Live in the Philippines

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Favorite Beaches

Beaches / by

The Philippines has a lot of beaches!  Of course, with 7,107 Islands making up the country, there are literally thousands, probably tens of thousands of beaches!  Maybe even more than that.

Over my years of living in the Philippines, I have been to a lot of beaches.  I am sure that even those who have traveled to the Philippines just once, one of the activities that they participated in during their visit would be going to the beach.

There are only a few places you might go visit in the country where you can’t easily and quickly be at the beach.  I mean, places like Baguio come to mind and other inland areas.  But, most population centers around the Philippines are close to beaches.  In my case, living in Davao we are right on the water.  Even if I am at my house, I can literally walk to the nearest beach in only about 10 to 15 minutes.  I have expat friends living in Davao who are right on the beach.  So, it is easy to get to beaches from most places in the Philippines

What kind of beach do you like?

What kind?  You mean there are different kinds of beaches?  Sure there are!

What comes immediately to mind is the difference between a very crowded tourist type beach vs. a remote beach.

Boracay

Boracay Beach Party
Boracay Beach Party

Boracay is a very popular beach destination.  Unlike it being a beach “just up the road” people from all over the country travel to Boracay, be it by air or boat (usually both), to visit Boracay.  Undoubtedly, Boracay has some of the top beaches in the world.  I have seen plenty of surveys in Magazines and online where Boracay beaches are rated among the world’s best.

But, do you want to visit Boracay?  Have you already visited, or do you plan to? For me, Boracay is not on my list of places I plan or even want to visit.  Why not?  Well, nothing against the place itself, but it is crowded. Lots of tourists.  Plenty of crowds of people.

Being crowded has advantages.  Having a lot of visitors means that there will be businesses there to support the tourist trade.  Restaurants.  Hotels.  Bars.  Places where you can rent things like jet skis or other “beach equipment”.  If you go to a very secluded place where there are not any or many tourists, such businesses will not exist, because without people around there won’t be enough money flowing to keep the business afloat.

Certainly, not having tourists around to enjoy the beach is not a problem in Boracay.  They get a huge tourist trade throughout the year.

Remote beaches

Beach in Santa Maria, Davao del Sur
Beach in Santa Maria, Davao del Sur

Living in Davao, we have a lot of beaches around here that are fairly secluded.  I like that.  You can go out to a great beach that is more or less “undiscovered” and does not have many people on it.  In fact, a lot of the time when we go visit a beach we don’t see another soul anywhere in sight, and we have the beach all to ourselves for enjoyment!  Of course, this is true in most areas of the Philippines.  No big crowds on the beaches because the beaches are so numerous that people can go to a large variety of beaches, thus no big crowds at any of the beaches!

The beach in the picture above is at Santa Maria, Davao del Sur Province.  Santa Maria is about an hour and half south of Davao City.  We used to go down there often for a day at the beach, although it has been several years since we have made the trip.  I’ll have to arrange another trip soon, take the family down and have a nice day in the sand.

For the Davao area, most people go over to Samal Island to have some beach fun.  On Samal you have a mix of crowded beaches, semi-crowded and isolated beaches. Probably the most popular (and crowded) is Paradise Island.  I am not a huge fan of Paradise Island, although it is very nice, because it gets crowded.  Also, if I am at Paradise I feel like I am still in the City.  Other beach resorts on Samal are semi-crowded, but not nearly as crowded as Paradise.  For secluded beaches, travel further South on the island and you will see fewer and fewer people.  For totally abandoned beaches on the island, the place to go is EAST.  Yes, the east side of Samal island is generally isolated, and you will see others on the beach only rarely.

What type of beach do you prefer?

For me, I really enjoy an isolated beach.  I like nature, and on the isolated beaches you tend to find sea life like sea urchins, starfish and such on the beach.  You don’t see those on crowded beaches much.

Yes, I understand, a lot of people enjoy the party scene. The drinking, partying, and such with others.  For me, I prefer the quiet.  But, nothing wrong with either preference.

What do you like best?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Mornin’ Bob 🙂 Boracay isn’t my go to type beach either, but ended up there on accident once. It’s more for tourists who aren’t as adventurous and want all the amenities of home. If you want to sit in an upscale hotel and look at a beautiful beach while eating the same food you would in the USA or Europe, then that’s your place. I prefer more remote places. So far, my favorite is Kalanggaman Island off of Polompon, Leyte, but that’s a real adventure.

    • Hi Rease. Like you, I find the more remote and isolated places preferable. Nothing wrong with the high end beach resorts… they just are not for me. 🙂

    • Kalanggaman Island, stock up before you go, because there is nothing there. it is beautiful, sure. But hope a tropical depression doesn’t come along.

  3. Bit of a shock my first beach visit in Davao because the sand was black. Kids looked like they were playing in mud.

    • There are beaches with sand of lots of colors in the Philippines. In Zamboanga they have Pink Sand beaches, which are quite beautiful. Not many black sand beaches around Davao, but a couple. 🙂

  4. The family home where we stay when in Bauang,La Union is less than two blocks down a small alley directly across the highway to the beach. The beaches are usually not crowded, but they are not secluded either. There are always a few people around,but rarely a crowd. We spend a lot of time in the water just staying cool.
    My goal during my last visit was to find a beach resort nearby that had good food, drinks, both pool and beach access, and WiFi. We found several such resorts within 20 minutes walking distance from home. We narrowed those down to two favorites, both within 10 minutes. One had my wife’s favorite halo halo,the other had the best calamari!
    Next trip I want to find some of these remote beaches everyone talks about. There are plenty of locals with boats (balangay?) I’m sure we can hire to fins such a beach.

    I am not one for the crowded party beaches.

      • In Paringao,Bauang, right next door to where we stay are the Mark Theresa apartments. It is a local landmark, right on the main highway
        It did not appear that all the apartments were full when we were there in April.

  5. Bob said: “For me, I prefer the quiet.”

    That is my taste, as well.

    Not long after I arrived in Philippines, in 2007, we were given the opportunity to purchase a couple of lots, 2500 sq.mtr., with a 40 metre beach frontage, in a secluded location – less than 30 minutes drive south of Tagum. It faces those deserted beaches on the east coast of Samal, which you mention.

    Unfortunately, an adjacent lot has been purchased by a Canadian and commercialised, on a small scale – a few nippa huts but no concrete.

    Many people have suggested that we should build a business there, but that is not my style. I am determined to keep our area as unspoilt as possible, but we have built a small rest house (still unfinished!) there. Our beach is for the use of family and friends, and for Christian outreach – it has been used for baptisms.

    When we visit, we can relax, play beach sports, swim and snorkel, but one day I hope to be able to buy a sailing dinghy and/or a jetski – this would allow us to explore up and down the coast, and to reach that east coast of Samal.

    • Hi Peter – Sounds very nice! I great place to get some peace and quiet and relaxation! Assuming that the Canadian does not expand his operations!

      I am not anti-business, or the type of beach development business. For me, if I were to have such a place, though, I would also have a separate secluded place for my own enjoyment. If it comes to business, you want lots of activity and people spending money. But, for me (and you) having that quiet seclusion is important for my “alone time”.

  6. Bob said: “Assuming that the Canadian does not expand his operations!”

    He has expressed an interest in purchasing our area, but that will not be an option for him while we can afford to keep the area for ourselves.

    I’m not sure of the status of the land on the other side of his lot – it looks rather overgrown.

    • Problem is that if he wants to purchase your lot bad enough, he can make it unbearable to stay – too much noise and activity on his present property… then selling to him might be the best option. I hope that does not happen!

  7. Bohol is nice not really secluded though
    But it was quiet relaxing
    Mactan beaches aren’t to bad , been awhile since I’ve been there
    I heard Cebu is expanding

      • Yeah it was a resort beach
        Forgot the name , I heard they closed down , pretty compeitive I guess in that biz
        They always seemed booked
        Who knows
        Hope your feeling better by the way

  9. Tambuli west and east resort
    They closed down a few years back
    Don’t know why they always seemed booked
    Pretty quiet
    By the way hope your feeling better

  11. The beaches I prefer, in fact the only ones I will go to nowadays, are those that do not allow boom boxes, karaoke sets or anything else that allows groups of inibriated plonkers to overwhelm the sound of waves lapping the shore and wind rustling through the coconut fronds.

  14. Hi Bob have you ever been to Palawan? I was there 2 years ago and I have never been to a more beautiful place. And the beaches are considered to be some of the best not only in the Philippines but in the world. And the best part is that you can pretty much have the beaches for yourself since there are almost no people there. On our way from Puerto Princesa to El Nido we did see almost no cars at all. One of the reasons for that was that we did drive up to El Nido in the night. But to meet less than 10 cars in an 5 to 6 hours drive would be very unusual anywhere else in the Philippines I think.

    • Hi Pete – Yeah, I have been to a few of the black sand beaches and they are OK, but I am probably biased by my upbringing that I prefer the normal white sand. Nothing quite like an empty quiet beach, you can’t beat it in my book!

  17. I certainly agree with you Bob. Seclusion fits me best. We had a beautiful beach seldom visited nearby. We called it Hidden Beach. A Greek fellow and his wife owned about 7 hectares of it and it was visited only by locals. There were no amenities, we had to bring our own. The couple split up and they sold the property. The new owners built a road into it and it gathers a small crowd these days. I don’t go there anymore.

    A couple of years ago while visiting relatives we found a nice little resort on Panglao Island, accessible by bridge from Tagbilaran. Resorts are not my cup of tea ether, but this one among several others along the northern shore was nice (and cheap). It was very quiet and sparsely populated.

    Cebu itself has a number of beaches around it’s perimeter. When my daugher was visiting last April we took her to what was advertised as a whale watching site. Upon arrival we discovered a large crowd of people buying tickets to ride a banka to watch the “whales”. They were charging PhP1,200 per to be taken about 50 meters off shore to sit and wait for a couple of whale sharks to pass by. These were all foreigners and we passed it by.

    We seem to be seeing more and more of these scam enterprises. I don’t criticize them as they are bringing in a few desperately needed pesos into the local economy. And they are providing a service to the unknowing foreigner…

    • Hi Ron – Wow P1200 for a 50M ride in a bangka? I can understand why all of the customers were foreigners! 🙂 ha ha.

      Too bad that the scam places are proliferating. Probably if they charged a fair price they would attract a bigger crowd and actually bring in more money to the local economy.

  20. Puerta Galera and the nearby Coco Beach Resort are my favorites; along with Boracay, of course.

  21. I was pleasantly surprised with Boracay after going to 100 islands “resort” and seeing nothing but a parking lot filled with trash.

  22. Nice pot, Bob, but I don’t know if I agree with it.

    As far as avoiding crowds are concerned, in a tiny county of 100 million people that’s near impossible. Everywhere is crowded. The only places that aren’t are in remote areas that can be hell to try and get to. I’m currently in Butuan city and to get to a nice beach from takes around 3 or 4 hours by car. Roads are slow and sluggish even with a car, but if you don’t have a car, then you need to try and find a tricycle or multicab to get you there, which is super slow.

    I’ve travelled all over the Phils in the past couple of years and the only nice beaches I ever saw (I haven’t been to Boracay) were on uninhabited little islands accessible only by pump boat. And even those had rubbish on them left there by visitors.

    Saying that all these beaches are easily accessible isn’t really accurate unless you live right next to one, and just about any beach here near even a modicum of population is usually a wreck and piled with trash or fish farms or houses built out over the water.

    The very best way to find nice beaches and places in this island nation is to have your own boat and explore the country from the water, stopping off wherever takes your fancy. Travelling by boat is a lot less hassle and so much quicker than using the roads here, too.

    • Hi Darren. It us ok if you don’t agree but I have evidence that there are uncrowded isolated beaches. Take a look at the photo in the article. I took that photo myself at Santa Maria, Davao del Sur. I drove there, no boat needed. Not a person on the beach. There are many such beaches easily accessible from Davao City.

      Take care.

  23. I seem to be in the minority but I love Boracay’s White Beach. It is very long and you don’t have to feel crowded out as there is plenty of space. I spent my 50th in the Shangri-La on Boracay and I loved every minute!

    I also love Caminguin Island, Hinatuan in Surigao Del Sur and Talked Island which is between Davao and Samal Island. I’ve been t a few resorts on Samal but they don’t compare to the ones I have listed above, in my opinion I hasten to add!

      • I will check that one out some day.

        Seagrass is a good one……….we stayed overnight once, comfortable rooms, reasonable facilities, but most of all I like sitting at the end of the pier and dangling my feet in the water and listening to Otis Readings “Dock Of The Bay”. Seems fitting somehow!!

  24. Hi Bob
    I too like peace and quiet and enjoyed both our visits to Gann (Hope I spelt that right).
    Lovely view across the bay too.

  25. I like the action beaches. Boracay was my favorite. Alona beach is OK but there not much to do.

  26. So far, Boracay is my favorite for beaches. You can go to “crowded” areas (not crowded at all compared to US beaches), or to totally isolated, secluded beaches. We rented a kayak from in front of our downscale and cheap, native style hotel, and paddled to a totally secluded beach within 15-20 minutes. Then, when you want something to eat you can walk to any one of about 500 restaurants within about 15 minutes. Boracay has it all; including that powdery, white sand.

  27. Like Darren, our house is not too neat any beach, and the closest one, 40 minutes by car is crowded, noisy and dirty. So, when we want to go to s nice beach we travel to Boracay or Alona Beach, Bohol, which is similar to White Beach on a smaller scale.