Johncn
Contributor
Hello,
We have had a nice stay in Puerto Galara so far, so thought I would give a couple personal observations. Your mileage may vary, as they say! We stayed at Lalaguna Villas (LLV), which has really expanded and improved some aspects since our last visit in late 2019, but will do a separate summary at the resort itself.
Weather has been cool and cloudy / rainy, but warming up today, it seems. Water temperature has been around 25 C (77 F) within a degree or two in Fahrenheit.
Looking at my dive logs, viz has been between 5 and 12 meters with the rain and moderate chop. I am not an expert at meters, frankly, but those are the numbers dive staff told me after dives, so I wrote it down!
Tourists are starting to return. Especially last week and weekend, there was quite a bit of activity for Chinese New Year. Most tourists at our property have been Chinese or Korean, a few Europeans, and a smattering of other nationalities. We met maybe three other Americans on dives, and all were expats (one from Korea and another couple from Singapore). Note that we only dove with one shop.
Many of the local dive shops, bars and restaurants are clearly targeting Korean and Chinese customers based on signage, and food item selections at the small shops and grocery store. Those nationalities will find plenty of familiar food, drink and entertainment.
The newly renovated ferry terminal in Batangas is nice…LCD monitors and everything! You have to walk a good way from Si-Kat (we used it this time) bus drop off with your bags as a group, get inside, then go through security screening / X-Ray checkpoint. The porters will assist you if you let them, but will expect a tip. We generally carry our own stuff.
Si-Kat was fine for us. Usual AC equipped tourist bus, with cargo bays for gear, and we bought online in advance for 1550 PHP($28 USD) each. Yes, we have done much cheaper public transport from Manila to Batagans and PG - most recently for less that $10 USD all in each - but wanted to try Si-Kat. We left from the Citystate Tower Hotel in Ermita at 9:30 AM, and we were in Batagangas about noon with traffic. Bathroom stop on the expressway, and they sold food and water onboard, but we did not buy any. Get there at least 45 minutes early and be aware they have assigned seats.
Ferry schedule I posted in the other "Easy Ferry Schedule" thread is a rough approximation. It varies daily, however, and some days smaller ferries / Fastcats are not allowed to travel due to PAGASA gale warnings…even when nothing approaching a gale is happening. Today is a gale warning, and the actual is maybe E 10 knots with gusts to maybe 18 knots now and then, and a bit choppy with a 1.5 meter-ish swell.
Not sure if the ferries are going today, but the water taxis were this morning...so probably a good sign. The good news is that the RoRos (larger ferries capable of carrying vehicles - roll on / roll off) still go in most conditions. The ferry schedule is usually shared with resorts and hotels lasts in the afternoon for the next day. We were on the Island Water Fastcat. It was pretty crowded, likely due to CNY.
There is a "Touris QR Code" that is expected when you land in Balatero Port (the only port open to ferries currently). To be clear, this is not COVID-related, and the app they have to create the codes is, well, rudimentary and not particularly functional. Our resort handled the request to the authorities after we sent them scans of passports, and they email us our QR codes the night before the trip from Manila. However, some resorts says you don't need this, and we did see that there were lines for Residents / Tourists with QR Code / Tourists Without QR Code. The last one seemed to have staff to assist with reservations / confirmation of status and issuing a code. So...it's not a deal breaker if you don't have it, but I think we're supposed to have one.
The Baltero Port area is between White Beach (west) Sabang (east). A trike for the two of us and our gear was 300 PHP to Sabang Pier. You can negotiate, but we didn’t.
There is now at least one working ATM in Sabang…in the alley by the discos and clubs. I watched someone make a withdrawal.
. Most ATMs in the Philippines limit withdrawals to10,000 PHP (~ $183) per transaction. Credit cards are still not generally accepted in shops and restaurants or bars in Puerto Galera. A few exceptions exist, but bring cash.
The new Bay Walk / Bay Wall (heard both) project along the Sabang waterfront is progressing nicely! I think will really add a positive “malecon” vibe, and is mostly poured now. They seem to be finishing up the main surface now. You can see the resorts on the end closer to The Point Bar (El Galleon) spiffing things up, and renovating and new businesses popping up in anticipation of a more positive scene for walking / people watching.
The walkway is roughly where the red dotted lines extend from the central Sabang Pier area. The resorts to the left in Small Lalaguna and Big Lalaguna area are reached by footpath or speedboat pickup at the pier. The pier is more of a idea than a structure. There is the stub of a pier and gangplank that goes down to floating platform that is used for getting in and out of boats. Be careful if attempting to carry gear down this plank!
Pictures here are mostly from the less finished East End of the waterfront (right side if facing the Sabang pier / water from town). The West End has Atlantis Resort (very nice!), Captain Gregg’s (worth a look), a few newly updated bars with balconies for drinks and people watching, as well as the narrow accessway to the clubs / alleys in town. If you continue West, it turns into a footpath that goes to The Point Bar / El Galleon (still looks good and was busy). The East End has more rudimentary resorts and rooming options. There is a nice Korean BBQ Restaurant on the East End waterfront there that was busy. The West End was busier and seemed more updated, but the East End is just now getting concrete poured, so who knows what a few months will show?
There are now not one, but TWO floating bars in Sabang! Each has their own boatman. A pleasant way to watch the sunset. Note that Happy Hour is 3-5, I believe, so before Happy Hour in most bars. My wife and I liked the first one pictured (Bikini Bar) for its friendlier staff. You could taste vodka in the drinks. It has a diving platform. The other one (Floating Bar) had several pretty bargirls the Friday night we visited, but was far less friendly to a married couple like us. it has a water slide, though, which looked fun! If there was vodka in our drinks, neither of us could detect it. Your experience could be different. Try them both.
That’s about it for now, but hope this is helpful!
Regards,
JohnCn
We have had a nice stay in Puerto Galara so far, so thought I would give a couple personal observations. Your mileage may vary, as they say! We stayed at Lalaguna Villas (LLV), which has really expanded and improved some aspects since our last visit in late 2019, but will do a separate summary at the resort itself.
Weather has been cool and cloudy / rainy, but warming up today, it seems. Water temperature has been around 25 C (77 F) within a degree or two in Fahrenheit.
Looking at my dive logs, viz has been between 5 and 12 meters with the rain and moderate chop. I am not an expert at meters, frankly, but those are the numbers dive staff told me after dives, so I wrote it down!
Tourists are starting to return. Especially last week and weekend, there was quite a bit of activity for Chinese New Year. Most tourists at our property have been Chinese or Korean, a few Europeans, and a smattering of other nationalities. We met maybe three other Americans on dives, and all were expats (one from Korea and another couple from Singapore). Note that we only dove with one shop.
Many of the local dive shops, bars and restaurants are clearly targeting Korean and Chinese customers based on signage, and food item selections at the small shops and grocery store. Those nationalities will find plenty of familiar food, drink and entertainment.
The newly renovated ferry terminal in Batangas is nice…LCD monitors and everything! You have to walk a good way from Si-Kat (we used it this time) bus drop off with your bags as a group, get inside, then go through security screening / X-Ray checkpoint. The porters will assist you if you let them, but will expect a tip. We generally carry our own stuff.
Si-Kat was fine for us. Usual AC equipped tourist bus, with cargo bays for gear, and we bought online in advance for 1550 PHP($28 USD) each. Yes, we have done much cheaper public transport from Manila to Batagans and PG - most recently for less that $10 USD all in each - but wanted to try Si-Kat. We left from the Citystate Tower Hotel in Ermita at 9:30 AM, and we were in Batagangas about noon with traffic. Bathroom stop on the expressway, and they sold food and water onboard, but we did not buy any. Get there at least 45 minutes early and be aware they have assigned seats.
Ferry schedule I posted in the other "Easy Ferry Schedule" thread is a rough approximation. It varies daily, however, and some days smaller ferries / Fastcats are not allowed to travel due to PAGASA gale warnings…even when nothing approaching a gale is happening. Today is a gale warning, and the actual is maybe E 10 knots with gusts to maybe 18 knots now and then, and a bit choppy with a 1.5 meter-ish swell.
Not sure if the ferries are going today, but the water taxis were this morning...so probably a good sign. The good news is that the RoRos (larger ferries capable of carrying vehicles - roll on / roll off) still go in most conditions. The ferry schedule is usually shared with resorts and hotels lasts in the afternoon for the next day. We were on the Island Water Fastcat. It was pretty crowded, likely due to CNY.There is a "Touris QR Code" that is expected when you land in Balatero Port (the only port open to ferries currently). To be clear, this is not COVID-related, and the app they have to create the codes is, well, rudimentary and not particularly functional. Our resort handled the request to the authorities after we sent them scans of passports, and they email us our QR codes the night before the trip from Manila. However, some resorts says you don't need this, and we did see that there were lines for Residents / Tourists with QR Code / Tourists Without QR Code. The last one seemed to have staff to assist with reservations / confirmation of status and issuing a code. So...it's not a deal breaker if you don't have it, but I think we're supposed to have one.
The Baltero Port area is between White Beach (west) Sabang (east). A trike for the two of us and our gear was 300 PHP to Sabang Pier. You can negotiate, but we didn’t.
There is now at least one working ATM in Sabang…in the alley by the discos and clubs. I watched someone make a withdrawal.
. Most ATMs in the Philippines limit withdrawals to10,000 PHP (~ $183) per transaction. Credit cards are still not generally accepted in shops and restaurants or bars in Puerto Galera. A few exceptions exist, but bring cash.The new Bay Walk / Bay Wall (heard both) project along the Sabang waterfront is progressing nicely! I think will really add a positive “malecon” vibe, and is mostly poured now. They seem to be finishing up the main surface now. You can see the resorts on the end closer to The Point Bar (El Galleon) spiffing things up, and renovating and new businesses popping up in anticipation of a more positive scene for walking / people watching.
The walkway is roughly where the red dotted lines extend from the central Sabang Pier area. The resorts to the left in Small Lalaguna and Big Lalaguna area are reached by footpath or speedboat pickup at the pier. The pier is more of a idea than a structure. There is the stub of a pier and gangplank that goes down to floating platform that is used for getting in and out of boats. Be careful if attempting to carry gear down this plank!
Pictures here are mostly from the less finished East End of the waterfront (right side if facing the Sabang pier / water from town). The West End has Atlantis Resort (very nice!), Captain Gregg’s (worth a look), a few newly updated bars with balconies for drinks and people watching, as well as the narrow accessway to the clubs / alleys in town. If you continue West, it turns into a footpath that goes to The Point Bar / El Galleon (still looks good and was busy). The East End has more rudimentary resorts and rooming options. There is a nice Korean BBQ Restaurant on the East End waterfront there that was busy. The West End was busier and seemed more updated, but the East End is just now getting concrete poured, so who knows what a few months will show?
There are now not one, but TWO floating bars in Sabang! Each has their own boatman. A pleasant way to watch the sunset. Note that Happy Hour is 3-5, I believe, so before Happy Hour in most bars. My wife and I liked the first one pictured (Bikini Bar) for its friendlier staff. You could taste vodka in the drinks. It has a diving platform. The other one (Floating Bar) had several pretty bargirls the Friday night we visited, but was far less friendly to a married couple like us.
it has a water slide, though, which looked fun! If there was vodka in our drinks, neither of us could detect it. Your experience could be different. Try them both.That’s about it for now, but hope this is helpful!
Regards,
JohnCn
