I ♥ Potipot Island Uacon, Zambales 09/09/11


My feet are entirely too itchy to stay in one place for another month so I pressured my friend to go travelling. Being considered a natural controlling friend, he has a talent when it comes to organizing travels. He planned to go to Potipot Island in Candelaria Zambales to spend quality time. 
We supposed to ride the 3am bus but we were 5 minutes late of the scheduled time. We left around 5:00 am at the Victory Liner Bus Station at Monumento thinking that we’ll arrive at our destination early. I thought Zambales is just roughly 3-4 hours drive from Manila but going there would take 6 hours of grueling travel. We still need to transfer to another bus in Sta.Cruz bound to Iba. Potipot is quite very far, many people might get turned off going there. 
We checked in at the Sun Bloom Resort, for about Php2,000/night for an aircon room good for five, with its own cable TV, and of course, bathroom.
 The resort sits in front of the beach and Potipot is already visible from there. When it comes to our room, I might say it’s fair enough with amenities. The staffs were also accommodating too. We were asked if we wanted the resort to prepare meals for us , so to cut the hassle we paid them 600 pesos for 4 sets of meal.
 
Potipot is a private island, rumored to be owned by a retired general, and entrance fees are Php100 per head for a day trip and Php300 for overnight stay.Unlike most of the island getaways in the country, Potipot is very close to the mainland. The island is not well developed yet. There is no electricity and source of water comes from a hand operated water pump. We were all excited to explore the island but it was such a disappointment to find out that the surroundings were quite dirty. The fact that they ask for an etrance fee, the caretakers should maintain cleanliness around the area.
 

How to go to Potipot Island?

From Manila by Bus:

Take Sta. Cruz Bus from Victory Liner Pasay Terminal. Tell the conductor to drop you by Dawal in Uacon in Candelaria. Also ask the conductor to know the last trip going to Manila. You may just wait for the bus on the highway going to Manila when you go home. 
By own transportaion:

Take the North Luzon Expressway(NLEX),exit San Fernando and drive towards Olongapo City. Enter SBMA and exit at the Kalaklan gate. Go straight to the town of Castillejos until the San Narciso junction. Turn right at the San Narciso junction to enter the town proper and then pass by the towns San Felipe, Cabangan, Iba and Masinloc. After Masinloc head to Candelaria but use the national road instead of heading to the town proper. You will noticed the Dawal signage. Just approach locals to make sure of the location of Potipot Island.  
It will take a 6-7 hour bus ride, so you better take the 11:00 PM bus schedule going to Iba, Zambales. And you can take bus going to Sta. Cruz. 
Estimated Logistics:
Victory Pasay-Uacon, Candelaria, Zambales = P450
Bangka Rental = P600 for 4-5 persons depends on your packs





















Location: Uacon Bridge, Candelaria, Pilipinas

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I ♥ Puting Buhangin Pagbilao - Quezon (2012) - 09/29/2012

Image
I always pray for good weather when planning an out-of-town trip, as a typhoon can easily disrupt carefully planned travels. Fortunately, when we visited Puting Buhangin in Pagbilao, Quezon, the weather remained clear. I had been longing to visit this place since last year, but unforeseen circumstances always led to cancellations. Growing up in Quezon province, I felt a deep connection to this destination and wanted to appreciate the beauty of my hometown.   Initially, I had planned a solo backpacking trip and shared my travel plans online out of excitement. That's when I received a message from Mac, who expressed curiosity about my travels. I proposed the idea of going together to Puting Buhangin to cut down on expenses. Without hesitation, Mac agreed to join me on this adventure.   On the day of the tour, heavy rain poured down, making me fear that the trip would once again be cancelled. I reached out to Mac via SMS to confirm if he still wanted to go. If he had changed his mind
Read more

I ♥ PMA BAguio City 12/12/2010

Image
Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Baguio Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Baguio was the first tourist spot I visited in this humble city. I went there last 2008 with my college friends and I really enjoyed our short stay there. There is no restriction in visiting the area. However, due to its gaining popularity they implemented policies that may annoy some first time travelers.  All visitors entering PMA must have individual valid IDs. A person without a valid ID can't enter PMA. If you're in a group and you don't have ID, you will be instructed to get off the jeepney at the gate and wait for your companions with IDs while they're enjoying the tour. Also, wearing slippers is a big no-no when you wanted to enter its premises. Even though you are wearing your expensive flip-flops the security personnel won't show any mercy and you may be force to await your companion at the gate. They promote wearing shoes because people who wanted to visit the area shou
Read more

I ♥ Batis Aramin Lucban Quezon 03/13/2011

Image
  Batis Aramin Lucban Quezon Batis Aramin Resort, Hotel and Adventure Camp is just one of the few resorts near my hometown Tayabas, Quezon. We went there when we visited the well-known Catholic Pilgrimage site called “Kamay ni Hesus” which lies on the foot of Mt. Banahaw last 2011. You won't be lost to find the place because it is just on the other side of the popular retreat camp Kamay ni Hesus which is located in Malupak, Lucban Quezon. We don't have enough money to pay the 100 pesos entrance fee but because we wanted to explore the place we just made an alibi to the security personnel that we just wanted to do an ocular visit and see if we wanted to stay. The security personnel was very kind and he let the 5 of us enter the vicinity we just left our ID's for record updating.  There were a lot of guess that time. I saw a lot of private cars with LaSalle University stickers probably they rented the place for retreat. I never expected the resort to be so beautif
Read more