This was a Tita (“aunt”) Trip with my gal pals, and so we were really leaning toward an overnight trip, at least, but everywhere seemed to have been fully booked already (chalk it up to excellent pre-planning). Just so we can finally go on a trip somewhere, we settled for a day tour to this Mariveles, Bataan resort.
How to get there (from Manila): land travel – private vehicles only, as the place is not yet accessible to public utility vehicles, as of yet; Ferry: take the Ferry at the Esplanade Seaside Terminal. Best to reserve your seats in advance.
Things to do: swimming, playtime (inflatables), lolling around. Hotel is also available, if not full, of course.
Budget: PhP499 per person for a Day Tour Pass, and PhP800 per person for the Ferry rides going to and from the resort. Plus, food money. This being a mid-scale resort, expect to pay a lot.
Suggested side trip/s: uhmmm… None. West Philippine Sea, maybe? (Incidentally, the Camaya Coast terminal is in the same place as that of Sun Cruises, which ferries people to Corregidor Island. Maybe next time we can try that out, as I haven’t been.)
Feedback: The trip took 2 hours on the ferry, which was comfortable, cool and clean. They also have a tv blaring out some movie or other, loud enough, I speculate, so other passengers don’t hear the retching of the sea sick, if any. (I get sea and car sick a lot, but this time, the water was calm enough, I guess, that I didn’t get queasy. Well, and maybe the Bonamine I took helped, as well.
If you are bringing your elderly ‘rents or grandparents, know that there is a long walk from the ferry up to the resort. Assess if they can teeter on the floating rafters for a good 3-5 minute walk. If not, best take the car.
The beach was nice. Not white sand, but beige. Very clean and private. No jellyfish, too. There were some brave fish who were swimming to the shore, though. At first I found this one brown, palm-sized fish kinda cute, but I noticed it just kept circling around me, and at one point nipped at my thigh! Had to get out of the water for a while, until it swam away. My hypothesis about that is that is was a relative of that spa fish that eat dead skin, and I was a meaty morsel (literally) because of my psoriasis. Wasn’t able to take a picture of it, too bad. Too busy running away.
No cabanas, though. There are a lot of picnic tables around, you have to find a nice shady spot under the coconut trees, or inside one of the restaurants on-site (Pancake House, Max’s, Yellow Cab, and Figaro Coffee). We had to move our table 3 times as the sun peaked and ebbed (does it do that? Well, you know what I mean. I hope.)
They also have the inflatable thingys, though not as big as the ones in my previous Summer Escapes blog (Summer Escapes: Inflatable Island). Having already been up close and personal with that one, I knew I didn’t want to get on this one, but the Titas were adamant. So, off they went. That is another blog in itself, because trying to get on it took, maybe, around 10 minutes or so, and that was with the help of a noble young stranger who almost got dragged into the water for hauling them onto the thing. But that sounded more dramatic than it really was, because I actually had a good laugh watching the goings-on from afar. Anyway, not-so-sprightly-more-than-40 year olds better be ready, if they want to enjoy the inflatables themselves.
Hmm…Oh, and that day we visited, Peppa Pig and her brother were there, too. Just saying.
For specifics, please visit their website here: http://www.camayacoast.com/
The Adventures of Super Normal Girl 