Puerto Galera Island

Puerto Galera in Mindoro is known for its exceptionally beautiful little white sand beaches, some fringed with reefs teeming with rich and diverse marine life, and excellent diving spots. It has long been regarded by geologists, botanists, and students of the University of the Philippines as an ideal place to study the ecostructure of plants, animals, and micro-organisms in almost undisturbed natural conditions. In 1934, the Marine Biological station was set up. Forty years later, the United Nations Man & Biosphere Program International declared Puerto Galera a nature center and a marine sanctuary. However, its spectacular beaches were eventually discovered by the outside world and gradually became a favorite tourist destination.


Puerto Galera is accessible by boat from Batangas. There are buses that leave Manila daily for Batangas. An air-con bus leaves the Centerpoint Hotel in Ermita every day. You can get combined bus and boat tickets to Mindoro from the hotel.

Puerto Galera has a fine, deep port that has served for many centuries as a haven for ships during typhoons. When the Spanish arrived, there were already Chinese traders bartering porcelain, silk, and jewelry. However, the islanders resisted the Spanish missionaries and the Americans who came later.

Today, Puerto Galera is a major destination for low-budget, fun-loving travelers who seek sun, sand and sea. Many come to enjoy its beaches, which are crowded with hotels, restaurants, discos, and rental services for water activities. White Beach and Tamaraw Beach, which have nice cottages, are the best places to go for swimming. The good snorkeling and diving sites are the beaches near Sabang: Coco Beach, Big and Small La Laguna, and nearby Paniquian and Verde Islands. There are dive shops that cater to those who want to enjoy the reefs. However, they enforce a ban on damaging or taking any of the marine life.

The center of Puerto Galera has numerous restaurants and inns, and a thriving t-shirt and flour-sack clothing industry. Visit the small excavation museum beside the church which houses finds of Chinese porcelain unearthed from nearby Bayanan and a fine collection of shells. See the Mangyan tribes and their settlements in Baclayan and Talipanan. Both are about a 2-hour walk into the mountains. The Tamaraw Waterfalls in Calapan and Mt. Malisimbo are also sites worth visiting. Take a one and a half to 2-hour hike up to Ponderosa Golf Club for great views along the way and up to Tamaraw Falls. At Dulangan, you may see gold panning and marble quarrying.

Sabang is the best place to go if you're looking for entertainment. It has a profusion of bars, discos, and nightclubs.

Every April, from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, the Annual Yacht Club of Puerto Galera holds the Easter Regatta, where 8 to 12 yachts arrive from the Manila Yacht Club joined by 12 to 15 local residents and Hong Kong guest yachts.

How to get there

Unfortunately, the only way to reach Puerto Galera is still via land-sea from Manila to Batangas to either Puerto Galera or Calapan City. The land-trip takes about 2 to 3 hours while the sea-trip from 1.5 to 2 hours.

The most convenient way is to avail of a Si-kat bus-and-ferry package from Centerpoint Hotel (formerly Sundowner Hotel). the package offers passengers the convenience of having a "connecting" bus and ferry trip. The fare is more expensive than in other buses. Coaches are more spacious and the trip is much shorter since there are no stopovers. Unfortunately, there's only one schedule per day for either way.

More economical are the commercial buses of BLTB, JAM and TRITRAN. The former has a terminal in EDSA-Pasay City while the last two have theirs along Taft Avenue near corner Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia), also in Pasay City. Schedules of these buses are quite erratic, but the earliest bus usually leaves at 6AM and every hour from then on (depending on the volume of passengers).

At the Batangas City Pier, there is a wide selection of ferries going to Puerto Galera, depending on which port guests intend to enter. (There are three main entry points to Puerto Galera by way of its port facilities: Muelle Pier, Balatero Pier, and Sabang Beach).

Calapan City also serves as a gateway to the town via an all-weather road. The trip from Calapan to Puerto Galera takes about 2 to 3 hours depending on weather and road conditions

Sikat Bus and Ferry Service
Departing from Lobby of the City State Tower Hotel
1315 A. Mabini Street, Ermita, Manila
Departure time : 08:00 AM - Arrival time about 13:30 in Puerto Galera


Suggested Itinerary Schedule in Puerto Gallera.

Day 01
0730 : Be at the lobby of City State Tower Hotel located at 1315 A. Mabini St. Corner Padre Faura, Ermita Manila
0800 : Boarding for the bus
1000 : Estimated time of arrival at Batangas Pier
1100 : Estimated time of arrival at Puetro Gallera Pier. Immediately transfer to a jeepney & motorized banca at the resort.
1130 : Estimated time of arrival at the resort then, check in.
1200 : Lunch on passenger account. Rest of the afternoon is fee at leisure.
1900 : Dinner on passenger account. Rest of the evening is free at leisure. Overnight at the resort.

Day 02
0700 : Breakfast inside the resort. Free at leisure

Day 03
0700 : Breakfast at the resort
0800 : Check out
0900 : Depart Puerto Gallera for Batangas Port
1100 : Estimated time of arrival to the bus. Immedately transfer to the bus.
1300 : Estimated time of arrival in Manila

End of Tour.

Puerto Galera Resorts and Hotels