CAMPING AND BEACHING ON A BUDGET?!

Hi loves! I want to share with you what I’ve experienced last week at Sta. Ana Beach, Calatagan, Batangas. I just knew this place and it is not that popular because it opens for public just recently so I’m very excited to blog about it. I’ll try my very best to keep it very simple and detailed for you guys…IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE PATIENCE TO READ LONG BLOGS, JUST GO READ IMPORTANT TIPS AND SUMMARY OF EXPENSES BECAUSE I PROMISE THAT IT WILL SURELY HELP YOU. (PICTURES ARE POSTED BELOW)

And here's the VLOG by the way :)
Sta. Ana Beach | Batangas, Philippines

SUMMARY OF EXPENSES

Fare to Calatagan:

Van- Php180 (one way) 3-4 hrs travel

*located in Pasay at the back of Kabayan Hotel. Landmark: Mrt-taft/Lrt-Edsa*

Bus- Php160 (one way)

*located at Coastal Mall (Parañaque City* 3-4 hrs travel

Fare to Sta. Ana Beach:

tricycle- Php200/ride (not per person)

Entrance free- Php50/pax(overnight)

Optional:

Tent rental- Php400 (2-4pax) & Php500 (5-6pax)

*you can bring your own tent*

Bonfire- Php100

Outlet- Php200

Comfort rooms:

Bath- Php15

Poo – Php10

Pee – Php5

Food: (bring/buy your own)

*you can buy at Calatagan Public market and cook at the beach if you have cooking utensils*

YOU MAY CONTACT:09774282148

IMPORTANT TIPS

1. Make sure to buy/bring all the stuff you need like FOOD, WATER, UTENSILS, and the likes because the public market or even small stores are few kilometers away from the beach.

2. On the same VAN terminal, there is the one bound to Balayan. So you better ask first which one is bound to Calatagan.

3. Prepare the payment for tent rental right after you got off the van because they will be asking for it before you ride on a tricycle.

4. *If* it happens to be rainy, be prepared to walk on mud and be careful as well because the paths are really slippery.

5. If you’re a group of four, I suggest you to rent two (2) tents good for 4 pax. Especially if you have a lot of things with you. (My height is 5’3 and my friend’s is 5’4. We fit just pretty exactly inside the tent; our 2 backpacks and 3 plastic bags were also inside the tent)

6. There are some sea urchins few meters away from the shore so be very careful. Although they have this more preferable part of the beach to swim on which is basically white sand. (ps, sea urchins can be eaten;ask me how

)

7. You can ask the lady from the house near the entrance to cook rice for you if you don’t have the means to cook. 1 kilo is Php90. For us two, it was good for 3 meals. Approximately, 6-8 plates.

8. It was somewhat hot at night (given that is was rainy when we went there) so I suggest you to bring portable fans…those mini fans which cost around Php200. But still bring blankets if convenient because it is really cold at dawn. (Especially that day, it was raining very hard plus thunderstorms and lightning)

Down below is the series of the whole experience so here it goes.

Last week, I was very stressed from everything and I really wanted to take a break. Coffee? Food? Malling? Shopping? Nahhhhh. Such frequent things to do and I was so used to them. I want beaching. I want camping. But how can I do that with a tight budget? And exactly where?

I’m from Pasig, Manila so it’s so impossible to look for a 5 or 6-km away beaches. So I patiently googled everything until I was lead to a page where it showcases “BUROT BEACH” located in Calatagan, Batangas. Judging by the pictures posted, Burot is such a nice place to camp and swim at the same time.

It says that it’s very clean, peace and quiet…maybe because Burot is remote or hidden. Anyways, I immediately dialled the cellphone number from the blog to inquire…unfortunately, Burot is no longer open for public. I do not know the main reason why and yea, I was about to get sad but FORTUNATELY, the man on the other line said that there’s this “STA. ANA BEACH” which is almost exactly the same with Burot beach and it is just 15 mins. away from there. So then he instructed me the ways to get to Sta. Ana beach. I am not a loner kind of girl so I invited my friend to come with me.

If you’re commuting, you can take a bus or a van bound to Calatagan Public Market. Both 3-4 hrs. travel (depending on traffic) But before you travel, make sure you contact Mr. Johnny or his son Clarence (both tricycle drivers) because they will be the ones who’ll fetch you from the market. Contact number is 09774282148. They are nice persons and very accommodating so you should not worry about it.

BUS (Celyrosa)

-located at Coastal mall (Parañaque)

-fare is PHP160.00 (one way)

VAN

-located at Pasay

-at the back of Kabayan Hotel

-landmark: MRT-TAFT/LRT-EDSA

-fare is PHP180.00 (one way)

-First trip is 4am, last trip is 4pm

*take note* there’s a van bound to a different place which is Balayan so you better ask first which van is bound to Calatagan.

You should not worry about where you’re going to stop because Calatagan Public Market is the terminal for van/buses. We left on July 30, 2016 at 11:25am and we arrived at Calatagan at 2:40pm.

When you get there, Mr. Johnny/Clarence will approach the passengers and will ask who is/are their contact/contacts. They will give you the tent good for 4 pax or 5-6 pax depending on what you prefer. The tent good for 4 is PHP400.00 while 5-6 is PHP500.00. You have to give payments first.

They will assign you to a certain tricycle driver to bring you to Sta. Ana Beach. Fare is PHP200.00/ride (not per person). Yes, it is a bit costly for a one way ride but it’ll be all worth it after the whole experience. They are very accommodating and they will really help you from everything you need.

The trike ride is 10-15 minutes. We went there on a rainy day (month of July so it isn’t a summer season of course) so we have to walk for 5-8 minutes because the paths going to the beach are muddy and filthy. (tho I enjoyed the mud, I really do hahaha!)

The place is really hidden so I got freaky at first. We passed by some pretty little houses until we got to the beach. It is really beautiful. A very peaceful and quiet place (except if there would be party people campers during your stay haha.)

First impression is very satisfying. We really liked the place because we really want to just chill and relax. The beach is clean and not that crowded. Although I got a bit sad due to the weather. So make sure to go there when it’s summer or sunny.

The tricycle driver and the man guarding the campers/swimmers, set up the tent we rented on our preferred spot on the beach. You can set it up yourself if you want to or just let them do it for you.

Afterwards, they asked for the trike fare and entrance fee which is PHP200.00 and PHP50.00, respectively. *PHP50.00/pax is good for overnight*

We immediately went swimming after we unload our belongings. Though the weather wasn’t cooperating, we still enjoyed our swim because like I always say, the place is quiet and relaxing. Almost perfect for couples who want to chill and relax for the weekend. We finished our swim at 5pm. How can we rinse ourselves, you say? There are two comfort rooms near the entrance of the beach. You’ll pay the lady who owns the house (CRs are separated) Php15 for bathing, Php10 for poo, and Php5 for pee. You have to fall in line if there would be other campers/swimmers who’d use the comfort rooms. The CRs are clean…they don’t have the smell of “something” though the water tastes a bit salty, I guess. But it isn’t bad anyway.

At about 6pm, we decided to buy woods for bonfire. The watch person on the beach helped us to set up the fire. While enjoying the heat, we laid a cloth on the sand and there we sit for a rest. It would definitely be perfect for a sunset viewing but the weather did not turned out good. Nevertheless, we still enjoyed the feeling of calmness.

We ate dinner at about 8pm and the bonfire was still on. The strong wind helped us to keep the fire burning. Afterwards, we played cards up to 9 pm until we decided to rest our bodies inside the tent. The bonfire was off during that so we really had to go inside due to mosquitos and the rain was starting to pour already.

I had a hard time to sleep because it was a bit warm inside. Maybe because we stayed near the fire for a long time. I think I slept at about 10pm and was suddenly woken up by cause of heavy rain and strong winds. We were really glad that our rented tent wasn’t that thin and light. I went back to sleep and totally woke up at 6:30 in the morning.

It was July 31, 2016. We planned to leave the beach at 12pm so we ate breakfast by then, swam a little bit and right after we rinsed, we moved our things out of the tent and disassembled it. It was quite challenging to disassemble the tent because the wind was so strong and the feeling was like we were holding a parachute that would literally take us up. Anyhow, I enjoyed it.

We texted Kuya Arnel,the tricycle driver who brought us on the beach, (we get his cellphone number before he left) because he’ll also be the one who’ll bring us on the van terminal…fare is still Php200/ride (not per person). It was 12 pm when we reached the terminal. We didn’t take the van which was about to leave because we wanted to eat lunch first. We ate at Zen’s Hut just in front of the terminal. Their goto is super duper thumbs up for me. You should really try it tho, especially when it’s rainy (or in the morning if possible).

We chose the next van and we left at about 1 pm. It was raining very hard. And when I say hard, it’s really hard. The roads are slippery that’s why we reached Pasay at around 4:30 pm by that time.

THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE IS AMAZING. If I will rate it 1-10 (10 being the highest)

Beach- 7

Cleanliness- 8

Ambiance/Aura- 9

Signal (cellulars)- 9

Safety- 7

So it would be 8ish in average, I guess. Just make sure that you will go there during summer or sunny because the paths to the actual beach aren’t that ideal if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want mud or that sticky feeling on your feet.

Yep. That would be all. I won’t hesitate to answer any questions from you guys just comment/email or anything. Thank you for your patience on reading my blog. Love and world peace…mwah! xoxo