A short lived vacation at Bolinao, Pangasinan

Hi, my little world! Been a long time! I’ve been unexpectedly busy attending top priorities in line, however, I felt really blessed to have been given a chance to hit the road for a quick trip. That is the main reason why I am back right here.

Today, I'd like to share my recent vacation trip in Bolinao, Pangasinan. I originally filed a vacation leave last year for Coron, later September when we realized that I filed the wrong dates for my vacation leave. So, we decided to cancel our Coron trip and move the date for our convenience.

Tired of planning, I decided to go straight north for 4days and 3 nights. I thought of visiting Bolinao and Hundred Islands, but at the last minute we ended up cutting the trip shorter to 3days and 2 nights which causes us to drop Hundred Islands from the plan.

Cancelation of our Coron trip and cutting Pangasinan trip shorter was really annoying and frustrating, but I realized that its part of the growth and the path I chose so I just might as well play it with all the strength, grace and balance. Anyways, I’d like to focus more on what I had in Bolinao – a short lived vacation but really a good one.

Travel time is almost 7 hours. I didn’t bothered creating an itinerary, I just grab a guide from Ada of travelinboots.com . At the last minute, while we are on the taxi to Cubao Bus terminal I called the Rock View Beach Resort, good thing its low season so we were able to book without hustles. I also asked them to pick us up from Bolinao Terminal which ended up a very good decision even if it caused us twice the price of the regular fare going to Patar beach.

Our Accommodation:

Rock View Beach Resort is such a wonderful accommodation. It’s really confusing as its downsides were also its strengths. To cite an example is the location, it’s far from the white beach where all the cottages crowds. Thus, it was serene, silent and very relaxing, in fact, we had the entire rocky view all for ourselves – very lucky us! However, swimmable part is nowhere near the area during Amihan (Northern Monson) which means that you have to travel down around 2km to beach bum.

Another thing is that, this resort isn’t too commercialized – you get to live a very rustic days here, few cottages and two open cabanas which mean few visitors making it unreasonable for the owners to provide food services. Yeah right, they offer nothing apart from the use of the kitchen. You have to shop and cook for yourself, something I am so lazy to do when on a vacation. Anyway I wasn’t prepared for it, we were just told to buy everything we need (and by saying everything we need that includes drinking water to toiletries) by ate Lita’s son when he fetched us in Bolinao town proper.

Lighthouse:

8-10minute walk away from our accommodation.

 

The Enchanted Cave:

Like the Enchanted River in Hinatuan, this cave too has a very clear turquoise water. Based on the staff on duty that time, the cave is connected to the sea which explains the enchanting color of the water. It’s a nice place, and the water is very refreshing. The cave itself is very small though, I don’t think it’s worth a hundred and fifty for a quick tour and dip.

Patar Beach:

Beyond my expectations, the place specially the shoreline when we visited was very clean. The sand color is cream while most of the review says it's dark beige. According to the owner the golden sand is most of the time an effect of flooding water from highlands which makes its color darker during rainy season.

The Awesome Rock Views, turquoise water and Sunset:

Lastly is the view and the famous golden sunset of Bolinao! It was spectacular! I totally did not expect it, very picturesque place. The rocks, the cliffs, the waves, the clear turquoise water and the sunset - it is such a bliss.

Everything at the back of our cottage is very refreshing and encouraging. It stimulates not only our desire to take photos but also for some energizing yogic poses all at the same time. More to that is the strength it gives me while challenging myself on three of my weaknesses – the height, the force of killer waves and the composure and balance while withstanding through my discomforts.

Such a nice trip indeed, we went home tired, happy and satisfied. Inside our backpacks are our new found courage and poise.

Take Away:

• I find this place an expensive destination for two, so I suggest visiting this place in a group so you could cut the expense down to 50%.
• Tour first before proceeding to the resort, as most of the resorts are very far and when you’re already there, the deal gets fewer on tour package to choose from. We were priced 800.00 just going to the lighthouse (which we later found out was just a walk away from our stay), enchanted cave (150.00 entrance fee per pax) and a short stop at what they call the white beach. It's 1,500.00 if we choose to go to the waterfalls. The tour lasted 4 hours and our verdict? Overpriced.
• Always ask your stay if they offer food, we found out that most of them don’t.
• When you are coming from the metro, make the most of your travel time, visit Hundred Islands.
• Lastly, make sure to check the bus schedule, to avoid playing the waiting game. :)

Will I come back? Definitely yes!!! - on the same season with the gang and will make sure to visit Hundred Islands!