Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
PUERTO GALERA ORIENTATION
Though Puerto Galera does have a commercial centre (aka
Poblacion
), the name is generally
used to refer to the whole area between
Sabang
, 5km to the east, and
White Beach
, 8km to
the west. Most visitors head straight for Sabang and the nearby beaches of
Small La Laguna
and
Big La Laguna
, home to a diverse range of accommodation, diving, restaurants and
nightlife. There are also a number of family-friendly resorts near the village of
Palangán
, about
halfway along the road from Puerto Galera to Sabang. Northeast of Palangán there's a small
isolated cove at
Sinandigan
with a handful of very peaceful options. In the other direction,
picturesque White Beach has plenty of accommodation and is popular with partying
Manileños at the weekends. For more of a remote experience, walk - or take a tricycle - round
to beautiful
Aninuan Beach
and
Talipanan Beach
, both of which have comfortable,
affordable places to stay.
Nearby, near the pier, the canon-flanked marble
Cross at Muelle
was erected by the
Spanish to commemorate the sinking of the battleship
Canonero Mariveles
in 1879
during a storm.
Sabang and around
Set in a pretty cove,
Sabang
is jam-packed with hotels, restaurants and dive schools,
popular primarily with foreign tourists. However, the beach itself is nothing special,
and not great for swimming, while the very visible girlie bar scene comes as a shock to
many visitors. If you arrive here by bangka from Batangas City, you'll be dropped in
front of
At-Cans
, a little east of the main road. From here it's just a short walk to several
more enticing beaches.
Small La Laguna
Just a few minutes' walk northwest along the coast from Sabang beach,
Small La Laguna
is the ideal choice if you're looking for a range of friendly accommodation in a quiet
location - most of it right on the water - with good dive operators and a handful of
informal bars and restaurants.
Big La Laguna
Just around the corner from Small La Laguna, the sheltered cove of
Big La Laguna
has
dive shops and a good choice of accommodation, some with convivial beach-style bars
and restaurants attached. With largely clean sands, this is the best spot in the Sabang
area for swimming, and there's safe snorkelling over the offshore coral reef (boats are
prohibited). Further west lies pretty
Coco Beach
, dominated by the plush
Coco Beach
Island Resort
(see p.247).
Palangán and Sinandigan Cove
There are some quiet and comfortable places to stay around the small barangay of
Palangán
, a few kilometres east of Sabang. Some are on the ridge above the road, with
marvellous views across Puerto's bays and islets and just a short walk from the beach.
Not all of these resorts have dive centres, but they can all help arrange diving through
operators in Sabang. Quiet
Sinandigan Cove
, also known as Coral Cove, is twenty
minutes northeast of Palangán by jeepney.
White Beach
A once quiet crescent of sand, spectacular
White Beach
has in recent years been
populated by small resort hotels and cottage rooms popular with Filipino families.
Unlike Sabang, there are no girlie bars and fewer scuba divers too, but it does have a
number of lively discos and bars that can get a bit noisy. White Beach gets especially
busy at peak times, notably New Year and Easter, when backpackers and students from
