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womanlalaboy · 5 years

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Touchdown Talisayen: Womanlalaboy’s Travel Guide to Talisayen Cove, Zambales

SUMMARY

Type of Travel: DIY + Travel Package Date of Travel: December 2018 Duration: 2D 1N Budget: P1, 500 - P2, 000 Where we stayed at: Tents by the beach provided in the tour package we availed

Changes are hard to deal with especially when handling the unknown isn't really your best suit. Things have been really challenging in my workplace and all I did for the past few weeks was anticipate the impact, dread the days and sulk in loss. I never thought that I would successfully adjust to the new ways of my work and my new colleagues, but the change was actually good. And how do we usually celebrate growth? We eat out, we party, we announce it on social media, or we reward ourselves by splurging. To celebrate, I shifted from the usual and planned a getaway for me and my new workmates. We ended up choosing a package to Talisayen, Zambales and the experience we had is by far unlike any other.

We figured that we can use this time to get to know each other so we chose a place that won't be able to divide us with nightlife and other distractions. We stayed at a cove on a Monday so we literally have the beach for ourselves with a few locals running the place and guiding us. Planning ahead was really beneficial for this trip. I was able to negotiate things with our travel coordinator and of course, confirm exactly what we are to expect.

The only crucial thing with trips like this is that you can't simply go YOLO. Everything has to be considered - schedule, budget, food, and drinks, people to contact and so on and so forth. Having open communication with the group is essential to having a successful trip. Even with clear instructions, a member may run late so it's better to have at least one of your ever-present members to have a list of your contact information. Since we knew that this may be a problem, we allotted 30 minutes for the meet-up and had us picked up really really early since we're from Cavite and we have to endure so many traffic problems along the way. Had we tried commuting instead of renting a van, it must have taken us way longer than it should to arrive at Talisayen. Below is the simplified sample of our itinerary.

SAMPLE ITINERARY

DAY 1

2:00 AM - 2:30 AM - Meet-up 7:00 AM - 7:30 AM - ETA at Pundaquit Beach, San Antonio 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM - Camara Island 8:45 AM - 9:15 AM - Capones Island 10:20 AM - ETA at Talisayen Cove 12:00 PM - Lunch 6:30 PM - Dinner 7:30 PM - Bonfire

DAY 2

5:00 AM - Wake up 7:00 AM - Breakfast 12:00 PM - Lunch 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM - ETA at Pundaquit Beach 3:30 PM - 8:30 PM - ETA at Bacoor Cavite

It's a lot easier to budget your travel when you're ridin' solo because you only have yourself to think about. That is not the case with group trips. Since there may be people backing out and adding up days before the actual trip, your budget has to be flexible and you should pinpoint what to prioritize- which items have to be adjusted and which items have to be fixed. In this trip, only the allotted money for food and beverage is adjustable since that will have to depend on the number of members.

SAMPLE BUDGET

(for 13 pax)

8, 450 - Travel Package (650/head) 3, 550 - Food, beverage and eco fee 7, 500 - Van rental ________________________________ 19, 500 - 1, 500/pax

We chose the cheapest package they have so we can bring specific food that we will surely enjoy, but if you'd like to do nothing but relax and sample the activities offered, you can always negotiate with your contact and have everything arranged. We spent P3, 550 for food and beverages plus the Eco fee. Your food and beverage expenditures would depend on how much you guys eat and drink. The Eco fee is fixed to P20/head unless the local government changes the fee. It will have to be paid before entering Pundaquit beach. The van transportation would cost around P7, 500 depending on who you hire, what type of van you will need, your route and other travel agreements with the driver like the pick-up point, toll fees, and parking fee, but you can also ask your contact if they can coordinate a van rental.

HOW TO GET THERE

Public Transportation: Victory Liner Bus Terminal Cubao/Pasay/Monumento > drop off at San Antonio public market > tricycle to Pundaquit

Private Transportation via SCTEX: NLEX nothbound > exit SCTEX > Subic > Exit SBMA > Pundaquit

Private Transportation via Pampanga: NLEX nothbound > exit San fernando > Dinalupihan, Bataan > SCTEX to Subic > exit SBMA > Pundaquit

WHERE TO STAY

There are a few privately owned concrete cottages at the far end of the cove, but we're not sure if those are for rent as well. We had tents included in the availed package and we were able to use as many open cottages available since there were no other travelers.

We're really lucky to have Kuya Jess as our travel coordinator. I found about his page on Facebook and inquired via messenger and eventually via phone call everything we need to do to avail the package. He's very accommodating and considerate. He'll ask for your target budget and will give you several options to lessen your expenses. He'll also walk you through the process of booking the tour and will never leave you hanging.

Contact person: Jesus Bansales III Website: https://www.facebook.com/pg/alphajhess/about/?ref=page_internal Messenger: m.me/alphajhess Contact #: +63 977 321 7900

Package: 650/head (min. of 10 pax)

Inclusions:

Island Hopping (to Camara, Capones and Anawangin Cove)

Boat ride and Entrance to the cove

Tents for sharing

Cottage

Cooking utensils (ladle, cooking pan and cooking pot)

Bundle of wood for bonfire

Charcoal to use

Ice cooler w/ice

Water to drink (2 Containers)

POINTS OF INTEREST

We spent 2 days and 1 night relaxing by the beach and living as if we're island people by doing everything the old school way. We tried getting our own firewood for cooking, we pumped artesian well to get water and enjoyed the days with minimal use of technology.

Island and Cove Hopping Depending on your agreement with your travel coordinator, you can schedule when to do some activities offered. We had Island hopping to Camara and Capones before we arrive at Talisayen Beach. We were supposed to visit Anawangin on our way back to Pundaquit, but opted to stay longer in Talisayen and go straight back to Pundaquit afterward.

Trekking Our coordinator also offered a few trekking activities: trekking to the hilltop and trekking to falls which was excluded in the package and would have cost 100/pax/activity. We were too consumed by the beauty of the cove alone and just stayed by the beach playing cards, drinking beer and goofing around that we didn't have enough energy and time to do all the other activities.

Stargazing This might not be the most exciting activity to do, but the view of the stars, the bright Milky Way seen by our naked eyes is the highlight of this trip. The tent I was going to sleep in happen to break before the day ends so we had to use the tent instead as a cover where we can lay our backs and sleep the night away. Before sleeping, we just stared at the sky for a good 1 hour and count how many falling stars we'll be able to see. Moments like this are needed to take everything in. Moments like this count the most. I wish we could show you how beautiful that night was, but I wasn't able to bring my DSLR (again) and our phone simply sucks at low-light photography, but y'all should see it for yourself!

THINGS TO BRING

Medicine (Bonamin, mefenamic acid, meds for allergies if there is any)

Sunblock

Blanket

Portable pillow

Flashlight

Swimwear

Towel

Health Card and your company ID (always bring this)

Charger

Mosquito repellent

Cameras and charger

Personal hygiene kit (soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc.)

Aloe Gel or calming creams (for treating sunburn)

Eco bag for your used clothes

Lighter

Extra food

Extra Money

Extension cable

Pocket knife

Scissors

NOTES

Contact a legitimate and trusted local travel coordinator that actually cares!

Ask questions. It's always better to ask questions than assume things especially when you are coordinating a trip with someone else.

If you'd like to experience the simplicity of living in Talisayen, cook the old school way. Ditch the butane stove.

Bring something you can play with (no pun intended) like a beach volleyball, playing cards, board games, etc.

The cove lacks electricity. They use vehicle motor and generators run by fuel. So if you have a solar-powered charger, bring that thing! They charge 200 pesos if you need to use the generator to charge your phone, though everyone in your group will be able to charge their phones as they can run the generator until 12 MN from 6 PM.

When fishermen visit the cove with freshly caught fishes and other seafood, sample them.

Bring easy to prepare food. We brought marinated meats for grilling, cooked Adobo and salted eggs with tomatoes. Foods that can be easily fried, but don't easily get spoilt would be great too, like dilis, daing, kikiam, and fishballs.

Talk to the locals and hear their stories.

Be kind to everyone just because.

MORE...

Also read: Liwaliw sa Liwliwa: Womanlalaboy's Travel Guide To Liwliwa, Zambales Also see:Touchdown Talisayen photo sets

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