The beaches of Olongapo.... Barrio Baretto beach Versus Baloy Beach

Looking for the closest decent beach north of manila that wont cost you an arm or a leg? Look no further Olongapo City's beaches beckons the travellers with clean swimmable beaches with beautiful vistas of sun, sea, and rolling hills...

Olongapo is like 3 hours to 4 hours of leisurely drive by bus or private vehicle, thru the North Luzon Expressway, and the SCTEX or some would exit at san fernando pampanga, passing the towns of guagua and lubao then dinalupihan bataan before reaching Olongapo. Its neighbor municipality of subic is a freeport, economic zone which also hosts to many attractions like resorts, beaches, forest adventures, etc and was a former US military Base. Olongapo's  close proximity to manila has made it a favorite weekend destination or holiday spot for vacationers who want to excape the urban jungle that is metro manila. 

There are buses going to Olongapo coming from Caloocan City, Sampaloc, Pasay and Cubao. I would recommend Victory Liner and Genesis, their buses have regular schedules early in the morning till midnite and they have quick stops along the way. 

From Victory liner Caloocan it would cost you roughly P203 to get to olongapo city proper. Upon reaching  final stop which is the victory liner bus terminal, hop on a blue jeep, ask local folks for the jeep terminal, its very close to victory liner bus terminal. It would only cost you P15pesos, tell the driver to drop you at the resort of your choice. 

Barrio Barretto  beach or Driftwood beach

Theres more variety to the resorts here, and there are so  many eateries, convenience stores to choose from plus you get the feel of experiencing the local community in the area. Yes there are bars at night to attract former US servicemen who were once stationed in subic and clark during the 70s but its pretty quiet and safe during daytime. Even at night you wont see these entertainment girls sprawling on the streets looking for customers. 

The beach in barretto is long but not so wide in certain areas. The current pushes debris from other places during the monsoon season, so you might think the beach is dirty. But resorts do their best cleaning their front property.  Rainy day promos are offered by many resorts, i got a nice and comfortable queensized  bed, airconditioned room, flat screen tv with cable, clean bath and shower for only P1300 at Playa papagayo resort which is good for two persons. 

There are just too many options on this beach strip but i would prefer that you would stay at playa papagayo or by the sea resort since both resorts offer a variety of rooms at decent prices and the ambiance on these two resorts is unmatched elsewhere in the area. 

Aside from the usual resorts theres a public resort which caters to locals on day trip picnics. Driftwood beach resort is one of them. Open cottages are priced at P1000 with electrical outlets, the cheaper ones are priced half of that. Its the one beside arizona beach with a long pier jotting out into the sea. The sand in this area is much finer and the beach cleaner. There is ample parking in the public resort. 

If you prefer a more wider beach away from the nightlife attractions of barretto beach, then theres baloy beach which is more popular with the locals. The dropoff point from the green jeep route is the seven eleven convenience store in barrio barretto. Just tell the driver to drop you off at baloy beach and you can take a trike for P50 ride to your resort from the trikes parked outside 711. 

The best option for a mid range hotel here are treasure island, the popular wild orchid beach resort and blue rock resort with its popular floating bar and restaurant. Johan's at the far end of the baloy beach strip and kokomo's are backpacker's haven. Johan's offers diving while kokomo's has themed rooms and a cool rooftop viewing area. Personally i think  baloy beach is more of a local place as its frequented by day trippers and gets particularly busy during the summer months. 

 Here's a little secret...theres a nice hill pass blue rock resort which reasonably healthy adults can climb and get a spectacular view of both baretto beach and baloy beach :)

Make sure to check the weather before going to Olongapo. Enjoy!! 

how to take a picture with the boracay sandcastles!

Boracay is the Philippines's top tourist attraction, drawing tourists from around the world. Its been cited as the most beautiful tropical beach several times over by international travel magazines.

The island is like an hour and a half away by plane from the capital manila to the island of aklan by the kalibo international airport, and an hour and a half more by bus from kalibo to caticlan. Then you have to take the half an hour boat ride to the island. Air Asia and Cebu Pacific have flights daily to kalibo. So if there are no delays from manila you would be in the island in less than five hours. There are also smaller planes that fly directly to caticlan which is the port town connecting boracay to aklan and that cuts the travel time considerably. I personally used Southwest transport service, and theyre good providing convenient safe, affordable and secured transportation from the airport in kalibo thru their buses, sea worthy vessel and their mini cabs to your chosen resort in the island.

Tourists prefer staying at white beach which is four kilometers of white sand and this is where most of the resorts and attractions are located plus the island's entertainment and shopping area. There are other more quiet beaches too like bulabog beach on the other side of the island which caters to kite boarders.and my personal favorite, the rustic and more pristine Puka beach. Like any picture perfect holiday getaway there many activities to be enjoyed in the island, from parasailing, helmet diving, partying at the beach, kite boarding, sand skimming, and so much more. Well for filipino locals like me, who has been to the island for several times, i simply like bumming around, watch the sunsets, drink my mango shake and just lazily stroll in the beach.

and whats a great beach without sandcastles? Not much unless you want to look like ship wreck survivors posing for a souvenir hehe. In Boracay, voted as the best beach in the world, sandcastles are grand, sculpted with intricate details and hence worthy of a great photo opportunity or selfie.

these sandcastles are built early in the morning ususally by skilled entreprenures hehe and theyre taken down in the evening. They charge 15pesos unlimited photoshots per person. So if you have three people thats P45pesos. You can ask them to take your picture as a group or indivicually or by pairs. So before you try to do your poses its important that you study your poses. Aferall you ddnt ride a plane thousands of miles away from freezing north america or europe to strike a pose like you wanted to take the earliest flight out of the island hehe.

OK not a very memorable photo. Take a minute to study the finished product then give it your best shot!

Better! Make sure you add some movement, and dont try to simply stand there like a lamp post. Remember youre there to be merry so loosen up!

If youre the type who likes to show more personality to your photos you can do this! I actually ripped my shorts trying to raise the angle higher hehe

whether side or center dont cover the sandcastles, it took hours for the boracay boys to make one of these. and Oh be mindful of your surroundings, there are plenty of people nearby who might take advantage of your "tourist mindset" and grab one of your things like a "falling sunglasses" hehehe

Here is my favorite, stretch out your arms on both sides and give that sun kissed boracay island smile. Boracay wants you babeh!