Baler - A Guide to the Land of the Golden Sunrise

Baler Itinerary and Accommodation

Baler, the capital of Aurora is one of the prime surfing destinations in the Philippines. It faces the Pacific Ocean in the east and surrounded by the Sierra Madre mountain range. The long Grey sanded coastline of Sabang beach is one of the most famous and most visited surfing areas in the province. Numerous hotels, inns and lodges has popped up in the area that rooms are mostly in abundance allowing prices to be at a minimum.

Baler is also known as "The Land of the Golden Sunrise". Historically, the province is home to the Political clan of the Angaras.
They were one of just 5 families who survived a phenomenal tidal wave that wiped out the entire coastal town of Baler on that fateful day of December 27, 1735. A monument at the foot of Ermita Hill has since been erected to commemorate this event.

The months from October to February bring in the large waves for beginner surfers to learn the basics with relative safety from scratches, since most of the beach is sandy- bottomed. Undertows, which are helpful to surfers and dangerous for non-swimmers, do occur in certain areas. Besides, who would even take a swim with such high waves smashing this sandy beach?

How To Get To Baler

The Bus Ride:

Genesis Transport Service, whose terminal is located in Cubao, is the only bus company that goes directly from Manila to Baler. Their trips to the province offer a regular air-conditioned bus at P450  and a business class bus they call the "Joy Bus" at P700, in which reservations are required.

The Joy Bus of Genesis Transport are scheduled to depart every 12 AM and 2 AM. On the other hand, the regular buses depart every hour from 1 AM to 8 AM

Genesis Contact Number:  (02) 709-0803 or (02) 421-1425

After The Long Ride:

After getting off at the terminal, you'll have to take a trike to Sabang Beach which is the main transportation in the province. From the Genesis Bus Terminal, it would only take about 10 minutes to get to Sabang.

Via Private Transport:

Take the North Expressway and take the SCTEX. Exit via LaPaz, Tarlac toll gate. Continue on the Santa Rosa - Tarlac Road until you reach Cabanatuan City.

View Larger Map

Once in Cabanatuan City, use the Rizal - Bongabon - Auraora Road. leading to the Pantabangan - Canili - Basal - Baler Road. This highway is cemented and cuts the travel time shorter than the old rough road route of Bongabon - San Luis - Baler.

Lodging

There are a number of places to stay at Sabang Beach. From high end down to the budget-friendly. My trip to Baler led me to stay at Elaine's MM Lodge Inn in which costed us only P1000 for an overnight stay in a decent 1 bedroom air-conditioned room. Fan rooms are priced at P700.

• Elaine's MM Lodge Inn: +639108440452

Other Lodgings at Sabang in Alphabetical Order:

• Aliya Surf Camp and Resort
• Contact Number :+639399390929
• Email: info@aliyasurfcamp.com

• Amco Beach Resort
• Contact Number: +63921-4117671 / +6323303515
• Facebook Page

• Amihan-Aplaya Lodge
• Contact Number: +639186328566 / +639184263268

• Bahia de Baler
• Contact Number: +639089827064 / +639087320672
• Email: reservations@bahiadebaler.com

• Bay’s Inn
• Contact Number: +639189266697 / +639089823509
• Email: baysinnbaler@gmail.com
• Facebook Page

• Bayler View Hotel
• Contact Number: +639192863105 /+639273638735
• Email: baylerviewhotel@yahoo.com
• Facebook Page

• Cocohut Lodge
• Contact Number: +6342-2094341

• Costa Pacifica
• Contact Number: (02) 576 4555
• Email: inquiry@costapacificaraintree.com
• Facebook Page

• Desiree’s Lodge
• Contact Number: +639204800978 / +639217518490

• Isla Virgina Resort
• Contact Number: +63919-8653703 / +63920-7550467
• Facebook Page

• Kahea’s Lodge
• Contact Number: +63920-8689477 / +63921-5480823 / +63920-7102634

• Little Girl’s Surfers Lodge (Sabang)
• Contact Number: +63907-7041186 / +63918-6859449

• Mel’s Nest Lodge
• Contact Number: +63920-5245004

• Oasis of Baler Resort
• Contact Number: +63920-4606866/+63918-6676749 / +63919-4749116

• Pacific Waves Inn
• Contact Number: +63917-8950276 / +63-5143020
• Email: marvinlee12@gmail.com
• Facebook Page

• Sea Breeze Lodge
• Contact Number: +63915-3225994

• Secret Spot
• Contact Number: +639434898188 / +639284531777
• Facebook Page

• Trezzo Inn
• Contact Number: (+63) 927-894-7232 / (+63) 920-567-8153 / (+63) 916-255-6025

Places To See

There are a lot of places to see and visit in Aurora. Having said that, an itinerary of 2 or 3 days would definitely not be enough.

• Ditumabo Falls (Mother Falls), Quezon’s Resthouse, Aurora House, Diguisit or Digisit beach, Digisit Falls, Anaio Islets, Dimadimalangat Islet, Dinadiawan Beach, Dicasalarin Cove, Baler catholic church, Cunayan Falls, Lamao Caves, Paltic Falls, Dibut Bay, Likso lukso beach, Borlongan beach, Museo de Baler, Century-old Balete Tree (Millenium Tree)

• Hike the mountains of Mt. Udok, Mt. Anacuao, Mt. Pamazam-pazam, and Mt. Maaling-Alin

 Left: Museo de Baler Right: Doña Aurora House

 Left: Caunayan Falls. Center: Baler Catholic Church. Right: Surfing at Sabang Beach 

A Monument remembering the Tidal wave

that wiped out the entire town of Baler

on December 21, 1735

Itinerary

My stay in the province was more on getting to know the place and learning the basics of surfing, therefore my IT was more focused onto that.

Day 1:

0200 AM - ETD to Baler via Genesis Joy Bus
0800 AM - ETA Baler, Genesis Bus Terminal

0815 AM - Trike to Sabang Beach
0830 AM - Check-in at lodging and rest
0930 AM - Breakfast and explore the area
1100 AM - Take a trike to Museo de Baler
1230 PM - Lunch
0115 PM - Trike Doña Aurora House and explore
0200 PM - Visit Baler Catholic Church that is  just across Doña Aurora House
0230 PM - Trike back to lodging and rest
0330 PM - Surf
0445 PM - Wash up
0530 PM - Prepare for dinner
0600 PM - Dinner

Day 2:

0500 AM - Wake up and prep up
0530 AM - View the sunrise
0600 AM - Breakfast
0700 AM - Prepare for places to visit on a chartered trike
0800 AM - Trike to Ermita Hill and Cross
0830 AM - Arrive at Ermita Hill and explore
1000 AM - Visit the Millennium Tree (One huge Balete tree)
1100 AM - Lunch
1230 PM - Trike to Caunayan Falls
0145 PM - ETA Caunayan Falls, explore and swim
0315 PM - ETD back to lodging
0400 PM - ETA from Caunayan Falls, and go for another round of surfing
0500 PM - Wash up
0600 PM - Dinner

Day 3:

0730 AM - Wake up call and prep up
0800 AM - Breakfast
0900 AM - Shop for pasalubong
1030 AM - Back to lodging and pack up
1130 AM - Check out and trike to Genesis bus terminal
1145 AM - Lunch
0100 AM - ETD back to Manila
0700 PM - Manila

Must Try

Surfing
Almost all of the resorts offer surf training and board rentals in addition to a number of stand-alone surfing services around the area. The standard rate is P350 per hour for a surfing training and board usage. If you already know how to surf, (then you probably wouldn't need this article since I would assume that you've been to Baler a number of times more than I) renting the surf boards would range from P200 per hour, P400 for half a day, and P800 for a whole day's usage.

Suggested: Freedom Surf School

Dinner at Costa Pacifica
At first, my companion and I thought that the mean was expensive, so we opted for a breakfast at the said place. However on our second night, we happen to go out later than usual for dinner, and their were already a lot of people dining in at the usual restaurants. Being hungry as we were, we finally decided to just have dinner at Costa Pacifica and readied our credit cards. Unfortunately, to this day, we forgot the name of the meals that we ordered, but if my memory served me right, we ordered kinilaw na bangus, nilagang baboy served in coconut shell and and another meal. I remembered eating there, and was just in so much delight eating that luckily, I only forgot to take note of what I ate, and not my name.

Our dinner costed us only less than P1000 which was such a surprise for such a tasty meals. Perhaps it was an introductory price since at the time of our visit, Costa Pacifica was a fairly new luxury hotel competing in the area.

Climbing the Millennium Tree
The Century-Old Balete tree is one of the most iconic in Baler. It stands about 30 feet in height and has stood in its place for more than a century. It is so huge that one can even go inside the tree and climb it with the assistance of a guide. Only donations are requested for appreciating this one of a kind gift of nature.

Base Expense

Genesis bus (one way): Joybus P700 / Regular P450 

Elaine's MM Lodging Inn (per night): Air-con P1000 / Fan P700

Surfing: P350 for 1 hour

One time Dinner at Costa Pacifica: P1000

Chartered Trike - P600

* Information are as of November, 2013. Note that the prices may have changed since.

Special Concerns

• Good mobile service for all service providers
• The nearest ATM I found was Landbank which is about 15 minutes away from Sabang Beach via trike.
• There are two routes going back to Manila, one is via Pantabangan, while the other is via Bongabon in which takes about 7-8 hours of travel due to the road being uncemented. It is best to ask the Genesis bus personnel for the trip back home as soon as you arrive in order to adjust your itinerary accordingly.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Nanay Bella and friends of the Akbayan Party List for taking the time to take us around and show us their beautiful and peaceful province, and most especially to Angie, for giving me the encouragement to surf in which I am now into.

This trip has made me fall in love with Aurora, and I will definitely be coming back to see more of you.

~ City Boy Tripper