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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.
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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 one-way fare is 250 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 normal season (June to October), a room will range from 1000 to 1500 (good for 2 persons), when it’s high season (November to May), the same room will range from 1500 to 2500.
Many resorts offer group packages for a minimum of 10 persons worth around 1800 pesos per person per day inclusive of ferry, 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.