunker fuel owned by Petron Corp. sank in rough waters 10 miles off the coast of Nueva Valencia town on August 11 this year.

Scientists said about 300,000 liters of the cargo polluted 24,000 square kilometers of waters near the island paradise. The spill was later contained, and clean up operations began.

Ironically, foreign and domestic visitor arrivals to Guimaras went up by 13 percent to 13,566 in August from 11,986 a year ago. Arrivals reached 14,501 in September; 14,163 in October and 12,221 in November.

"More attention has been given to Guimaras since August. Now, there are scientists, researchers, and donors who are coming to Guimaras," Camarista said.

Camarista noted that before the oil spill took place, there were only 4 to 5 departures of pump boats each day. Now, this has gone up to 7 to 10 departures per day, she said.

But a few resorts are still feeling the impact of the tragedy. "When news of the oil spill spread, seven resorts received booking cancellations through email," Camarista conceded.

Peter Harper-bill, an 80-year-old British retiree who manages the Baras Resort, said bookings were less than half of what they used to be. "Normally, we were fully booked around Christmas, but now we are not," Harper-bill said.

Tourism is a major industry in Guimaras. In 2005, tourist arrivals totaled 181,915 and injected P204.3 million into its local economy. Since 2003, tourist arrivals to the province have been rising 30 percent per annum.

Ruben Corpuz, the provincial economic officer, said much of Guimaras, including its spectacular coastline and rich marine biodiversity remain unexplored.

Its main attractions include Roca Encantadia, Guisi Lighthouse, Tiniguiban Islet, Isla Naburot, Lombija Wildlife Resort, Taklong-Tandog Island, Igang Marine Station, Toyo Reef, and La Paz and Pamankulan Fish Sanctuaries. Corpuz said the province is also fast rising as a destination for mountain bike races, kayaking and tours to mango plantations. Guimaras exports sweet mangoes to the United States.

Corpuz said he is optimistic about the tourism prospects in Guimaras for several reasons. These include the expansion of the ports in Jordan and Buenavista towns, the completion of the international airport by March 2007 in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo which is the gateway to Guimaras, and new investments in tourist facilities, such as the multi-million-peso investment in the Lombija Wildlife Resort and Hotel and a new convention center.

Julius Camacho, a cousin of businessman Henry Babiera of the Ortigas Group who develops the Lombija zoo, said that at more than 20 hectares, the zoo will be the largest in the country once it opens sometime in 2008. The zoo has been under development since 1998. Corpuz said about P300 million has already been invested for the development of the project, which is seen to add a new attraction to Guimaras.

"We also envision Guimaras to be a logistics hub. Guimaras Strait has the deepest berth for international vessels," Corpuz said. "For Guimaras, there is no other way but up." Roderick T. dela Cruz.

This newly discovered island boasts of white-sand beaches and surfing waves compared to that of Hawaii. Lying 800 kilometers southeast of Manila, the tear-shaped Siargao Island is a perfect haven for the sun, sea, and surf buffs. It lies on the eastern portion of Surigao del Norte and on the southeastern tip of Mindanao. The island is a mass of tropical land with scores of reefs, points and white beaches.

Its promise as a surfing mecca in the making was discovered in 1993 by American surf photographer John Callahan who went to investigate the rumors of spectacular waves in a little known Mindanao town. He came back from his trip armed with stories about the lovely sun-drenched island and documented his find with beautiful photographs.

Siargao opened itself to the international surfing community by playing host to the Siargao Surfing Cup in the municipality of General Luna. Siargao's Cloud Nine break is said to be among the best in the world and foreign sportsmen view "the unparalleled surf of Siargao as a magnet for deep sea fishing, sailing, wind-surfing, kayaking, and sunbathing on miles of white sandy beaches that the reef-ringed island and its rich waters afford the visitors.

Cebu, top destination of foreign tourists

Cebu City drew 403,326 international visitors in 2005, making the "queen city of the south" the top provincial destination of foreign travelers. Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) also showed that Cebu City attracted 1,813 overseas Filipinos and 712,938 domestic travelers last year.

Total number of travelers in the city went up by 10.5 percent to 1.118 million in 2005 from 1.012 million in 2004. Arrivals in Cebu are expected to peak in December 2006, when the city hosts the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leader’s Summit and the 4th ASEAN Business and Investment Summit

Government officials and business leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam will troop to Cebu to discuss the future of ASEAN integration.

Also expected to participate are delegates from Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and European Union. This early, the 20 hotels in Cebu have been reporting full occupancy rates, with the influx of Japanese and Korean tourists, despite the recent opening of five-star accommodation facilities like Marco Polo Hotel and Hilton.

Other large hotels in Metro Cebu include Marriot, Waterfront, Midtown, Rajah Park, Diplomat, Northwinds, Sarrosa, Parklane, Crown Regency, GV, Mango Park, Richmonde, Golden Prince, Metropak, Crowne Garden, Grand Hotel, Montebello, Century Golden Peak, Holiday Plaza and Century Plaza.

Aside from Cebu, other top destinations of international visitors outside Metro Manila in 2005 were Aklan, the province which covers the world-class resort island of Boracay, with 157,638; Laguna, home of the Pagsanjan Falls, with 149,531; Pampanga, where Clark Field is located, with 76,133; and Palawan, with 70,066.

Occupying the 11th to 20th list of favorite destinations were Ifugao, site of the Banaue Rice Terraces, Negros Occidental, Baguio City, Iloilo, Cavite, Negros Oriental, Cagayan de Oro City, Batangas, Camiguin, and Ormoc City.

Data showed that some 1.414 million international travelers, 125,476 overseas Filipinos, and 13.631 million domestic tourists for a total of 15.171 million visited the country's tourist attractions outside Metro Manila in 2005. The figure was 15.8 percent higher than the 13.103 million local and foreign tourists who visited the provinces last year.

If Aklan has Boracay, Ilocos has Pagudpud, its northernmost town bordering the South China Sea. The coastal town of Pagudpud is the perfect setting for panoramic movies and photoshoot for travel magazines cover.

The town's main attractions are Saud Beach, known for its fine white sand stretching for hundreds of meters and Maira-Ira Point, which hides a secluded beach called Blue Lagoon. Other breathtaking landscapes in Pagudpud include Bantay Abot-abot, a natural sculpture carved by the wind and sea, the Mabogabog Falls and the Patapat viaduct that treats motorists to a scenic view of green lushes and blue waters of South China Sea.

Pagudpud is just an hour's drive from Laoag City International Airport. From here, tourists can visit other popular destinations such as the Bangui Wind Farm, the Hispanic village of Vigan, and the old Paoay Church.

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Puerto Galera (which means Galleon Port) is one of the most popular beach resorts in the Philippines. A marine reserve, it is endowed with coves, fine sandy beaches and shallow coral reefs ideal for snorkeling.

The place can be reached from the port of Batangas City where a ferry service to Mindoro awaits the tourists. Bancas may be hired to go to Escarceo Point, the best dive spot in Puerto Galera. The area offers positive thrills and guaranteed excitement, with its sudden rushes of strong currents and steep slopes which are a favorite gathering place for large pelagic fish.Diving expeditions are usually organized by certified masters on specific dive spots.

Subic, the former US naval base in the Philippines, is now a hub for commerce and tourism. Just two-and-a-half hour drive north from Manila, Subic offers a full view of the blue mountain and sea and of the green background of a three-layered virgin forest.

Points of interest include the 18-hole Binictican Golf Course and Clubhouse, a white-sand beach, bowling and arcade center,a ship wharf past a restricted forested area, firing ranges, fishing grounds and an area for bungee jumping.

Visitors to Subic can take a 12-hour jungle survival course, visit an Aeta tribal village, take a bay cruise, explore the coves, end up at the white-sand beach of Grande Island, engage in water sports, go horseback riding or simply enjoy the scenic view of the sea.

Subic Bay is complete with tourism-support facilities that include a marina, a yacht club, hotels, shopping arcades and food shops. It also boasts of an international airport.