The Road to Isla Verde

When my colleague and I wanted a quick escape from this busy city, our first option is to try glamping in San Rafael but the place is fully booked for the weekend so we search a beach near Manila. After thorough searching we decided to go to Isla Verde in Batangas because of the clear blue sea.

Isla Verde is situated along the bodies of Verde Island Passage between the islands of Luzon and Mindoro, Philippines. One of the famous destination within the island is Mahabang Buhangin, a kilometer-long stretch of white sand beach. Another one is Cueva Sitio, a cave that leads to the other side of the island. And we stayed at Isla Verde Tropical Friendly Resort, we choose this place because the review was good and it’s a good place for snorkeling.

We leave Manila early in the morning at around 330am. We ride a bus going to Batangas Pier as this will alight us to Batangas Terminal Station. Upon arriving in Batangas Grand Terminal there were 3 options to ride, the first one is ride a jeep that go directly to Tabangao the problem with this is that you will wait for other passengers to fill-in the jeep,  the other one is ride a jeep going to Bayan then from Bayan ride a jeep going to Tabangao Pier. We choose the third option which is riding a tricycle, since we are four this is more convenient to us as we can control our time and we still need to buy things for our meals for our stay at Isla Verde. After going to the market, we went directly to Tabangao Pier, it was 8am when we arrived there and the boat will leave at around 9am. It is okay to wait at the pier than left by the boat as there is only one schedule of boat going to Isla verde.

Tita Joe, ask us if we want to join the boat tour on that day but we opted to rest as there is still time for us to explore the place the next day. So we cook our meal than take a nap in our tent. 

They say that the resort is a good place to view the sunset and yes it was!.

In the morning of Sunday, we went some snorkeling and yes you can see fishes on the shore.

At 10am we went for island hopping, unfortunately we weren't able to go to the cave as the wave is getting bigger so we decided to have a swim at mahabang buhangin than return to Isla Verde Resort

Isla Verde is a great place to escape the busy life in the city. It is not yet crowded, people are friendly. You can sun dipped at the shore and go snorkeling.

Itinerary

Day 1

3am - Meeting place at 711 Eastgate

4:00AM: ETD Jam Liner Cubao

6:30AM: ETA Batangas Grand Terminal

7:00AM: Arrived at Poblacion Palengke

8:00AM: ETA Tabangao Pier

9:00AM: ETD Tabangao Pier

10:00AM: ETA Isla Verde Tropical Friendly Resort

10:30AM: Prepare food and Rest

4:00PM: explore the resort and sunset viewing

8:00PM: bonfire, socials

Day 2

10:30AM: Island Hopping

3:00PM: Snorkeling

5:00PM: Explore Mahabng Buhangin

8:00PM: bonfire, socials

Day3

3:30AM: ETD Isla Verde

7:30AM: ETA Manila

Expenses

Round trip bus ride Manila to Batangas Grand Terminal (PHP 165*2):  PHP 330.00

Round trip tricycle Batangas Grand Terminal to Tabangao Pier (PHP 600/4):  PHP 150.00

Round trip boat (PHP 100*2):   PHP 200.00

Small boat (PHP 5*2):  PHP 10.00

Accommodation (PHP 900/4):  PHP 225.00

Meals (PHP 1,200/4):  PHP 300

Island Hopping:  PHP 250.00

Total Expenses:  PHP 1,455.00

Contact Person: Tita Joe

Contact Number: 09164408647

Website: http://islaverderesort.com/

Note: The original price of the accommodation per night is PHP 600.00 but my friend knows how to bargain with Tita Joe that is why we only paid PHP 900.00 for two nights. For the meals, we cook our meals and bring portable gas stove to minimize our expenses. Bring water as it’s too expensive at Isla Verde. For soft drinks and other needs you can buy at the sari sari store at the back of the resort.