Trip Report Puerto Galera, Philippines-March 20-30, 2025

[Cornbread O'Malley]

@Living4Experiences Thank you for the trip report! The info about transportation is very useful.

 

[noserider]

@Living4Experiences Thank you for the trip report! The info about transportation is very useful.

As a budget taxi to Batangas from Manila is about 4,000 php, then you just need the ferry and trike

El Galleon can group people together if others travelling from Manila the same day, ask Ashley

 

[Living4Experiences]

El Galleon can group people together if others travelling from Manila the same day, ask Ashley

I tried this method of a shared shuttle, but nobody was arriving or departing when I was.

 

[Centrals]

@Living4Experiences Thank you for the trip report! The info about transportation is very useful.

The best way for any first time visitor to PG is by Si-Kat transfer from City State Tower Hotel in Malete. I did just that in1996 albeit from different hotel on Mabini Street. There several better hotels in the area but CST is adequate.
Si-Kat service is mainly for tourist and there will be someone at Batangas Ferry Terminal to greet you and guide you all the way to the boarding gate to board the ferry. All you need to do at Balatero is paying the P120.00 environmental fees and P250.00(the whole bike) for the trike to Sabang Beach. Plenty of people will be more than willing to carry your heavy bag to your pre booked accommodation for P100.00 or more depending on the location of your lodgeing. But you can also contact your resort host from Batangas Terminal notifying them on your arrival time at Balatero and they might arrange someone to meet you by the basketball court in Sabang.
There is absolutely no reason to take the taxi to Batangas or private transfer directly to PG.

 

[noserider]

I tried this method of a shared shuttle, but nobody was arriving or departing when I was.

I had the same issue, if my flight was 2 hours later I could have shared on the way back or if I had gone the day before but would have meant a night in Manila however decided to get 3 more dives in and do a journey from pg to london all in one go

 

[wgw04024]

Was the visibility normal for this time of year? Or, was it just unlucky timing due to unusual weather perhaps?

 

[Smit]

The best way for any first time visitor to PG is by Si-Kat transfer from City State Tower Hotel in Malete. I did just that in1996 albeit from different hotel on Mabini Street. There several better hotels in the area but CST is adequate.
Si-Kat service is mainly for tourist and there will be someone at Batangas Ferry Terminal to greet you and guide you all the way to the boarding gate to board the ferry. All you need to do at Balatero is paying the P120.00 environmental fees and P250.00(the whole bike) for the trike to Sabang Beach. Plenty of people will be more than willing to carry your heavy bag to your pre booked accommodation for P100.00 or more depending on the location of your lodgeing. But you can also contact your resort host from Batangas Terminal notifying them on your arrival time at Balatero and they might arrange someone to meet you by the basketball court in Sabang.
There is absolutely no reason to take the taxi to Batangas or private transfer directly to PG.

Is there a limit on luggage when traveling Si-Kat bus? If I travel with scuba gear and camera I usually take 2 large pieces of luggage, an carry on bag and a computer bag. Is that too much for the bus?

 

[Centrals]

Is there a limit on luggage when traveling Si-Kat bus? If I travel with scuba gear and camera I usually take 2 large pieces of luggage, an carry on bag and a computer bag. Is that too much for the bus?

Most if not all passengers are divers so heavy bags are NOT an issue to load onto the bus. You will be fine.
There are porters at Batangas Pier to assist you but I am not sure if that is the case in Balatero.

 

[Living4Experiences]

Was the visibility normal for this time of year? Or, was it just unlucky timing due to unusual weather perhaps?

I do a ton a research to give myself the best shot at good conditions for a first-time location, and it was tough finding consistent information. Climate change is making dive travel planning very difficult. The odds were not in my favor this time around.

I asked multiple people, divers on a return visit, the people at El Galleon, and the dive staff at Asia Divers, and everyone had a different answer ranging from, "This is not normal" to "March can be iffy" to "We've had a lot of rain and the runoff from the mountains is causing low visibility" to "We've been here X times in March and it's usually great visibility".

 

[also_anon_dc]

Thanks for the report! I'm going in December and also booked with Bluewater but I booked full board. Why did you choose breakfast only? Was the price of lunch/dinner reasonable?