Just like La Union, Baler is also a surfing spot. My friends and I go here whenever we’d de-stress. The townsmen here are friendly and approachable. If you wanna enjoy your weekend, I recommend that you leave Manila early (like around 3am) so you can explore the town of Baler on your first day. Travel time is 5-6 hours via car but you can take Genesis bus for Php450. Trip would be 6 to 7 hours at most.
Accommodation: I stayed in Costa Pacifica resort once and it was amazing. We paid for a Pacifica Suite for Php 7,500 including buffet breakfast. Amenities are great here too! I’d also recommend JNMK Transient House (Php1,500, fan room, bunk beds). You can pm them for inquiries. A lot of cheap inns around the vicinity – prices ranges 1k above. We also stayed for 2 nights in Pacific Waves Inn. We had a bad experience here. They had a black out on our last night and didn’t even provide fans or such.
Where to eat: The photo above shows Rolling Store (very affordable; carinderia style) although there are restaurants around the town. We had a buffet lunch at Gerry Shan‘s for a fair price. A must-try is Baler Surfer Grill’s Baler Bacon Cheese Burger! Bayler View also has a restaurant which serves good food for a somehow affordable price.
Day 1
Places to go to on your first day (Town Proper):
- Quezon Park
- Museo de Baler
- Old Church of Baler (the siege of Baler happened here)
- Aurora Quezon’s Ancestral House (the province is named after her)
- Old Balete Tree (majestic!)
- Ermita Hill (where Angara’s family climbed during the tsunami)
You can ask the locals around the beach (most of them are also surf instructors) for the best time to surf on that day. Surfing with Instructor will cost you around Php 350 for 2 hours with board.
Day 2
Explore the Ditumabo Falls, Aniao Islet, Lukso Lukso Islets and Dicasalarin Cove (entrance is Php 300). I’d like to go to Ampere beach because I heard it’s one of a kind. If no van/car available to go to these places you may look around for a tricycle/ habal-habal tour and ask for a reasonable price. You can chill at the beach with your friends at night. We had a bonfire, bottles of beer and snack.
- Php1,500 Transient stay for 4
- Php900 bus ride RT
- Php350 surf ride with board and instructor
- Php300 Dicasalarin Cove entrance fee
- Php200 Baler Grill burger meal
- Php500 other expenses like meals, water, snack etc.
- Php10 entrance fee Old Balete Tree
- Php500 habal-habal tour
Total expense is Php4,260. We can go lower depends on situation – like own transpo or if you can book a tour for just Php1,500 plus for 4 persons. Also, there’s a lot of cheaper accommodation.
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