Puerto Galera is easily reachable from Manila in several hours with many options including private transfer, tourist coach, public bus and even seaplane. The easiest way to get here is by private car or van and banca directly to Puerto Galera. Just contact us to arrange pickup from the airport or your hotel in Manila.
Another option is by tourist bus which is cheaper than private transfer but almost as hassle free. The SiKat service (tel +63 2 5213344) has a convenient booking office at the City State Tower Hotel in Malate and the bus departs daily at 8:00 am. The fare is 700 pesos one-way which includes bus and ferry tickets, and a guide.
More economical are the commercial buses of BLTB, JAM and TRITRAN. The former has a terminal in EDSA-Pasay City while the last two have theirs along Taft Avenue near corner Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia), also in Pasay City. Schedules of these buses are quite erratic, but the earliest bus usually leaves at 6 am and every hour from then on (depending on the volume of passengers). Fare on these buses range from Php 180 to 220 depending on whether it is regular or an air-con bus.
If you are in hurry you can take the passenger vans (FX) which are also located on the other side of bus terminal along Pasay near Gil Puyat LRT station. These passenger FX/vans are using Star Tollgate an express way direct to Balagtas, Batangas, charging almost the same fare as air-con buses.
At the Batangas City Pier, there is a wide selection of ferries going to Puerto Galera, depending on which port guests intend to enter. There are four main entry points to Puerto Galera by way of its port facilities Muelle Pier, Balatero Pier, White Beach and Sabang Beach.
White Beach is the most popular of Puerto Galera’s 32 beaches especially among Filipino tourists. Come summer, from March to May, Manila tourists flock to Puerto Galera by the hundreds, and during the Holy Week, by the thousands. During this period, the rates of accommodations can increase by more than 300 percent. Private homes are rented out to many who could no longer be accommodated in the more than 50 resorts and lodging inns in in the area.
White Beach, during this time, is the scene of many concerts and festivals organized by big corporations like San Miguel, Smart and Globe. The beach are filled with people, relaxing, walking to and fro, sunbathing, playing volleyball, riding jet skis and banana boats. At dawn, people sit at the beach to witness one of the best sunsets in the country. At night, more people come out to enjoy meals at beachfront restaurants. There are several open-air bars with "gay dancers" and serving Puerto Galera’s trademark concoction, "Mindoro Sling". There are also many tattoo shops and souvenir shops along White Beach.
Puerto Galera’s close proximity to Manila, a 4-hour bus and ferry travel worth less than 500 pesos (one-way), make it the cheap alternative to Boracay. One way to get to White Beach is by taking a bus marked "Batangas Pier via Calabarzon" at the bus terminal at the corner of Gil Puyat Ave and Taft Ave in Pasay City. The fare for an aircon bus is less than 200 pesos and it will stop at Batangas pier. At the pier, there are many Puerto-Galera-bound ferries, choose the one which goes directly to White Beach. The fare is 200 pesos. Pay the Environmental User Fee (Entrance Fee to PG) and the Terminal Fee worth 50 and 10 pesos respectively.
There are many resorts in White Beach which offer rooms with aircon, cable TV and hot/cold shower. The room rates vary according to the season: when it’s low season (June to October), a room will range from 700 to 1200, when it’s high season (November to February), a room will range from 1200 to 1500, when it’s peak season (March to May), the same room will range from 1500 to 2000 pesos per night (good for 2 persons). During peak season, weekday rate is from 1000 to 1200 while weekend rate is from 1500 to 2000 pesos for rooms with aircon, cable TV and hot/cold shower (good for 2 persons).
Many resorts offer group packages for a minimum of 10 persons worth 1800 pesos per person per day inclusive of meals and accommodation. Other resorts offer tour packages to Puerto Galera’s numerous tourist spots, like Bayanan Beach, Haligi Beach, Bulabod Beach, Tamaraw Falls and Tukuran Hidden Paradise.
