A WEEKEND GETAWAY TO LIWLIWA, ZAMBALES

A weekend getaway away from Manila is something we tend to look forward with. One random summer planning me and my friends decided we hit Liwliwa, Zambales. A quick trip that is both affordable and convenient to go to.

Plus isn’t a quick plan that is easy to pull off a great idea as well?

HOW TO GO TO LIW-LIWA ZAMBALES :

Ride a bus bound to Iba Zambales
- We rode thru Victory Liner at Monumento Terminal (first trip is 6:00AM, then there is a bus every hour available)
- Bus Fare is P307.00 (until San Felipe)
Alight at San Felipe (Bayan)
- landmark would be the trike terminal, and a market
Ride a tricycle, and tell the driver to drop you off Liw-liwa
- ~~Tricycle Fare is P50 pesos it is a 15 minutes tricycle ride straight to Liwliwa~~
- Trike fare is P30.00 pesos per person. It is just a quick 10 – 15 minutes ride all the way to Liwliwa
- An environmental fee of P20.00 is being charged as well per person

But since we we’re at the terminal by 5AM, one of my friend decided we go with them thru a private vehicle 🙂 and so we rode and started tripping by 6AM.

1 PHOTO — On the road with the CC loves ❤

Arrived at San Felipe by 11AM, it was not hard to reach for the place, we directly searched for Circle Hostel via Waze. It feels secluded entering the Inn to stay in, and losing a cellular signal is normal. There is a space for parking at the area if you’ll be bringing in your private vehicle. Tricycles are also around the area should you need to go out to buy more food.

WHERE TO STAY IN LIWLIWA :

Upon checking the Circle Hostel, its definitely a nice place for solo backpackers wanting to have a good time, you may also opt to stay at the hammock for – P350 / night, or bed – P500 / per night. Check out their IG for more photos.

We decided to check the area first before confirming that we’ll stay, since we’re 6 in the group, we’d like to have more privacy with our things. You’ll be amazed that there are still a lot of Inn / resort offering a space to accommodate along the area. So we walk around and tada!

We decided to have it at La Zerena! It’s just right in front of the Circle Inn Hostel.

They have around 8 – 10 bahay kubo cottages like the photo below. But as of FEBRUARY 2020 — La Zerena has evolved and was renovated way way better already. There were no kubo anymore around — instead, they have more private rooms available.

This is the sala area of the Kubo :p where you could get to sit and talk. Stock some of your things.

This is how it looks like inside 🙂 and imagine that the 6 of us fitted inside this cute room hahaha!!! It is secured with a lock so all our belongings stay safe inside.

So the bahay kubo basically cost P1,000 + 4 extra person *1,000 = P2,000

It was almost lunch time when we finally secured a space to stay in.

And since we did not really prepared too much for this trip, we got no baon but just plain chips and biscuits *which I normally bring. Luckily if you do not opt to have the grilling thing, there were a lot of canteen and stores nearby the area.

Usual rate of meal Php 75 – Php 100 pesos. Alcoholic beverage and cocktails are also available at a very reasonable price.

Let’s go to the beach ❤

Liwliwa is actually a place famous for Surfers who wished to have a great time. Surfing boards are everywhere for rental at the space.

Well as for me, I just wanted the calmness of the beach, the sound of the waves and the majestic sand to lie down with.

A lazy weekend it is. My kind of Saturday ❤

It might not be a perfect white sand place, but the area is okay and perfect for a chillin’ weekend away from the metro. Even on weekends there were few people at Liwliwa *though the holy week season just ended though. As per the locals, they were fully booked during the holy week and prices and rates were usually much expensive during those time.

We actually feel like owning the beach for some time 🙂 Photos cominggggg..

Tip : Make sure to bring pashmina, large scarf or anything you could use to lie down, a hat and a sunblock lotion are must haves as well 🙂

Chips and junk food is a must have as well as you chat around while taking photos :p

Got the chance to swim over the beach after lunch time, where the water is okay 🙂 and fun to swim at.

Overlooking sunset at 5PM, after soaking at the sea.

After spending the entire afternoon at the beach side, we decided to opt for some more foooood this time.

We actually ordered more than 5 different meals, and spent P250 / each for the nice dinner 🙂

Tip : If using a private vehicle, you could go out at the area and look for something sumptuous to eat.

Apart from the usual fastfood, we headed to Bite & Brew just right outside the Inn area.

And back at La Zerena to end the nice day 🙂 the room was actually pretty cold and we even had to turn off our fan.

Tip : Bring clothing to keep you warm as well. It gets a little cold by night.

By morning, we were actually planning to capture the sunrise but we do failed 😦 since, we actually overslept 🙂 hahah!! Surprisingly, you’ll have a good night sleep .

Waking up with sand and sea. All we could think of is to spend much time with nature. It’s not everyday we get to do nothing at all haha! So better make the most out of it.

Going back, as per the locals buses are also available at San Felipe area. Make sure to ask early in the morning so you’ll know the perfect time to leave.

You may do side tripping around Subic before heading to Manila 🙂 or better yet, spend the late lunch with the group at the dinning area at Subic.

Here’s the budget breakdown we had during our trip.

Budget / Expense (group of 6)