Backpacking Philippines: Zambales, Iba Ka Talaga!

Zambales, Iba Ka Talaga!

Tutubi's memories of Iba, Zambales include his visits to the pink sand beach-fringed Potipot Island in Candelaria where he just passed by the capital town with it's church (St. Augustine), old houses and large public square. This time, however, Tutubi found himself adrift for a day in Iba and Palauig towns where he visited a black sand beach with few people frolicking early in the morning yet too late for the "Golden Hour" that landscape photographers seek.

Zambales has around 100 kilometers of coastline facing the South China Sea where you can also see (and buy) beach front property for sale plucked by foreigners looking for a nice, retirement place.

the approach to the beach after the tricycle ride from Palauig.

a family frolicking in the early morning waves on the beach's fine black sand

picture of butterfly on a mango tree. Butterflies are cousins of Tutubi :P

here's a rare picture of Tutubi, a self-portrait

The trip was just a short one so Tutubi didn't have the time to explore more of Iba and Palauig since his main purpose was to visit a relative and check out a piece of land in Bangkal, Botolan he wants to acquire someday.

Zambales remains off the radar of most tourists but it holds much promise. Only Subic Bay seems to be promoted and developed for mainstrean tourism which is good for backpackers looking for secluded places away from the crowds.

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Notes and Related Posts:

Other Zambales "places to see" include the white sand beaches of San Antonio (Anawangin and Pundaquit), Cabangan (where Mango Camp Adventure and Leisure Farm is) and Subic where White Rock, The Lighouse Marina Resort and others are located in addition to Ocean Adventure and Zoobic Safari. Other natural attractions are Balon Falls, Sto. Nino and Sagrada Familia Caves, and Baloc-baloc Springs. Historical marker of the birthplace of Ramon Magsaysay and ancestral house in Castillejos.

Similar to Corregidor Island guarding the mouth of Manila Bay, Grande Island acted as sentry to the entrance of Subic Bay with bunkers and batteries for defense.

San Salvador Island, off Masinloc town, is a white sand beach island similar to Potipot Island in Candelaria.

Capones Island and Lighthouse Pundaquit, San Antonio,
Ocean Adventure, Subic Bay

How to go to Zambales, the commute way:

At Victory Liner bus terminal on Rizal Avenue (Avenida), Caloocan (near Monumento LRT station), buses bound for Iba can take you there and will pass by Double Happiness for a stop-over, Olongapo, Subic, Castillejos, San Marcelino, San Antonio, San Narciso, San Felipe, Cabangan, Botolan, Iba, Palauig, Masinloc, Candelaria, and Sta Cruz (which is the northernmost town adjacent to Pangasinan). Bus fare from Manila (Caloocan) to Iba, Zambales is P371.00 (as of posting time) while commuting time is around 5 hours, 3 hours to Olongapo City from Manila.

If you're looking for directions to Potipot Island, board a bus to Sta. Cruz, Zambales and ask the driver to drop you off at Dawal Resort in Candelaria where you can hire boats for the 15 minute ride to Potipot Island.

"Zambales, Iba Ka Talaga" means "Zambales, you're really different!" in Pilipino.

Tags: Zambales Travel, 菲律賓, 菲律宾, 필리핀, フィリピン, Filippine, Philippinen, Filipinas, Filippijnen, Paradise Philippines

Labels: Beaches, Butterflies, Zambales

posted by GingGoy @ 8:58 PM,

19 Comments:

At Jan 22, 2008, 10:23:00 PM, Tinunuy said...: Our youth camp was held there last year and I can say Iba, Zambales is really a nice place. I hope I could go back there again someday.
At Jan 23, 2008, 5:35:00 AM, carlotta1924 said...: nice pun on iba. ;)

if there is one thing i love about zambales, it's its beaches. i remember the time i went there (san narciso) totally stressed out but came back to manila refreshed. hopefully i can go back there very, very soon =)
At Jan 23, 2008, 11:36:00 AM, Anonymous said...: One thing I love the most about The Philippines are the beaches. They are just ... beautiful!

:D
At Jan 23, 2008, 10:01:00 PM, GingGoy said...: ethyl alcohol, nice yet undiscovered by many place :P

carlotta1924, nice pun indeed. dami nga beaches dun but haven't been to san narciso

kyels, philippine beaches recently topped various listings and surveys from conde nast to yahoo :P
At Jan 24, 2008, 12:40:00 AM, Gita Asuncion said...: ang ganda naman ng photos mo... thanks again for taking us there. ganda pala ng zambales. hope mon and i can visit one time.
... from among your fotos, your self portrait is the best. hehehe.. ang daya!
At Jan 24, 2008, 9:43:00 AM, GingGoy said...: gita, thanks forthe compliments.ang gwapo nga raw ng self-portrait ko. the real photois another thing
At Jan 24, 2008, 7:48:00 PM, x said...: yeah, your nickname is cool. i like it too. :)
At Jan 24, 2008, 7:54:00 PM, x said...: that self-portrait is the 1st i've seen here. you're never revealing your identity, are you? haha.
At Jan 25, 2008, 2:09:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Looks lovely. Wish I was there.
At Jan 25, 2008, 8:32:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Pretty place and devoid of noise pollution. 100 kms of coastline - wow, that's amazing!
At Jan 25, 2008, 12:40:00 PM, GingGoy said...: acey, my name's splashed on all my pictures though it's written in baybayin (alibata)script :P

bw, that's a big plus for zambales, it's really a rustic place away from industrialization
At Jan 26, 2008, 8:32:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Looking so exotic for a Norwegian you know - you are tempting me to pay you a visit.

Wishing you a great end to your week :-)
At Jan 26, 2008, 11:57:00 AM, GingGoy said...: renny,you're welcome anytime to my country. may you havea great week ahead too
At Sep 15, 2008, 4:22:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I LIVE IN IBA- UNTIL GRADUATED MY HIGH SCHOOL,20YEARS FROM NOW,IT'S DIFFERENT NOW!ALL MY BATCH IN HIGHSCHOOL ARE CHANGES!THEY LOOK HAPPY,SUCCESSFUL AND PEACEFUL.IT'S SO NICE TO GO BACK HOME...
At Jul 20, 2010, 2:15:00 PM, Ghen said...: Hi. We're planning to go to Subic on August and if we have time , we want to go to Anawangin cove. Can you direct us how to get there? Like from DMIA in Clark to Subic then to San Antonio ba 'yon? We dont have any private vehicle so mag.commute lang kami..How much po ba fare from Olongapo/Subic to San antonio? Thanks.
At Jul 20, 2010, 6:12:00 PM, GingGoy said...: ghen, i have a post on anawangin, just search for it here. from DMIA and clark you can get there by riding the bus e.g. victory liner to Iba or sta cruz, transfer to a tricycle in San Antonio town then a boat ride to anawangin. no idea on current bus fares though last time i heard the manila to iba bus fare was P260.00
At Jul 4, 2012, 7:47:00 AM, Anonymous said...: im from baguio city and were planning to visit the main place which is palauig zambales?...how much is the fare?and what are the tourists spots that we can visit too..we need tour guide for this..im waiting for quick response...thanks...
At Jul 4, 2012, 7:49:00 AM, Anonymous said...: ..
At Jul 4, 2012, 7:58:00 AM, Anonymous said...: ..Zambales reminds me of someone who acts unprofessional..she stayed here in baguio city for more than 4 years.shes actually working here during that time,,shes shows attitude that makes the place not pleasing..we appreciate the place but for the attitude of some humans who are living there its a big NO., ,,its not convincing you know..you must be hospitable..that hinders us to visit Zambales..shes from palauig zambales...

Zambales, Iba Ka Talaga!

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