sweetescape: Potipot Island, Candelaria Zambales DIY

It has been a year. But since it's time for beach nourishment again, i decided to write about Potipot. Hope this helps for those who are wanting to enjoy summer in a budget :)

The first time I went to Potipot was in 2009 with my teammates from my previous job. I really enjoyed we almost had the island to ourselves. it wasn't summer when we went there. This time, I went with bf (now my fiance ♥)and our friends. Though it was a little crowded, I still really enjoyed the trip because of the people I was with.

POTIPOT ISLAND is included in the TOP 10 Most Googled destinations in 2013 in the category "top domestic travel destination searches, by search volume" by CNN. No wonder. It is undeniably one of the great beaches near Metro Manila that's very budget friendly.

It is a small island – about 7.5 hectare- which you can explore in about 20 minutes :) It boasts of a clean beach front, pristine blue waters, lush array of mango, coconut trees and coral shells.

DIRECTIONS:

From Manila, take the North Expressway and exit at San Fernando. From San Fernando, head southwestward all the way toward Olongapo City. Right before the city boundary of Olongapo, there is a bypass way via the Subic Base Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) which you may want to take to avoid passing through the city. Take this bypass road through SBMA and exit at its Kalaklan gate then head northwestward to Subic town, Castillejos, Sn Marcelino, up to the T-junction near San Narciso.

At the T-junction near San Narciso, turn right and head north through the towns of San Narciso, San Felipe, Cabangan, Botolan, up to Iba. From Iba, head for Masinloc then towards Candelaria. Do not enter Candelaria town proper. Instead, head straight, and continue along the National Road while keeping an eye for the signs that lead to Dawal Beach Resort in Uacon. Head for Dawal Beach resort.

Source:
Angelfire.com
Waypoints.ph

Potipot Island boasts of a clean beach front and natural caves.

BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:

1. Take a bus at Victory Liner, Monumento. You may check bus schedules here.
     I suggest you buy tickets ahead of time specially if you're planning to go on peak season.
     Travel time from Manila to Uacon is about 6 hours. What to do while travelling? ofcourse, sleep :D


2. Get off at Brgy Uacon, Advise the bus driver to drop you off at SUNBLOOM RESORT :) We made a reservation a week before to avoid hassle and to estimate the budget, since I have to give the group a rough estimation of the whole trip :) #accountantangpeg

3. 10-min boatride to Potipot Island.

Here is the exact itinerary I made for the group a year ago. We werent able to follow the exact thing listed here since we had to leave at 9pm because the next departure schedule was midnight, which would be too late for us (we want to arrive at Uacon before the sunrise). Also, there were a few changes on food and miscellaneous too :) But it was still roughly around 2k per person budget. Sulit! Good job! :D

Here are more pictures from our trip.

The island from the mainland.

One of our rooms. We stayed at Sunbloom Resort. Their rooms are clean, nice and very affordable too! A room with two twin beds is only Php1400 (4 persons).