It's our 2nd day on our Pangasinan trip, and we planned visiting Bolinao as we heard good things about this place.
How to Get to Bolinao:
From Manila, there are bus lines which can take care of your transportation to Bolinao. Two of I know: Victory Liner and Five Star Bus line. I just checked victory liner's website and it will cost you 446 pesos from Manila to Bolinao. But if you're already on Alaminos, there are non-aircon bus (costs around 40 pesos) and aircon vans (P50) that will transfer you to Bolinao. From Bolinao town, you still need to take a tricycle so you could get to your chosen resort. Depending on its distance, ours is around 100-120pesos per tricycle.
Travel time from Alaminos, around 1-2 hours.
Our transportation:
From our transient house in Alaminos, off we went to the town proper to eat our breakfast. We then ride the non-aircon bus to Bolinao, though the trip is not that polluted, unfortunately, almost two barrios away, the bus got trouble, driver/konduktor can't repair it so we had to take tricycle from there. Tip: if you're already in Alaminos, I suggest ask anyone where is the aircon van transfer to Bolinao to avoid what happened to us. Hehe.
fixing a broken heart..errr, i mean broken bus
There are numerous resorts to Bolinao and its really not the usual Boracay and Puerto Galera setting where all resorts are in one place. There are few resorts residing at each other like in Brgy Ilog Malino, but there are other resorts from different barrios as well.
We stayed at Villa Carolina Resort in Ilog Malino, Bolinao. I never thought I will really enjoy the place! We are group of 10 and we paid P4500 for a night. It's only a fan room, but who needs an aircon room? If you're going to stay at Bolinao you don't need that as Bolinao is infront of South China Sea where the air breeze is really cool even in the afternoon. The resort is not usually strict on check in and check out times. There are lot of facilities you could use such as their swimming pool, basketball, beach volley, life jacket, billiards, watch tv and dvd movies, rest at the cradle and kubos around the resort for free. You can even borrow tsinelas if you forgot to bring one.
villa carolina resort's swimming pool
beach volleyball
kuya dandy - certified cool tourguide!
play foosball
or play billiards for free
http://adventurousfeet.blogspot.com/2010/03/pangasinan-bolinao-beach-resorts.html
What to do in Bolinao:
Aside from beach bumming, swimming galore, and other amenities at the resort you could use, there are few destination in Bolinao that is a must and will really take your entire trip a memorable one. We hire the resort's crosswind van to make a tour around Bolinao. We already arrived at the resort 11am from Alaminos (we wake up late that's why) so we only have limited time on our itenerary. Make sure to get to Bolinao early so you could roam around everything about Bolinao.
Our crosswind we rented for P2,500. Dust till dawn.
Roadtrip to Bolinao falls is not that easy. It is out of way to Patar Beach and Cape Bolinao Lighthouse and will take you approximately 1 hour on a rough road. If you don't want dust in your face, make sure to close the vehicle's windows. Bolinao Falls is superb, and yes we did jump to the falls even I'm really scared of heights. Villa Carolina let us borrowed their life vest to suit your jumping career.
Bolinao Falls, Bolinao, Pangasinan
jump off point at Bolinao Falls
super swimming
shallow part for kids
jump!
off to Bolinao falls
Enchanted Cave
One of the bolinao caves that we explored. Cool waters like a pool that you can enjoy inside the cave. It's really easy to go down this cave, because of the stairs made until you reach it.
Entrance Fee: P40.00 if you take a dip at the cave waters, P20.00 if not
stairs to enchanted cave
enchanted cave
This lighthouse is restricted to climb at the top. A story of a friend says somebody jump and tried to suicide at the top that's why we could no longer see the view at the top of the lighthouse.
beautiful tree at Cape Bolinao Lighthouse
Patar Beach
You will love to stay at this beach and relax. The waves are strong yet it didn't lessen the beauty of the beach. It feels like the sand is made up of real fine shells and it feels really good!
Tables for rent - P200.00
our super cute baby ellone at patar beach
At day 3, we just enjoy and swim at the resort while it lasts. We left the place around 2pm-3pm. After eating our late lunch and bought pasalubong, we take a van from Bolinao proper to Alaminos Victory Liner for P50.00. Why not ride bus directly from Bolinao? Because it is non-aircon and we definitely wouldn't want our ride home to be super exhausted from pollution hehe. Aircon bus from Bolinao to Manila will be available on its 12 midnight schedule.
Ilog Malino taken from Villa Carolina Resort
Maam Carol and me
We bought some pasalubong at the Bolinao Market: Danggit/Dried Pusit/Dried Dilis, around P120-140 pesos one-fourth kilo. It's already plenty and can subdivided to two-three plastics for three friends you will give your pasalubong. There's also bamboo rice cake, also known as "suman" just in a bamboo cane. Patar Beach also have lot's of shell-made curtains, keychains, and decoration for your home.
shells are lovely
Our trip costs us P3,000 per head including our transportation and food for 3days. This trip is spectacular and good for us, budget-wise.
66 comments:
Love to visit this place one day. Great info. =)
Hi..saw your blog while I am researching about bolinao..How's the beach in villa carolina? ok ba for swimming?
hi outonavacation. when we got there, the patar beach has waves, but we saw people who go for swimming kahit na wavy ang patar beach. if you have time, take your lifevest and visit the bolinao falls pede magswimming malalim lang. villa carolina beach is far from patar,on the other hand sa villa carolina, there's a long stretch of calm sea, malayo ka na tuhod palang. ok naman for swimming, nga lang mabato na pag super layo and if you can see one picture, malayo pa ung alon. river meets the sea ang villa carolina, you can swim at ilog malino or at the beach.. enjoy your vacation, just message here if you have other quetion, i wanna help :)
hi parang ok sa patar, kzo would you know of any resorts dun? walking distance lang ba ung beach sa resort? ung parang sa puerto galera?
hi anonymous, ang beach resort lang po na alam ko is ung treasures of bolinao, which is in the patar beach mismo. MEjo pricey nga lang, sabi nila it's the only resort there..other than that mostly you need to ride tricycle pa, but all other resorts here are also beach front din.
eto ung resorts
Bolinao Beach Resorts
Hi Madam! Your site is very helpful! We are planning to go there on Saturday-Monday. Saturday Hundred Islands but we will be staying in Alaminos and just transfer to Bolinao on Sunday to Monday. But I'm not sure where to stay, Bing's (Patar) or Villa Carolina? Can you help us decide? Thanks!
-j3c0 (j3c0@yahoo.com)
Hi j3co! Thanks for visiting! If you're on a tight budget, Bing's is much cheaper. I inquired before 1.5k per aircon room good for 4-5pax. If you're only this small group, choose Bing. Although sabi ng friend ko malayo pa din daw sya sa patar beach. On the other hand Villa Carolina cost our room 4,500 - we are group of 10, non-aircon siya pero comfortable and clean naman. Mind you, iba ung hangin sa bolinao malamig kahit tanghali. Are you going to bring your own vehicle? If not, villa Carolina offers van for hire which we did so you can explore the bolinao falls,enchanted cave.lighthouse,patar beach. You may try to inquire Bing if they offer vans for bolinao tours. If you have your own vehicle, way better to tour around. Bing's-cheap. Villa Carolina-amenities/hospitality.
Hmmm.. this is a nice experience..thanks for the info! :)
@Cagayan de oro jobs
thanks for checking!
hello! thanks! very informative.question lang.. naguluhan kasi me you said "ang beach resort lang po na alam ko is ung treasures of bolinao, which is in the patar beach mismo. MEjo pricey nga lang, sabi nila it's the only resort there..other than that mostly you need to ride tricycle pa, but all other resorts here are also beach front din."
... san beach front ba ito?? maikli lang ba ang shoreline?? when you said all other resorts are also beach front.. anung mga resorts ito?? :-)
Yung pic ng daughter mo, pinuntahan nyo lang ba yung beach area?? is it infront of any resort?? (villa carolina or bings maybe)...thank you!!!
hi,
i mean the only resort in Patar Beach that i know is Treasures of Bolinao. Nasa bandang dulo kasi ang patar beach. This is the famous public beach here.
All other resorts mejo nasa unahan pa talaga like villa carolina, punta riviera etc...ibang barangay na. Beach front din sila, siguro same stretch ng Patar Beach. And if you're asking me yes po, villa carolina is beach front.
Sa part ng villa carolina resort, the river meets the sea.. Check my 4th and 6th picture from the top -that's the view in Villa Carolina Resort.
My 1st pic in this blog (topmost) is the Patar Beach.
My friend's daughter, she has a solo picture here, it's in the Patar Beach, we rented a service from the resort to tour us to falls, cave, lighthouse as well as here in Patar Beach.
Hello! Thanks for the post, it's really helpful..^^ I contacted Villa Carolina for our beach wedding and we're considering doing it there.. The thing is I've actually never been there since Im out of the country right now so I'd really love to know what you think about it.. Is the beach good at sunset??.. do you think a beach wedding is feasible there??..thank you so much!
Arianne
arianne_milo@yahoo.com
Hi Arianne,
Honestly I'm not really sure if it's good for wedding. Though there is a huge part of sand for beach wedding, the river meets the sea here, so you'll be passing a 2-3 meters length of river water. That is if it's okay with you..
I strongly suggest to check out the place first for you to see.
On the other hand when you visit the place, try to check Patar Beach as well. It is a famous beach here, probably good for wedding but you need to coordinate with them as this is public (but there's a resort I know strategically located here - Treasures of Bolinao - http://adventurousfeet.blogspot.com/2010/03/pangasinan-bolinao-beach-resorts.html ).
From Villa Carolina to Patar Beach, it's facing the sun so don't worry about the sunset shots :D
Just to add you can also have prenup pictures here, beach in Villa Carolina, or in Patar and Bolinao lighthouse. :)
best place! Villa Carolina!
waahh!!nakapunta na kami dito! it was bagyong pepeng pa nga..under renovation pa sila..pero grabe super sulit, yung may ari super bait! at ganda tlga dito! :P
i love villa carolina too! and so love bolinao!
Hi! ung "P3,000 per head including our transportation and food for 3days", kasama dito nung nag Alaminos kayo? Kasama din ba dito ung nagrent kayo ng van na worth 2500?
yup! tipid lang sa food pero lahat lahat na po yan.. basta 10 kayo ha hehe.
ask ko lng kung mgkno magagastos pag 2 kau, tga taelac kasi kmi besides, gusto kong mlman kng mgkno budget pr prson and san sulit at mgnda mgstay. thank you
Hello! Great post & pics! ;-) Do you still have the contact number ng crosswind na nirent ninyo? We're having alaminos-bolinao tour this holy week..Thanks! =)
Hi anonymous,
We were 10 when we went there so the expenses was divided among us. Php 3000 for hundred islands + bolinao for 3 days. You cannot explore bolinao falls if you don't have a tough vehicle with you. If you're only with the nice place to stay, try Villa Carolina Resort, the owner is nice and much cheaper from other resorts. You can check out Solomon's Paradise with a great place to stay too. Puerto Del Sol and Treasures of Bolinao are among the finest but expect a pricey rate.
Let me know if you're still up for hundred islands tour so i can provide you my feedback on estimated expenses, and if you plan to do the bolinao tour (fyi, rented van was Php 2500 alone)
Hi Mye A.
We rented the van from Ma'am carol the owner of Villa Carolina. So you just have to call her and check for the bolinao tour.
here's the link:
http://adventurousfeet.blogspot.com/2010/03/pangasinan-bolinao-beach-resorts.html
Hi adventurous feet,
Is it possible to squeeze hundred islands and bolinao just visiting patar beach and lighthouse only in one whole day? like doing a do-it-yourself tour...
In Patar, is the beach public or you need resort access to see the beach like a possible day tour only to the resort? Is the lighthouse also far from Patar beach?
hi ian,
Our hundred islands trip took us the whole day with some picture taking and swimming and most beach bumming.
If you start probably around 6am or so, and just drop by at some islands only to take pictures and make sure you're done before or at lunchtime, it might be possible. Heading to bolinao will take you almost 2 hours of travel. Both lighthouse and patar beach are public, if my memory serves me right, patar beach is the most distant of the spots but don't worry as light house is just along patar road before patar beach (need to have a short drive from light house to patar beach)
It might be possible but with super little time exploring everything, and you should have time management skills too. :)
thanks for the info... I believe the trip would be good for an overnight. Day 1 - 100 islands and day 2 - bolinao right?
@ian yes that's much better :)
great site! very informative. we'll be there at bolinao on may7-8. btw, how the waves at patar beach during summer? maalon ba sya na malapit pa lang sa shore malalim na yung tipong pagudpud/bora or calm and shallow like san juan laiya? - igan
hi igan
malakas po alon sa patar we were there around feb. hopefully by summer mabawasan ang alon kahit konti :)
i've been to bolinao medyo masakit sa paa ang buhangin doon.clear ang water pero madami sea grass,the good thing was secluded ang beach
super sarap sa bolinao.., the water in enchanted cave is super cold mejo mabato nga lang.. the patar beach, my God!! superb s ganda.., nakakaamaze yung paligid kahit n kokonti plang ang ngppunta dun. but today it is now categorized as the BORACAY of the north.. kung sa budget lang magBOLINAO na.. hehe...
It seems our trip will push thru... just want to asked how did you arrange you whole day tour with the van? Is it with the resorts arrangement or you can do a tryke trip for a day tour via contracted rates which I think is cheaper. Please help.
villa carolina owns the van that we rented. At the bolinao proper (near Bolinao chruch) there are tricycles from the proper to Brgy. Patar. From Bolinao proper you can just ask those trike drivers how much will be if you'll hire them for a day.
@virgo itinerary, yes medyo mabato but patar's beach was different. sarap sa paa ng buhangin doon.
@anonymous
agree. i love bolinao :)
we went to bolinao in 2003 and always dreamtof coming back. we stayed at the Treasures of Bolinao Resort (TOBR) then as we weren't able to contact other resorts over the phone. there is no beach front so they had to build a bridge to abrak patar as the lady who owns a sari-sari store thre called it. the sand is better and we stayed most of the time there.
hi just wanna ask may kilala ka bang pwedeng mag guide na lang sa amin sa mga places sa bolinao since we have our own van thanks
@Anonymous
wala po,maybe you could ask there kung sinong pwede, then just give a tip for touring you
Hii..Pls help..were planning to visit hundred island for 1 day and we stay there for overnight..at gusto din sana namin magstay for 1 day sa Bolinao or patar san ba mas maganda? at kung may masuggest kau ng resort beach front..3 adult and 3 kids kami...thank u
kaye
Hi! May contact pa po ba kayo sa villa Carolina? Gusto po kasi namin malayan Kung magkano rate nila ngayon.. We're 4-5 po siguro balak namin pumunta.. Thanks
hi guys,
you can check here the list of resorts in bolinao
http://www.adventurousfeet.com/2010/03/pangasinan-bolinao-beach-resorts.html
hi adventuruos feet!
do u know if they hav like,package deals? wer planning to go der for a team bldg kasi, so wer around 18-20 pax.. ako kasi in-charge sa pag organize kasi taga pangasinan ako(malasiqui), ngalang sa from manila pa kami manggagaling.. iv heard na pag pangasinan beaches, bolinao daw ang da best, kaya parang preffered ko yung mga earlier posts mo..
hello po,pasyal po sana kami for 2 days sa pangasinan,1st day hundred islands tpos po o'nyt kmi sa bolinao,sa patar beach po b meron matutulugan dun?dun sna kami pagabi.at mga magkano,tnx
sa patar, not sure for cheap ones, you can check treasures of bolinao resort located in patar beach
hi..gud eve.just want to ask if sa naging tour nyo sa hundred islands and bolinao 3k lhat?pano po ba if nasa bolinao na kame den punta kame hundred islands?or hundred islands po muna bago bolinao?thanks:)
hi:) i just wanna ask if u have no. of villa carolina??? thankz:)
hope for ur quick response.. thanks alot
hi, ask ko lang if ilang hours ang byahe from manila to bolinao. we have our own car and planning to go there sa holy week. thanks
http://villacarolinabeachresort.webs.com/sightsandsceneries.htm check this website..
i think around 6 hrs or more depending on the traffic
yup 3k for everything. we're 10 that's why its only that cheap. and yes, you can bolinao first then hundred island, whatever you prefer
i think you need to contact resorts nalang po if they do, :)
Last weekend pumunta din kme Bolinao with 7 people. Villa Carolina din kami nagcheck in. Very accomodating at low price. Sana lang nilinis ng staff ung sea side kxe maraming plants from sea na nagkalat. Try nyo din magexplore like goin' sa Enchanted Cave, Wonderful Cave, Light House at yung Patar Beach(Panalo dito). Lahat yan on d way pagpumunta kayo sa Patar Beach. prepare 2K budget :) 1800 lang each nagastos namin including yung rent ng G.L. Grandia at driver. Thank you for sharing Ms. Blogger :)
yea 6 hours din kami including ung traffic sa north edsa ^^
wow! mura pa din pala sa bolinao...thanks for posting all of your comments...atlest i had an idea already. thanks ulit! =)
may bayad ba ang camping sa patar beach? may tent naman kami. and were planning to camp for 5 days
guys nagpareserve ba muna kau before going to villa carolina o nag accept ba sila ng walk in?? thanks! plano kasi nmin magpunta sa may 6-7 e
yup we reserved they usually ask for downpayment. i think its ok to just walk in but the catch is you don't know if there's available room when you arrive so you can try your luck :)
not sure if they have but im pretty sure if there's one, it will be just cheap
and thank you for reading it.. miss ko na ang bolinao!!
thank you for visiting!
thanks sa rep! ive been trying to reach em for the last few days to no avail. ive tried sending an email and text messages. i tried calling the numbers i found sa website kaso ded nmn:
Carol: +639216983340
carol_pore@yahoo.com
Lui: +639273362827
luisito_ore@yahoo.com
Baka me iba pa kaung contact info na i can use? Lapit na May e. Thanks!
hi! iwasan nyo po ang villa carolina.
hindi po maganda ang service dito at mukhang pera ang may ari.
yung security guard nila walang lisensya at hindi naka uniform.
andaming resort po dyan sa bolinao na mura at maayos ang serbisyo.
in between punta and Puerto del sol. may mga transient house dun. mas makakamura kayo at pwede din magluto.
ate nung nag rent po kau ng crosswind, car lng po tlga un? wala pong driver and inyo po ung gas? thanks po.
kasama na po ung driver at gas sa nirentahan namin
Hi.. kaya ba ng kotse (sedan) ang road to bolinao falls? Thanks.
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