Relaxing, hidden, and far away from the hustle and bustle of Manila. Despite the distance, this…read moreresort was worth the 3.5 hour drive from Metro Manila. Crystal Beach is in the town of San Narciso in the Province of Zambales. The resort features air-conditioned rooms, cottages, and beachside camping tents. They also have WiFi in the main area. There are a few bon fire pits and grilling stations for anyone to use. We opted for a day entrance just to experience the food, beach huts, and the sand. The admission fee, parking, and cost of food were very reasonable. The long journey from Manila definitely made us hungry. We decided to try out their restaurant located in the main common area. Seating was easy and we also chose the table closest to the fan for comfort. We ordered sisig, tuna salpicao, halo-halo, rice, and sinigang na hipon. The sisig has a nice mix of crunch with a citrus-pepper marinade. The tuna salpicao was tender and flavorful. The shrimp sinigang, which is a true Filipino favorite, was sour and savory. Halo-halo came last as a dessert. The bowl was filled with various sweet toppings and a generous scoop of ube ice cream. Post lunch coma started to kick-in and we decided to relax in one of the many beachside huts. Beach chairs were available along with the perfect view of the mountains and blue waters. The beach was almost empty and quiet. There are available surfboard rentals and surfing lessons for anyone seeking to ride the small waves. Showers are available near the common area. I would recommend this resort to anyone seeking a tranquil escape.

Very disappointed on this beach..first the sand of the beach is not that clean as you see on their…read morewebsite 2nd price of shake..120 pesos for melon and 100 pesos to mango!!! Any differnce? Cabin itself no restroom, lights need update, outlet for 15 person capacity have 3 electric fan!!! Food is so pricey..restroom is to far for the cabin ..not recommend this beach for my friend

Great beach resort for divers and suffers Basic good value rooms and great staff make this an…read moreideal get away from Manila

From the owner: We are a different kind of beach resort with a great mix of foreign and local guests and customers…read morewho love to surf, scuba dive, camp, nature trip, and even just have beers by the bonfire! We've got you covered! Quality rooms at affordable prices!

Every time I go to Zambales, I always stay here. It's the only resort in Sitio Liwliwa that has a…read morehalf pipe, for all the skateboarding enthusiasts out there. Before it was called Good Karma, this resort was called the Pit Bowl. This is because prior to being a half pipe, it used to be a skate bowl. The owner, DK, also has a cute little pitbull-American bulldog mix, so that's where the name partly came from. It's a great little place that's perfect for backpackers who really don't mind roughing it. I say this because there are two outdoor bathrooms, and one has a broken lock that needs to be tied up. Also, at night, frogs tend to congregate outside the bathroom door, so if you're not into that, maybe stay at other hostels in the area. It's within walking distance of the beach and Mommy Phoebe's cafeteria, so you won't have trouble finding food.

My college barkada introduced me to the brilliant idea of renting a beach house in Tali and staying…read morethere for the weekend. We would usually scour the internet for great houses that are rented out by the owners, and then we would leave on Saturday morning and head out to Nasugbu. What's great about these places is that they are fully-furnished, and some of them have great stuff, too! I have gone on such weekend trips to Tali exactly six times, and every time, my friends and I have rented a different villa. You know, just to keep things fun and exciting. We have stayed in really creepy and haunted places, and we have also stayed in really awesome, very well-maintained houses. I just love how we don't have to bring anything anymore, since most of the beach houses are fully equipped with great stuff that you can use for cooking. I love preparing food for my friends because I hate seeing them endlessly bingeing on crap food like chips and stale pizza, so we always pool our money, stop by a supermarket in Tagaytay and then shop for an entire weekend's worth of food and groceries. The villas in Tali are usually fitted with nice stoves and a fully-equipped kitchens, so preparing meals in a jiffy is such a breeze. You don't have to worry about food going bad either, since there is usually a fridge where you can keep stuff fresh. Most of the time, though, the best beachhouses are actually still a couple blocks away from the shore, so you would really have to walk or drive just to enjoy the beach. Moreover, there isn't really much of a "beach" to enjoy, because the shoreline is actually pretty short, just a small cove that is partially sheltered by the surrounding bay. It is also advisable to make sure that you have all your supplies and sundries before you even go inside the gated community, because going out for groceries is such a hassle. There isn't any well-stocked store for miles. This is a pretty nice place to just hang out with friends. If you don't have snazzy memberships in nearby Punta Fuego or Pico de Loro (Hamilo Coast), this is not too bad an option if you just want an idyllic weekend getaway.

Tali is a popular seaside resort community in Nasugbu, Batangas, about 2-3 hours away from Manila,…read morejust a short distance from Tagaytay. The place is a private subdivision so you need to have a homeowner with you or at least advisement from wherever you're staying. It's not totally private though! You can go online and just look for beach house accommodations, since many of the residents there already put up their own houses as B&Bs or inns for those who want to go to Tali Beach. It's a really nice place, like how you'd wish it would be if there were beach cities in Manila, hahah. Not overly developed either so it's pretty peaceful. Here, you have a whole village full of summer houses and instead of the regular playgrounds or village parks, they have a beach! However, the beach here isn't exactly fit for swimming. It's rather small, rocky, and full of corals. There's no long, wide stretch of sand where you can lie down and sleep or sunbathe. But they do have gazebos and small open spaces to hang out in with the water splashing about beside you. If you wanna go swimming, better go back to your accommodation. This is why most houses there have swimming pools already. People like to do water sports around there though, so don't be surprised to see boats and jet skis in the houses inside the village. It's also normal to spot people just casually kayaking and standup paddle boarding all around. There aren't really any organized water sports services, you just do it on your own. Of course, there's also the popular Tali cliff jump you have to try at least once! They have great, clear blue waters that you can dive safely into and then you just climb back up easily through the big polished rock boulder beside the cliff area. Just be careful not to touch the sharp rocks/corals by the side of the boulder! Only grab the ropes by the ladder area.

We called the night before our visitation because we are fully aware that it is raining and asked…read moreif water activities will still be available by the morning, they 100% confidently said YES to us and even tried to explained that the waves is not that big, guess what? SURPRISE! No any activities are available at all and they still asked us to pay for the entrance fee without informing us about being nonsense inside the resort, even the food? NONE. They literally gave us a menu just for a display. 700 pesos per person for NOTHING.

Place has gotten better fr years I haven't gone back. Well maintained as it can be... only thing…read morewas signage said FREE access to shoreline dining... as how my sister remembers how it worked and yet they charged admission fee for my sister who i brought with me to have lunch while I go for a swim

Looking for a good getaway but you don't necessarily have enough days off to travel far?…read moreConveniently accessible via car (roughly 2 hours away from Manila), the Green Canyon resort in Pampanga is a resort that'll help you make the most of your limited leaves by cramming everything in a single day trip! From a refreshing dip in their pools, a mountain trek, a visit in their art museum and even a stroll in their organic farm; these are all possible within a single day via the magic of Green Canyon. Hey, if you'd like to stay a bit and not rush things, that's just as possible too. Green Canyon provides homey rooms as well, all to help you commit to some well deserved R & R.

Don't waste your time or money. While the grounds are beautiful and it's definitely clean, I…read morewouldn't call this a resort. I have had to call the front desk for more issues and "special requests" (which at any other resort, would be considered normal) more times in the last 24 hours than anyone should need). 1. Key cards don't work- they didn't have the password to activate it so the gave me a master key card- yes-I had access to all rooms. Security is clearly not a concern. 2. Prior to us checking in, they didn't a quality check of the room. So at 5am when 3 of us we're trying to shower and get out to our excursion, the top bathroom had no water for shower or a flushing toilet. The first floor had no hot water- and to make things even more annoying was they thought we just didn't know how to turn on the faucet. 3. The safe does not work- in fact none of the safes work. - again, security is not a big concern. Neither is resolving issues. 4. Apparently house keeping doesn't have a checklist and if they do, checking the amount of toilet paper isn't on the list. So with 3 women in a 2 bedroom loft, with the TP clearly running out, one still has to call to get it replaced. (Does this sound like a 4or 5 star resort to you yet?). Same situation with bottled water. One has to ask for it. 5. They don't have wash cloths (face towels) or loofahs at this "resort". Never in my life and extensive travels, has any hotel not provided a wash cloth. This might sound petty but when you are in a county where it is hot and dusty, it's important. Who packs their own towels when you are going to a hotel??? Even after several calls to the front desk and 2 requests for a manager, no one has even contacted us or acknowledged the issues. It's only my second day into being here and I'm not thrilled but after many flights and hotel check-ins- packing up and finding another resort for a few days is not an option I really want to consider. So we're stuck over paying for 1 star services in a 2 star hotel.

02/16/18-02/17/18 - Very isolated location at the end of the road. If you want to get away and…read morerelax this is the perfect getaway. We rented two huts for 8 people located in a remote location. Super cool, but make sure you bring $Pesos$ they don't accept credit cards and they don't accept US dollar. You drive to the end of nowhere and there you are. Last stop on a beat up road and you arrive at this oasis. Very secluded you can also make arrangements to Bbque by the beach in one of the huts. Bring your own Charcoal and food to cook (maybe next time) We just got fresh shrimp & squid (about 5"'s) & they cooked it for us by the beach. Life is rough. I could get use to this. The squid was chopped into small slices w/green peppers and oyster sauce simple, fresh and delicious. The shrimp were steamed with heads on and a large pan of rice.

There are other bigger resorts in Patar Beach, Bolinao but it is most ideal for families because it…read moreprovides flexibility. There is a mid sized pool, there are rooms on the main building with the top providing expansive views of the beach. There are also several cottages that can be used during the day if they are not booked or occupied. The beach can stretch to over a hundred meters on ebb tide. Rooms open to the front verandas where you can set up for al fresco dining. Rooms are clean and has airconditioning. Smart TVs where you can plug downloaded movies. There is an outhouse for communal cooking with gas stoves and sinks provided as well as prep areas. This is important because dining out can only give you the same options at some point. There are also hammocks, outdoor seating and lounge chairs and dining huts by the beach side. There is a convenience store by the corner for small stuff if you forgot something. Staff are responsive and accommodating. Prices are reasonable and competitive.