Life is a Beach - Burot, Beach (Calatagan, Batangas)

A few months ago I learned about this beach "Burot Beach", located in Calatagan, Batangas. It takes 3 to 4 hours to reach this place, the estimated budget for this trip is around 1,000php.

BUDGET

Van to Calatagan		180
Tryke to Burot Beach		100
(roundtrip 300php - 3pax sharing)
Tent (rent)		100
(300php - 3pax sharing)
Boat ride to Isla Puting Buhangin		60
Entrance to Burot Beach (overnight)		130
Bus to Pasay (Celyrosa transit)		140
Food		200
Total		910

It's been a long time since I've visited Batangas, I'm excited to visit this place. I've seen pictures of Burot Beach (on blogs), some were nice and some were just O-kay, I really can't tell if it's really worth a visit. Maybe???

 It was late February when I suggested this beach to my friends, unfortunately the plan was unsuccessful because of our different schedules. At last the month of April comes and we push through to this trip, thanks to my two buddies Nice & Mhay.

Burot Beach

Our call time is 6 AM at Mcdo (MRT Taft Station), according to fellow bloggers, buses to Calatagan (BSC Terminal) is located at the back of Mcdo & Sogo Hotel. When we reached the terminal, the only bus available is heading to Lian, Batangas, the conductor says that there were no buses going straight to Calatagan, he says that we need to transfer. But no need to worry because at the back of Kabayan Hotel, there were two vans at the terminal, going to Balayan and Calatagan. The fare is 180php and it'll drop you at Calatagan Market. The travel time is 4 hours from Pasay to Calatagan, with light traffic in Tagaytay area.

Arriving at Calatagan Market, you'll hear some tricycle drivers shouting "Burot", they will drive you straight to the beach, the fare is 150php and travel time is 30 minutes.

It's almost noon when we arrived at Calatagan Market, we take our lunch first at the nearest carinderia,  then we also buy some food for our dinner. When we were buying our needs, a tricycle driver approaches us and asked if we are heading to Burot, he seems good and we decided to ride on his tryke, we paid 150php.

Kuya Polly
Contact #: 09159925182

Kuya Polly, Nice & Me ^^

I'd like to recommend Kuya Polly to be your service, he says that the next time we visit Burot, he will lend us his cooler and griller, he's really nice.

Arriving at Burot Beach, lots of campers had already set their tents and the challenge start for us ^^

We paid 130php each for the entrance fee (overnight stay), we don't have a tent so we rented it for 300php. We find a good spot for setting up our tent, it is my first time to set it up and first time to sleep on it! (Ignorance is my best friend ~kekekeke)

How to set up a tent? ^^

Easy as 1, 2, 3 (hahaha)

Happy Mhay inside our tent!

After we set our tent, we immediately explore the beach, of course its photo-ops time! ^^

Photo-ops under the scorching sun!

My friend "Nice" was accompanied by this handsome buddy :)

There are some boat going to "Isla Puting Buhangin", a place with lots of starfish! The rate is 40php each, travel time is 3 to 5 minutes.

These boats will also take you to the PIER where the bus terminal going to Pasay is located, the rate is only 100php, it is cheaper than riding a tryke.

It was a short ride going to Isla Puting Buhangin, I even say"eto na yun?" . But then, I got excited when Kuya Alvin (boatman) catches some starfish!

The water is just above the knee, Kuya says that before sunset the water subsides and we'll see the beautiful sunset.

Be careful of the sea urchins, Kuya Alvin also catches this one and throw it away.

Patrick The Starfish ^^

We enjoyed the short ride to Isla Puting Buhangin, we went back to the beach, my friend Nice was excited to do her sun bathing , Mhay & I just stayed at our tent enjoying the view ^^ (di naman kami takot umitim, takot na takot lang)

I think this group was having their team building



Now its sunset time, Kuya Alvin fetch us in our tent and  went back to Isla Puting Buhangin.

Sunset at Burot Beach

You can swim at the other side of Isla Puting Buhangin, but be careful of any water creatures (sea urchins, jellyfish, etc.) Take note that there's no lifeguard in this area, maybe the boatman can help (I guess), just be mindful of your surroundings.

We paid Kuya Alvin 20php each for this second trip, we enjoyed watching the sunset and of course our non-stop photo ops! 

Blurry shot ni Kuya ^^

Nights falls at the beach, because there's no electricity in the vicinity, we rent a bamboo torch that cost 70php, there's a "sari-sari store" in the area where you can buy water, soft drinks, shampoos, food, etc. (they even sell halo-halo and of course ICE). 

Sari-sari Store

Bamboo Torch

I survived Burot Beach! ^^ (haha survivor ang peg!)

successful bonfire

After dinner, we went to wash ourselves in the bathroom. About the bathroom/comfort room, since this place is not yet develop, do not  expect too much of the facilities, there's  no light in the bath area/CR (obviously because there's no electricity), the water in the faucet is running slow and my friend even saw a coach-roach inside. 

I'm hoping that they'll fix these bathrooms, this private owned beach even collect entrance fees, they must provide a good bath area!

It's my first time to camp, and yes my first time to sleep in a tent. I'm happy that I survived a night, I was able to sleep, but get paranoid when the dog outside was making some noise at the side of our tent. I can say that I survived BUROT BEACH! ^^

The next day, we strolled the beach, it is already Sunday and lots of people were enjoying dipping into the water of this lovely beach!

Morning at Burot Beach

We had fun exploring Burot beach, enjoyed our photo-ops on the big rock ^^. 

other side of Burot Beach

Goodbye Burot Beach!

We left past 9 o'clock in the morning, reaching Calatagan Market we had our brunch at the nearest carinderia. We take the 10:30am bus ride from Celyrosa Transport, and reached Pasay around 2:30am, it was 4 hours travel time with a light traffic again in Tagaytay and Pasay area.

Enjoying your summer vacation doesn't necessarily means spending lots of money, with this budget friendly trip you can still have your summer vacation! Of course you must take in some consideration like there's no electricity in this area, no fancy accommodation, no establishments, no lifeguards, no decent washroom/CRs.

Things to bring:

• Flashlight / emergency light
• Tent / sleeping bags (pillows, blankets)
• Mosquito repellent
• Sunblock
• Food
• coal, kerosine (for the fire & cooking)
• Water
• Plastic for your trash
• cooler

 Just in case you forget to bring some of your goods like your bath necessities, you can still buy at the only one sari-sari store in the area, they also sell cold drinks!

That's a wrap! Enjoy your summer too at Burot Beach! ^^

Staycation at St. Agatha Resort

It's March 31st, Sunday of 2013! We are celebrating two special occasions,  one is Easter Sunday and the other is my younger sister's Birthday!

To start off this summer season, we planned to have this staycation at St. Agatha Resort, which is just 15 minutes away from our place.



Bulacan is well known for many big resort specially wave pools, St. Agatha Resort is located at St. Agatha Homes, Sta. Rita, Guiguinto, Bulacan, owned by former Mayor Boy Cruz. It's my favorite resort in Bulacan, why?  This place is like home for me, few minutes away from my place, the resort is clean and green! It was 2010 when we first visited this place and I'm happy that it stays clean, they maintain the beauty of this resort.

Let me first tour you to this resort, you might want to try spending your summer getaway here


St. Agatha resort has 3 swimming pools:  Lap Pool, Kiddie Pool and Wave Pool.

LAP POOL

KIDDIE POOL

WAVE POOL

Cottages ranges from 500  to 1,000 up

ZIP LINE

The resort also operates a zip line that cost 200php for a ride.

Looks like my brother and nephew enjoys riding the zip line, but the price for this ride is kinda expensive, last year it was only 150php, now it's already 200php for a very short ride. 

HENNA TATTOO

They also have small section for Henna Tattoo that cost 50php.

Time for our photo-ops!

  

Swimming time

Again, we enjoyed our outing on this resort. I highly recommend this place for a summer outing, for more information you can visit their website at http://www.stagatharesort.com/. 

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