Best Beaches in Zambales For A Perfect Weekend Getaway From Manila
Philippines is blessed with many beautiful islands and beaches. You don’t even need to travel far to enjoy a beach vacation! The shoreline of Zambales (a province on the western shores of Central Luzon region) features many amazing coves and inlets facing the West Philippine Sea. The good news is, the province is only four hours (or less) away from Manila. This makes Zambales a perfect beach getaway for both locals and tourists.
In this post, we will be covering the best beaches and coves in Zambales for your upcoming beach vacation.
Nagsasa Cove
Highlight: White Sand and Volcanic Ash Beach
Nagsasa Cove is a fascinating beach formed after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. It is blessed with crystal-clear water, rolling mountains backdrop and immaculate shoreline covered with grayish white sand. This beach is really picture perfect.
There are camp sites and cottages if you want to stay overnight on the beach. Some activities you can do include island hopping, snorkelling, cliff jumping, hiking, trekking to waterfall or just chilling on the beach.
Facilities available on the beach are pretty basic – bathrooms, nipa and bamboo huts and small stores run by Aeta people who live in the cove. Do expect some inconveniences as this is a vacation for you to get close to mother nature!
Anawangin Cove
Highlight: Pine-fringe Sandy Beach
Anawangin Cove is the most popular beach in this area. The reason why visitors swarm into Anawangin Cove is because the area is lined with picture perfect, neat agoho trees. Campers will pitch their tents amidst of the agoho trees. It gives the vibe as if they are in pine tree woods of some movie scenes.
Anawangin is the nearest beach requiring only 30 minutes boat ride from Pandaquit Beach, the point of access for all other coves.
You may consider to stay on other beaches if you want to stay away from crowd. However you will not regret to make Anawangin Cove as one of your island hopping stops!
Talisayin Cove
Highlight: Laid-back, Quiet Long Stretch of Off-white Volcanic Ash Beach
Talisayin (or Talisayen) Cove is located in the middle of Anawangin Cove and Nagsasa Cove. It is the least visited beach compared to the other popular coves but definitely has charm of its own.
There are camping facilities available at affordable prices. Other than renting a boat to do island hopping, you can hike to a hill in Talisayin Cove which gives you amazing view of Capones Island.
Talisayin Cove is the quietest, perfect for those who want a relaxing getaway with the least noise.
Silanguin Cove
Highlight: Sandbar Separating Freshwater with Saltwater
Silanguin Cove is the farthest cove from Pandaquit Beach as the boat ride might take up to 2 hours. Unlike Anawangin, Talisayin and Nagsasa with volcanic ash sand, this beach is covered with grey sand.
Accommodation facilities and food options are very limited on Silanguin Cove. We recommend that you bring more food from mainland before you come or the locals will prepare food for a fee. Activities wise, there is a waterfall where you can get yourself a local guide to lead your way.
All Zambales coves have no mobile signal and electricity which gives you a piece of mind. No social media or email notifications, just you, your friends or family with the soothing sound of waves and a stunning view.
We really love the beaches in Zambales, you should really pay a visit when you are in Philippines. They are too beautiful to resist. In fact, you might be the only foreigner on the beaches!
Thank you for reading our blog.
All contents are ours and are based on unbiased opinion. We just want to share good stuff so don’t be shy to approach us for any travel related questions!
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