Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with the best views in Anilao and fourteen luxurious suites,
each featuring earthy tones, stone and wood furnishings.
Rates include all meals, use of the pool, kayaks and
snorkell
ing gear.
Quoted rates are per person (P7250). Two
people
P15,000
Batangas City
BATANGAS CITY
lies on the other side of Batangas Bay from Anilao. The city has one
of the fastest growing populations in the Philippines but there's not much to see and
its significance for most visitors is as a transit point on the journey to Puerto Galera
on Mindoro.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
2
BATANGAS CITY
By ferry
Batangas Port lies 2km west of the city centre.
Ferries to Puerto Galera (around 2hr) depart Batangas Port
Terminal 3, where various companies sell tickets to
Muelle Pier (P230), Sabang (P230) and White Beach (P270)
on large outriggers (daily 6.30am-5pm). A chartered
outrigger will cost at least P4000 one-way. Montenegro
Lines (
W
montenegrolines.com.ph) operates a car ferry
(daily 7am & noon; 2hr; passengers P170) to Balatero, 3km
west of Puerto Galera, and hourly ferries to Calapan (P240),
44km southeast of Galera, and Abra de Ilog (3 daily; P260),
30km west. Fast Cat (
W
fastcat.com.ph) also runs between
Batangas and Calapan (1am, 6am, 3pm & 8pm; P190) in
just 1hr 30min. You need to pay an additional terminal fee
(P30) before boarding; departures for Galera also incur a
P50 “Environmental User Fee”.
By bus
Batangas City is usually 2-3hr bus ride from Manila
(1hr 30min via the STAR Tollway), but the roads are often
very congested and journey times can vary widely. There is a
jeepney station outside Batangas Port Terminal 3, with rides
into Batangas City centre costing P10; tricycles will charge at
least P50. If you're heading to Nasugbu (2hr), San Pablo (1hr
30min), Santa Cruz (3hr), Taal (1hr 30min) or Tagaytay (1hr
30min), take a jeepney to one of the bus terminals in town.
You'll find the JAM, ALPS and Ceres Transport terminals on
P. Burgos St, a short ride from the port. Numerous buses wait
at Terminal 2 for the frequent trip to Manila.
EATING
★
A&M Village Restaurant
Hilltop Ave, off P. Burgos
St
T
043 723 1118.
This ordinary-looking restaurant, near
the University of Batangas, is best known for sumptuous
native cuisine such as
bulalo
,
kare-kare
(peanut stew),
buko
juice and
leche
flan (mains P250-350). It's 3km from
the port; any taxi or tricycle driver will know it.
Daily
8am-9pm.
Hungry Hippo
UB Hilltop Arcade
T
043 300 2323,
W
hungryhippo.com.ph.
Another store with a cult
following, right next to the University of Batangas, this
local chain is beloved for its juicy hamburgers (from P85).
Daily 8am-10pm.
★
Lety's
11 P. Dandan St
T
043 723 3388.
Must-try
pancit
tikyano
(red stir-fried noodles; P140) at a no-frills
canteen near the basilica and leafy plaza in the centre of
the city.
Daily 7am-9.30pm.
North of Manila
Most travellers zip through the provinces
north of Manila
- Pampanga, Bulacan and
Bataan - to the justly famed attractions of northern Luzon, but there are a few reasons
to break the journey.
Malolos
has some historic distractions, while
Mount Pintatubo
and
Mount Arayat
provide energetic hikes and gasp-inducing scenery.
Bataan
is a
surprisingly wild province, with some excellent beaches and World War II monuments,
while
Subic Bay
is turning into an appealing beach, dive and outdoor activity centre.
Buses connect all the main attractions with Manila, though fast ferries are much
quicker to Bataan - if they are running (see p.125).
Malolos
The capital of Bulacan province,
MALOLOS
lies some 45km north of Manila, a relatively
historic city of 250,000 best known as the location of the
Malolos Convention
of 1898,
the meeting of patriots led by Emilio Aguinaldo that led to the establishment of the
