Weekend in Buceo, Anilao

The Philippines is blessed with several great beaches. While most of my favorite ones are a plane-ride away from Metro Manila, the country’s capital, there are also a good number of locations that are a few hours’ drive away from our city.

Anilao, located in Mabini, Batangas, is anout two hours’ drive away, and is mostly known for its diving and snorkeling spots. I used to frequent this place about a decade ago. This was where I acquired my PADI Open Water Diver certification.

Mabini has a lot of good resorts, and for this trip I referred to the reviews in Google Maps and found Buceo, Anilao. Aside from the good reviews, it was also located in a secluded area, which was what we wanted out of our beach trip. We made our booking early and were lucky to have availed of early bird rates.

Prior to getting there, the resort staff asked us what time we would be arriving, as they were to assist us in parking. I thought they were just going above and beyond on service, but when we got to the street leading to the resort, it made sense because parking was a bit tricky. The road could only accommodate one way traffic at a time, so the assistance of the resort staff was much appreciated and needed. Getting to Buceo entailed a hike down from the parking area to the resort.

We were welcomed by their awesome staff who gave us drinks as we were given a short orientation of the facilities. Then we were led to our room called Hairy Shrimp. It was spacious and clean, and offered a good view of the sea from its balcony.

After checking in, the next order of business was late lunch. The resort’s restaurant had a wide variety of food options, and D and I tried a different seafood dish every time we at at the restaurant.

Now a beach holiday won’t be complete for me without a trip to the spa. The spa was located at the topmost part of the resort, and the view was simply gorgeous. I was the only customer at the time, and the sound of the waves and the birds lulled me to a light sleep as the masseuse gently kneaded through my shoulder knots.

After my spa trip, D and I walked on the beach as we waited for the sunset. As we admired the beautiful display of color in the sky, I contemplated on making more of these quick trips to the beaches near the metro.

I’m glad that the local tourism is booming once again. Even though it’s hard to come by available rooms for other travel destinations for the rest of this summer, I’m thankful that we got the chance to go to the beach twice this year. Looking for more locations is something I look forward to doing during my downtime, and we’re determined to have more beach trips to come.