Sick Mad World. No more. : Summer 2016 - Camaya Coast, Mariveles, Bataan

The entrance which is still far, far away from the main area.

I initially opted out of this trip. I had a large wound on my leg which personally prevents me from wearing shorts and had me conscious from wearing one. Luckily, I changed my mind and thought that this is the first opportunity to jumpstart my summer this year. I don't want to get jinxed the whole year. Hehe.

I've been hearing about this resort in Mariveles, Bataan, which is currently being dubbed as
'Little Boracay of Bataan" way back 2013. During that time, one wouldn't see any details about this resort except for an offering to invest in the area. With that, I perceived to be for members only resort. Then I became familiar with voucher sites like CashCashPinoy, Metrodeal, and Ensogo which offer day tours for as low as Php499. This I believe is what my superiors got for our team outing for this summer.

Via a private vehicle, it’s a three to four-hour drive from the metro. I've read that it is recommended to bring your own vehicle as Camaya Coast is not accessible by public transportation from the town proper of Mariveles, Bataan. One can also go there via ferry from Roxas Boulevard CCP Terminal, which only takes one and a half hours. I wish this was the route our group took but we opted for the land travel so those who came from a working shift have time to rest during the travel.

Meetup was set to 4:30AM in Eastwood where I work. Of course, Filipino time had our group leaving at 5:30AM. I was asleep most of the travel time even though I came from a weekly off. Travel was smooth, did one or two stopovers and we finally arrived at Camaya Coast at around 11:00AM.

One thing I noticed from the entrance point is a vast land waiting to be occupied. It was a good 10 minutes drive to get to the beach area and you will pass by several units in the making, more empty lots which could house a small theme park or so. I'm really hoping that the owners and developers would turn this area into a mini tourist spot that would place Mariveles on one's vacation map.

Prior to entering the resort, our van was quickly searched for food as bringing one was not allowed into the premises. Some of us managed to sneak in a few chips, haha! One really just have to know how to hide goods effectively. :) We were then given a plain white access card along with a meal stub to enter the area. You get to keep the card as a souvenir, which is good if only it was a designed one. Nevertheless, I kept mine for my collection of cards.

Would love to have a designed one.

On to the beach. The best I've been onto was still in Palawan and Camiguin, but Camaya Coast also has that fine, off-white sand that is almost at par with the sands of the best beaches of the country. It is obvious that despite the still ongoing development of the area, its beach is well maintained. There' a lot of trash bins, you would be ashamed to litter. Add to that the natural cleanliness of the waters, plus the fact that there are no sea urchins, no seaweeds. There are also lot of tables and lounges around the area were you can leave your things. They also have locker rooms to secure your belongings which I think is a bit expensive at Php49 per hour.

If there's one thing that I didn't like about this place, its that the food and drinks are expensive. I understand that this is a resort, but for its price, I would expect it to be presented in a bit different way. Other than that, the whole experience is a memorable one.