Summer Beach Bumming in Nasugbu on a Budget

Yeah I know! It's been a year since I updated this blog. I failed to keep my promise to update this once we're back from our Palawan tour. Anyway, I'm sharing here our overnight Nasugbu experience on a budget.

Last May, I was able to convince my hubby to drive us to Nasugbu for an overnight swimming. It was a Sunday and I didn't make any reservations. I only texted the resorts while we're on the road hopeful they'll return my message. Some did reply but they are charging more than my allotted budget for the room.

Before we left our home, I had a list of things to bring on my mind. I brought our rice cooker, cooking pan, plastic plates, spoons and forks, tumblers, "bigas", and some groceries and snacks. We also stopped by a carinderia near our house and I bought Tube Ice and Adobo since I don't have time to cook anymore then off we go for our road trip.

We took the Ternate-Nasugbu Road and I had no idea it was full of dangerous zig zags. I was scared but it was worth the trip when we arrived at the Kaybiang Tunnel, the Philippines' longest subterranean tunnel. We stopped over for a few minutes to take some photos and then headed off to Nasugbu.

Kaybiang Tunnel Entrance

Light at the end of the tunnel

From Kaybiang Tunnel, it was an hour drive to reach Apacible Boulevard in Nasugbu.

After we arrived in Apacible Blvd., we approached a trike driver who was offering Fortune Island Tour and asked if he can recommend a resort that fits our budget (Actually I said I was looking for a fan room that only costs P1000 or less). He took us to Wawawee Resort. They have a fan room that costs P1500 but Tatay Tony, the owner, saw our son and he said he thought of his grandkids, so he told us he would just give us the A/C room for the same price. He also told us we can use their cooking utensils and gas stove free of charge. So far that's the best deal we got but I opted to check out the other resorts first. Upon inquiring with 4 more, we decided to take Tatay Tony's offer since it's the cheapest. All the others offered us P2000 for the A/C Room and P1500 for the Fan Room. The trike driver (I forgot his name) helped us bring our things to the room and hubby gave him P50 but the caretaker of the resort told us that the trike driver will get 20% for referring us so tipping is not necessary. We checked in at 2PM so they said our check out time will be 2PM the next day.

Here's our small A/C Room

The room given to us has a small cable TV, a double bed and a mat which allows an extra person to sneak in.It also has it's own comfort room separate from the room.

While they were strolling the beach, I prepared our late Lunch. I don't have to cook our ulam anymore since I already bought Adobo, I only need to cook our rice. After eating, they went to swim while I stayed inside our room. I fetch them before sunset because I was planning to go to the nearby market to buy Liempo and Fish for our Dinner but we're so lucky because on the main road, just outside the resort, there is a BBQ stand. We just bought BBQs and it saved me the hassle of grilling. The two were already tired after swimming so we all went to bed early.

The following morning, we had the leftover BBQs last night and some coffee for Breakfast then we went to the beach.

Someone is really enjoying his day at the beach

I noticed that the beach was so different from what I've seen last year. I was surprised there were floating garbage everywhere and we had to walk a few meters until we found a better spot. We spent a few hours swimming while the sun is not that hot and just before noon, I went back to prepare our Lunch. We ran out of rice so I had to walk to the sari sari store along the main road to buy rice, Tuyo, Pancit Canton and tube ice. I fried the Tuyo and Meat Loaf, cooked the Pancit Canton using our rice cooker at that's what makes up our humble Lunch. After taking our Lunch, we just rested for a bit then we checked out and headed back home but this time we decided to take the Tagaytay Road instead as it's easier and less prone to accident.

Now, for our expenses, here it is:
Gas - 500
Ice and Adobo - 110
Snacks at Stopover - 60
Accommodation - 1500
Tip to Kuya Trike Driver - 50
BBQ - 85
Tube Ice - 20
Pancit Canton/Tuyo - 42
Cooking Oil - 5
Rice - 42
Toll Fee - 175

TOTAL: P2,589.00

Well, I'm pretty sure it will be less than that if our trip was planned but anyway, we all enjoyed even though there's just three of us.

Click here to visit Wawawee's Beach Resort
*This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own

Weekend in Nasugbu

Since everyone agreed to Nasugbu, I searched online for resorts and one of my colleagues, Ron suggested Berna Beach and L Caraz. We checked out their websites and the following day, I inquired for their rates. Berna Beach is a bit pricey so I contacted L Caraz. I talked to the owner and he suggested that I rent their private house (it has a private pool and costs P8000 good for 20 pax) but when he checked the bookings, the private house was already reserved on the day of our outing so I opted for their Family Units instead. A Family Unit costs P5000 and is good for 12 pax. It has 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining area and a living room. We're 24 so I reserved 2 units. After securing the resort, I had to search for a van. Luckily, Hubby's officemate has a van available for rent. For just P6000 for 2 days (plus P1500 fuel and P350 toll fee), we're able to get a good deal.

On the day of our outing, we left Cubao at 12 in the afternoon. The supposedly 2-hr travel became 4 1/2 because of the traffic in C5 and Alabang.

When we arrived, the girls and boys splitted up. Boys stayed in Family Unit 1 and the girls in Family Unit 2. We requested for extra matresses since each room only has 1 bed. Since the place is huge, each room can fit an extra matress and the living area can fit 2 more. The charge for each matress is P200 but they offered us a discount so we're able to get the matresses for just P100 each.

Just outside the resort, we bought charcoals, ice and filtered water and it's very convenient because we can just go out and buy there if we run out of supplies.

A picture of Hubby and our son taken by Martin from his iPhone

After dinner was prepared, everyone gathered at the common area of Family Unit 1. The common area is huge that we all were able to eat inside.

In the morning, after having our breakfast, we headed off to the beach. We noticed that the nearby resort was jam packed. The cottages are full of guests but it's a good thing that at L Caraz, we're the only ones swimming.

By 10AM, we're all packed up and at  exactly 11AM, we headed off to Manila. I think it was already 12:30PM when we reached the boundary of Tagaytay and Batangas and we had a stop over to have lunch at Betchay's Bulaluhan and another stop over in Collette's Sta. Rosa Road to buy pasalubongs. We're supposed to go to Rowena's but it's crowded and we're all tired so we just decided to go to Collette's instead.

We arrived in Manila at almost 5PM already because of the traffic but we all enjoyed and everyone's looking forward to our next outing.

Each of us only shed out P1120 (P700 for the food and P420 for the van) for that fun and exciting weekend getaway.

L Caraz Beach Resort
Apacible Blvd., Nasugbu, Batangas
+63 9178418281
+63 9228110629
+63 9103088895

Casa Astillero in Calatagan

Last April 5, our team went to Calatagan for our much awaited team outing or what we call our "Anarchy Day". We left Manila at 11AM and arrived at Mahogany Market at 1PM. We stopped by to have our lunch and to buy our food for dinner. We left Tagaytay at 2:30PM and at exactly 4PM, we're already in Casa Astillero.

When we arrived, Sir Romy approached us and I gave him the details of our reservation. He immediately escorted us to the places available for tent pitching. We chose the vacant spot in between the kubo and the a/c rooms.

I was so disappointed to see that the place was crowded. I never expected that much people even though it's weekend since I thought they're only accepting reservations to control the number of guests. There are tents and videokes everywhere and the place is small that it looks like a chaos.

We immediately pitched our tents and unpacked our stuffs on the table provided to us. I believed I paid for a table under the tree but all the tables under the tree were occupied already so they just placed a table right outside our tents. I also paid for a grilling station with mini kitchen but instead got a portable griller. I told Sir Romy that the portable griller is cheaper but he said they just cost the same. Then when I checked out the grilling station, it's free to use for guests. I also asked where we can charge our cellphones, he just said we can use any power outlet. But how can that be possible if all the tables where the power outlets were placed are occupied? Talk about chaos and disappointment.

A few minutes later, my office mate Ron and his wife arrived. They're from Cavite so they thought it would be more convenient to just ride a bus going to Calatagan directly from their place but their fare cost more than when you'll be coming from Pasay. They paid 400 for the fare to Calatagan Market then 150 for the tricycle to Casa Astillero. Not really what I've been expecting.

So, since everyone's at the resort already, the girls started to prepare for dinner. I cooked Calamares while the others prepared the ensalada. The boys grilled the Liempo and Bangus. I forgot to buy water for drinking luckily, just right outside the resort, there are stores selling purified water (P30/5 liters), softdrinks (P70/1.5L), and ice but they always run out of stock.

After cooking, Some of us took a nap. When i woke up it was already past 9 but the videokes are still on full volume so I did not hesitate to sleep anymore. After we're done eating, we asked the caretaker to prepare our bonfire then we went off to the beach for our drinking session. 

The next morning, there were vendors roaming the area selling fresh seafoods at cheap price. I also noticed a guy in a motorbike selling hot pandesals. I checked out the beach. Still at low tide. The sun's up and the view of the beach from afar is superb but the water is so shallow that even at 100m away from the shore, it's still at knee level. 

Beach during low tide

It spoiled our day so we just prepared our Brunch and after we ate, everyone's off to the shower room. There's a long queue over the ladies' shower room and there are only two shower rooms so I think the management should work on having additional shower rooms to accommodate the increasing number of guests.

Our travel back to Manila only took 3 hours. Well, that's the fastest we can go since the road from Tagaytay to Calatagan is narrow.

To summarize, the place clean and well-maintained but the management needs to improve on their service. They should put limit to the number of guests and they should assign a table or cottage number to the guests so that guests arriving in the late afternoon will still get a good and decent spot. The resort is recommended only during off-peak season because the place is nice but was spoiled by the heavy crowd and disorganized management.